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<dc:date>2009-11-06T23:43+34:00
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  <rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/pnpr4509.pdf                                                                    " />
  <rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/dppr4409.pdf                                                                    " />
  <rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/agpr1009.pdf                                                                    " />
  <rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/prog4509.pdf                                                                    " />
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<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091105.htm">
<title>Sweetpotatoes Get High-Tech Help</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091105.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       




ARS computational molecular biologist Brian
Scheffler is heading an effort to create a genomics toolkit to help plant
breeders develop new varieties of sweetpotato, the world's seventh most
important food crop. Click the image for more information about
it.






Discovery may solve
devastating rust fungus issue for bean growers 
&nbsp;
Sweet potato puree adds
to bottom line
&nbsp;
State-of-the-art
technology being applied to agricultural problems




Sweetpotatoes Get High-Tech Help 
By Jan Suszkiw
November 5, 2009 An Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
computational molecular biologist in Mississippi is launching a project to
create a genomics toolkit to help plant breeders develop new varieties of
sweetpotato.
Brian
Scheffler and his colleagues will use the state-of-the-art equipment at the
ARS Genomics
and Bioinformatics Research Unit in Stoneville, Miss., to develop and
locate DNA markers on the 90 chromosomes of sweetpotato.
Sweetpotato, the world&#146;s seventh most important food crop, is extremely
important to global food security, according to Scheffler. Yet very little
genomics information is available in a form that sweetpotato breeders can use
to develop new varieties for enhanced nutrition or improved resistance to
stresses brought about by climate change, adverse environmental conditions, or
pests and diseases.
Scheffler will receive $120,000 in funding through the agency&#146;s 2010
T.W. Edminster Award to pay for a two-year postdoctoral research associate to
work with him on the sweetpotato project. The award, named for a former ARS
administrator, enables postdoctoral researchers to work closely with
experienced scientists in their fields of interest, as well as conduct
high-priority research on pressing agricultural issues. The Edminster Award is
presented to the highest-ranked research proposal among 50 proposals selected
for funding through ARS&#146; annual Postdoctoral Research Associates Program.
ARS scientists submitted 450 proposals to this year&#146;s program.
In addition to creating genetic maps of sweetpotato, Scheffler and his
postdoctoral associate will use a high-throughput DNA sequencer to develop a
sweetpotato microarray for studying where, when and how certain genes are
expressed. Of particular interest are genes affecting rhizome (underground
stem) production in sweetpotato, especially during stress related to
environmental factors such as drought. 
The markers, microarrays and gene expression data will constitute the
&#147;tools&#148; in the genomics toolkit, and should enable sweetpotato
breeders to speed their identification and integration of important new traits
into their elite breeding lines. 
In addition to providing funding for Scheffler&#146;s project, this
year&#146;s ARS Postdoctoral
Research Associates Program will fund projects on assessing host
specificity in aphid parasitoids, developing novel controls for stable flies,
and improving drought tolerance in wheat. 
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The
sweetpotato project supports the USDA research priority of ensuring
international food security.

    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091104.htm">
<title>Spread of Western Juniper Seeds Studied</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091104.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       


  
    
            ARS ecologist William S. Longland is trying to
              determine what gives western juniper a competitive advantage in the
              environment. Photo courtesy of Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California
                - Davis, Bugwood.org
  
  
    
            
        
          Animation of &quot;giant
            reed&quot; plant may speed its demise
            &nbsp;
          Cheatgrass' success
            secret revealed 
            &nbsp;
          Beneficial beetles battle
            pesky saltcedar
        
  

