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Farmer Bridge Assistance program isn’t a long-term solution for economic issues
Earlier this week, the Trump Administration announced the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which will offer $12 billion in economic aid to farmers impacted by low commodity prices, high input costs, and challenges to market access. While many farmers are appreciative of the one-time payment, they still need to see a significant long-term solution. Ryan Mulholland, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the program does not address the long-term damage that has been inflicted...
South American Weather and Crop Update (5-29-24)
The weather forecast in South America has opened up and is now very dry for the next couple of weeks. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest conditions. Harvest in Brazil is mostly wrapped up, and Argentina is making good progress on...
House Ag Committee makes progress on Farm Bill process
After almost 13 hours, the House Agriculture Committee sent their version of the farm bill from Committee Chair GT Thompson to the full House for a vote. Joe Gilson, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau, says it was quite a process to get the...
HPAI detected in commercial chicken flock in Sioux 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 (HPAI) in Sioux County, Iowa. The affected site...
Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul seeing catastrophic flooding
Last year, when I had the opportunity to go to Brazil, I spent the first days in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It’s in the Southern part of Brazil, still many hours from the ports along the ocean. While there, I saw some of the lushest regions of agriculture...
Bullish Cattle on Feed report creates market optimism
Just before the Memorial Day Weekend, the livestock markets got some homework in the form of the latest Cattle on Feed report. There was plenty of time for the markets to digest the neutral numbers, and today both live and feeder cattle climbed higher. Even though the...
Biobased products key to the future of agriculture
Biobased products, including fuels, lubricants, construction materials, and more are the future, and were the subject of several House farm bill amendments last week. Iowa’s Zach Nunn offered and withdrew his biobased products amendment after Chair Glenn Thompson...
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Secretary Naig urges Iowans to focus on safety this harvest season
With the busy harvest season commencing across the state, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is urging Iowans to keep safety top of mind in the field, around the farm and on the road. In recognition of National Farm Safety and Health Week, Secretary Naig has...
Low water levels slowing transport on the Mississippi River
After a spring that was loaded with moisture that busted our multi-year drought and slowed down some of the plantings, it is hard to believe that we are talking about dry conditions and low rivers once again. Low rainfalls around the Midwest have contributed again to...
Iowans testify before Senate committee on disaster relief programs
Today, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, which is chaired by U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), hosted a hearing to discuss the challenges facing rural small businesses and the federal support they have received, specifically through the U.S....
Research reaffirms safety of properly prepared pork
USDA released research confirming a negligible risk of trichinella from their study of 3.2 million samples taken from Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus) farms. Heather Fowler, director of producer and public safety for the National Pork Board, said this research...
Grassley speaks on possible Stabenow farm aid add to CR
There are rumblings on Capitol Hill that Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow is considering attaching temporary relief for farmers, in place of a new farm bill, to a must-pass stop-gap spending bill. Farm broadcasters asked United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)...
