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Harvest Public Media
7:59 am
Mon April 29, 2013

How A Niche Market Saved This Farmer's Pork Business

Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
Randy Hilleman turned his suffering pork business into an interstate collective of hog producers.
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There’s more than one way to sell a pig.

And when the hog market plunged to 8 cents a pound in 1998, Iowa producer Randy Hilleman decided it was time to make a change. Hilleman raises Berkshire pigs, a breed that’s fattier than traditional pigs and costs a little more to raise. Back then, that was hurting him.

“If we took them into Marshalltown, [Iowa] to the big packing plant, we would get docked because they’re too fat,” Hilleman said. “What they pay on is lean, and we like to have some fat on ours.”

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Agriculture
1:01 am
Tue April 23, 2013

Seed Companies Fight To Maintain Independence

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Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media
A robotic arm loads seed bags onto pallets for shipment at Burrus Seed Company, an independent seed company in rural Illinois.
Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media
Burrus Seed employs about 60 workers year-round, more during peak season.
Credit Bill Wheelhouse / Harvest Public Media
Farmer Wayne Ladage is a loyal Burrus Seed customer and distributor.
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The window in Tom Burrus’ office gives him a good look at the wide expanse of Illinois River bottomland where his company produces seed corn for farmers across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. Hanging on his wall are sketches of his grandfather and others who’ve had a part in the Burrus Seed Co. since it was founded 1935. The 63-year-old company president knows he is a rare independent in a land of giants.

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Agriculture
1:01 pm
Mon April 22, 2013

Cagey Issues For Egg Industry

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Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
The hens in Hongwei Xin’s basement lab at Iowa State University in Ames have perches, one of the requirements of new cages proposed in an egg industry-supported federal bill.
Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
Hongwei Xin, Iowa State University professor and Egg Industry Center director, this week will present his findings on the environmental impact of the egg industry.
Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
Mark Tjelmeland collects eggs in the hen house where his 700 birds lay them on his farm in McCallsburg, Iowa.
Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
The hens on Mark Tjelmeland’s farm lay eggs in nest boxes. A new bill would require all egg operations to provide hens with a place for nesting.
Credit Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media
After a winter spent mostly indoors, the hens head out into their three acre pasture at Mark Tjelmeland’s farm in McCallsburg, Iowa.
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Mark Tjelmeland’s 700 free-range chickens lay 45 dozen eggs per day in indoor nesting boxes on his farm in McCallsburg, Iowa. The rest of the time, unless it’s too cold, they roam and peck in a fenced pasture.

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Health
8:47 am
Mon April 22, 2013

Gluten-Free: Fad Or Fix?

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Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson / Harvest Public Media
Eliminating certain foods from a diet can be risky, says Paula Vandelicht, a nutritionist at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Columbia, Mo. Among other things, she advises customers about the shortcomings of a gluten-free diet.
Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson / Harvest Public Media
Johnna Perry, who has celiac disease, teaches gluten-free cooking classes in Liberty, Mo. She estimated that half her students are eating gluten-free by choice, not medical necessity.
Credit Abbie Fentress Swanson / Harvest Public Media
The Hy-Vee in Columbia, Mo., sells Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes.
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Six months ago, Kara Welter drastically changed her diet by eliminating food that contains wheat, rye or barley.

“I don’t eat gluten,” said Welter, a 41-year-old marketing executive in Kansas City.

“I happened to just try it because I was having stomach issues for years. And it turns out within three days, I stopped having stomach issues.”

Welter’s gluten decision stemmed from what she read online. Medical tests showed that she did not have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, the disorder that causes the immune system to reject the gluten.

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Agriculture
1:01 am
Mon April 15, 2013

Seeking Profits In Private Labels

Credit Grant Gerlock / Harvest Public Media
Walmart's "Great Value" brand is an example of private label food. After acquiring Ralcorp, ConAgra is now the largest private label food supplier in the U.S.
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You may not think much about store brands as you shop for groceries, but it’s a business worth nearly $60 billion per year. ConAgra, a company based in Omaha, Neb., made a splash recently in what the industry calls private label food when it paid $6.8 billion to buy Ralcorp, based in St. Louis, Mo. The merger created the biggest private label food company in the country.

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