On Wednesday, the government unveiled their new colorful map of planting zones which has been updated for a warmer 21st century. The official guide, which is printed on seed packets and in gardening books and pamphlets, now reflects what many gardeners have noticed: the coldest day of the year isn't as cold as it used to be and plants that used to be too vulnerable to survive the cold can now make it further up north.

This is the first time that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map since 1990, and a lot has changed. Entire states like Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, now find themselves in warmer zones.

The new planting guide was unveiled Wednesday at the National Arboretum. It's said to use better weather information and offers more interactive technology in its online version. Gardeners can now type in their zip code and their zone will appear, showing the exact average coldest temperature for each of the 26 zones.

The USDA attempted updating the map once before in 2003, but this caused a bit of an uproar and they decided not to use the map they'd commissioned which featured the warmer weather. The Arbor Day Foundation later issued its own planting guide which reflected the warmer climate zones, and the new federal map is similar to the Arbor Day Foundation map.

Japanese green tea is held in high regard around the world for its purity and health-enhancing properties. However, authorities revealed that Japanese green tea is now contaminated with radiation, as the fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues to affect Japan's agricultural heartlands.

The Shizuoka prefecture, which is Japan's biggest tea growing area, has radiation higher than the level permitted by law, authorities revealed for the first time on Thursday.

Dried leaves from the first harvest of the year in the Honyama area of Shizuoka were found to contain radioactive cesium at a level of 679 becquerels per kilogram, which is above the maximum permitted level of 500 becquerels.

It was a chance discovery, and authorities admitted that earlier consignments which were not examined and have already gone to market, may have also been contaminated. Limits have already been put in place on the sale of tea from areas close to Fukushima, but news that green tea in Shizuoka is contaminated will be devastating as Shizuoka is to green tea what the Champagne region in France is to sparkling wine.

In 2009, Japan produced 95,000 tons of dried tea and 42 percent of that was from Shizuoka.

As of Sunday, Ohio farmers had planted just 11 percent of planned corn crops in the ground, compared to 87 percent at this time in 2010. A mere two percent has emerged, compared to 72 percent in 2010. As each rainy day passes, hope for a successful Ohio corn crop dwindles.

The 2006 to 2010 average amount of crops is 80 percent planted by May 22 and 58 percent emerged, and ideally corn crops should be planted by May 15. Farmers will plant up until June 5, but as the days pass, the yield becomes.

In addition to lower yield, late planted corn is also more sensitive to drought stress, is more prone to disease and insect problems, and is more likely not to be mature by the first frost.

The National Weather Service says that the next 10 days will continue to be rainy, possibly with one to two dry days. Farmers need five or six dry days in a row for optimal planting conditions.

If Ohio's corn crops fail, it will mean higher prices in local markets. The national corn markets will also take a hit, but that will be offset by strong crop production in Iowa and Nebraska.

The weather has also been unfavorable for crops in Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

The crisis of the disappearing honeybees, which has baffled scientists for four years now, is getting worse. A federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-of this winter, and at the same time, a new study shows that honeybees' pollen and hives are laden with pesticides.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, and regulators in both California and Canada are feverishly working to figure out what is behind the threat, and are now ordering up new research to be conducted on pesticides used in fields and orchards. The federal courts have also stepped into the equation, ruling that the EPA overlooked a requirement when allowing a pesticide on the market. Chemists at a scientific conference in San Francisco will also be tackling the issue of chemicals and the shrinking bee population in response to the new study.

Scientists, and the government, are understandably concerned about the loss of bees as they play an important, vital role in our food supply. One-third of the human diet is from plants that require pollination from honeybees. This includes products such apples and zucchini.

Over the past few decades, bees have been declining for various reasons. But the situation has become much more dire in recent years. In 2006, a new concern - "colony collapse disorder" - was blamed for mass, inexplicable die-offs. The disorder causes adult bees to abandon their hives and fly off to die. It is believed to be caused by a combination of things, including poor nutrition, bacteria, viruses, parasites and pesticides.

But bees seem to be in even more trouble this year after a particularly bad winter. A survey of commercial bee brokers cited in an internal USDA document showed that one-third of those surveyed had trouble finding enough hives to pollinate California's nuts trees, which grow most of the world's almonds. A more formal study will be conducted in April and should give scientists an even better look at the situation.

On Thursday the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois began a recall of nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after three people became sick from E. Coli in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The USDA said that illnesses related to the recalled meat have also been reported in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Last week the Ohio Department of Health alerted federal officials that three individuals - a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man, and a 71-year-old man - with no connection to each other were ill from E. coli bacteria featuring the same genetic footprint. A spokesman says that two of the three were hospitalized and all are now recovered.

Officials from the Cleveland Health Department are also now investigating the death of a 7-year-old girl - a student at Westpark Community School on Lorain Road - who died as a result of E.coli. They are trying to determine if there is a link between the recalled beef and her death.

Most of the recalled meat is preformed patties under various brand names. For more information on the recalled products, please visit this USDA webpage.

While farmers and backyard gardeners are beginning to plant and care for their tomato seedlings, scientists at H.J. Heinz Co. are busy trying to breed a sweeter tomato in hopes that it will help them save on the pricey corn syrup currently used in ketchup. The price of corn has been soaring, partially due to the boom in ethanol use, and has increased Heinz bottom line.

Ketchup can be found in 97% of American homes, and in half of those Heinz is the ketchup of choice. In the restaurant business, Heinz is just as dominant. At any given moment, the Heinz factory is busy pumping out millions of tiny ketchup packets. Heinz's success, says VP David Ciesinski, is a result of "the perfect recipe."

That perfect recipe includes, of course, tomatoes. But it also includes other ingredeitns such as spices, distilled vinegar, and high fructose corn syrup. The corn syrup is one ingredient that in recent years has begun to give the company headaches.

A bushel of corn that cost $2 four years ago now costs about $6. Corn is an important ingredient in many of the foods we eat, which are also on the rise in price.

The massive blizzard in Cleveland has shut down countless flights in and out of Cleveland tonight. Continental Airlines, the major carrier out of Hopkins Airport, has released this statement for people affected by the delays:

With severe winter weather forecast for Ohio through Saturday, Continental Airlines announced travel options for customers whose flight plans may be affected by the storm.

Weather conditions are expected to make air travel difficult in the area. This forecast will force some delays and cancellations of flights at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

To avoid inconvenience, travelers scheduled on flights through Saturday may wish to delay commencement of their trip.

Customers ticketed for travel through March 8 to or from Cleveland are permitted a one-time date or time change to their flights without penalty. Rescheduled travel must originate by March 15. If a flight has been canceled, a refund in the original form of payment can be requested.

The fastest and most convenient way to change travel plans is via continental.com. Customers should enter their confirmation number and last name in "Manage Reservations." Customers may also call Continental Airlines reservations at 800-525-0280 or their travel agent.

continental.com provides an overview of Continental operations as well as up-to-date information regarding the status of specific flights. Automated flight status information is also available at 800-784-4444.