U.S. Department Of Agriculture

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Washington Elementary second grade student Alexis Pace pours a bag of brown sugar into a bowl under the watchful eye of volunteer Terry SyWassink in Melissa Coss’ classroom Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014 in Muscatine, Iowa. All three second grade classes spent the morning mixing up dough for approximately 2400 monster cookies. The children got a loan from a bank for ingredients, then gathered orders for cookies they baked Thursday. After paying off the loan, the money raised will go toward field trips and student projects. (AP Photo/The Muscatine Journal, Beth Van Zandt)

USDA tells Americans: Stay off the cookie dough

By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times

Many of the pumpkins that are the cornerstones of festivals and events financed by tax dollars were grown with the assistance of pricey farm subsidies. (Associated Press)

Golden Hammer: Taxpayers fund pumpkin patches, hay rides, fall festivals

By Drew Johnson - The Washington Times

** FILE** Pink salmon swim in the White River near Buckley, Wash. (Associated Press)

USDA to buy up to $13M in canned pink salmon

Associated Press

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2014 file photo first lady Michelle Obama and a young student show off their muscles as they eat healthy snacks during a visit to La Petite Academy in Bowie, Md., to encourage healthy habits at preschool as part of her Let's Move! Child Care program. First ladies typically avoid getting into public scraps, but Obama is in the biggest fight of her tenure as she pushes back against a House Republican effort to soften a key component of the anti-childhood obesity effort at the center of her legacy. And she says she is ready “to fight until the bitter end,” if that is what it takes. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Feds tout school lunches as ‘national security issue’

By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times

** FILE ** In this Aug. 26, 2011, photo, a sign notifies customers that EBT (or Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards can be used at a store in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/The Argus Leader, Jay Pickthorn)

Golden Hammer: Food stamps sold online for art, housing and cash

By Kellan Howell - The Washington Times

(AP Photo/ File)

Raising a kid will cost you $245,000. Here are 12 things that cost the same

By Herb Scribner - Deseret News

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko inspects soybeans in Mazar-e Sharif. Afghan farmers produced negligible amounts of soy, and the sustainability of the major soybean processing facility is in serious doubt because there is not enough product for the facility to be economically viable. Some soybeans have had to be shipped in by the U.S.

Golden Hammer: U.S. squandered $34 million on failed Afghanistan soybean project

By Kellan Howell - The Washington Times

In this Aug. 24, 2011 photo, feral hogs walk in a holding pen at Easton View Outfitters in Valley Falls, N.Y. Wildlife officials in New York are devising a strategy to stop wild hogs from proliferating to the point where they&#8217;re impossible to eradicate, as they&#8217;ve become in southern states where roaming droves have devastated crops and wildlife habitat with their rooting, wallowing and voracious foraging. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

‘Pork’ spending may curb invasive wild hogs

By Jim McElhatton - The Washington Times

Collins Zoo loses appeal for license reinstatement

Associated Press

Number of farms, ranches declined in 2013

Associated Press

Number of farms, ranches remained stable in 2013

Associated Press

FILE - This Oct. 5, 2011 file satellite photo provided by NASA shows algae blooms on Lake Erie. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announces a new program under which the federal government will spend $1.2 billion over five years supporting conservation projects designed by universities, private companies, nonprofits and other local partners. An April, 2013, study said the warming climate and modern farming practices are creating ideal conditions for gigantic algae formations on Lake Erie. (AP Photo/NASA, File)

USDA seeks partnerships to protect soil, water

By JOHN FLESHER - Associated Press

Corn planting up, all crops still behind average

Associated Press

USDA Rural Development has $11M for home purchases

Associated Press

MSU gets $2.7M for food security, production

Associated Press

ND Rural Development head to lead national effort

Associated Press

State court allows ‘pink slime’ lawsuit to proceed

By REGINA GARCIA CANO - Associated Press

FILE-- In this Sept. 22, 2010, file photo, egg industry executive Austin “Jack” DeCoster testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on a nationwide outbreak of salmonella. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday, May, 21, 2014, charged DeCoster and his son Peter DeCoster with introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, a misdemeanor. A charging document says the pair sold shell eggs contaminated with the strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak, which sickened thousands. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, file)

US charges egg company, 2 execs in 2010 outbreak

By RYAN J. FOLEY - Associated Press

Ag agency targets rural poverty in W.Va., Va.

Associated Press