Spread of Western Juniper Seeds Studied 
By Marcia Wood
November 4, 2009 

  
Aromatic, evergreen foliage and plump, dusty-blue to nearly purple berries make western juniper appealing, whether it's a small shrub or a lofty tree. The trouble is, during the past 100 years or so, some once-open western juniper woodlands in this species' native range of California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho and Washington have become dense stands.
The result is that fire-danger ratings can skyrocket, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) ecologist William S. Longland at the agency's Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit in Reno, Nev.  What's more, the stands crowd out tasty, nutritious understory plants that cattle and wildlife could otherwise graze or browse.
This year, Longland developed new studies to determine whether a natural process known as  diplochory gives western  juniper a competitive advantage. In published research, Longland explains that diplochory is a two-step process in which seeds are handily dispersed by two different sets of  &quot;agents.&quot;
In the first step of what could turn out to be diplochory in western juniper, birds such as robins and Townsend's solitaires pluck western juniper's chunky berries from its branches, then fly away to places where they can safely eat their prize&#8212;the berry's fleshy fruit that surrounds its small, hard seed. This feeding helps survival of the seed by moving it away from the competition of the parent trees.
Seeds that birds swallow may pass through their digestive systems, land on the ground, and, in what may be the second phase of diplochory, be carried away and buried by small mammals like deer mice or kangaroo rats. Burying hides the seeds from other seed-eaters and helps the seeds germinate.
In a preliminary study, Longland's network of motion- or heat-sensor-activated cameras captured real-time snapshots of birds and mammals holding juniper berries or seeds in their beaks or paws. Though these caught-in-the-act candids strongly suggest diplochory at work, more evidence is needed. That might come from follow-up research by Longland and co-investigators Steve Vander Wall of the University of Nevada-Reno and Diana Hiibel of the Reno-based Animal Ark Wildlife Sanctuary.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.



    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091103.htm">
<title>Reducing Agriculture&#x27;s Climate Change Footprint</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091103.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       



 Read the
magazine
story to find out more. 



 
ARS soil scientist Jane Johnson is looking for
practical ways to keep carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from agricultural production. Click the image for more information about
it.



 


No-till shows benefits
when switching from grasses to corn 
&nbsp;
More about no-till and
greenhouse gas emissions 
&nbsp;
Giving farmers credit for
carbon 




Searching for Ways to Reduce Agriculture's Climate
Change Footprint 
By Dennis
O'Brien
November 3, 2009 Curbing greenhouse gas emissions
from cultivated fields may require going beyond cutting back on nitrogen
fertilizer and changing crop rotation cycles, according to research by
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
scientists. 
Jane
Johnson, a soil scientist at the ARS
North
Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory in Morris, Minn., is looking
for practical ways to keep carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. 
In a comprehensive study, she raised corn, soybean, wheat and alfalfa in
rotation so that each crop grew in the same year, on plots treated with and
without fertilizer. She also used a less-aggressive tillage system known as
strip tillage, in which only narrow bands of soil are tilled instead of an
entire field. For comparison, she replicated the cropping system adopted by
many Minnesota farmers-raising corn and soybeans in a two-year cycle on
fertilized plots tilled with a chisel or moldboard plow. 
She used a hydraulic soil probe to measure the organic carbon sequestered in
the soil, and closed-vented chambers to measure emissions of carbon dioxide,
methane, and nitrous oxide. She found that when measured over the course of a
year, greenhouse gas releases were largely the same under two-year and
four-year rotation systems, and that applying nitrogen fertilizer had less
overall impact than anticipated on nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide
emissions peaked during spring thaws when the sun warmed the soil, regardless
of which tillage or rotation system was used. 
Chisel and moldboard plowing increased carbon dioxide emissions for a short
time. But measured over the course of a year, carbon dioxide emissions were no
different from plots with intensive tillage than plots without it. She also
found no consistent patterns to methane releases. 
Johnson's work is part of a five-year ARS project known as
GRACEnet
(Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) in
which researchers at more than 32 sites are examining strategies to help reduce
agriculture's climate change footprint. The project supports the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture priority of responding to climate change. 
Read
more about this research in the November/December 2009 issue of
Agricultural Research magazine. 
ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. 

    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091102.htm">
<title>Scientists Plot Genetic Ploy Against Grain Pest</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091102.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       



Read the
magazine
story to find out more. 




Red flour beetle (Tribolium
castaneum).Click the image for more information about it.






