Congress hoped for something different in the 2002 farm bill, when lawmakers required the Agriculture Department to prepare a long-range agricultural trade strategy. Auditors, though, believe that the Agriculture Department has hurt itself by failing to establish a "focused global strategy" despite congressional orders. It's an unresolved fight, escalating just as California lawmakers try to boost federal spending on fruit and vegetable exports. Agriculture Department officials retorted in...

That appears to be 12 million acres more than last year when 78 million acres were in corn. If the numbers are accurate (there is always the chance some acres might not be able to swim, Brother Jim) over 90 million acres are projected to be planted to corn. For at least six weeks prior to the release of the report, traders, hedgers, merchandisers, and farmers were trying to get a handle on the 2007 crop acres for corn, soybeans, and wheat. If you deduct 6-8 million acres for silage the...

The USDA said because soybean and corn are quite often interchangeable in parts of the Midwest and South, farmers have dropped beans to go with corn because corn prices have all but doubled over the last year. The USDA estimates US demand for corn for ethanol production will rise 50 per cent to 3.2 billion bushels of the possible record total figure of over 13. Why has this happened? The doubling in the corn prices over the past year and increasing yields means farmers get more from the...

Farmers employed to write soil and water conservation plans and schedule the implementation of the best management practices in these plans for their fellow farmers understand cropping patterns, farming issues and financial limitations. There are many farmers with small operations who cannot survive without off-farm employment and many seek positions with health insurance for their families. A, and co-sponsored by 32 other delegates, means that when MDA starts hiring new field employees to...

In response to two outbreaks of Salmonella in 2001 and 2004 traced to raw almonds grown in California, the Almond Board of California and the USDA have quietly developed a new regulation mandating that all almonds undergo a sterilization process that includes chemical and/or high-temperature treatments. In response to two outbreaks of Salmonella in 2001 and 2004 traced to raw almonds grown in California, the Almond Board of California and the USDA have quietly developed a new regulation...

Farmers indicated in the USDA report that they intend to plant almost 2.5 million more acres of corn than the trade was expecting. If those acres hold up in the June 29 acreage report and growing conditions are favorable, then the high in the corn market probably has been established. It is more likely, given current strong soybean prices and high fertilizer costs, that corn acres will be less than the 90. These lower prices could be an opportunity to buy call options on new crop already...