Traffic fatalities in Missouri are up sharply this year, reversing a downward trend that began six years ago. Highway Patrol officials urge drivers and passengers to buckle up. Captain Tim Hull says safety belts are lifesavers. Hull says highway deaths through the first five months of this year are up more than 20 percent. Last year Missouri recorded 258 traffic fatalities through May. This year it’s 315.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Locked-out American Crystal Sugar Co. workers plan to travel 200 miles by foot and hay wagon to draw attention to their plight.

The caravan is departing Thursday from the northeastern North Dakota city of Drayton and is to arrive June 6 at the company’s headquarters in Moorhead, Minn., which neighbors the southeastern North Dakota city of Fargo.

Union representatives and company officials are scheduled for talks on June 8.

The contract dispute has lingered for 10 months, since the company last Aug. 1 locked out about 1,300 union workers at plants in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. The two sides have not met since February. Crystal is using replacement workers at its sugar beet processing plants.

According to the annual survey conducted by USDA, the Bee Informed Partnership and the Apiary Inspectors of America – total losses of managed honey bee colonies from all causes were 21.9-percent for the 2011-12 winter. That’s a substantial drop compared to the previous five years. Total colony losses of 30-percent were found in the winter of 2010-11. Over the past five-years the biggest loss was 36-percent while the smallest had been 29-percent. The unusually warm winter may have contributed for the decline in colony losses. Survey co-leader Jeff Pettis – Research Leader of the USDA Ag Research Service Bee Research Laboratory – says a warm winter does mean less stress on bee colonies and may help them resist pathogens, parasites and other problems. But a direct scientific investigation of the weather connection has not been conducted.

Thirty-seven percent of beekeepers who reported losing colonies from any cause said they lost at least some of their colonies without finding dead bees. That is one of the defining symptoms of colony collapse disorder. UDSA says it was not possible to confirm whether these colonies had CCD or the losses were the result of other causes that share this symptom. Pettis says tracking CCD is complex since the cause is still unknown.

Nearly half of respondents reported losses greater than 13.6-percent. That’s the level of loss beekeepers have stated would be acceptable for their operations. According to USDA – continued losses above that level threaten the economic sustainability of commercial beekeeping.

More than 55-hundred beekeepers who manage nearly 15-percent of the country’s estimated 2.49-million colonies responded to the survey. A complete analysis of the data will be published later this year.

A report released by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Thursday highlights the ways infrastructure investments in rural communities help create jobs and boost economic development. Vilsack says quality hospitals, schools and libraries are the building blocks for a vibrant rural America. He says the Obama Administration is leveraging Rural Development investments to ensure rural communities can compete in the global economy.

Secretary Vilsack also announced additional investments to create jobs and promote economic growth across the nation Thursday. USDA is awarding 38 Community Facilities investments in 21 states. The program supports infrastructure and services for public use in rural areas of 20-thousand in population or less. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2009 – USDA says the program has helped more than 37-million rural Americans address challenges in health care, education, public service and public safety with project financing through loans, grants or loan guarantees.

The U.S. Grains Council says the stage is set for intense global competition for international corn markets. According to the Council – the U.S. and Brazil are both positioning themselves for a record setting corn harvest. A Grains Council representative based in Brazil says the summer crop harvest there has matched the anticipated volume of 36-million metric tons – 1.4-billion bushels. It’s estimated a record 7.1-million hectares – 17.5-million acres – will be devoted to second season corn – yielding another record setting 29-million tons – 1.1-billion bushels. If these projections are met and the favorable weather continues – Brazil’s total corn harvest for the 2011-12 marketing year is expected to exceed 67-million tons – 2.6-billion bushels. That’s a 13.5-percent increase over last year. The nation typically exports between 15 and 20-percent of their crop.

Another factor weighing on the market – according to the Grains Council – is lower than anticipated domestic usage and exports – which have inundated Brazil with ample stocks. As the U.S. competes to build and defend market share – USGC Chairman Dr. Wendell Shauman says the marketing programming offered by the Council becomes increasingly more important.

“World Pork Expo at Your Fingertips”

World Pork Expo gets underway in less than a week at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. This year – producers can make the most of the Expo experience with the new World Pork Expo mobile application. Visitors can download special events, PORK Academy and business seminars, find exhibitor booths and more with the simple touch of their smartphone. The WPX2012 app is available in Apple and Android stores. For more information – including details about PORK Academy seminars, business seminars, the trade show and more – visit www dot worldpork dot org (www.worldpork.org). World Pork Expo 2012 starts Wednesday, June 6th and continues through Friday, June 8th.