The Agriculture Department awarded $15.7 million in grants to 47 projects in 31 states for "cutting-edge ideas to accelerate innovation in private lands conservation." The Conservation Innovation Grants require recipients to provide at least a dollar for dollar in matching funds. North Carolina State University received $1.1 million for two projects, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, $1 million, and National Corn Growers Association, $995,000.

After examining feed tickets for five major poultry companies, Reuters says U.S. poultry producers "are administering antibiotics to their flocks far more pervasively than regulators realize, posing a potential risk to human health." The FDA launched an initiative last year to end the practice of mixing small amount of antibiotics into livestock rations to encourage food animals to gain weight.

Three states decided not to put up the additional money needed to participate in a program that triggers additional food stamps for people who receive assistance with their utility bills - a program with the nickname "heat and eat," writes Alan Bjega of Bloomberg. Two of the states, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have Republican governors mentioned as possible candidates for president. The third state is Michigan.

Some 805 million people suffer from hunger around the world, or one in nine of the earth's population, but the total is down by 100 million people in the past decade and by 200 million since 1990-92, says the United Nations. With the reduction, the world is within reach of the goal of cutting in half the hunger rate in developing nations by 2015 "if appropriate and immediate efforts are stepped up," says the UN report State of Food Insecurity in the World.

The Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman is drafting legislation to overhaul the way the government reviews purchases of U.S. companies by foreigners. Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow disclosed her intentions as part of a PBS NewsHour review of the purchase of Smilthfield Foods by Shuanghui International, of China. "Food security is national security," Stabenow said on the program, according to a news release by the committee. "“And I can’t imagine that the American people will feel comfortable if they wake up someday and find that half of our food processors are owned by China."

A recount showed the "right to farm" constitutional amendment was approved by Missouri voters last month, although by a slightly smaller margin. "The final results of the recount confirmed the passage of Amendment 1," said the secretary of state's office in a statement. The winning margin was 2,375 votes, compared to the 2,490 votes initially announced, out of nearly 1 million ballots. The amendment was popular in rural counties and opposed in urban areas.

Agribusiness behemoth Cargill sued Syngenta, the seed and chemical company in state court in Louisiana, blaming it for sales lost to China, said the St Paul Pioneer Press. Cargill says U.S. corn exports to China were effectively halted because Syngenta sold seed for a genetically engineered corn variety, known as MIR162 and Viptera, that is not approved for sale in China. In a statement, Cargill said Syngenta Seeds "put the ability of U.S. agriculture to serve global markets at risk, costing both Cargill and the entire U.S. agricultural industry significant damages."

The answer is clear, say farm-program skeptics Barry Goodwin and Vince Smith, in the theme overview for the new issue of Choices, the magazine of agricultural economics. They say the new law, signed in February and being implemented now, "generally appears mainly to be focused on transferring income to relatively wealthy farm families as well as some non-farm entities such as the U.S. mercantile marine and private insurance and reinsurance companies..."

"Rural voters are crucial" for Democrats if they are to win Senate races in Kentucky and Georgia, blogs political consultant Matt Barron in The Hill newspaper. The incumbent in Kentucky is Republican Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. Democrat Alison Grimes has criticized McConnell for missing dozens of Agriculture Committee meetings.

Pat Roberts of Kansas is "likely" to become chairman of the Agriculture Committee if Republicans win control of the Senate in the mid-term elections, says Politico, in laying out its list of potential committee leaders. It says Thad Cochran of Mississippi, now the GOP leader on Agriculture, would take the Appropriations chair and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, No 2 in rank on Agriculture, would become majority leader. Of course, Cochran and Roberts have to win re-election on Nov 4.

Biodiesel production is booming in Brazil and Argentina and will put a pinch on exports of soybean oil, the feedstock for making the biofuel, says the Agriculture Department. Biodiesel is forecast to consume one-third of soy oil in the two countries during this marketing year, double the amount that was used six years ago. "In contrast, exports are forecast to fall from more than half of total use to just over 40 percent over the same period," said USDA'S "Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade" report. Brazil and Argentina are the largest soybean producers in the world after the United States.

The AGree initiative unveiled five "Point of View" papers, written by its members, that urge collaborative work to preserve environmental quality while meeting food, feed, fiber and fuel needs of the world. "Each paper presents a unique viewpoint around the idea that productivity, profitability and environmental outcomes go hand in hand," said Jim Moseley, AGree co-chair and former deputy agriculture secretary. "A cooperative approach is a central feature of all."

Worrisome pesticide levels in urban streams became far more prevalent in the past decade but declined slightly in agricultural streams, says a study by the U.S. Geological Survey of water samples from 1992-2011. Pesticide levels seldom exceeded human health benchmarks, said a USGS summary. Over 500 million pounds of pesticides are used annually in the United States and "some of these pesticides are occurring at concentrations that pose a concern for aquatic life," it said.

The consumer group Food and Water Watch filed suit in federal court to stop USDA from implementing new poultry inspection rules. USDA says the new rules will modernize inspection and let meat inspectors spend more time looking for and preventing microbial contamination of meat. Food and Water Watch says the plan, which allows plants to run slaughter lines are higher speeds, abdicates USDA's responsibility to identify meat that is not wholesome.

The trio of practices known as Conservation Agriculture can boost yields in sub-Saharan Africa, says a meta-analysis of 41 studies, but researchers say it may not be a blanket answer. Some 930 million people live in sub-Saharan Africa and two-thirds of them rely on small farms for their livelihoods. Over-grazing, fragile soils and growing aridity are among the problems facing the region.