The FAA's proposed rules for drones are too restrictive for them to live up the farmers' hopes to search for stray cattle or monitor trouble spots in crops, says Reuters.

House Agriculture chairman Mike Conaway has decided that every hearing or markup at his committee will begin with a prayer, says Roll Call.

The Market News wing of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is celebrating its centennial this year. Market News issues more than 250,000 reports a year on prices at hundreds of markets for cotton, fruits, vegetables and specialty crops...

Researchers say small farmers hold up to 75 percent of the seeds to produce the huge array of crops grown around the world, says Reuters.

Growers can vote from March 23-April 21 in a referendum on whether to keep the sorghum-checkoff program in operation. The checkoff went into business in July 2008 to raise money for research on, and promotion of, the feed grain.

U.S. soybean farmers could reap a near-record 3.81 billion bushels of soybeans this year, adding to an ample stockpile and pulling down prices, says economist Darrel Good of U-Illnois.

Global fertilizer usage is on track to top 200 million tonnes in 2018, up 25 percent in a decade, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. In a report, FAO says fertilizer consumption is forecast to rise by 1.8 percent a year through 2018.

Standing almost shoulder to shoulder, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rep. Kevin Yoder expressed different views of immigration enforcement during a news conference near Kansas City.

Some 86 members of the School Nutrition Association, whose members oversee school food programs, have signed a letter against waivers from requirements to serve healthier meals, says Marion Nestle at Food Politics.

After decades of being treated as a marine nuisance, beavers "could help ease the water woes" that pit farmers against fishermen in California, says the magazine onEarth.

Producers will see sharply lower hog prices this year - down 26 percent from 2014 - due to larger livestock production, says the USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.

Senators from two of the leading U.S. poultry-producing states are seeking leverage to force South Africa to drop its tariffs on imports of U.S. poultry meat, says the New York Times.

Livestock producers are buying a lot of tractors these days, the result of high cattle and hog prices, while sales falter for the big tractors and self-propelled combines used by grain farmers, says AgWeb.

The first case of mad cow disease in Canada since 2011 was confirmed in a beef cow in Alberta, according to the Canadian Press. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said he did not expect the discovery to affect beef exports.

Research by the University of New Hampshire says rural students have far less access to Advanced Placement classes than suburban or urban students.

Farm bankers in the central Plains "expect cropland values to fall alongside reduced expectations for farm income" this year, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in its quarterly Agricultural Credit Conditions report.

The Agriculture Department approved cultivation of two apple varieties that are genetically engineered to resist browning. Developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., the apples will be marketed as Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden.

The Obama administration "opened the door for Cuba's small-business community to export goods and services" to U.S. customers, says Politico.

The average age of U.S. farmers is on the rise - 57.8 in 2012 vs 53.2 in 1997, according to USDA data. But economist Todd Keuthe of U-Illinois says that "a closer look at the data reveals the 'aging farmer problem' may be overstated by some."

The government unveiled a set of rules for non-recreational use of drone aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds, and said it would take public comment on the proposal for 60 days. The proposal advances the possibility of using drones in agriculture.