July 17 (Reuters) – Efforts to write benefits for biotech
seed companies into U.S. legislation, including the 2013 Farm
Bill, are sparking a backlash from groups that say the multiple
measures would severely limit U.S. oversight of genetically
modified crops.

From online petitions to face-to-face lobbying on Capitol
Hill, an array of consumer and environmental organizations and
individuals are ringing alarm bells over moves they say will
eradicate badly needed safety checks on crops genetically
modified to withstand herbicides, pests and pesticides.

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (Reuters) – Ranchers are rushing to sell off some of their cattle as the worst drought in nearly 25 years dries up pastures, thins hay supplies and sends feed costs sky-rocketing.

The more desperate in the Midwest are hauling water into areas where creeks have run dry and are scrambling to secure scarce and high-priced hay to keep their cattle fed and watered.

WELTON, Iowa (Reuters) – Bob Bowman runs his hand over a slender green corn leaf here on his Iowa farm, and sighs.

“This corn should be as high as my head right now, and it is only waist high,” he says, as a cool morning breeze belies the 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures forecast to descend by afternoon in Welton, Iowa.

MYSTIC, Iowa (Reuters) – Scorching heat and rain-less skies continued to frustrate U.S. Midwestern farmers on Wednesday, with damage to the corn and soybean crops growing more dire by the day.

“There are a lot of people thinking of chopping their corn up and feeding it to cows,” said University of Missouri Professor of Plant Sciences William Wiebold.

MYSTIC, Iowa, July 11 (Reuters) – Scorching heat and
rain-less skies continued to frustrate U.S. Midwestern farmers
on Wednesday, with damage to the corn and soybean crops growing
more dire by the day.

“There are a lot of people thinking of chopping their corn
up and feeding it to cows,” said University of Missouri
Professor of Plant Sciences William Wiebold.

RIDGEWAY, Missouri, July 11 (Reuters) – Scorching
temperatures and dry skies continue to frustrate U.S. Midwestern
farmers on Wednesday, with damage to the corn and soybean crops
growing more dire by the day.

“There are a lot of people thinking of chopping their corn
up and feeding it to cows,” said University of Missouri
Professor of Plant Sciences William Wiebold.

By Carey Gillam

(Reuters) – Opening arguments were underway Tuesday in a potentially pivotal legal battle between agricultural giants Monsanto and DuPont over Monsanto’s control of a popular seed technology worth billions of dollars.

The rivals have been fighting for years and the trial in federal court in St. Louis represents only part of an ongoing argument over the use of lucrative seed technology that makes soybeans, corn and other crops tolerant of glyphosate-based herbicide, letting farmers spray the weed killer directly over the crops.

July 10 (Reuters) – People in the United States and other
advanced nations consume an average of 1,200 calories per day
more than those in low-income countries, but even in these
wealthy nations food supplies lack enough micro-nutrients,
according to a report issued on Tuesday.

The “Global Food Security Index” found that the United
States, Denmark, Norway and France led the world in food
security thanks to ample supplies, high incomes, low costs for
food relative to other expenditure and significant research and
development concentrated on food production.

BLOOMING GROVE, Texas (Reuters) – Texas cattle rancher Gary Price knows what it is like to worry about water.

With 2,500 acres of rough range land situated about an hour south of Dallas, Price relies on rain-fed soils to provide the hearty grass forage he needs to fatten his cattle. When the animals are sold at grocery meat counters, every pound of flesh spells potential profit for Price’s family.

By Carey Gillam

(Reuters) – Global agribusiness Monsanto Co (MON.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as net revenue grew 17 percent to $4.2 billion on gains in sales of seeds and genetic traits and surprising strength in herbicides.

Sales of corn seed and genetic traits jumped 35 percent in the third quarter, which ended May 31, while soybean sales rose 15 percent to $698 million, the company said.