Top Stories
Increasing farm bankruptcies highlight economic challenges
New data from U.S. court filings indicate farm bankruptcy has risen again. This is yet another indicator that we are experiencing a struggling farm economy. Samantha Ayoub, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the data paints a stark picture of the farm economy. Ayoub said farm bankruptcies are not a perfect indicator of the farm economy, since the data often lags behind real farm finances. Additionally, Ayoub said only a small number of farms are even eligible for...
IBIC brings beef education to the classroom
While we may be getting to the end of May Beef Month, that doesn?t mean we can stop advocating for the beef industry. At the Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC), that advocacy comes in many different forms. Arguably the most important among these is beef education,...
2022 Iowa summer drought outlook
We have been worried about the potential for drought in 2022, all the way back into 2021. We are in a situation where every bushel and every acre count. So, what does the author of the Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor think for Iowa?Brad Rippey is a meteorologist for the...
Ambassador Branstad talks about personal relationships in trade
Trade is one of our main focal points in agriculture. Without trade, we have nowhere to ship our goods. While many countries have different cultures which affect how we conduct business, it all boils down to one common foundation: personal relationships. It is much...
U.S. Export Sales Report (5-26-22)
This week?s report was very mild and, frankly, quite boring. Soybeans sales came withing expectations, and new crop corn did as well. Old crop corn sales are becoming, well, old at this point, as evidenced by the fact that they set a marketing year low this past week....
U.S. Dairy supports U.S. Government?s pursuit of full Canadian USMCA compliance
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) today applauded the Biden administration for its initiation of a second U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute panel concerning Canada?s ongoing refusal to meet its USMCA dairy...
Input prices, drought impacting cattle markets
The landscape of the 2022 cattle market is changing, and there are several issues with it. Bernt Nelson, American Farm Bureau Federation Economist, says the biggest factors in the cattle market are inventory, drought, and input costs.?USDA?s Annual Cattle Inventory...
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More Ag News
Iowa-based company working on autonomous planter
Agriculture is constantly evolving, and some of the technological innovations are reach brand-new levels. Now, we even have an Iowa-based company working on an autonomous planter, which can help farmers in a variety of ways. David Krog, CEO of Salin 247, said that,...
Report shows that beef is winning against chicken
One of the things Jennifer Nealson oversees for the Dollar a Head Beef Checkoff efforts- which are contracted by the checkoff to the National Cattlemen?s Beef Association- is research projects. At the recent 2023 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, Nealson said...
2022 finishes a top three year for U.S. pork exports
Courtney Knupp is the vice president of international market development for the National Pork Board and she says that 2022 was a top three export year for the industry.Despite challenges to the global marketplace from the lingering Covid pandemic and supply chain...
Farmers for Soil Health a joint effort to increase sustainability
Conservation and climate-smart farming are not new terms in our vocabulary. More and more, we are seeing farmers changing their practices to be even more mindful of the effect they have on the soil and the environment around them. They are working to make sure good...
USDA: ethanol production rebounds from pandemic lows
Production and consumption of ethanol as a transportation fuel grew significantly over the last three decades in the United States before plateauing in recent years. The ethanol share of finished motor gasoline has moved concurrently with consumption, leveling off...
