Researchers at the University of Minnesota say large-scale adoption of "traditional" diets rich in fruits, vegetables and fish would mean lower volumes of greenhouse gases than the diet that commonly accompanies rising incomes around the world...

Four turkey and chicken farms in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, British Columbia, are under quarantine for avian influenza, says the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Medical researchers say they developed a vaccination against chronic wasting disease in deer, a fatal brain infection similar to mad cow disease that affects deer, elk, caribou and moose.

Incoming chairman Mike Conaway said he will install three of his top aides as the key staff members of the House Agriculture Committee.

The National Corn Growers Association promoted Jon Doggett, its vice president of public policy since 2002, to the post of executive vice president, starting Jan 1.

Representatives passed, 378-46, and sent to the Senate a retroactive revival of five dozen tax breaks that expired on Jan 1, including a handful that apply to the agriculture sector.

Officials in Jackson County, Oregon, won't enforce a voter-approved ban on genetically engineered crops until there is a U.S. District Court decision, says the Medford Mail Tribune.

Consumer Reports released consumption guidelines for consumer who want to reduce their exposure to inorganic arsenic in rice and again urged FDA to set standards for arsenic in rice-based foods.

New and more sustainable varieties of the three major food crops of the world, corn, rice and wheat, are needed to supply world food needs while conserving natural resources and withstanding climate change, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The FDA program to phase out use of antibiotics as a growth promotant in food animals "may allow some injudicious uses to persist," says the Pew Trusts' Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming.

Iowa farmland values fell by 9 percent this year, the largest decline since 1986 during the agricultural recession, pulled down by falling commodity prices, said an Iowa State University survey.

Economists at the annual Ag Bankers Conference said crop growers will face more stress in 2015, says Farm Futures. "Some farmers may need to restructure debt to keep cash flowing the next two years, says...

Chinese approval of Syngenta's genetically engineered corn "increases the likelihood the seed maker will pay settlements" to farmers and exporters who sued over lost export sales, according to lawyers interviewed by Reuters.

A research team led by Florida State University identified four-stranded elements of DNA in corn that could affect thousands of genes, says an FSU release.

Grocery store prices for beef are at record highs and the government says they will rise again in the new year, although not as sharply as this year.

The first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was confirmed in Hawaii, on a farm in Waianae Valley on Oahu, says The Pig Site, and the state Agriculture Department has issued a guarantine order against movement of hogs on the west side of the island.

Along with discovery of two strains of avian influenza in Washington state, bird flu was reported for the first time in Italy this week, says the ThePoultrySite.com.

The 2014 farm law expanded the role of crop insurance in the farm safety net; making it the centerpiece of the farm program, according to some descriptions.