LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Agriculture Department will contact more than 2,500 Nebraska farmers next month to learn more about this year’s small grain crops.

The USDA surveys farmers to build estimates of production and yield for every Nebraska county and the state.

The crops included in the survey are wheat, oats, barley and rye

Dean Groskurth with the Northern Plains unit of the USDA statistics operation says farmers should fill out the survey to ensure their area’s data is accurate.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline in the U.S. is up by over half a cent to $2.17 a gallon for regular grade.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday higher crude oil prices are causing refiners and retailers to bump up their prices.

Still, the average price is 54 cents lower than a year ago.

The Lundberg Survey found the average price of midgrade unleaded is $2.46 a gallon, and the average price of premium is $2.67 a gallon.

The highest average price for regular gas in the contiguous U.S. is $2.67 a gallon in San Francisco. The lowest is $1.81 in Tucson, Arizona.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.35 per gallon, up a quarter of a penny from two weeks ago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Groups that want to legalize casinos at Nebraska horse racing tracks are trying to decide what to do now that a $1.4 million petition drive has failed to place the issue on the ballot.

Supporters say they were shocked to learn this month that petition circulators didn’t gather enough valid signatures to put the issue before voters in the Nov. 8 general election. The 10-month petition drive flopped because nearly 42,000 signatures — more than one-third of the total collected — were declared invalid.

Lance Morgan, the CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., which financed the ballot drive, says petition organizers haven’t reached a consensus but plan to keep pursuing the issue.

Anti-gambling activist Pat Loontjer says the failure to gather enough signatures shows that Nebraska voters don’t support casinos.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Drought has led officials to allow emergency haying and grazing on conservation land in four south-central Nebraska counties.

Nebraska Farm Service Agency announced the emergency use on Thursday for Adams, Franklin, Kearney and Webster counties. CRP haying in those counties is now allowed until Aug. 31, and grazing on that protected land is allowed through Sept. 30.

Those enrolled in the federal conservation program agree to not to farm environmentally sensitive land in exchange for a yearly rental payment. The emergency haying and grazing is allowed only under certain circumstances, such as when drought drastically cuts into the local livestock feed supply.

Producers who want to hay or graze CRP acres must first get approval from their local FSA office.

SHELTON, Neb. (AP) — A 3-year-old girl discovered missing from her rural Shelton home has been found safe in a cornfield.

The girl had been in her yard about six miles north of Shelton on Friday morning when her mother discovered her missing.

Family and friends first searched for the girl, but when they didn’t find her, called authorities around noon to report the girl missing.

Buffalo County Sheriff’s Capt. Bob Anderson says that about half-an-hour later, a family friend found the child in a field across the road from the home.

Anderson says the girl had no injuries and appeared to be healthy.

Shelton police, Buffalo County Sheriff’s deputies and volunteers with the Shelton and Gibbon fire departments were called out to help with the search.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Some Scottsbluff-area residents have joined a social media movement and are meeting monthly to decrease the suicide rate of veterans.

Nationally, Buddy Check 22 maintains a Facebook site that’s trying to change the outlook on life many veterans have and provide an outlet where they can talk to those who may have had similar experiences.

The number 22 is significant because a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs study said an estimated 22 veterans committed suicide every day in 2010. Other studies say the figure is far lower.

The Scottsbluff group started meetings in January and has met since on the 22nd of each month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has filed a complaint accusing state Sen. Ernie Chambers of misusing state resources with drawings and poems printed on official state letterhead.

The complaint to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission argues that Chambers shouldn’t be using state resources to harass state Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion. Kintner faces possible impeachment or expulsion from the Legislature after acknowledging he had cybersex on a state computer.

Chambers has released drawings of Kintner’s face and poems ridiculing him. In one rhyme, Chambers said Kintner is “free to masturbate on his own time, but not free to masturbate on taxpayers’ dime.”

Chambers says he plans to continue the drawings and poems. Even though commission complaints are generally kept secret until a case is resolved, Chambers requested its release.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska legislative leaders are still trying to decide what action to recommend against a state senator who had cybersex on a state computer with a woman he met online.

Several members of the Legislature’s Executive Board said Friday that they feel the need to address the issue before next year’s session so that new senators aren’t forced to decide the issue.

Committee members will meet again on Aug. 29 at 10:30 a.m. to hear testimony before deciding how to proceed against Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion.

Kintner says a special session to discipline him is a waste of tax dollars, and any action against him can wait until next year’s session. He says he looks forward to the opportunity to address his colleagues.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale is warning campaigns and businesses that the state seal cannot be used for political or commercial purposes.

Gale says he’s issuing the warning as political campaigns ramp up ahead of the general election. Gales says he has not heard of any candidates using the seal on campaign materials so far but it has happened in past election cycles.

Gale will issue a warning notice to any violators.

Permission to use the seal must be obtained in writing from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Gale says his office has recently received requests to use the seal. He’s concerned “there may be a presumption that the state seal exists in the public domain and can be used for a multitude of purposes or products.”