Business of Agriculture: Programs and politics in the promotion of agricultural products
It’s an axiom of agriculture as old as the hills: 50 percent of farming is producing the commodity, the other 50 percent is marketing the product at a price that makes enough money to sustain the farm enterprise. While the issues of contemporary production agriculture tend to get most of the media and political attention — think water-quality regulations, animal welfare, pesticide hazards — there’s a vast parallel universe of...
Vermont Sets the Standard
Montpelier — General Mills’ announcement on Friday that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be giving up the fight against labels, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution. Tiny Vermont is the first state to require such labeling, effective July 1. Its fellow New England states of Maine and Connecticut have passed...
Milne Sells Majority Stake in Travel Firm
West Lebanon — Milne Travel, the Barre, Vt.-based travel agency owned by former Vermont GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Milne, has sold a controlling stake in the company to the New York-based travel management giant Altour International Inc. Milne said the “business partnership” will provide Milne Travel, which has offices in four states, with a wider reach to compete for corporate accounts in addition to savings by tapping into...
After Years and Millions, VTel’s Wireless Promises Unfulfilled
Springfield, Vt. — When it comes to VTel’s her alded plan to bring mobile phone service to Vermont, the company isn’t talking. The Springfield, Vt., telecommunications company in 2012 and 2013 won separate funding grants from both the federal government and the state to launch wireless mobile phone service to areas of Vermont that do not receive cellular phone service. The federal money was to make mobile phone service available along...
Health Data Collection Limited
Washington — The Supreme Court says state officials can’t force certain health insurers to turn over reams of data revealing how much they pay for medical claims. The justices ruled 6-2 that efforts by Vermont and at least 17 other states to gather and analyze the data conflict with federal law covering reporting requirements for employer health plans. The case involves Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which operates a self-insured...
