agriculture department

The Agriculture Department had predicted that U.S. cranberry production would rise 6% this year for the second-largest harvest on record. But the 2010 crop came in 5% below 2009. Still, things are going well for Ocean Spray, the largest U.S. co-op of cranberry growers.

The price of corn has shot up 8% during the week of Oct. 11 alone, bringing the total rise to close to 50% in the last three months. As farmers cull herds to save feed costs, meat supplies will shrink -- and the price of hamburger and pork chops will be rising.

Bad weather that is reducing crops yields, increasing global demand and a greater push for bio-fuels are all playing havoc with corn prices, which affect costs throughout the economy.

Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Department employee who lost her job after a conservative website painted her as a racist, is planning a lawsuit in what could be a landmark case for the blogosphere.