Top Stories
Rural America needs more ag tax professionals
Tax season can be a stressful time of year, and that is especially true for farm country. As the number of tax preparers who are familiar with the unique complexities of agricultural income declines, a new program from Iowa State University is being developed to offer free ag-tax training to tax-prep professionals across the country and bring those numbers back up. Kristine Tidgren, director of Iowa State’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT), said they are spending the next year...
Mandatory base acre update creates “winners and losers”
For more than 20 years and the last four farm bills, farm program payments were based on a farm’s historical planted acreage, or base acres, and not on actual plantings each year. Several agricultural groups and stakeholders are pushing for an update to base acres in...
Pork consumption slowing globally
Consumption of our commodities is what sets the tone for our supply and demand ratios that set our prices. Pork is not exempt from this phenomenon. We spent much of the year with low prices which meant that suppliers were holding on to large amounts of product which...
Tips for controlling tar spot and maximizing yield
Tar spot was first identified in the United States nearly 10 years ago. Unfortunately, growers in the corn belt are much more familiar with this yield robber in 2023 after several growing seasons of dealing with yield loss from tar spot pressure.Unfortunately, the...
House farm bill will address California’s Prop 12
The House Ag Committee Chair says he plans to use the upcoming farm bill to deal with California’s Prop 12 that was upheld by the Supreme Court. Roll Call says pork producers across the country have said this will lead to patchwork laws between states that will...
U.S. Export Sales Report (8-3-23)
This week’s export sales were neutral, but that’s definitely not from a lack of sales action, especially in new crop soybeans. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride provided a breakdown of this week’s report.Flash sales have also been popping up here and there,...
Reigning Iowa State Fair Queen preparing to hand off her crown
Mary Ann Fox, the 2022 Iowa State Fair Queen, has been representing the Iowa agriculture industry well over the past year. Now, she’s preparing to hand off her royal duties to a new Iowa State Fair Queen in a little over a week. Fox reminisced on her favorite part of...
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More Ag News
Competition in overseas markets increasing during 2024
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer talked about the state of the ag economy and the headwinds it faces in 2024. During his speech at the 100th Annual Ag Outlook Meeting, he said there are challenges ahead. “We've seen a lot of growth in trade for agricultural...
2022 Census Of Agriculture indicates loss of farms and farmland
The USDA released the 2022 Census of Agriculture this week. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says some of the results were concerning, especially the number of farms and total amount of farmland across America. While those numbers sound large, Secretary Vilsack was able to...
Crop insurance costs to jump 29 percent
The federally-subsidized crop insurance program will cost an additional $27.7 billion over the next decade. A Congressional Budget Office report says the government pays roughly 62 cents of each dollar in premiums, and sales of livestock and forage policies are...
Could whole & 2% milk be returning to schools?
During the Obama Administration, then-First Lady Michelle Obama spearheaded changes to the school lunch program for Public Schools across the country. The effort was presented to the American people as a chance to bring kids healthier lunches. Much debate has ensued...
U.S. Export Sales Report (2-15-24)
Export sales are continuing their recent trends. Corn sales are looking good, while the same certainly cannot be said for the soybeans. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest export sales report. U.S. soybean prices are still far from...
