Word: farm
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Last summer, at the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season, the State Farm Insurance Company declared that it would stop selling insurance policies to the owners of homes and small businesses in Mississippi...
...part of me was saddened to hear the news: Many Mississippians were still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and this decision by State Farm could only cause more hardship for them...
...doing business in hurricane-prone Mississippi, especially the fact that global warming is predicted to make hurricanes increasingly frequent and intense, it could not continue operating in the state at its desired profit margin unless it raised its rates. And because insurance rates are often capped by states, State Farm felt it had no option other than to get out of Mississippi...
...picking out the plumpest, juiciest hangover chicken from among its 19 pathetic fellows. But there are chances to reconnect with food when we dare to go beyond the confines of Mather Dining Hall.CHERRY PICKINGOne of the more obvious (but also more difficult) options is to visit a local farm and spend an afternoon picking produce. Even buying the “freshest” tomatoes in your gourmet supermarket cannot compare to plucking the plumpest, juiciest tomato off a vine from among its 19 shining comrades. Strawberries, raspberries, and apples also taste amazing when eaten fresh from the plants...
...trend is giving rise to a curious new customer at the local supply store. Dude farmers, says Carol Ekarius, author of Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream for Pleasure and Profit, are "picking up bales of hay in their Jaguar." Amusing as that is, the results are not all good. Hobby farmers drive up land prices in hot areas. They also raise big-picture concerns about total farm output. Hobbyists get far less yield per acre than the lifetime pros, and in times of food shortage they would further crimp the supply, usda officials warn...