Mexico denies request for pilot GMO corn plots
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Mexico have denied an application from seed giant Monsanto Co. to expand to pilot planting projects of genetically modified (GMO) corn in northern Mexico, arguing that more experimental planting is needed to ensure the GMO crops won’t affect native corn varieties.
The head of Mexico’s inter-agency commission on GMO crops said more small, strictly-controlled experimental plots are needed in order to decide on whether the crops can be grown in the birthplace of corn. Reynaldo Alvarez Morales said companies will have to plan at least another cycle of small plots of about two acres before they can move on to “pilot” plots of as much as 124 acres.

Key China wheat growing province hit by drought
BEIJING (AP) — A report says China’s key wheat growing province of Shandong is facing its worst drought in 60 years. The dry conditions plaguing Shandong and other important agricultural provinces may put further pressure on food prices that have been rising steadily for months.

In Shandong, drought has hit more than half of the land normally used to grow wheat, or about five million acres, and that number is rising. The China Daily newspaper reported Jan. 24 that 240,000 people already have lost access to drinking water and are forced to await deliveries by fire trucks.

The paper said dry weather and higher than average temperatures are forecast well into spring. Large parts of southern China, meanwhile, continue to be gripped by snow.

USDA to measure financial health of farms
REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is contacting farmers and ranchers across the nation to conduct the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). This will provide them an opportunity to provide accurate, real-world data that will help shape the policies, programs and issues that affect them.

“ARMS asks a small, but representative, sample of farmers about their operation in order to understand the current financial state of U.S. agriculture,” said James Ramey, director of the NASS Ohio field office.

Between early February and late March NASS field offices will contact 35,000 farmers nationwide by mail or personal interview to complete the survey. Producers will be asked to provide data on their operating expenditures, production costs and household characteristics.

As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. The economic data will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on Aug. 2. All NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov

High court rejects farmer who tangled with Tyson
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The Supreme Court on Jan. 24 turned down an appeal from a former Tennessee poultry farmer who sued Tyson Farms after losing his contract to raise their chickens.

The justices did not comment in turning away Alton Terry, who said Tyson cut him off because he helped organize area farmers and complained about the company’s practices. Lower courts had previously dismissed the lawsuit.
Terry, essentially, argued that he lost his contract to raise chickens on his 12-acre farm, because he squawked too much. He was a poultry farmer who brought together a group of area farmers and told them they had the right to complain about Tyson’s practices. He also raised concerns directly with Tyson, among the world’s largest meat companies.

Tyson, a unit of Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, Inc., had urged the court to stay out of the lawsuit, arguing that the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati properly dismissed it. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said the company was not surprised at the high court’s action. Tyson denied Terry’s claims, “which we believe would have been ultimately disproven had the case gone to trial,” Mickelson said.

16 Illinois counties named agricultural disaster areas

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois farmers will be eligible for federal aid now that 16 counties have been declared agricultural disaster areas.
The declaration is based on drought that damaged crops last year in southern and eastern Illinois. The state Agriculture Department said last week that rainfall from August-November of last year was more than two inches below normal.

The declaration means farmers in those counties and seven adjoining counties can apply for financial assistance, including low-interest loans. The 16 counties included in the disaster declaration are Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wayne, White and Williamson.

The adjoining counties eligible for aid are Clay, Jefferson, Marion, Perry, Randolph, Richland and Wabash.

USDA asked: Does organic mean outdoor?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Organic activists are pushing federal regulators to revise rules on how the hens that lay organic eggs should be treated.
The USDA’s current rules require organic livestock to spend time outdoors where they can engage in what the agency calls “natural behavior.” The rules don’t specify how much space the animals should have or what it should be like.

Some organic farmers give their hens time to scratch and peck in pastures. But on many big farms, the hens spend their time in the fresh air on concrete patios and in other enclosures. Mark Kastel of The Cornucopia Institute said that’s not what consumers have in mind when they buy organic eggs.

A USDA spokeswoman said it has not yet decided whether to take up the matter.