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USDA details plan to boost fertilizer availability
Fertilizer prices have been a thorn in the side of farmers for several years and the conflict with Iran has only worsened the problem with the strait of Hormuz closure slowing shipping. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced measures to alleviate some of the strain on U.S. farmers due to high fertilizer costs. She says that U.S. growers need more options and certainty when purchasing fertilizer. Rollins details some of the actions taken by the Trump administration to improve fertilizer...
Bankers are going to bat for farmers over the Farm Bill
A disaster was narrowly averted over the Farm Bill when Congress decided to extend the 2018 for another year. The biggest piece of agriculture and food security legislation is in desperate need of modernizing. Because of this, Congressional members started preparing...
New gene discovery will help combat SCN
Four years of research from a team of scientists at the University of Missouri, the University of Georgia, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has led to the discovery of a new gene- GmSNAP02- that the soybean industry will be able to use to combat...
SAF powers first trans-Atlantic flight
It was a first for sustainable aviation fuel this week as a 100 percent SAF trans-Atlantic test flight flew from London to New York. Virgin Atlantic says its flight to New York’s JFK International Airport was powered by fuel from plant sugars and waste fats and...
A bright spot for 2023 Iowa farm incomes
Finding some optimism on 2023 farm incomes as USDA has revised upwards their most recent estimates. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, says the picture is a little brighter than the August predictions: “In the August reports, USDA forecasted...
Court filing on year-round E15 in the Midwest
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a motion for summary judgment regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to respond to a request to sell year-round E15 in Midwest states. Iowa and six other states filed an opt-out request that would allow them to...
Farm stability a factor as we enter 2024
In 2023 we saw a little more of a bumpy ride than we have had in the few years prior. By no means are we in any kind of trouble, but profit margins were a little tighter. That means it is going to take even more careful planning to grow a crop in conditions that may...
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Red meat industry holds optimistic outlook for 2024
The U.S. red meat industry gathered in Kansas City last week for the annual U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring Conference. USMEF Chair Randy Spronk sensed optimism among attendees for the remainder of 2024. Spronk stressed the need for an equal playing field...
Biosecurity vital for protecting livestock and farmhands from H5N1
The need for robust biosecurity measures for all species is greater than ever after the recent detections of H5N1 in dairy herds. Dr. Marisa Rotolo, National Pork Board’s Director of Swine Health, emphasized the importance of on-farm measures to keep it that way....
Persistent heavy rains creating replant concerns for Iowa growers
Frequent heavy rains in May have created replant concerns for many Iowa growers. What does this mean for the growing season in Iowa and how might agronomic concerns early in the growing cycle factor into the ag marketplace? Matt Bennett, co-founder of AgMarket.Net,...
Grassley, Feenstra, Ernst demand higher RVO levels
Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans, are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency raise 2024 and 2025 renewable volume obligations for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels. The lawmakers joined Representative Randy Feenstra, also...
Butterfield’s lullaby: 24 simple notes that carry a lot of weight
If you slept through history class, you did not miss anything about General Daniel Butterfield. Nobody really talks about him. However, there is not an American who does not know at least something about him, even if they do not realize it. Profit Matters 5-27-24...
