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Secretary Naig invites community meat lockers to apply for Choose Iowa butchery equipment grants
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today invited small-scale meat processors and custom lockers to apply for a Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Equipment Only Grant. Eligible businesses may receive up to $20,000 of state funding to purchase cold storage, meat processing and/or packaging equipment that helps increase meat and poultry processing capacity in Iowa. “As I travel the state meeting with farmers, I consistently hear about the need for more local meat and poultry processing. That...
Farm Crawl opens doors to Iowa agriculture
Fall in Iowa means harvest, football, pumpkin patches, and apple orchards. But it can also be an opportunity to get off the highway, travel some of Iowa’s back roads, and see just how many different products are being produced by farms and small businesses across the...
BW Fusion names new CEO
Dean Williams, an ag industry veteran with over forty years of experience, has been named the new CEO of BW Fusion. With experience leading a wide range of ag businesses, Williams said he is excited to bring the company into its next phase of growth in biological crop...
Examining record corn exports
Will the 2026-27 commodity marketing year produce another record for U.S. corn exports? The 2025-2026 marketing year was a record year for U.S. corn exports and USDA Chief Economist Justin Benevidez was asked recently if the 26-27 marketing year can follow that trend....
U.S.-China summit leaves key agricultural trade issues unresolved
U.S. farmers are awaiting more details on agricultural trade after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded talks Thursday without announcing a broader trade agreement. Reuters reports the countries extended their existing trade truce by two...
Diesel prices remain high as harvest gets underway
Diesel prices continue climbing, leaving farmers wondering how long this will continue. Crude oil prices have shown signs of easing, but diesel prices are not following suit, putting even more pressure on the farm economy. Faith Parum, an economist for the American...
Iowa grown food reaches more school cafeterias
The Choose Iowa Local Food for Schools program is expanding its efforts to connect Iowa schools with locally produced food after a successful pilot program last year. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the program was piloted last year before being made...
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Clean Fuels applauds effort to extend biodiesel producer credit
This week, U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced bipartisan legislation to extend availability of the Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit through 2029. U.S. companies that produce up to 60 million gallons of biodiesel per year using...
Iowa farmers juggle two crop year decisions
Iowa farmers will soon find themselves making ARC and PLC decisions for two different crop years at nearly the same time. As we reported Tuesday, USDA has opened an unusual enrollment period for the 2026 crop that runs through December 11. That signup was delayed as...
AFBF study shows ineffectiveness of U.S. beef import plan
Roughly one month after the Trump administration announced its plan to import beef in an effort to combat high prices at the grocery store, data is showing that prices have not been significantly lowered. New analysis shows that the plan to lower tariffs on imported...
South American Weather and Crop Update (9-29-26)
As the Americas prepare to face what is being called a “super El Niño,” farmers in Brazil and Argentina are moving along with planting season for the next crop. While there is a significant chance for excessive, damaging rains, Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride...
Beef prices and herd retention decisions
With turbulent cattle markets due to beef imports and the southern border with Mexico reopening for cattle imports cattle producers have a lot to think about when making decisions for the future of the herd. Will cattle ranchers and farmers make plans for starting the...
