RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — A Texas-based company that develops wind farms is eyeing parts of three east-central Indiana counties as possible sites for one or more wind farms.

Representatives of Houston-based EDP Renewable told the Wayne County commissioners last week the company will study parts of Wayne, Randolph and Henry counties as possible wind farm locations.

EDP Project Manager Jeffrey Nemeth told the commissioners the company might build one wind farm in each county or one that straddles all three, but it’s also possible the firm could decide not to build in the area.

The Palladium-Item reported Nemeth said any development is in the early stages and "there’s a lot of studying to do." EDP has already built one wind farm in Randolph County. The Headwaters Wind Farm was completed in December.

DETROIT, Mich. (AP) — A court has ruled in favor of a former Michigan congressman whose family farm has been cut off from federal crop payments since 2009 because of a two-acre wetlands dispute in Hillsdale County.

The appeals court said the USDA "demonstrated a disregard for its own regulations" in a case involving former Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Smith. The 80-year-old served on the House Agriculture Committee before he retired in 2005.

In 2009, USDA accused Smith of converting a wetland for crop production and stopped him from receiving crop subsidies and other payments. The appeals court is sending the case back to USDA.

In a 3-0 decision April 1, the court, among other things, said the government didn’t consider evidence that the alterations had little effect on surrounding wetlands.

MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Moline firefighters worked about 12 hours to save dozens of cattle from an overturned semi-trailer early Friday.

The Quad-City Times reported a trucker carrying 80 feeder cattle – each worth about $900 – overturned at about 1:45 a.m. as he pulled his rig onto Interstate 74 from John Deere Road. Moline Fire Capt. Mick Dochtermann was first on the scene with a group of firefighters.

Some cattle were killed; others were trapped. The rest escaped and roamed the area. Of 80 animals on the truck, 58 were saved. Dochtermann said rescue teams cut a hole in the top of the trailer and pulled the cows out.

Roger Schone operates Schone’s Equine Rescue. He was called about 2 a.m. and rounded up trailers. The rescued cattle were examined by a veterinarian.

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — Forest City authorities said crews spent hours dragging burning bales of cornstalks away from buildings on a farm operated by the governor’s family.

Fire Chief Mark Johnson told the Mason City Globe-Gazette several hundred round bales of stalks were found burning between two buildings on Branstad Farms the morning of April 1. The farm is about four miles south of Forest City. It’s operated by Gov. Terry Branstad’s brother and his nephews.

Crews let the bales burn out. No injuries were reported and buildings weren’t damaged. Johnson said officials aren’t sure what caused the blaze but believe winds may have re-ignited a trash fire from a few days earlier.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Inspired by the popular "USDA organic" label, House Republicans are proposing a new government certification for foods free of genetically modified ingredients.

The idea is part of an attempt to block mandatory labeling of foods that include genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The certification would be voluntary, said Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.). He said a government-certified label would allow companies that want to advertise their foods as GMO-free to do so, but it would not be mandatory for others.

The food industry, which backs Pompeo’s bill, has strongly opposed individual state efforts to require labeling, saying labels would be misleading because GMOs are safe. The bill would also override any state laws that require the labeling.

Under the proposed legislation, the Agriculture Department would oversee the certification, as it does with organics. But while organic foods must be USDA-certified to carry any organic label on a package, the USDA non-GMO certification would not be required for every food that bills itself as non-GMO.

The idea is that the USDA-certified non-GMO foods would have a special government label that companies could use to market their foods. The bill also steps up Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of GMO foods.

Pompeo said inconsistent state laws would be confusing and costly for consumers and for companies. Vermont became the first state to require the labeling in 2014, and that will go into effect next year if it survives a legal challenge from the food industry.

He said he is working with his party’s leadership and also the Senate to try to pass the bill this year.

The FDA says GMOs on the market now are safe, but consumer advocates pushing for the labeling say shoppers have a right to know what is in their food, arguing that not enough is known about the effects of the technology. They have supported several state efforts to require labeling, with the eventual goal of having a federal standard.

Pompeo introduced a similar bill last year that did not include the Agriculture Department certification.