Analysts expect record U.S. corn and soybean yields this fall that will be 3.5 percent higher than the marks set five years ago, according to a straw poll by Reuters. On average, the 20 analysts pegged the corn yield at 170.5 bushels an acre and soybeans at 45.6 bushels an acre, compared to the record 164.7 for corn and 44.0 for soybeans. The analysts figures are higher than USDA's projections of record-setting crops. USDA will make its first field-based estimate of the crops on Aug 12.

The protracted battle over the Republican nomination for the Senate in Mississippi distracted activist conservatives and boosted the chances of third-term Sen Pat Roberts in Kansas, says Roll Call. Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has a Tea Party challenger, Milton Wolf. "Outside spending in Kansas has been on a much smaller scale compared to the Mississippi race.

U.S. soybean yields could exceed 46 bushels an acre for the first time this year, according to separate forecasts. The record, set in 2009, is 44 bushels. Based on current conditions, Commodity Weather Group said yields would average 46.1 bushels an acre, which would mean a record crop of 3.88 billion bushels, said Farm Futures.

The American paddlefish, a relative of the sturgeon that looks like a prehistoric marine reptile, is the prey in the insatiable international market for caviar, writes Michelle Nijhuis. She describes a poaching frenzy on the Osage River in central Missouri, where hundreds of pounds of roe were sold to racketeers who labeled it as Russian caviar worth $300 an ounce. The paddlefish is the latest species to be decimated to satisfy the carving for caviar.

With the Aug 5 Republican primary on the horizon, Kansas Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, "is still the favorite to win renomination," says Sabato's Crystal Ball. " Roberts has been gaffe-happy and vulnerable to the same kind of residency attacks that hampered former Sen. Richard Lugar," it says, but opponent Milton Wolf, a physician, "is decidedly second tier" as a challenger.

A White House report from the Council of Economic Advisors says that delaying action on climate change becomes increasingly expensive as time passes. The report says a meta-analysis of 16 studies found that total mitigation costs rise by 40 percent for each decade of delay.

The administration launched the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, which was mandated by the 2014 farm policy law and endowed by Congress with $200 million. The foundation must find private matching funds for projects that it funds.

The White House announced creation of a $10 billion Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund to draw private investment into projects in rural America. The government will identify projects in need of financing and could provide a part of the funds itself or could let private investors handle it entirely. "This is a new way for us to do business," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Farm equipment maker Kinze Manufacturing, of Williamsburg, Iowa, said it would begin limited production of the multi-hybrid seed planter for the spring 2015 planting season. The planters will allow farmers to change seed hybrids and population rates on-the-go.

Republicans asked about local flexibility and Democrats focused on funding when the Senate Agriculture Committee sat down to hear about they sat down to talk about renewal of school lunch and child nutrition programs. Together the programs cost around $19 billion a year with school meals getting $14 billion. The programs are due for reauthorization in 2015.

The odds of a production slowdown for corn and wheat over the next two decades are 20 times higher with climate change than without, say researchers from Stanford University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Ag consultancy Doane says the first day of its crop tour found corn and soybeans in outstanding condition in western Illinois and eastern Iowa. "We believe it's the strongest corn crop we have observed in our long history of this crop tour," says its report. Doane says corn yields in western Illinois could be 10 bushels an acre higher than last year.

The Bend-LaPine School District in central Oregon has one of the most comprehensive farm-to-school programs in the nation, with "students raising animals, butchering animals, and feeding a school meal program," writes Kerry Newberry at Civil Eats. Says the school district's wellness specialist Katrina Wiest, "It’s a full circle agriculture education experience.” The school district bought its own smoker to add flavor to the meat, which is served in the cafeterias.

It may be months before USDA publishes a regulation but it is reminding farmers that the new farm policy law links so-called conservation compliance with eligibility for a discount on crop insurance. Operators have until next June 1 to file the paperwork, form AD-1026, the Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification.

Record beef and pork prices are pulling up the prices of seafood as consumers look for lower-priced protein, says the government in an update of the food price outlook. Overall, food prices are forecast to rise by 3 percent this year, roughly in line with the annual average of 2.8 percent since 1990. The Agriculture Department says pork prices are up by 12 percent since mid-2013 and it expects an increase of 6 percent for this calendar year.

A softening of seed corn sales was behind an 11 percent drop in DuPont's agriculture sector operating profits in the quarter ending in June, says AgriMoney. It quoted DuPont's chief executive as saying the company has faith in the business over the longer term although big big crop crops this year would "pressure overall economics for corn and soybean farmers."

The hard red spring wheat tour of North Dakota concluded with a forecast of an average yield of 48 bushels an acre, a record high, said DTN. "Overall, scouts saw a wheat crop with record yield potential and little disease or pest pressure," said DTN. It said the crop was maturing later than usual. A cold and rainy spring delayed planting for weeks in the upper Midwest and northern Plains.

The biggest oil companies in North Dakota are putting money into the race for state agriculture commissioner, says Reuters. It's not an oddball choice - the agriculture commissioner, along with the governor and the attorney general, sits on the Industrial Commission, which oversees permits "and other issues critical to the oil industry, which hopes to drill 35,000 new wells within 15 years," says the story.