Ag and Environment

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will visit the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in downtown Des Moines during his visit to Iowa this week.

Xi will join the World Food Prize Foundation for the …

McDonald’s Corp. said today it will require its pork suppliers to get rid of gestation pens that animal-rights groups have long deemed cruel to pigs, Bloomberg reported.

“There are alternatives that we think are better …

The Iowa Wind Energy Association’s annual conference will be April 9-11 at the Iowa Events Center, with the theme Iowa Wind Power: A Model for America. The conference will feature information sessions and 60 industry …

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., parent company of Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., announced yesterday that by 2020 it will invest $10 billion in research and development and introduce 4,000 new products centered on …

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. will partner with OligoCo Inc., a Washington state-based biotech company that specializes in genetic synthesis, to develop technology to improve crops. The two companies will work on technology that will use …

Purchases of wind turbines and other equipment will decline 18 percent this year and won’t return to 2011 levels for five years, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Capital investment in wind-power assets worldwide will …

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. Inc. announced today that it has joined the DROught-Tolerant Plants (DROPS) Research Consortium.

DROPS is a European Commission-sponsored consortium that is developing tools and breeding strategies to advance …

The Seed the Farm benefit will take place Jan. 21 starting at 7 p.m. to honor Jennie Smith, owner of Butcher Crik Farms, who is heading to New Zealand this February as a Rotary Club …

The United States should declare a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, for natural gas in populated areas until the health effects are better understood, doctors said at a conference on the drilling process, …

The Greater Des Moines Partnership, Center on Sustainable Communities, Des Moines Water Works and Metro Waste Authority will honor local organizations and leaders for their sustainability efforts. Environmental Impact Award applications will be accepted through …