New protocol and software developments are helping farmers put the precision back in “precision agriculture” by making it easier for growers to use previously ineffectual soil and environmental data to manage their crops.

China has announced 11 measures to arouse farmers' enthusiasm for oil-bearing crop production, the Ministry of Agriculture said in Beijing. The measures will be implemented to expand the acreage for oil-bearing crops, raise the unit output and improve product variety.

Recently, researchers at Iowa State University discovered a way to increase the accuracy of a popular crop model. By zeroing in on early stages leading up to kernel formation, scientists believe they can help improve yield predictions across a variety of environmental conditions. The team of scientists reported their findings in the September-October issue of Crop Science.

President Bush has announced the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. At the White House Thursday, the president thanked Johanns for his service to the department.

The nations of Asia and the Pacific are being urged to study the issue of biofuels with greater care before deciding on how they will use their agricultural products to generate energy.

The Yam bean originated where the Andes meet the Amazon and is locally grown in South and Central America, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific. It is produced in three species which are called the Amazonian, Mexican and Andean. Interbreeding of the bean has resulted in fertile and stable hybrids.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held a special session in Rome, Italy, to discuss the impact of climate change on world food security.

Researchers have identified unique proteins that allow a unicellular algae called Dunaliella salina to proliferate in environments with extreme salt content.

An international team of scientists has produced a new type of rice that grows better and uses water more efficiently than other rice crops. Professor Andy Pereira at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) has been working with colleagues in India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Mexico and The Netherlands to identify, characterize and make use of a gene known as HARDY that improves key features of this important grain crop.

Using a novel “deep sequencing” technology that can in one fell swoop decode 50 million sequences representing well over a billion bases of DNA, a research team led by University of Delaware scientists is working to unmask where, why and how certain genes are switched on or off in rice--a crop vital to the world's food supply.

An intensive international effort to improve the nutritional value of cassava — a staple food for millions of poverty stricken people in sub-Sahara Africa and other areas — has led to development of a New form of cassava that may be easier to digest than other varieties.

Yao Shuxin, one of 800 million farmers in China, is leading his village's efforts to transform the mainstay small business in China's agricultural Xuchang district — growing flowers and plants.