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Soy checkoff continues evolving with changing demand needs
Farmers across the country are taking a harder look at every dollar moving through their operations. With tight margins, elevated input costs, and continued uncertainty in the ag economy, some soybean growers may question whether they are truly seeing value from the soybean checkoff dollars collected on every bushel sold. Members of the United Soybean Board say those are fair questions to ask. Speaking at the U.S. Soy booth, New Jersey farmer and USB board member Pat Giberson said the soybean...
CCC farm bill remedy has some support even from critics
United States Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack recently suggested use of Commodity Credit Corporation Funds as a remedy for the lack of farm bill funding to increase crop subsidy triggers or reference prices. That idea may have some support even among its critics. Vilsack...
U.S. Export Sales Report (1-19-24)
There’s been a lot of negativity in the marketplace following last week’s WASDE report, but we were able to end this week with some more friendly news from the export sales. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave a breakdown on this week’s numbers. This week’s...
Deadline approaching for crop insurance discount program
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today reminded farmers and landowners who planted cover crops this past fall to apply for the state’s Crop Insurance Discount Program ahead of the Friday, January 26 deadline. Eligible Iowans can receive a $5 per acre discount...
Soybean numbers appear to weaken in South America
As we go through the winter, it is obvious that the markets are watching what happens in Brazil. They are passing our numbers for exports and are in the midst of their growing season. However, they are also getting much attention because the conditions in the south...
Great Plains Manufacturing talks partnership with Bayer ForGround
The newest sustainability practices can be confusing or intimidating to some farmers, so it’s important for companies to make the technology easy to use and to understand. James Shurts, president of the ag division at Great Plains Manufacturing, said they’ve been at...
Finding positivity in a bearish ag marketplace
The January WASDE report typically moves the market with traders reacting to the final year-end numbers for production and supply. After a bearish report was released last Friday, the commodity markets have seen price movement to the downside in both corn and...
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Food Bank of Iowa receives donation of almost 240,000 eggs
Today, the Iowa Egg Council, Rose Acre Farms, and Hatch partnered together to make a generous donation of almost 240,000 eggs to the Food Bank of Iowa. This comes at a time when food donations are critical, as communities like Greenfield and Spencer are still...
Beef exports climb even higher while pork sits below last year’s pace
The value of U.S. beef exports topped $900 million in May, the highest since June 2023, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said exports trended higher year-over-year to...
Vilsack says clock is ticking on passage of new farm bill
United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says that everyone is on the same page with the goal of getting a new five-year farm bill done. However, he also says that time is getting tight for the completion of a new farm bill and is calling for all sides to...
Thirty million farm acres abandoned since 1986
In 2022, a University of Wisconsin study claimed that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “semi-natural areas” to cropland. Researcher Tyler Lark said that was in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and ethanol...
High-tech equipment increasing demand for larger farm sheds
We talk at length about the changes we see in technology and the larger equipment we are seeing in the fields. While we focus so much on how the technology is changing the face of farming and how it makes us more efficient with our resources and inputs, we tend to...
