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Secretary Naig announces 125 schools receive Choose Iowa local food for schools grants
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that 125 Iowa public and private schools will receive funding through the Choose Iowa Local Food for Schools Program to purchase Iowa grown and raised food. Each participating school will receive approximately $1,600, which will be matched at least one-to-one by the school to double the impact and generate additional purchases of local food. The program funding allocated by the Iowa Legislature was evenly distributed among schools so that...
Beef supporters turned crisis into lasting impact
What started as an effort to recognize young livestock exhibitors during a canceled Iowa State Fair has grown into an organization that has raised $1.3 million in just a few years. The Iowa State Fair Beef Champions Supporters formed in 2020 after the COVID pandemic...
Senator Grassley discusses negotiations with Canada and USMCA review
United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says that tough negotiating with Canada seems to be making progress with longstanding issues over dairy trade. Grassley says that some of the biggest hurdles in the way of renewing the USMCA have centered around dairy....
Iowa Farm Bureau promoting farm conservation practices
The Iowa State Fair brings hundreds of thousands of people to the fairgrounds each day of the fair- many of whom are several generations removed from the farm. This provides a fantastic opportunity to educate more people on the practices farmers use across the state...
514 Iowa Century and Heritage farm families honored at the 2026 Iowa State Fair
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Brent Johnson today honored 514 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations during ceremonies at the 2026 Iowa State Fair. The annual recognition celebrates families...
Several changes to U.S. pork production in August WASDE
The August WASDE report lowered its estimate for 2026 U.S. pork production by 79 million pounds to 27.876 billion pounds as a result of slower slaughter speeds and lighter third-quarter carcass weights. Pork exports were also reduced to 7.175 billion pounds, while...
Ernst sees opportunity for Farm Bill agreement
Iowa and national lawmakers have been offering a cautiously optimistic outlook for the Farm Bill as Congress prepares to return from its August recess. Earlier this week, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson discussed the...
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Pork demand continues to build in consumers
A growing appetite for pork is building momentum with consumers. Dr. Glynn Tonsor, an economist at Kansas State University, said the pork industry is turning appetites into action by making pork a favorite every day. One of the key shifts has been looking more closely...
Cooler weather in store for the end of August
After bouts of extremely hot weather in July and early August, a week of cooler temperatures is welcome across Iowa. The cooler temperatures could even help with soil and crop conditions as we approach the final stretch of the growing season. USDA meteorologist Brad...
Farm Bureau urges U.S., Canada to resume trade talks
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall is urging the United States and Canada to return to the negotiating table after trade talks broke down and additional tariffs were imposed. Duvall said Canada has been one of U.S. agriculture’s most important trading...
Ag groups speak out against President Trump’s beef import plan
The Trump administration has announced a new plan aimed at lowering beef prices in the grocery stores, but the plan- which will bring up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the U.S. over the next 90 days- will negatively impact the farm economy. Beef industry...
Iowa water quality progress requires everyone at the table
Clean water is not solely a rural concern or an urban concern. Water moves across property lines, through communities, into rivers, and eventually downstream. Whatever reaches it moves with it. That makes Iowa’s water quality challenge a shared problem, even though...
