Charlie Morrey, an ag journalist who grew up on a farm on the Isle of Man, an island off the western coast of England, says European farmers are currently facing unique hurdles, the biggest of which could jeopardize food security in certain regions of Europe. The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries.

The USDA will create an undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs in the USDA, and a new undersecretary will be selected for a newly named Farm Production and Conservation mission area.

Cargill Inc., the top exporter of U.S. grain and oilseeds, said it will reject crops containing a new genetically modified Syngenta AG corn trait that are delivered to its grain elevators for export contracts. Corn seeds containing Syngenta's Agrisure Duracade trait are available for planting in the U.S. for the first time this year after U.S. authorities cleared the trait in 2013.

Crop prices during 2011 were influenced by a wide range of factors that resulted in extremely large trading ranges.

Julius Schaaf, U.S. Grains Council at-large director, says he expects to harvest one of the best corn crops ever on his Randolph, Iowa, farm.