For western Kentucky grain farmer Bill Clift, last week's soaking rains came just in time for his drought-stressed corn crop. Farmers elsewhere in Kentucky also benefited from rains that could prop up yields in the autumn and possibly rejuvenate stagnant pastureland and hay fields to feed hungry cattle. The report Monday said 61 percent of the soybean crop was in good or excellent shape, up from 50 percent in the two categories a week earlier. Still, the state's crops showed signs of...

Department of Agriculture report predicted corn growers would plant 90. Many farmers switched to planting corn at the expense of soybeans. According to Friday's report, the soybeans planted area is estimated at 64. That's the lowest planted and harvested area for soybeans since 1995. Fueled by high demand and high prices for corn, farmers planted an estimated 92. That was well above an earlier government estimate and was 15 percent more than in 2005. Numbers for wheat planting were up,...

But two other crops, switchgrass and hybrid poplar, could steal the show in the future when it comes to curbing greenhouse gases, according to Agricultural Research Service and collaborating scientists. Corn and soybeans may be the current "go-to" crops for producing ethanol and biodiesel, respectively. John Thune has his way, there will be incentives for farmers to produce switchgrass, fast-growing trees and other cellulosic crops and to deliver them to an emerging network of cellulosic...

Local ads and money saving offers. It did not give a breakout number for dogs, but the data suggest that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the food developed kidney failure. The melamine-contaminated ingredient also quickly made its way into farm feed, fish food and human food in the United States and was sold to other countries. As many as 39,000 dogs and cats have been injured or killed by contaminated pet food, according to Banfield Pet Hospitals, which operates 615...

government crop condition ratings to be released late Monday afternoon are likely to illustrate that concerns about short soil moisture supplies in the Corn Belt have recently shifted from the east to the west. Nearby contracts of CBOT soybean futures rose 15 cents a bushel again Monday, adding to last week's 50-cent cash market gains. With domestic plantings fully 15% smaller than a year ago, much of the concern about summer crop conditions is liable to focus on soybeans, where cash...