Rice producers have made two reasonable requests throughout the farm bill process: to provide farmers risk management options and to ensure that the options include real price protection....More

Rare-wine collectors are savvy, competitive guys with a taste for impossible finds. The biggest hoax in history took place right under their noses....More

The California table grape season kicked off strong, with initial shipments of grapes coming out of the Coachella Valley. Shipments from the Coachella Valley will continue into July as the harvest moves up the state to the San Joaquin Valley. The 2012 season is expected to run from May through January 2013....More

It’s hard for the cotton market to ignore nearly 74 million bales of supply. That’s one reason why cotton analysts say cotton futures dropped precipitously in early May, despite China continuing to buy cotton to add to its reserves....More

Tall, waving corn fields may one day be replaced by dwarfed versions that require less water, fertilizer and other inputs, thanks to a fungicide commonly used on golf courses....More

President Abraham Lincoln established the USDA 150 years ago. In creating USDA, President Lincoln knew that agriculture provided for a stable and secure society—hence the moniker “The People’s Department.”...More

Mr. Smith, who runs a trail-riding operation and captures many horses to limit the herd size and protect the newly abandoned "dumpouts" from harm, thinks there is a solution that makes many people uncomfortable: the slaughterhouse....More

No one saw this magnitude of cotton downturn coming. Rain has also returned, and while needed and good for the crop, this combined with continued bearish economic news has really hammered the cotton market....More

If approved, mandatory biotech labeling in California would require all foods to be labeled by July 1, 2014, if produced using genetically engineered (GE) crops. Also, GE foods would be prohibited from being advertised as "natural." Restaurants, direct public sales and dairies would be exempt from the requirement. Such a labeling requirement would essentially ban the sale of tens of thousands of common grocery products in California unless they are specially repackaged and relabeled just for that state....More

Newly appointed Cotton Board members are Aaron A. Barcellos, a producer from Los Banos, Calif., and Roger C. Glaspey, an importer from Fresno, Calif. They will serve terms expiring on Dec. 31, 2014....More