"There are 1,260 rural counties with fewer people working than seven years ago; 711 rural counties have more jobs than in November 2007," writes Bill Bishop at the Daily Yonder in looking at the recovery from the 2008-09 recession.

The government proposed tougher standards on disease-causing bacteria in chicken and turkey meat, saying the result would be 50,000 fewer cases a year of food-borne illnesses.

Seed banks are a well-known way to preserve genetic diversity through preservation and propagation of rare food crops or varieties that have fallen out of favor.

Two teams of scientists achieved a milestone - creation of bacteria that cannot survive without a specific artificial chemical, says Reuters, "potentially overcoming a major obstacle to wider use of genetically modified organisms."

At the end of annual trade consultations, officials from China and the United States say they will give attention to their approval processes for genetically engineered crops, said Reuters.

The Gates Foundation is to announce its goals for the next 15 years. "Among them: financing programs to help Africa feed itself," says the New York Times.

Two types of highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N2 and H5N8, were found in Washington state outside of commercial poultry farms, said USDA.

A bill in the Oregon Senate, introduced at the request of Gov John Kitzhaber, would allow the state to establish control areas to separate genetically engineered crops from organic and conventional crops if necessary to prevent cross-pollination, says Capital Press.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack relayed word of Chinese approval Syngenta's MIR 162 corn variety, which has roiled corn sales for months and prompted dozens of lawsuits, says the Financial Times.

State Rep Gary Worthan, who represents two of the northwest Iowa counties targeted by the Des Moines Water Works for a lawsuit over nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, said the utility should "reel in their legal beagles...talk with us and find a common solution" said the Des Moines Register.

Six lawmakers wrote USDA in support of strong rules on who qualifies for farm subsidies on the grounds of being "actively engaged" in farming.

David Pfrang and Jim Dobbins, who live in the rolling hills of northeastern Kansas, are "two farmers raising an few cattle and a lot of Cain," says Harvest Public Media in a deep dive into the politics of the beef checkoff program.

U.S. corn production could shrink by nearly 1.2 billion bushels, or 8 percent, in 2015 with a return to normal yields and a 2 percent reduction in plantings, says economist Dan O'Brien of Kansas State U. Corn yields were record high this year, as was production...

Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta exemplifies how the American menu is getting longer and broader, says USA Today. Seventy percent of lodging and food-related businesses in the county are minority-owned.

Kansas Sen Jerry Moran is chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture for the next two years. "Subcommittee memberships are being determined and will be announced as soon as possible," said the Appropriations...

The new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the government's tips on healthful diets, will be issued in the new year, says the Health and Human Services Department.

Up to 1 million people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could be "food insecure" by March because of disruptions to farming and marketing due to the Ebola virus, say two UN agencies, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

A convenience store chain in six mid-Atlantic states, Sheetz Convenience Stores, said it will offer E15 at 60 of its fuel stations in North Carolina by spring 2016.