Key red flour beetle gene
sequenced
&nbsp;
Agricultural pest's
genome is sequenced
&nbsp;
How the beetle gets its
shell 




Scientists Plot Genetic Ploy Against Grain Pest 

By Jan Suszkiw
November 2, 2009 Aided by a genomic map of the red
flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and
university scientists are plotting a kind of genetic sabotage on the
pest&#146;s basic life functions&#151;from locomotion to digestion.
Nationally, infestations of flour beetles and their beetle cousins cost
millions of dollars in losses annually to stored grains and the food products
made from those grains. Warehouse sanitation usually keeps beetle numbers down,
but severe cases can necessitate the use of chemical controls. The problem is
that T. castaneum has shown a propensity for developing resistance to
insecticides. 
As an alternative, a team of ARS and Kansas
State University scientists is examining ways to exploit specific genes
that regulate where, when and how a substance called chitin is used to form the
beetle&#146;s outer shell, or exoskeleton. 
Led by ARS entomologist
Richard
Beeman, the team identified nine genes encoding specialized enzymes, dubbed
&#147;chitin deacetylases&#148; (CDAs), which trim off branches of a long chain
of simple sugars that make up raw chitin.
Which branches get trimmed depends on where chitin is needed on a developing
beetle&#146;s body, and for what purpose, explains Beeman, with the
ARS
Stored Product Insect Research Unit in Manhattan, Kan. For example, around
leg joints, chitin&#146;s branched-chain structure must be snipped to allow for
flexibility and movement. But around the head and thorax, where protection of
vital organs is key, a heavier, stiffer chitin deposition is needed, requiring
a different form of CDA trimming.
Beeman and KSU collaborators Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan and Yasuyuki Arakane
used a biotech procedure called &#147;RNA interference&#148; to demarcate the
genes&#146; roles and observe what effect their elimination had on the
insect&#146;s development or survival. Some CDA-deficient strains developed in
the lab couldn&#146;t bend their legs as adult beetles, making it impossible
for them to walk, mate or feed. Another such strain couldn&#146;t shed its old
exoskeleton. 
Ultimately, such observations could open the door to chitin-disabling
biopesticides or anti-chitin proteins engineered into crop plants.
Read
more about this research in the November/December 2009 issue of
Agricultural Research magazine. 
The research supports the U.S. Department of
Agriculture priority of promoting international food security.
ARS is USDA&#146;s principal intramural scientific research agency.

    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091030.htm">
<title>Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators Nightlife</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091030.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       




Nocturnal predators like the carabid beetle,
Cyclotrachelus alternans, have a large appetite for corn rootworms, the
most costly pest of corn in the world. Click the image for more information
about it.






Non-target insects
probably affected more by insecticides than by Bt crops
&nbsp;
Corn rootworm population
studies: Faster, cheaper-and just as good
&nbsp;
Study probes spread of
U.S. corn pest in Europe




Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators&#146; Nightlife

By Don Comis
October 30, 2009 Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
entomologist
Jonathan
G. Lundgren, while exploring corn fields at night, has found a very
different group of predators than the ones that feed during the day. It turns
out that these night-time predators have a great appetite for corn rootworms,
the most costly pest of corn in the world. 
Research on day-active and night-active predatory insects is important for
scientists who are developing strategies that maximize the potential of the
natural predators in crop pest control.
During his night studies, Lundgren focuses on the top few inches of the soil
surface, where rootworm larvae do most of their damage to corn roots. Lundgren
works at the ARS
North
Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D.
He&#146;s found that during the night, there is abundant and diverse life
underground, with predators including ground beetles, rove beetles, spiders,
crickets, and daddy-longlegs.
Wondering how so many and such diverse species could manage in the confines
of the upper surface of soil near corn roots, Lundgren's research revealed the
answer might be separation by time, with some insects confining their activity
to as little as a three-hour window.
The scientists have two ways to spy on predators. One is to place pinned
rootworms as sentinels. The researchers come back later with a red light to see
which rootworms have been attacked and which predators are hanging around.
Insects can&#146;t see red light. The second way is to collect predators in a
timed trap. Trapped predators are analyzed for corn rootworm DNA. This gives
researchers information about how long the predators are hunting and the amount
of rootworms the predators eat.
Lundgren found that one common carabid beetle, Poecilus chalcites,
prefers day work, while another common carabid, Cyclotrachelus
alternans, works a night shift, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wolf spiders search
for rootworms during the night, while some other spiders hunt during the day.

This work supports the U.S. Department of
Agriculture&#146;s research priority of ensuring international food
security. ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of USDA.


    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091029.htm">
<title>Hard Winter Wheat Varieties Released</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091029.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       




ARS has released the first hard winter wheat
varieties bred and developed for production in the eastern United States.
Photos courtesy of David Marshall, ARS.






