Commodity prices are down sharply this year for major crops yet wheat and soybeans may not trigger subsidies under the new farm law, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University in a blog.

The board that oversees the beef check-off program would lose three seats under a reapportionment proposed by USDA in the Federal Register.

With sharply lower commodity prices at hand, "one of the key supports for sky high farmland values is changing rapidly," writes economist Brent Gloy at the Agricultural Economic Insights blog.

Rapidly spreading palmer amaranth is the headliner among a list of 16 types of weeds that have developed resistance to glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides.

Traders expect USDA to forecast record crops today - 14.25 billion bushels of corn and 3.82 billion bushels of soybeans - in its first estimate of the fall harvest only a few weeks away.

Mission: Readiness, composed of retired military officers, plans to lobby lawmakers against a school lunch waiver when Congress re-convenes after Labor Day, says Politico.

A ban on vending machines in schools can lead to increased soda and fast-food consumption if its the only change in a school's food policy, say researchers at the UI-Chicago.

Since the days of the Gold Rush, "groundwater has been considered a property right; landowners are entitled to what's beneath them," says the Los Angeles Times; California is the only state in the West that does not regulate groundwater.

Economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University says crop subsidies of $30-$90 an acre are possible with record crops and farm-gate prices that average $3.60 a bushel, reports DTN.

State Attorney General William Sorrell asked for dismissal of the food industry lawsuit against the Vermont law that will require special labels on foods that include genetically modified organisms.

There are few federal or state safeguards against the introduction of an invasive species as a biofuel crop, say researchers at the University of Illinois in two newly published papers.

People consume more calories, sugar, fat, and salt when they go to a restaurant, whether it's full service or a fast-food outlet, says a study in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Legislators in New York state are hopeful of victory in the near term to require farmers to pay overtime wages to agricultural laborers, said the New York Times.

U.S. farmers are headed for record-breaking harvests this fall, so large that corn and soybean surpluses will be the largest in years, analysts say in surveys ahead of the Aug 12 crop report.

Second-term Rep Scott DesJarlais, a House Agriculture Committee member, had a 33-vote lead with all precincts reporting in his Tennessee congressional district, a razor-thin margin in a race that may not be decided until the month, said the Associated Press.

The Russian ban on food and ag products from Western nations including the United States is likely to mean more business for Brazil, says Reuters.

Farm leaders in Ohio say producers have worked for years to reduce their use of fertilizer and to reduce runoff through using no-till cultivation and planting filter strips near waterways, says AgWeb.

USDA is giving a thorough examination of how to reorganize its international trade functions, including creation of a new senior-level position, undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a teleconference.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for corn and soybeans genetically modified by Dow AgroSciences to tolerate herbicides including 2,4-D "affirms [our] preferred alternative to fully deregulate these new GE crops."