Top Stories
U.S. to use tariff funds to offset high fertilizer prices
The Trump administration is preparing to direct tens of billions of dollars from tariffs and renegotiated trade deals toward strengthening domestic fertilizer production, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Speaking before lawmakers during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rollins emphasized the urgency of rebuilding U.S. capacity. “‘We’ve got to invest in more infrastructure,’” she said. “‘We’ve got to reshore fertilizer back to America.’” Rollins described a recent...
USDA conducting trade mission in Chile
USDA is conducting an agribusiness trade mission in Santiago, Chile, this week, bringing a host of food and agriculture industry leaders to the growing export market. Tuesday’s itinerary featured the Espacio trade show, which focuses on the hospitality and retail...
U.S. pork rebounds impressively in Taiwan
Trade tensions related to ractopamine use have impacted U.S. pork exports to Taiwan for many years. But the issue reached a boiling point in 2021 when Taiwan announced that it would depart from its zero-tolerance policy on ractopamine and begin accepting imports...
Farmers don’t need added uncertainty from government shutdown
With the potential of a government shutdown looming, funding concerns are rampant throughout the government and in the agriculture sector. The United States Congress is currently working on a spending bill which if not agreed upon, would bring a partial government...
Iowa local food day connects students to farmers
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig celebrated Iowa Local Food Day today by serving locally-sourced school lunches to hundreds of elementary students at Meadowview School in the ADM School District (Adel – De Soto – Minburn). Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has...
Heart failure cases increasing in feedlot cattle
Animal health is always an issue for farmers. I remember growing up in on our family hog farm. As soon as one hog would start coughing, it would spread rather quickly. That meant vet checkups and feed-added medicine to help the animals shake the virus or other...
Food Bank of Iowa receives massive donation from Smithfield Foods and Hy-Vee
Smithfield Foods and Hy-Vee partnered together to donate several tons of food- over 100,000 servings- to the Food Bank of Iowa on Tuesday. The donation will provide high-quality protein to people in 55 Iowa counties who are struggling with food insecurity. Michelle...
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More Ag News
South American Weather and Crop Update (4-2-24)
Brazil is still on the drier side, but continued rain in Argentina is elevating concerns from the excessively wet conditions. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest conditions. The longer-term forecast also contains rain for Argentina,...
Grassley says Iowa better prepared for HPAI after previous outbreaks
On Monday a Texas dairy worker tested positive for avian flu after contracting the illness that has sickened dairy cattle across several U.S. states. The human case follows recent cow infections in Texas, Idaho, Michigan and New Mexico. The virus appears to have been...
Driving corn demand through renewable chemicals
At the Advanced Bioeconomy Conference in Washington, D.C., the National Corn Growers Association sponsored a special session on renewable chemicals and other materials. The session outlined the national incentive for biobased chemicals and renewable materials that...
HPAI crosses species barrier again. Now it’s humans.
Yesterday was an interesting day in the cattle complex and in agriculture in general. It started with us discussing the fact that we were seeing High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or bird flu crossing the species barrier into dairy cattle. We featured a discussion...
Bio-based seed treatments help fight white mold and SDS
Soybean growers are always attempting to maximize yield and increase return on investment by making sure they are utilizing every tool available to them. Whether that is meeting with a local agronomist to make sure they have the right traits for their operation or...