A burning issue in winter
wheat production
&nbsp;
New winter wheat ready for
prime time
&nbsp;
Scientists set to release
new disease-resistant wheat




ARS Releases First Hard Winter Wheat Varieties for
Eastern U.S. Production 
By Stephanie
Yao
October 29, 2009 The first hard winter wheat
varieties bred and developed for production in the eastern United States have
been released by the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS).
NuEast, a hard red winter wheat, and Appalachian White, a hard white winter
wheat, were bred by ARS plant pathologist and geneticist
David
Marshall, research leader of the
Plant
Science Research Unit in Raleigh, N.C.
Soft winter wheats, which are used to make pastries, cookies and biscuits,
are typically grown in the eastern United States. Hard wheats, on the other
hand, are best suited for making bread. Hard wheat has not traditionally been a
successfully grown crop in the eastern states because the area's humidity
increases the incidence of disease in the field. This in turn affects yield and
the quality of the grain.
But NuEast addresses these problems. In field tests, NuEast had
significantly higher grain yield than the check varieties over four years of
testing. It also showed moderate reaction to powdery mildew but was more
resistant than some check varieties. NuEast's resistance to leaf rust is good,
and it is moderately resistant to stem rust, including Ug99 races.
There are very few hard white wheats grown and produced in the United
States. The main challenge with growing hard white wheat under humid conditions
in the eastern states is the pre-harvest sprouting typically associated with
white wheats, according to Marshall. 
Throughout six locations and over three years of testing, Appalachian White
had significantly higher yield than the only other variety that could be
considered acceptable when grown under weather conditions in the eastern
states. Appalachian White also showed a higher level of resistance to powdery
mildew, stripe rust, leaf rust and Hessian fly.
According to Marshall, the key to developing a hard wheat for eastern U.S.
production is the ability to produce consistently good grain quality, resulting
in good milling and baking characteristics when grown in a humid environment.

Millers and bakers that are part of the
North Carolina Organic Bread Flour
Project, an initiative supported with funding from the
North Carolina Tobacco Trust
Fund and Santa Fe Tobacco, have been testing the wheats since their
release. So far, the feedback has been positive.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091028.htm">
<title>Research on Childhood Obesity May Help Fight Epidemic</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091028.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       


  
    Read the magazine
      story to find out more. 
  
  
    
            Kids' fast-food meals that included low-fat milk
              had a better chance of meeting the nutritional standards of the National School
              Lunch Program than meals having a sweetened beverage, such as a soda. Click
                the image for more information about it.
  
  
    
            
        
          USDA Children's Nutrition
            Research Center celebrates 30th anniversary
            &nbsp;
          Can video games help kids
            make healthy choices? 
            &nbsp;
          Guidelines help parents
            decide what's best to feed baby
        
  

Research on Childhood Obesity May Help Fight Epidemic 
By Marcia Wood 
October 28, 2009 
More than 16 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight&ndash;a doubling of the estimated incidence of overweight among children and a tripling of the rate among adolescents in the past two decades. But scientists funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and based at the ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas, are fighting back.
The researchers' investigations may lead to new, cost-effective strategies to help America's kids make healthier food choices, manage their weight, and set and achieve fitness goals.
Among these researchers is Jason A. Mendoza, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at BCM. In one early investigation, reported in 2008, Mendoza, study leader and economist Sharon I. O' Donnell and colleagues scrutinized the nutritional quality of kid-oriented &quot;combo&quot; meals offered at 10 well-known regional or national fast-food restaurant chains in Houston.
According to the scientists, only 3 percent of the kids' meals met seven key standards set by the National School Lunch Program for meals intended for children in kindergarten through third grade. Best-choice meals featured a deli-style sandwich combined with a fruit or a veggie that wasn't fried, and low-fat milk as the beverage. Also making the grade: a kids' meal that featured a plain hamburger, fruit as a side, and low-fat milk.
There's another way to look at the combo meals' report card: dietary energy density, calculated by dividing the total number of calories by the serving's weight in grams.  The average energy density of the fast-food meals that did not meet the School Lunch standards was 2.3 calories per gram, compared with only 1.5 calories per gram for the meals that met the standards.
Read more about this research in the October 2009 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
The CNRC is a joint venture of ARS, BCM, and Texas Children's Hospital. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal intramural scientific research agency. The Houston studies reflect USDA's research priority of enhancing children's nutrition and health.


