A news release from the Weed Science Society of America last week covered the results of a study in Arkansas cotton fields to determine the effect over time of releasing 20,000 glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth seeds in a patch, within a 1-square-mile area.

UC research has shown that conservation agriculture practices such as cover cropping and no tillage are generating additional "ecosystem services" in West Side cotton and tomato production.

Corn production is forecast at 10.7 billion bushels, down less than 1 percent from the August forecast and down 13 percent from 2011.

A weed known to many cotton and soybean growers in the South as "pigweed on steroids" has been spotted in Ohio, prompting Ohio State University Extension experts to warn Ohio growers to take measures to prevent its further spread statewide.

Glyphosate herbicide was found in significant levels in Mississippi as part of a U.S. Geological Survey Office (USGS) project, and the findings have been submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency to be used as part of the agency's evaluation of the registration of glyphosate.

U.S. farmers plan to plant 3.99 million (4.5 percent) more corn acres, 3.89 million (8.2 percent) more wheat acres, and 1.59 million (15 percent) more cotton acres than last year.

When the new Republican House majority takes up the farm bill issue, farmers should expect lawmakers to focus on three major areas: Brazil, budget and baseline.