All it took was a couple revised forecasts calling for better chances of rain and more moderate temperatures across the Midwest to send corn and soybean futures tumbling. On the other hand, because corn usage will be record large during the next marketing year, a national average yield below 150 bushels will quickly create a tight supply situation. Dry conditions in the northwestern portion of the Corn Belt and pockets of moderate drought in the eastern Corn Belt caused the overall crop...

Over the weekend, workers along with USDA officials trapped the geese and transferred them to a facility where they were euthanized. The County Parks Department said they have tried for 10 years to decrease the geese population through more humane methods, which included scare tactics, no feeding policies, along with treatments to nests that are designed to ward off the geese. They will continue to monitor the number of geese in the park and also use harassment techniques to keep the...

PAUL -- Thanks mostly to higher-than-expected income tax payments and lower-than-expected refunds, Minnesota ended fiscal year 2007 with an unexpected $158. One breed is selected to provide milking cows for each scheduled demonstration milking in the parlor, and to remain for the entire fair. A budget update released Tuesday -- calling the numbers "preliminary and subject to change" -- said the individual income tax outpaced projections made in February. Meanwhile, the authors of the...

However, in my quest to avoid carbs, sodium and extra calories, I often overlooked the much more obvious (foreboding) terms on the front of labels. In the name of healthy eating, our well-meaning government was kind enough to put together a fancy food pyramid as a guideline to what to eat. Although I appreciate their effort, it is too mentally taxing to calculate what counts as a grain or consists of a serving. I stay clear of these and other imposters like apple chips, fruit rollups,...

Those rules had prohibited for human consumption non-ambulatory "downer" cattle and cattle tissue identified as specified risk materials (SRMs); banned the use of high pressure stunning devices that could drive SRM tissue into the meat; and established requirements for Advanced Meat Recovery systems. Under the rule, cattle that are injured after they pass pre-slaughter inspection will be reevaluated to determine their eligibility for slaughter. Those rules had prohibited for human...