    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091027.htm">
<title>ARS Scientists Cryopreserve Pest-Imperiled Ash Trees</title>
<link>http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091027.htm</link>
<description><![CDATA[
    
       
	  
		 
		   
			 
				
				  ARS scientists have devised a way to freeze viable
				  budwood from ash trees to help preserve the genetic diversity of these
				  attractive native species, which are threatened by the emerald ash borer.
				  Photo courtesy of Andrew Bell, Chicago Botanic Garden.  
		   
		   
			 
				
				   
				 
				  Preserving genetic
					 variety of valuable specialty crops &nbsp; 
				  Fungus eyed as stopper of
					 ash-killing beetle  &nbsp; 
				  Preserving wild rice and
					 other crops 
				  
		   
		 
		ARS Scientists Cryopreserve Pest-Imperiled Ash
		  Trees  By Jan
		Suszkiw October 27, 2009 
		Using cryopreservation methods, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
		  scientists have devised a procedure for storing frozen budwood from ash trees
		  (Fraxinus) and thawing the delicate buds for later use in propagation.
		  
		The advance, reported in the journal CryoLetters, should complement
		  ongoing seed-conservation efforts aimed at preserving the genetic diversity of
		  America's native ash species, which are susceptible to the emerald ash borer
		  (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. 
		Metallic green and 1/2-inch long, this exotic beetle from northern
		  Asia has killed tens of millions of ash trees in several states since first
		  being detected near Detroit, Mich., in June 2002. Since then, the EAB has
		  spread to 12 other states and two Canadian provinces. 
		The stored budwood samples, along with conserved seed, can serve as a
		  national source for reintroducing ash trees once the devastation from EAB can
		  be controlled, according to
		  Mark
		  Widrlechner, a horticulturist with the ARS
		  North
		  Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. Widrlechner
		  co-developed the budwood cryopreservation method with plant physiologist
		  Gayle
		  Volk and colleagues at the ARS
		  National
		  Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colo. 
		Ash trees--among America's most prized shade trees--are at risk in
		  both managed landscapes and natural forest habitats. Besides the ecological
		  harm, the loss of ash trees to EAB infestations is of economic concern. Indeed,
		  numerous forest products are derived from the species, including lumber for
		  furniture, tool handles and baseball bats. 
		Building on earlier cryopreservation successes with apple and willow
		  tissues, the researchers devised a series of preconditioning steps necessary to
		  store and remove dormant ash budwood from liquid-nitrogen vapor without
		  significant loss of vigor. In trials, the team successfully grafted 42 to 100
		  percent of cryopreserved budwood stems onto rootstocks used to generate new
		  trees of specific clones or cultivars. 
		The study's storage times ranged from two to 18 months. But according
		  to Volk, similar procedures used on apples suggest that ash budwood can likely
		  be cryopreserved for at least 20 years. 
		ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the
		  U.S. Department of
		  Agriculture. 
    
    ]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/pnpr4509.pdf                                                                    ">
<title>Peanut Prices</title>
<link>http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/pnpr4509.pdf                                                                    </link>
<description><![CDATA[Peanut prices received by farmers for all farmer stock peanuts averaged 20.8 cents per pound for  the week ending October 31...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/dppr4409.pdf                                                                    ">
<title>Dairy Products Prices</title>
<link>http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/dppr4409.pdf                                                                    </link>
<description><![CDATA[Cheddar Cheese prices received for US 40 pound Blocks averaged $1.45 per pound for the  week ending October 24....]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/agpr1009.pdf                                                                    ">
<title>Agricultural Prices</title>
<link>http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/agpr1009.pdf                                                                    </link>
<description><![CDATA[October Farm Prices Received Index Increased 9 Points. Prices Paid Index Unchanged....]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/prog4509.pdf                                                                    ">
<title>Crop Progress</title>
<link>http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/prog4509.pdf                                                                    </link>
<description><![CDATA[NASS releases Crop Progress and Condition Estimates...]]></description>
</item>

<item rdf:about="http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/dppr4509.pdf                                                                    ">
<title>Dairy Products Prices</title>
<link>http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/dppr4509.pdf                                                                    </link>
<description><![CDATA[Cheddar Cheese prices received for US 40 pound Blocks averaged $1.47 per pound for the  week ending October 31....]]></description>
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