Proposed food safety legislation calls for a full history of the food. That means every point in the supply chain, from the feed additive producers to the retailers who sell consumers their dinner, will have to communicate with each other about every step in the creation, production, packaging and transport of that product.

Fifteen to 18 head of cattle grazing near the abandoned Lanes Creek phosphate mine in Caribou County, ID, died in early August from suspected acute selenium poisoning, the USDAs poisonous plant research lab in Logan, UT, reported recently.

Russia may remove from its list of eligible exporters 15 U.S. beef companies if officials in Washington, D.C., do not supply adequate information to guarantee they meet standards set forward by the Russian government, according to a report by the Interfax News Agency.

Kansas State University (K-State) veterinarian Dan Thomson believes that the U.S. beef industry is doing a lot of things right when it comes to animal welfare but that theres plenty more work to do when it comes to perceptions and realities about animal welfare.

Agricultural groups are doing more forms of outreach on climate change and asking farmers to voice their views on climate legislation and its potential impacts. Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), attended a meeting with international farm leaders in Iceland last week to speak about the climate legislation in Con- gress.

Bluegrass hybrids ideal for pasture and for lawns could be developed faster using genetic markers developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist.

Equine owners should be extra vigilant for signs of pigeon fever in their horses, according to Colorado State University(CSU) veterinarians at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. A spike in reported cases of this infectious disease has been reported in the northern Front Range of Colorado.

Mason Fleenor may squint a little when checking pens, but he certainly sees 20/20 when it comes to selecting top-quality cattle. The Iowa seedstock producer and manager of GG Genetics feedlot picked out 41 of his own steers to win the northeast regions AngusSource Carcass Challenge (ASCC) second quarter title for 2009, with 90.

USDA officials are going to hold conference calls with major agricultural lenders this week, asking those banks and Farm Credit institutions to give struggling farmers more latitude in paying loans.

Crop conditions over much of the U.S. are quite favorable at this point in the year. The far-western U.S. is turning dry again, as South Texas and the western half of the Gulf Coast slip into extremely dry conditions.