Tyson Foods to invest $320M in new chicken plant in Kansas

Tyson Foods Inc. will invest $320 million in a new chicken-processing plant in northeastern Kansas employing 1,600 people so that it can keep up with a growing consumer demand for fresh poultry, the company and state officials announced Tuesday. The Smithfield, Arkansas-based meat-producer unveiled its plans during a news conference in Tonganoxie with Gov. Sam Brownback and other state and local officials.

‘Smothered’ and ‘shoved aside’ in rural America

"Come on! Come on! Go girls!" Annette Sweeney was on horseback, hollering at her chocolate-colored cows on a perfect Iowa morning, happy that her life is better since Donald Trump became president. Sweeney, 60, raises Angus cows and corn on the flat, green farmland of central Iowa.

U.S. not getting kids to eat veggies, critique of claim says

The Department of Agriculture has invested seven years and several million dollars in a popular program that claims it gets students to eat significantly more fruits and vegetables. But as a recent critique of the research behind the program reveals, "significantly more" often means an amount as small as a single bite of an apple.

‘Worthless’ Subway ‘Footlong’ sandwich settlement is thrown out: U.S. court

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday threw out a class-action settlement intended to resolve claims that the Subway sandwich chain deceived customers by selling "Footlong" subs that were less than a foot long. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago called the settlement "utterly worthless," even as it rewarded the customers' lawyers for convincing Subway it was better to make the case go away than fight.

Top Drug Manufacturer To Florida: Don’t Use Our Drugs For Executions

A subsidiary company of Johnson & Johnson , the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, came out in protest Monday against Florida using its drugs to perform lethal injection executions. Florida resorted to using J&J's etomidate anesthetic after the state ran out of the more traditional sedative midazolam earlier this year.

Optimism in advance of Ohio crop harvest

Though some of Ohio's corn and soybean farmers might be pessimistic about this year's yield, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not. Despite the excessive rain that fell in Ohio and the necessary replanting for many, sometimes multiple times, the USDA has a reasonably sunny prediction for Ohio's average yield on corn, soybeans and wheat.

Senators: Federal purchase to help NY concord grape growers

Concord grape growers in New York are getting a boost from the federal government, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture planning to buy juice for nutrition programs. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand say the USDA will use up to $18 million to purchase surplus grape juice, which will help stabilize prices farmers receive.

As prairies turn to ash, cowboys mull help

Travis Brown, 33, of Sand Springs Mont., stands next to a fence at a cattle corral while waiting for local cowboys to divert some of his cattle into a trailer.Tim Craig/The Washington Post Travis Brown, 33, of Sand Springs Mont., stands next to a fence at a cattle corral while waiting for local cowboys to divert some of his cattle into a trailer.Tim Craig/The Washington Post SAND SPRINGS, Mont. - In this part of Montana's rugged eastern prairie, Erwin Weder and the other ranchers and cowboys are not used to feeling kicked around.

Farm income could be lowest in 12 years, falls by more than half

Farm income this year could be the lowest since 2006, a reflection of low commodity prices, exporting issues and in some places, lousy weather. Nationwide, net farm income has fallen by more than half since 2013, and it's expected to drop another 6.7% this year - to the lowest level since 2006, according to the Department of Agriculture.