Fortune

Crop scouting and data-gathering will be ag drones’ domain

Drone aircraft are a natural fit for data-hungry precision agriculture, helping growers fine-tune their operations and maximize income, says private consulting group Informa, which estimates the gains at $12 an acre for corn, $2.60 for soybeans and $2.25 for wheat.

Bird flu’s implications for large-scale operators

The worst epidemic of avian influenza ever to hit U.S. poultry farms resulted in the death or culling of 48.1 million fowl, most of them turkeys and egg-laying hens. Iowa, the No. 1 egg state, could see "total economic damage" of $957 million, says Fortune. U.S. egg production, estimated down by 5 percent this year, is not expected to recover until 2016.

Lawmakers consider relaxing Nebraska “packer ban” for hogs

A bill in the Nebraska legislature would exempt hogs from the 15-year-old state ban on ownership of livestock by meatpackers other than immediately before slaughter, says Fortune.