A group led by Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States has filed a federal lawsuit against the American Egg Board and the Agriculture Department over what they claim is an unlawful expenditure of $3 million of Egg Board funds to campaign against Proposition 2, the California ballot initiative that addresses farm animal housing. More>>

Deere & Co. turned in fiscal third-quarter earnings that disappointed Wall Street on Wednesday with surging raw-material prices also pointing to weaker fourth-quarter profit numbers, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. More>>

The Olympic Summer Games in Beijing are contributing to decreased pork consumption in China as citizens stay home to watch television, avoid restaurants in Beijing and have fewer street hawkers from which to buy pork snacks as China attempts to puts its best foot forward for tourists, according to an article by Joel Hagard, the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s senior vice president, Asia Pacific Region. More>>

Despite June’s severe flooding in the Midwest, farmers are on pace to produce the second largest corn crop and the fourth-largest soybean crop in history, according to the Agriculture Department’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) released today. More>>

Two important deadlines are looming for Farm Service Agency crop protection assistance. The first, Sept. 16, is the deadline for producers to sign up for new permanent disaster programs which are more comprehensive than past programs that took an ad-hoc approach. More>>

Moody’s Investors Service has rated the outlook for the U.S. food industry as “negative” for the next 12 months to 18 months. Analysts with the firm made the projection based on expectations that 2009 commodity prices will further surpass historical averages resulting in pressure on profit margins and putting cash flow at risk for most companies. More>>