Perdue names leadership in acting roles as USDA reorganization takes shape

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has named three individuals who will take on leadership roles as the U.S. Department of Agriculture continues the reorganization announced on May 11, 2017 . In accordance with a directive in the 2014 Farm Bill, USDA created a new Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs as part of a realignment of several mission areas.

Rain delays Australia wheat harvest, could dampen exports

SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, Nov 10 Rain is delaying the wheat harvest in parts of Australia, threatening to disrupt deliveries from the world's No.4 exporter of the grain to key markets such as India and Indonesia. Expecting a near-record crop of close to 30 million tonnes, exporters had sold new-crop wheat for shipment in November and December.

EDITORIAL: Republican tolerance of Sid Miller is evidence of declining American values

For all those voters out there confident in their decisions as they stroll into local polling places, we offer no further evidence of how mistaken many of these same voters have been in the past than Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. It's easy for some Republicans to laugh him off as GOP comedy relief, but a lot of folks in the agricultural industry haven't been laughing since GOP primary voters in 2014 bypassed two eminently qualified Republican candidates and instead chose this rodeo cowboy to oversee our state's farming and ranching sectors.

Officials survey crop damages

Hurricane Matthew might have been the death knell for many Eastern North Carolina farmers, according to federal officials touring devastated farms Thursday in Edgecombe County. U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-1st District, said many farmers were already operating at a margin when the storm blew into town in early October.

Sanders Takes Aim at Insulin Makers in Latest Price Attack

Makers of insulin became the latest target for Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been going after pharmaceutical companies one by one over the issue of high U.S. drug prices. Shares of Eli Lilly & Co.

Massive Oklahoma manhunt ends with fugitive suspect dead

A western Oklahoma county sheriff says the manhunt is over for Michael Dale Vance Jr., a suspect in a string of violent crimes. A massive, weeklong manhunt for a suspect in a string of violent crimes, including the killing of two relatives, the shooting of three law enforcement officers and multiple carjackings, has ended in a police chase and... Authorities say investigators found three people shot to death outside a rural home in central Kansas, and an unharmed 18-month-old child was found inside.

Big producers like General Mills, Organic Valley get creative with organic food

Wild prairie grasses and wooden signs advertising handwoven rugs dot the roadside leading to the home of the nation's largest organic cooperative. The barn-style headquarters of Organic Valley, off a serpentine byway and tucked in the hills of southwest Wisconsin, feels far away.

Magistrate hears arguments in beef checkoff lawsuit

The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America - or R-CALF USA - filed a lawsuit this spring questioning the fact that half of the $1-per-head "beef checkoff" fee is given to the privately incorporated Montana Beef Council. R-CALF argues that its producers are being forced to subsidize the council's promotions, which do not distinguish between domestic and foreign beef.

Central PA Food Bank

The Bethesda Mission serves hundreds of the city's hungry and homeless every day, and being a Christian-based ministry, faith is the critical part of its purpose. "We don't force our faith on anybody, but we do expect anybody who's here is going to show a bit of respect to us and we're going to respect them, that's for sure," executive director Chuck Wingate said.

USDA designates Pointe Coupee Parish as a disaster area

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Pointe Coupee Parish as a primary natural disaster area due to damages and losses caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred in August. Farmers and ranchers in Avoyelles, Concordia, Iberville, St. Landry, St. Martin, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana parishes also qualify for national disaster assistance because their areas are contiguous.

The Latest: Kansas officials praise American Royal move

The new Kansas home for the American Royal horse and livestock exhibition is being planned as a $160 million project that includes arenas, a museum and an agricultural education centre. American Royal officials and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced Tuesday that the Royal plans to move from Kansas City, Missouri, to the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.