Top Stories
Trump cuts tariffs on ag equipment to 15 percent
President Donald Trump has announced tariff reductions on certain agricultural and industrial equipment, a move that could help ease some cost pressures facing farmers and machinery dealers. Under a new proclamation, tariffs on products like harvesters, bulldozers, forklifts, and HVAC equipment will be reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent. The Wall Street Journal said the administration also lowered tariffs to ten percent on products manufactured abroad that contain at least 85 percent...
The Midwest will enjoy a little bit of a cooldown
On Monday, we saw storms roll across central and eastern Iowa, which rolled to the Indiana/Ohio border. Rain, hail, tornadoes, and high wind gusts were recorded after what NOAA classified as a derecho. Wind gusts of over 100 miles an hour were recorded near New Vienna...
South American Weather and Crop Update (7-16-24)
For the most part, the weather is still dry in Brazil and Argentina. While this is creating long-term concerns, it is at the very least allowing harvest to progress at a brisk pace. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest conditions....
AFBF challenges rule that destabilizes ranching
A total of 12 groups sued the Bureau of Land Management, saying the new Public Lands Rule threatens the future of ranching in the U.S. by destabilizing a long-time tradition of grazing on federal lands. Travis Cushman, deputy general counsel for AFBF, said there are...
Grassley discusses commodity prices and the ag economy
United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) spoke with farm broadcasters and reporters on Tuesday and commented on the current state of the ag economy. With lower commodity prices Grassley stressed the need for updated reference prices in a new five-year farm bill. He...
Clean Fuels supports letter on higher RFS volumes
A bipartisan group of 37 House members sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan encouraging him to support biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel volumes that fully account for availability and production capacity. Clean Fuels thanked all the...
Japanese Beetles are abundant again
One of our old friends is again back in our fields this year. Japanese Beetles are being found in parts of the corn belt, and in abundant numbers. We know it doesn’t take long for the populations to take off. While they are more pest than a problem, that doesn’t mean...
Video
More Ag News
HPAI should wane over the winter, but the battle is not over
Snow is now on the ground in Des Moines. With this cold snap, it is safe to say that winter has arrived. It comes with many challenges and frustrations, but there are also positives. One of those positives is the expected seasonal slowdown of H5N1 or High-Pathogenic...
Agriculture groups react to Ag Secretary nominee
U.S. agriculture groups reacted to President-elect Donald Trump picking Brooke Rollins as his nominee for Secretary of Agriculture. “Brooke Rollins has fought for Main Street and rural America,” says National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government...
Balancing trying to save money without impacting yields
Producers are always looking for ways to farm as efficiently and economically as possible, but in a time of depressed commodity prices that becomes an even bigger priority. Isaac Anderson is a market development agronomist with Winfield United and he says that while...
Trump announces blanket tariff plans, neighboring countries respond
President-elect Donald Trump has laid out his vision for blanket tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Trump announced on his social media platform that one of his first executive orders will be to slap an immediate 25 percent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican...
Succession planning can make passing the farm down easier
Farming is full of investments, but those investments aren’t in traditional things like stocks and bonds- they’re in things like land and machinery. Matt Roberts, chief planning officer of the West Des Moines-based Syverson Strege, said that’s why it’s even more...
