agriculture

Scientists say they’re close to producing new “super varieties” of wheat that will resist a virulent fungus while boosting yields up to 15 percent, potentially easing a deadly threat to the world’s food supply.

Rising food prices and shortages could cause instability in many countries as the cost of staple foods and vegetables reached their highest levels in two years, with scientists predicting further widespread droughts and floods.

Got grass? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed strict new standards for what kind of milk qualifies as organic: Cows must get plenty of fresh grass and spend at least four months a year grazing in pastures.

As a cold spell continued its rigid hold on much of the eastern United States on Tuesday, farmers in central and southern Florida were bracing for freezing temperatures overnight that could damage orange, strawberry and tomato crops.

The U.S. government plans to buy another $30 million in pork products in fiscal 2009 for federal food assistance programs to help the flailing hog industry, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday.