USDA

Growers have 60 days to submit applications for compensation for fruit losses in 2012, the Agriculture Department said in the Federal Register. The payments will flow through the Noninsured Assistance Program, which provide protection similar to crop insurance for commodities not covered by catastrophic insurance.

Crop conditions in Iowa and Illinois, the two biggest corn- and soybean-growing states, out-shine U.S. ratings in a year that seems headed for record harvests, said USDA data. The neighboring Midwestern states grew 31 percent of U.S. corn and 27 percent of U.S. soybeans last year, says USDA.

The Agriculture Department announced $9.7 million in emergency water assistance grants for 25 rural communities in California, now in its third year of drought. The grant program is aimed at communities suffering a significant decline in the volume or quality of drinking water. Some 75,000 people will be aided by the funds, said USDA.

The Agriculture and Energy departments awarded a total of $12.6 in research grants to 10 projects, from Virginia to California, to improve to improve plant feedstocks for the production of biofuels, biopower, and biobased products. The work is part of developing non-food sources of biomass.

While Congress wrangles over one-year school-lunch waiver for some schools, the Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its second hearing of the summer on child nutrition. Set for Wednesday, the hearing "will examine school meal programs across the country" with an eye for ways "to continue strengthening these programs to better support America's school children," says the hearing announcement.

A study of 20 heifers found "no noticeable detrimental effect on cattle health or well-being" from the feed supplement Zilmax to promote weight gain, says the University of Nebraska. Its researchers joined USDA scientists for the 26-day study. Drug maker Merck withdrew Zilmax from the market last year after reports of cattle appearing lame or having difficulty in standing.

Corn Belt farmers could lose money on this year's crop if prices are in the range that USDA expects, says economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois. At farmdoc daily, Schnitkey presents sample balance sheets showing potential revenues and costs for a corn farmer in central Illinois with high-yielding land. There is a $100 range for revenue, depending whether prices are $3.65 a bushel or $4.35.

The U.S. hog population is down 5 percent from year-ago numbers, the government said in a quarterly report that showed the impact of the deadly Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus.

In two reports today, the Agriculture Department will clarify how tight soybean stocks will get this summer and how large, possibly record-setting, the fall harvests will be.

U.S. and Japanese officials are to discuss agriculture market access issues this week in Tokyo. Market access has become a major obstacle to a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement involving...

In its first formal forecast of the 2014/15 soybean crop, the International Grains Council forecast a record harvest, up 6 percent from the previous season, and a 24 percent jump in carryover stocks.

Analysts generally expect USDA to report record-large soybean plantings and sizable corn planting in its Acreage report on Monday.

U.S. farmland values will hold steady or decline somewhat in the near term due to lower grain prices and high production costs, lenders and financial experts told a House Agriculture subcommittee.

Private and public lenders are scheduled to testify on availability in rural America at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.

U.S. farmers said they would plant a record 81.5 million acres of soybeans this spring, putting within reach a record crop that would ease high prices and the tightest supplies in decades.

Landowners in five states in the upper Midwest are eligible for $8 million in payments if they establish new habitat for honey bees on land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve, says USDA.

Coffee production is on the rise in Colombia and Central America, where growers battle the rust fungus, said USDA in its Coffee: World Markets and Trade report.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid set aside the "minibus" appropriations bill that includes fiscal 2015 funding for USDA after a disagreement over how to handle amendments.