Top Stories
Drought coverage shrinking across most of the U.S
Spring and early summer rainfall has helped to shrink the drought coverage area in the United States. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the U.S. Drought Monitor looks vastly different as of July 7th compared to the drought monitor maps of April 2026. The areas of D3 and D4 (extreme and exceptional) drought categories are also shrinking, although Rippey says only some of the regions with those designations have seen improvement. The Great Plains is one of the regions that has benefited from...
Breaking down the April Cattle on Feed report
The April USDA Cattle on Feed report shows lower inventory year over year but also includes some signs of attempts at increasing inventory says livestock analyst Anthony Fischer. Marketings of fed cattle increased 1% compared to last year at this time, says Fischer....
How many ag and food careers are there?
The 2025 Feeding the Economy Report says over 47 million people in the U.S. work in the agricultural and food industries. That is 29 percent of the U.S. population, and that number may be surprising to people, depending on where they live. One interesting thing about...
GROWMARK partner Eion secures $33M Frontier deal
Eion, a GROWMARK partner, is a company turning the proven science of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) into a scalable climate solution. Eion has announced a $33 million carbon removal purchase by Frontier buyers. Through this offtake deal, its largest to date, Eion will...
U.S. Export Sales Report (4-17-25)
Despite the intense volatility and uncertainty in the global market, this week’s export sales were excellent for corn and soybeans. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride said the corn sales were significantly higher than average. Soybean sales were also great this...
Cybercrime is a very real problem in rural America
Cybercrime might seem like something straight out of a futuristic spy novel, but it’s absolutely real, and it even happens in rural America. The Federal Trade Commission recently reported another record year of fraud losses totaling $12.5 billion by American...
Grassley says fluid ag markets help U.S. producers amid China tariffs
As China and the United States engage in a tariff tug of war, China is placing levies on U.S. farm goods and making purchases from America’s competitors. However, U.S. senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says some of those losses can be offset. Grassley confirms that China...
Video
More Ag News
Corn exports set marketing-year low in latest report
After many weeks of outstanding corn export sales, the numbers this week came in well below expectations and led to a negative close in the corn marketplace. Sam Trainor, AgMarket.Net hedging strategist, the corn exports set a marketing-year low. However, Trainor said...
Iowa farmers are still waiting for a new farm bill
While Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill budget package included approximately $66 billion investment in key farm programs, there’s still work to be done. Brian Glenn, director of government affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said a key focus was on...
Grassley cites Brazil tariff threat as probably the most important
Brazil is one of the United States’ biggest competitors in agricultural trade. The nation of Brazil has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest soybean exporter and is also one of the top exporters of beef, often competing with U.S. producers. Therefore,...
Two webinars will examine impact of excessive farm heat on people and produce
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Farm, Food and Enterprise Development team is holding two webinars in August that will explore the role of intense heat on farmers and growers, as well as their crops. “Heat exposure is an increasing problem for...
New capital gains updates may help Iowa succession
The capital gains provisions in the Reconciliation Bill have become a hot topic, in part because they paint with a broad brush. While critics argue that the changes are a tax break for billionaires, the reality is more nuanced, especially for the agricultural sector....
