Agriculture

By Dan Verbeck

Atchison, KS. – The bodies of six Kansas men have been removed from wreckage of an Atchison grain elevator that exploded Saturday night. No other victims were sought. KCUR's Dan Verbeck reported from near the site on perils of working around volatile grain dust.

Before 9/11,"agroterrorism" was not a familiar term to many.

But in the post-9/11 era, the possibility of a deliberate attack on our food supply is something government, law enforcement and private industry have been studying carefully.

Dr. Peter Chalk of the Rand Corporation, a political scientist and expert on international terrorism, has written extensively on the issue of agroterrorism.

He says there's never been an intentional attack on our plant or livestock production, but we ignore the possibilities at our own risk.

By Frank Morris, KCUR/Harvest Public Media

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –

The dirt’s far from settled at the construction site of the new home for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility— or NBAF — in Manhattan, Kan.

By Steve Bell

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The latest trend in the urban agriculture movement is chickens in the city. And a city council committee looked with favor Wednesday on loosening the rules on feathered neighbors.

You can now keep up to 15 chickens in Kansas City, Missouri - as long as they are kept 100 feet from the nearest building used by people.

Dan Heryer and Brooke Salvaggio from BADSEED Farms visit the studio to talk about ways to compost at home and their new residential composting program starting next month. 

Brooke says that 75% of our household waste is compostable.  Residential composting can be done using any natural materials. 

Kansas City, Missouri – A jury in Southern Missouri has awarded almost 2 million dollars to 16 defendants in Southern Missouri in a suit against industrial agriculture. The residents said 2 Iowa-based hog producers were liable for unpleasant odors that made it impossible for plaintiffs to work or enjoy their land. The barns collectively house over 7 thousand hogs.

The lawsuit divided a community of one time friends who live side by side and went to high school together.

Kansas City, Missouri – Should a property owner be able to sue a farmer OVER AND OVER for making the neighborhood smell farmy?

What about for making it unpleasant to work outside?

These are some of the questions at issue as Governor Jay Nixon considers weather to sign a bill legislators sent to his desk last night.
The bill is known informally as The CAFO bill because it deals with what are called Confined Animal Feeding Operations - CAFO's.