There are new reports of aflatoxin in corn and deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat in the U.S., according toNeogen’s Mycotoxin Report on September 19. Diplodia ear rot also has been reported in corn in Michigan and Ohio. [node:read-more:link]

Legislation to fix an unintended consequence of a law enacted earlier this year to modernize the horse racing industry that has held up Pennsylvania Breeders Fund payouts to the thoroughbred horse breeders and owners won House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee approval. House Bill 2303, sponsored by Rep. [node:read-more:link]

 Three hours south of the Field of Dreams, the words of the late W.P. Kinsella were invoked Monday night in front of the Iowa Supreme Court.  Kinsella was the Canadian writer whose novel “Shoeless Joe,” a story of a ghostly baseball player written in in 1978 while he was at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in Iowa City, became the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.” He died Friday at age 81.  Monday night wasn’t primarily a eulogy for the man whose fiction in a roundabout way led 150 or so people to watch a real-life court drama in the Grand Theatre in downtown Keokuk, complete with free cookies. [node:read-more:link]

Eleven of the state's 14 counties have been deemed "primary natural disaster areas" by the United States Department of Agriculture due to substantial crop losses that began with a February deep freeze and continued though a summer marked by severe drought. Farmers in those counties are eligible for low interest emergency loans from the USDA's Farm Service Agency, the USDA said. Farmers have eight months to apply for a loan to help cover part of their losses. [node:read-more:link]

Eggs from small flocks of chickens are more likely to be contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis than eggs sold in grocery stores, which typically come from larger flocks that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This news comes from researchers from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.  That conclusion—which flies in the face of conventional wisdom that eggs from backyard poultry and small local enterprises are safer to eat than "commercially produced" eggs—was drawn from a first-of-its kind, six-month study done last year in Pennsylvania. [node:read-more:link]

t’s been a long election season all across the country, and as presidential candidates have answered questions from voters and media, very few of those questions have centered on the food supply. As the election nears, Penton Agriculture sought to engage the candidates in a discussion about agriculture, including their plans, potential farm bills, trade and more. With all that in mind, we posed the following set of questions to both candidates, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. produce suppliers risk being left behind in key emerging markets if Congress fails to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership, a leading trade official told industry leaders.  [node:read-more:link]

Whole Foods Market says it has launched a series of new environmental efforts related to certain hazardous waste after announcing a settlement deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The EPA said it fined the organic foods giant $3.5 million after finding about a year ago that it wasn’t properly documenting and disposing of returned items of hand sanitizer, vitamins and other products in several states, including Texas. [node:read-more:link]

Merger bids amid the top six seed and chemical companies have been giving farmers cause for worry for months. On Tuesday, Sept. 20, representatives from agribusinesses, farmer organizations and others participated in a Senate Judiciary Hearing on “Consolidation and Competition in the U.S. Seed and Agrochemical Industry.” Here are some highlights of the witness testimony at this hearing.  Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)“It’s no secret that I’ve long been concerned about concentration and competition in the agriculture sector. [node:read-more:link]