Word has spread from a pair of major news outlets regarding a draft rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Reportedly, the draft rule proposes the federal delisting of the gray wolf in the continental U.S.

“Information from the Census of Agriculture helps USDA monitor trends and better understand the needs in agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a NASS announcement. “Providing industry stakeholders, community leaders, lawmakers and indi vidual.

Corn plantings across the country have been severely hampered by weather. In 2012, the corn planting progress as of the week ending April 28 stood at 49 percent of the total crop. The fiveyear average for the same week is 31 percent. Compared to both of these numbers, this year’s corn planting has amounted to 5 percent of the expected total.

The April Cattle on Feed report (COF) came out Friday, April 19. The report covers numbers of cattle on feed in feedlots of 1,000 head or greater capacity as of April 1, and the number placed and marketed during March. The biggest surprises came from the number of cattle placed, which was well above both year ago levels and pre-report estimates.

The grassroots organization CommonGround recently released the results of their “Gate-to-Plate” survey. The online survey looked at the buying motivations of over 1,000 moms of school-aged children at the grocery store.

Wednesday, April 17, Assembly Bill 343 was pulled by its author, effectively killing it. The bill would have required documenters of animal cruelty to turn over a copy to local law enforcement within 120 hours (five days) of capture. The Humane Society of the U.

The cash fed cattle trade was slow to develop last week as packers—again suffering losses over $50/head—tried to hold out for improved leverage later in the week.

Overall, meat (beef, pork, chicken, and turkey) production was estimated up compared to the prior month’s report—mostly on declines from beef—while imports were expected to be up and exports were projected to be down. All of this results in a higher-than-anticipated domestic meat supply, upping the per capita availability.

It’s nothing new that consumers are both increasingly interested in how their food is raised and disconnected with the realities of production agriculture. A good number of certifications and assurance programs have arisen to meet this growing trend in consumer interest.

February’s World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA, turned up some potentially helpful new equipment offerings to the world of agriculture. Every year, 10 new products receive one of agricultural equipment’s top honors, the Top 10 New Product Award. Below are four of the 2013 award winners that made WLJ´s.