Top Stories
Advisors urge farmers to use tax data for broader financial planning
Farm financial records can offer more than a snapshot of past performance: they can serve as a roadmap for future decisions, according to agricultural finance experts. As producers prepare tax returns for filing this week, advisors say the process provides an opportunity to evaluate profitability, manage risk and plan for long-term sustainability. A key step is ensuring farm records align with official tax documents, a process known as “matching,” which helps identify discrepancies and improve...
South American Weather and Crop Update (8-8-23)
The forecast is still very open for harvest to make good progress in Brazil and Argentina. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride provided an update on the latest South American weather conditions.McBride said Brazil’s harvest progress is slightly behind, but they’re...
Statewide crop conditions update
Looking statewide at the Iowa crop conditions, there’s definitely been a lack of moisture lately. Hopefully, the recent weather patterns are providing an indication of wetter weather to come this month. But as for the current crop conditions, Kevin Sullivan of the...
National FFA membership reaches all-time high
The National FFA Organization Monday announced a record-high student membership of 945,988, an increase of 11 percent from last year. In addition, the number of FFA chapters continues to grow — increasing by 168 this year, resulting in 9,163 chapters in the U.S.,...
EATS Act is seeing pushback. Where do we go from here? (Part 2)
We talked last week with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst about where the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act stands in the Senate. We also talked about the concerns that some are having with the fine print.One of those groups that is concerned is the Organization...
New tool in the fight against the “billion dollar pest”
Throughout the Midwest and the Corn Belt corn root worms are known as “the billion dollar pest.” Here in the state of Iowa corn root worms live up to that moniker by robbing yields through damaging corn roots each growing season. And it doesn’t help that Iowa has the...
Celebrity chef tours South Dakota to promote U.S. beef in Japan
Japanese celebrity chef and social media influencer Rika Yukimasa recently spent a week traveling South Dakota with the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the South Dakota Beef Council, visiting ranches, restaurants, and butcher shops. The trip was the latest effort of...
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More Ag News
Annual USDA Chicken and Eggs Report forecasts increased production
The annual Chickens and Eggs report from USDA shows the U.S. chicken inventory for December 1st up one percent from a year ago and egg production down slightly. American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Bernt Nelson said the report comes as nearly all protein sectors-...
Changing crop patterns help drive farmland prices higher
One of the reasons for shifting farmland prices is changing crop patterns. Randy Dickhut, farmland sales specialist with Agricultural Economic Insights, mentions where some of the most notable changes are taking place. The beginning of the increase in farmland prices...
Pork exports projected to surpass broiler chicken exports
USDA’s long-term projection data shows the volume of U.S. red meat exports in all major categories is projected to grow through 2033. Rising incomes abroad and a moderately declining real exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the currencies of major agricultural...
South Dakota legislation bans land ownership by “bad actors”
There has been concern all across the United States as to who owns farm land, and whether or not our land is being owned by foreign governments or entities. Even while having one of the most stringent laws in place to prevent this, Iowa is even looking at dotting more...
Make sure your soil is ready for planting season
There are a lot of questions for this year’s crop, especially with how dry things were heading into the fall. Many farmers are rightfully worried about whether or not there will be enough moisture in the soil once planting season comes around. Andrew Phillips of...
