Thirty countries, including Canada, Mexico and Japan, have imposed restrictions or a total ban on imports of poultry from the U.S. Northwest following discovery of a highly pathogenic avian influenza in Oregon and Washington state last month, says Politico.

It would cost $2.7 billion a year to reduce by two-thirds the size of the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico through reductions in nutrient runoff, says a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Egg farmers in California are converting their laying houses to comply with a state law taking effect on Jan 1 that mandates more freedom of movement for the hens, notes a Christian Science Monitor story on humane treatment of livestock.

Ethanol maker Big River Resources will use first-of-its-kind technology at a facility under construction in western Illinois "to extract zein, a highly valuable corn protein that will be used for food and pharmaceutical products," says the Associated Press.

While urban America has nearly universal access to wired broadband, the rate in rural America is 78 percent, according to industry data. USDA's 2012 Census of Agriculture says 70 percent of farms have Internet access but...

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a new strain - the third variety - of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, a disease that has killed at least eight million baby pigs, says Reuters.

Eight countries in Latin America announced a project to restore 20 million hectares - 77,000 square miles - of degraded forest and farmland, says Reuters. The land would be used to store carbon in vegetation and cut emissions of greenhouse gases.

An innovative program combats obesity by helping families buy fruits and vegetables, says the New York Times, in describing the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, being tested at four hospitals in New York City.

The Des Moines Water Works trustees are expected to vote today to sue three farming counties in northwestern Iowa for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, one of two watersheds tapped for drinking water in Iowa's capital city.

A large number of the medically important antibiotics given to cattle, hogs and poultry now sold over the counter to livestock producers will come under veterinary control in the next couple of years, says the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

It's now up to the Chicago City Council to decide if service stations in the city will be required to sell E15, a 15 percent blend of ethanol and gasoline. The traditional blend is 10 percent. The idea was approved by the finance subcommittee on Monday.

The United States filed an appeal at the World Trade Organization against its ruling that U.S. country-of-origin labels on beef, pork and poultry packages are unfair to Canada and Mexico.

Ted Yoho, the only Florida Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, got two votes for House speaker on the opening day of the 114th session of Congress. Yoho voted for himself and also got the support of Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

"While high-end prosthetics are advancing by leaps and bounds, devices that can hold up to farming remain elusive. And the need is strong, as farming remains one of the most dangerous professions around," writes Rose Eveleth at Modern Farmer.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), aided by a giant U.S. seed company, "are testing a new approach to improve the production of corn among the millions of poor, small-scale farmers who dominate African agriculture," says the...

Far more urban residents hold college degrees than do rural Americans - 32 percent vs 18.5 percent, says an article in USDA's Amber Waves magazine. The urban-rural gap widened by 2 points since 2000, according to Census Bureau data.

One of the rules of thumb in politics is that rural America is populated by social and fiscal conservatives, so residents vote Republican. The Daily Yonder looked at vote totals in all 3,143 counties in the Nov 5 elections for U.S. House...

The 2015 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the government's advice on a nutritious diet, "may look at what is healthy for the environment too," says Associated Press.

The government-wide funding bill being assembled in private on Capitol Hill would scale back school lunch reforms approved in 2010 and "curtail some clean-water regulations," says the New York Times.

President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration will affect indirectly at least 250,000 and perhaps as many as 500,000 farm workers, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.