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Boozman says farm bill proposal coming soon
Senate Ag Chair John Boozman says that the work on a bipartisan farm bill is about to yield results. Boozman says that the high prices of fertilizer and diesel fuel, labor and interest costs are all necessary reasons that farm policy needs to be updated and modernized. Ranking member Amy Klobuchar says recent farm bill talks have been productive but the elephant in the room remains SNAP cost shares by individual states. Klobuchar is hopeful for farm bill changes once USDA issues final state...
Lawmakers won’t compromise despite outcry for new farm bill
The huge outcry for a new farm bill from hundreds of Ag stakeholder groups last month seems to have prompted little movement from either side in Congress. That’s not a surprise to United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Over 500 Ag-related groups led by the...
Secretary Naig welcomes pesticide petition by Attorneys General Bird, Hilgers
Following the announcement today in Omaha by Attorneys General Brenna Bird of Iowa and Mike Hilgers of Nebraska that the states will jointly file a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the regulation of pesticides, Iowa Secretary of...
Ag Bio act will keep U.S. Biobased production at home
The Plant-Based Products Council and its supporters in Congress are hopeful that legislation aimed at expanding the agricultural bioeconomy will significantly impact the upcoming Farm Bill. The proposed Ag BIO Act seeks to increase the manufacturing of plant-based...
Small businesses seeing excellent growth across the country
Small businesses are the backbone of agriculture and local rural economies, as they create jobs and keep money local while adapting to the needs of consumers. Over the past several years, there’s been an even greater shift towards supporting small businesses over...
Ag chemical price transparency report helps farmers find savings
Farmers Business Network is celebrating its tenth year in 2024 and as a network of farmers it is always striving to help farmers work together. One of the ways in which FBN helps farmers each year is with its ag chemical price transparency report that allows farmers...
Rural America can be tough for allergy sufferers
Approximately 81 million Americans are diagnosed with seasonal allergies or hay fever, which affects 26 percent of adults and 19 percent of children. In many rural areas across America, there are three waves of pollen allergy triggers throughout the growing season....
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Protecting small businesses from the CTA
Recently, enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was put on hold. In theory, the CTA is designed to weed out any money laundering schemes, terrorism financing, and tax fraud. In practice, however, Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn says the CTA places an...
U.S. Export Sales Report (12-19-24)
After getting quite a jump on the marketing year, export sales have been fairly disappointing over the last month. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest numbers from the USDA. As for the flash sales, McBride said they’ve been mostly...
Congress leaving town with no Prop 12 fix
The National Pork Producers Council is deeply disappointed in Congress’ decision to relinquish its responsibility to produce a five-year farm bill and an overdue federal solution to California’s Proposition 12. The organization says pork producers don’t have the...
The Meat Demand Monitor and consumption trends
Kansas State University publishes the publicly available Meat Demand Monitor. Glynn Tonsor, a Kansas State professor and economist, says the monitor follows consumption trends and price expectations. He says pork consumers are a diverse group, and the Meat Demand...
Adding value with regenerative ag
As more farmers adopt regenerative and conservation ag practices, the operation’s bottom line will receive a higher return on investment. Ag companies are working with farmers to be even better stewards of the land. They are supporting and sometimes incentivizing...
