BEIJING (AP) — China’s fast-growing economy is helping to drive demand for U.S. agricultural products, offering a potential new market for American corn, wine and other goods, a U.S. official said Friday.

Michael Scuse, an acting under secretary at the USDA, said while soybeans remain the biggest U.S. agricultural export to China, other products could significantly expand sales. Scuse was speaking at the end of a week-long trade mission that brought 39 American agricultural businesses to Chengdu and Shanghai – the USDA’s biggest-ever overseas trade delegation.

U.S. exports to China last year exceeded $103 billion, including $14.7 billion in crops, the U.S. China Business Council reported last week. The bulk of those crop imports are soybeans but demand is growing for other crops, Scuse said, such as corn and dried distillers grains.

At the same time, China’s new middle class is buying more imported organic produce and luxury goods such as wine, though tariffs remain high.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Julia A. Wickard, state executive director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), announced several southern Indiana counties have received approval to implement the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) following the tornadoes that struck in early March.

Counties approved for implementation as a direct result of the tornadoes include Clark, Jefferson, Ripley, Scott and Washington. Applications for ECP are being accepted at these local FSA offices through April 30.

ECP is administered by the FSA and provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of extreme drought. In this instance, approval has been issued to assist producers in debris removal and to restore fencing for agricultural purposes.

For more information or to sign up for this program in these counties, contact your local FSA county office.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state House has passed a bill declaring that Tennessee wouldn’t enforce federal regulations governing child labor on family farms.

The chamber voted 70-24 March 26 to approve the bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cosby. The measure is in response to rules being considered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) seeking to keep children away from some of the most dangerous farm jobs.

A companion bill was awaiting a vote on the Tennessee Senate floor at press time.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Muscatine ethanol and corn sweetener manufacturer has been issued a notice by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it has violated the Clean Air Act.

Grain Processing Corp. was named in a notice of violation, which alleges between 2007-11, its Muscatine facility repeatedly violated limits on air emissions included in company permits. The notice does not address penalties, but says the EPA will consider additional enforcement action, which could include penalties of up to $37,500 for each day of violation.

The company has 15 days to respond to the EPA’s request for information. Spokeswoman Janet Sichterman said the company just received the EPA documents and has no comment until they can be thoroughly reviewed.

BLEDSOE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a Harlan County man used a cattle prod to shock a border collie and stomped on and dragged the dog.

Detective Mike Cornett told the Lexington Herald-Leader that someone recorded 50-year-old Henry E. Brock of Bledsoe mistreating the dog in his driveway last summer. Cornett said the person sent the video to the Humane Society of the United States, which forwarded it to police in late March.

Cornett said Brock said he was trying to train the dog and that it wouldn’t heel properly. Cornett said a checkup showed the dog was in good health, and authorities returned the dog to Brock’s niece. Brock faces one count of animal cruelty.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers that signup to enroll in the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) or Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program ends June 1.

Producers who choose to participate in either the revenue-based ACRE safety net or the price-based DCP safety net must enroll their farms each year.

All producers with an interest in base acres must be identified on the DCP/ACRE contract and receive a proportionate share of the DCP/ACRE direct payment for the farm. Producers with an interest in ACRE commodities must be enrolled on the ACRE contract in order to be eligible for potential ACRE revenue payments.