Politico

Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, barred from another term as Agriculture chairman, may seek the chairmanship of the banking committee. "I've been approached by several members" about the post, Lucas told Politico.

Farmers will be able to buy crop insurance polices for crops planted in spring 2015 that allow them to get higher yield coverage by excluding catastrophic losses when they calculate average production, the government said.

Kansas Sen Pat Roberts, during a campaign stop at a livestock auction barn, told listeners, “When we get a Republican majority, I’ll be chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and we are gonna put the livestock producer first."

The ebola outbreak in western Africa could disrupt the cocoa harvest in two of the world's largest growers of the crop that yields chocolate and affect prices, says Politico.

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.

Politico writes about the internecine scuffles among the nation's land grant universities and their think tanks for federal money to carry out analytical work.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group for foodmakers, "will give the Food and Drug Administration access to a large database of safety information for chemicals used in processed foods, from Twinkies to almond milk," says Politico.

House Agriculture Committee member Scott DesJarlais is the undisputed winner of the Republican primary in Tennessee's fourth congressional district.

Democrat Alison Grimes faulted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for missing many Agriculture Committee hearings and for not being one of the negotiators who wrote the 2014 farm law, says the Associated Press.

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.

Lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the issue say immigration reform "is effectively dead and unlikely to be revived until after President Obama leaves office," said the Washington Post.

Rep Luis Gutierrez, long active on immigration reform legislation in the House, "declared the prospects for reform dead this year and said the only option left is for President Barack Obama to take unilateral action to stem deportations," says Politico.

Six-term incumbent Thad Cochran, the Republican leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, won the GOP run-off in Mississippi by 2 percentage points over state Sen Chris McDaniel, a Tea Party favorite.

By Tuesday night, former Rep Ronnie Childers "could suddenly become one of the party’s vitally important Senate candidates for 2014 – and a rare Democratic nominee who clashes sharply with his national...

Americans believe USDA's organic label on food means no antibiotics and no synthetic pesticides were used in producing the food, says Consumer Reports in objecting to exemptions to those general rules.

The leaders of the United States and Japan say "they have made significant progress on the agriculture and auto issues that have blocked a huge Asia-Pacific trade deal following intense talks," says Politico.

Speaker John Boehner faulted his fellow House Republicans as unwilling to act on immigration reform during a speech to a service club in his Ohio district, says the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Dairy farmers, short on labor, are adopting the use of robotic milking stations that allow the cows to decide when it's milking time, instead of the two or three mass sessions that have been common for decades, says the New York Times.