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House Ag ranking member calls for stability
House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Rep. Angie Craig says Congress must do more to address the financial challenges facing American farmers. During a press call with agricultural reporters, the Minnesota Democrat argued that continued economic uncertainty and rising farm bankruptcies demonstrate the need for greater stability across the agricultural economy. Craig contends the Trump administration's trade and economic policies have added to the financial pressures producers are already...
Secretary Naig recognizes conservation leaders at Iowa Agribusiness Showcase
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented the Secretary’s Ag Leader Award for Conservation to two individuals who have demonstrated significant leadership and made noteworthy contributions toward improving water quality throughout Iowa. Evan Brehm, a...
South American Weather and Crop Update (2-12-25)
The one surprise- if you can even call it that- from the February WASDE report was the cut to some of the production numbers for Brazil and Argentina. At this point, some of the major growing areas have received too much rain. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride...
USTR pick Greer says US must diversify trade markets
President Trump’s United States Trade Representative pick, Jamieson Greer, says the US must become less reliant on China for its farm and other exports. China remains among the top three export markets for US farm goods, but its tariff and non-tariff barriers and...
Keeping an eye on Mississippi River water levels
Grain shippers and farmers are keeping an eye on the water levels in the Mississippi River. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, said water levels have been a consistent challenge to shipping grains for the last few years. The...
USDA data confirms agritourism is saving some family farms
The latest Census of Agriculture from the USDA, conducted in 2022, is beginning to reveal hard data on the benefits of agritourism for family farms. The numbers confirm what many farmers have experienced firsthand diversifying into agritourism is helping sustain their...
Few changes made in February WASDE
Not much was expected from this month’s WASDE report. However, it still managed to be quiet even by those standards. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride said they were looking for slight reductions to the U.S. balance sheet, but no changes were made. The only...
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More Ag News
Be early and active when managing post-emergence weeds
With most of the crops planted at this point, it’s time to be thinking about post-emergence weed management already. Northeast Iowa Beck’s Agronomist Lee Koenigsfeld said it’s important to take care of weeds while they are small and easy to kill. When it comes to...
U.S. cattle herd may be rebuilding due to strong demand
Signs are pointing to a rebuilding of the cattle herd in response to continued strong consumer demand driven by increasing quality. That was the message from CattleFax CEO Randy Blach to attendees of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring Conference as it got...
GT Thompson stresses farm safety net as tax bill heads to Senate
House Ag Chair GT Thompson says the Trump Tax Bill, which is now headed to the Senate, will improve the farm safety net. While most of last week’s House debate on the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” focused on SNAP and Medicaid savings opposed by Democrats, Ag...
Ethanol industry urges Reynolds to veto eminent domain bill
Iowa ethanol advocates and farmers are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a bill restricting carbon sequestration pipelines. The advocates said in a press conference Thursday the bill is “extremely problematic” to biofuels, farming, energy and Iowa economies. The bill,...
Butterfield’s lullaby: 24 simple notes that carry a lot of weight
If you slept through history class, you did not miss anything about General Daniel Butterfield. Nobody really talks about him. However, there is not an American who does not know at least something about him, even if they do not realize it. AUDIO: Profit Matters...
