Researchers seek genes that control wheat yield

University of California-Davis plant geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky examines one of the wheat plants being raised in an indoor growth chamber. Photo courtesy of Karin Higgins/UC Davis DAVIS, CALIFORNIA, U.S. - With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture , researchers are attempting to identify and characterize the genes controlling wheat yield.

Perdue Is Trump’s Lead Pick for Agriculture Secretary

Sonny Perdue III, the former governor of Georgia, is president-elect Donald Trump's leading candidate to be his U.S. secretary of agriculture, according to a person familiar with the matter. Perdue, 70, would succeed secretary Tom Vilsack.

UPDATE 1-U.S. scrambles to clear egg exports to bird flu-hit Korea

U.S. officials are urgently seeking an agreement with South Korea that would allow imports of American eggs so farmers can cash in on a shortage caused by the Asian country's worst-ever outbreak of bird flu. The two sides are negotiating over terms of potential shipments after South Korea lifted a ban on imports of U.S. table eggs that it imposed when the United States grappled with its own bout of bird flu last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Trump talks Agriculture position with former TX lawmaker

Bonilla made his comments Friday after traveling to Florida for a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, telling reporters that the meeting "went very well" and that he remains under consideration for the post. "I didn't ask him about other interviews or who else has been through here but I sense that they're close to making a decision, they've got quite a few people, that's my understanding."

USDA announces new conservation farmland transfer policy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a new policy designed to allow farmers to take land out of a conservation program early if it is to be transferred to the next generation of farmers. Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam says beginning Jan. 9, the USDA will offer an early termination opportunity for certain Conservation Reserve Program contracts.

Obama names Utah, Nevada monuments despite opposition

President Barack Obama designated two national monuments Wednesday at sites in Utah and Nevada that have become key flashpoints over use of public land in the U.S. West, marking the administration's latest move to protect environmentally sensitive areas in its final days. The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah will cover 1.35 million acres in the Four Corners region, the White House said.

Letter writer fears return to 19th century rape of land

Donald Trump's pick of fossil fuel-friendly Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency means we can finally start plundering the planet again without regard to the consequences. Let's emulate the regulation-free 19th century when we raped and pillaged the environment to enrich the greedy robber barons - the 1 percent of their day.

Election system susceptible to rigging despite red flags

Jill Stein's bid to recount votes in Pennsylvania was in trouble even before a federal judge shot it down Dec. 12. That's because the Green Party candidate's effort stood almost no chance of detecting potential fraud or error in the vote - there was basically nothing to recount. Pennsylvania is one of 11 states where the majority of voters use antiquated machines that store votes electronically, without printed ballots or other paper-based backups that could be used to double-check the balloting.

Recounts or no, U.S. elections are still vulnerable to hacking

Jill Stein's bid to recount votes in Pennsylvania was in trouble even before a federal judge shot it down Dec. 12. That's because the Green Party candidate's effort stood almost no chance of detecting potential fraud or error in the vote - there was basically nothing to recount. Pennsylvania is one of 11 states where the majority of voters use antiquated machines that store votes electronically, without printed ballots or other paper-based backups that could be used to double-check the balloting.

Legal Loophole Lets Feds Delete Tons Of Official Records

A loophole in federal law allows Environmental Protection Agency employees and other federal workers get away with deleting millions of official records created using cellphone text messaging, according to government transparency experts. The Federal Records Act and EPA policy allow individual employees who create and receive cell phone text messages to decide whether a particular one constitutes a federal record before deleting or preserving it.

Almond drink? Soy juice? Some lawmakers want to crack down on what can be sold as ‘milk’

A group of more than 20 U.S. legislators sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration demanding it require the makers of soy milk, almond milk and rice milk to drop "milk" from the label of anything that doesn't come directly from an animal. In the latest salvo in a nearly two-decades-old fight over what should and shouldn't be called milk, a group of more than 20 U.S. legislators sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration demanding it require the makers of soy milk, almond milk and rice milk to drop "milk" from the label of anything that doesn't come directly from an animal.