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Boozman seeks to shift foreign food aid to USDA in farm bill
Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman says that USDA should operate foreign food aid programs, not the State Department. Boozman, says he hopes to make the switch if he can pass a new farm bill. Most U.S. foreign food aid was transferred to the State Department after President Trump largely dismantled USAID. Now, Boozman wants Food for Peace and the McGovern-Dole program moved under the control of USDA. Boozman is hopeful that the switch can be made by including the change in the farm bill,...
Brazil says U.S. ethanol tariff would be unreasonable
Brazil’s Energy and Mining Minister Alexandre Silveira said on Thursday that a potential U.S. tariff on Brazilian ethanol would be unreasonable, emphasizing that the two countries have historically negotiated ethanol and sugar trade together. His remarks came after...
Presidents who shaped American farming and agriculture
Throughout American history, many Presidents have had deep roots in farming, shaping not only the nation's agricultural policies but also its identity as a land of hardworking stewards of the soil. From George Washington, who experimented with innovative farming...
White House calls out Brazil ethanol tariff in defending reciprocal tariffs
The White House mentioned Brazil’s tariff on US ethanol as an example of duties the US needs to fight back against with reciprocal tariffs. President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs to match other countries duties on US goods, as the White House pointed out...
Studies confirm benefits of UHP-LO soybean meal
Benson Hill has completed more feeding trials using their Ultra-High Protein, Low Oligosaccharide (UHP-LO) soybean meal, showcasing the impact of the meal on broiler chicken performance. Aaron Robinson, vice president of product development at Benson Hill, said their...
Getting a head start on corn disease management
Planting season will be here before we know it, and Iowa’s corn farmers are looking for another productive year. Among many other things, disease management is a top solution for corn growers to defend their yield potential. Todd Cogdill, technical service manager...
HPAI detected in a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in...
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Insecticide-resistant soybean aphids pose a challenge to Iowa farmers
For a few years, soybean aphids weren’t too much of a problem in Iowa. However, last year was a wake-up call for farmers in Northern Iowa especially. Kurt Maertens, BASF technical services representative for Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, said that soybean aphids...
Mental Health Awareness Month is especially important for agriculture
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Farmers and ranchers experience higher rates of mental health issues compared to the general population. This is due to many factors, including financial strain and weather-related stress. Dr. Larry Tranel, a dairy field...
Farmland prices began to soften in 2024
2024 was the cooling period for farmland prices after several years of quickly rising farmland values. Randy Dickhut, farmland sales expert with Agricultural Economic Insights, says fluctuating farmland prices are a typical pattern over a multi-year period. According...
Iowa cash rents drop in 2025
The 2025 annual survey of cash rental rates for Iowa farmland shows that rates decreased, on average, by 2.9 percent in 2025 to $271 per acre. It’s the first decline in cash rents since 2019, after a peak of $279 per acre during the previous two years of the survey....
Congress yet to deliver on E15 promise
E15 fuel will be available again this summer thanks to another temporary waiver from the Trump Administration. While Iowa is one of eight Midwestern states already allowing year-round E15 sales, this fix remains only partial. Iowa lawmakers are still in the fight,...
