As the cold, wet planting season of 2008 slips into mid-May, corn and soybean farmers are grousing about weather delays, the likelihood of reduced yields and a summer of stress before they find out if the former clobbered the latter.

Since 1981, when I picked up my first pen, paper and paycheck as a journalist, six farm bills have come and gone. With them came and went some giant elements in U.S. farm policy; elements like the Farmer Owned Reserve, planting set-asides, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and longtime House Ag Committee boss Kike de la Garza.

Agreement has been reached between House and Senate negotiators on a new Farm Bill.

The typical mantra following a tough negotiation is that while the bill isn¹t perfect, it¹s the best lawmakers could do considering the circumstances.

Last week, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its first-quarter profit rose 17 percent from a year ago, buoyed by soaring crude oil prices.

Well, Barack Obama should be one happy guy. His big victory in North Carolina has pretty much locked up the Democratic presidential nomination.

SOUTH BEND, Indiana -- Well, it took nearly 12 years, but I finally convinced Sen. Hillary Clinton to speak with me on television. Emboldened by Barack Obama's "Rev. Wright" disaster, the senator is aggressively reaching out to independent voters, many of whom watch "The Factor."