Bio-based products are growing industry, says USDA
The Agriculture Department released a report summarizing studies of the potential benefits of "the emerging bio-economy." Bio-based chemicals could account for more than 10 percent of the chemical market in 2015, according to a study cited in the report.
Argentina may create a grain company of its own, says report
The Argentinian news portal Infobae says the government is considering whether to create a grain company of its own to compete with the multinational exporters - Cargill, ADM, Bunge and Dreyfus - who dominate farm exports, says AgroSouth News.
Keep your COOL, senators ask Appropriations Committee
The World Trade Organization is unlikely to rule until "well into 2015" on U.S. meat-labeling rules, say 32 senators in a letter arguing against unilateral surrender in the dispute with Canada and Mexico.
“It’s hard to avoid” GE foods, says consumer group
The vast majority of U.S. corn and soybeans are genetically engineered varieties - 93 percent of corn and 94 percent of soybeans this year, according to a USDA report - and Consumer Reports magazine says its tests show they are abundantly present in many processed foods.
Consumer groups press for catfish inspection
Four consumer groups and the United Food workers union asked the White House to expedite the creation of the catfish inspection program, now six years past due.
Larger loans for smaller-scale farmers
New rules for "micro loans" to small and beginning farmers will take effect on Nov 7, said the Agriculture Department in carrying out a provision of the 2014 farm law.
In Berkeley, “a turning point” for soda tax
Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley, Calif, says the city referendum on a 1-cent soda tax "will definitely be a turning point" in the drive to reduce obesity by making sugary drinks more expensive, say the New York Times.
In a mega-drought, California ag would adapt to aridity
California's agriculture sector would shrink but survive a mega-drought that lasts decades, says the Los Angeles Times, based on computer simulations by university scientists.
Electoral path clears for school lunch critic in House
House Agriculture Committee member Rodney Davis of Illinois, a critic of new school lunch rules, looks like a surer bet for a second term from central Illinois.
Ethanol output up 10 percent following record 2013 corn crop
Ethanol makers produced 14.15 billion gallons of ethanol during the 12 months ending on Sept 1, coinciding with the corn marketing year, says economist Darrell Good of U-Illinois.
Farmers sue Syngenta for $1 billion over lost sales
Class-action lawsuits asking $1 billion in damages from seed company Syngenta were filed in federal court Iowa, Illinois and and Nebraska.
“He’s doing this to spite me”
Dan Glickman knows his time is running out as the longest-serving agriculture secretary in half a century. Tom Vilsack, who started on the job at the dawn of the Obama administration in 2009, will tie Glickman, who served in the Clinton era, at 2,123 days in office on Nov 13 and surpass him on Nov 14, according to a USDA tally.
Rural job growth is half of urban rate
Job growth in rural America was half the rate of urban areas over the past year, says the Daily Yonder, in a look at Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Research finds genes to boost caretenoids in corn
Researchers identified a set of genes to naturally boost the level of substances the human body converts to vitamin A, important for eye health and the immune system, says Purdue University.
For Senate dogfight, Republican edge among Kansans softens
Independent Greg Orman leads Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, by 7 points, 47-40 with 13 percent undecided, in a Gravis Marketing poll of the Senate race in Kansas.
Cornell will monitor crops with a drone
Two crop specialists for Cornell Cooperative Extension have federal approval for an experiment of monitoring crops with a drone equipped with visual, thermal and multi-spectral cameras, says the Finger Lakes Times in Geneva, New York.
EPA extends comment period on Waters of United States rule
EPA extended the comment period on its clean water rule known as "Waters of the United States" until Nov 14; a three-week extension. Some 217,134 comments were filed as of Monday.
Half of Americans who don’t use Internet are rural residents
While only one-fifth of the U.S. population, rural Americans account for half of people who don't use the Internet, say the Daily Yonder, citing a McKinsey and Co report.
US soy crop may top 4 billion bushels, a record by a mile
Analysts look for USDA to forecast the first-ever 4 billion-bushel U.S. soybean crop on Friday, along with possibly boosting the size of the record-setting corn crop.
Federal loan guarantee for biorefinery making a drop-in fuel
The Agriculture Department announced a $91 million loan guarantee for an advanced biofuel plant in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, that will turn pine chips into 8-10 million gallons a year of reformate, a drop-in ingredient for gasoline and jet fuel that can be added during the regular refinery process.