Indianapolis is one of five new hub locations announced for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $7.9 million to southern Indiana for the “Ready-Set-Fire in White Oak Woodlands” project, aiming to restore oak ecosystems.

The money will go to assist cities in planting and maintaining their trees, developing tree inventories, and hiring and educating employees.

For the third year in a row, Indiana farmers have set a record for the most acres of cover crops planted — more than 1.7 million acres. Cover crops are planted to keep the soil from eroding away — which can pollute Indiana’s streams and lakes.

Laboratory testing of a second commercial duck flock in Elkhart County came back as presumptively positive for the virus, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said.

Laboratory testing of a fourth commercial turkey flock in Dubois County has come back as presumptively positive for the virus, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said. The samples are being verified at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.

Hoosiers should expect a change in their food stamp benefits as October begins -- with most getting an increase.

The packages of raw beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli. were distributed in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska.

The plan will take the Office of the Indiana State Chemist's pilot hemp program and transition it to one allowing for commercial hemp production.

In a recent multi-stop visit around the Midwest, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told a group of Indiana farmers it will take billions of dollars on top of what has already been distributed.