USDA

Sorghum is enjoying a resurgence after years of being over-shadowed by corn, thanks in large part to large exports to China that have boosted market prices.

A study by U-Arkansas researchers says a program that provides free fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to school children reduced obesity rates by 3 percentage points among elementary school pupils.

A new peanut variety, developed by the USDA and Oklahoma State U, offers longer shelf life and increased disease resistance compared to other varieties, and packs "high amounts of a heart-healthy fatty acid called oleic acid," says the American Society of Agronomy.

Tea Party-backed Milton Wolf, the radiologist who unsuccessfully challenged Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts in the Republican primary last year, is fueling speculation that he will try again for the Senate, this time against incumbent Jerry Moran, chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the USDA and FDA spending.

Along with massive loss of honeybee colonies, the number of professional beekeepers is falling, says the Washington Post, although the number of managed bee colonies is on the rise.

Nearly three months after avian influenza was confirmed on Moline Farms near Manson, Iowa, the turkey farm is filling its barns with new birds.

For the first time, the Forest Service will spend more than half of its budget fighting wildfires, says a USDA report that predicts wildfire suppression will consume two-thirds of the agency's annual budget a decade from now.

Cropland in the Corn Belt is worth an average $6,840 an acre, down 2.3 percent from last year, according to the USDA's annual Land Values report.

"The solution to avian flu" could be a genetically modified chicken that doesn't infect other fowl when it's hit by the deadly virus, says a National Geographic blog post.

Corn and soybean growers will harvest smaller crops than projected by the government, according to a private survey of 1,300 growers, but that will mean little relief for depressed market prices.

Despite drought in the Pacific Northwest, hops growers expect to harvest 74.5 million pounds of the flowering, climbing plant used to provide the bitter taste of beer, says KIMA-TV in Yakima. That would be a 5-percent increase in production from last year.

Agriculture Undersecretary Micheal Scuse asked the sugar industry at its summer meeting to support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, reports DTN.

Blueberries are a popular fruit grown around the world. Production has tripled in the past 10 years, says NPR in a story from Whitesbog, in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where the blueberry was "brought in from the wild" a century ago

The first edition of the revived Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushings, Production, Consumption and Stocks report was delayed for two months, until Oct. 1, because of inadequate response by processors, said the USDA.