Eighty-four percent of the soybean acreage is blooming, compared with 72 percent last year and 73 percent for the average. However, conditions remain dry in some areas because of minimal precipitation in recent weeks, especially in some of the eastern regions of the state. Thirty-nine percent of the soybean acreage is setting pods, compared with 27 percent last year and 32 percent for the average. Ninety-four percent of the corn acreage has silked, compared with 85 percent last year and 82...

Advocates for black farmers have pressed for years to waive the deadline, saying many farmers didn't know about it or were denied standing on technicalities. The bill, which passed the House Friday, could lead to a new class-action lawsuit from farmers who missed an earlier deadline and also would open a streamlined process for farmers to seek expedited awards capped at $50,000. WASHINGTON (AP) The farm bill moving through Congress would reopen a landmark discrimination settlement that...

Export revenue from agriculture biotechnology has grown to $11. The environmental protection act of 1986 lays the foundation for India s biotechnology regulatory framework, which involves a hierarchy of monitoring committees, it added. The USDA report said, the continuing legal issues pertaining to the pricing of Bt cotton seed are likely to be detrimental to technology transfer and foreign direct investment in India s biotechnology sector. The report, titled India biotechnology and...

Congress could reopen cases of USDA bias Records show black farmers largely unpaid By Mike Hasten mhasten@gannett.com BATON ROUGE Facing years of discrimination by the federal Department of Agriculture, then being shortchanged after a court ruling against the USDA, many black farmers lost their land or quit farming in frustration. Congress could reopen cases of USDA bias Records show black farmers largely unpaid By Mike Hasten mhasten@gannett.com BATON ROUGE Facing years of discrimination...

House last week would limit eligibility for federal farm payments to farmers and ranchers making less than $1 million a year in adjusted gross income. Those figures translate to an estimated 22 South Dakota farmers with adjusted gross incomes of $1 million or more who could potentially lose payments if the House version of the farm bill is adopted, according to Thune's staff. Nationally, about 70 percent of farmers with adjusted gross incomes of $100,000 or more do not receive government...

With the average planted corn acreage over the past 15 years at about 78 million acres, the market's dilemma was finding a source for all the extra acres needed, he said. The increase in intended acres for corn was partially offset by fewer expected acres of soybeans and cotton, the USDA said. In an interesting twist, soybean and cotton prices have rallied to levels not seen since the middle of 2004 and wheat has climbed beyond its 1996 levels. All the while, China was cutting back on its...