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Farm Bureau’s “Farm State of Mind” unveils new mental health resource
The challenges facing farmers and ranchers can take a toll on mental health and well-being. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s “Farm State of Mind” initiative helps provides access to information and resources that promote farmer and rancher mental health and wellness. This May, in honor of Mental Health Month, Farm State of Mind is rolling out a new resource based on six steps that helped Davis Peeler, a farmer from South Carolina. Peller said these simple steps helped him weather a storm...
Ag economists’ 2024 expectations
Geopolitical factors, elections, and many other surprises await the agricultural economy in 2024. Farm Journal and Purdue University’s December Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows views slightly more optimistic than they were a month ago. The economists talked about...
Naig looks back at 2023 & ahead to 2024
It has become almost cliché to say that the year that is ending, has been a “strange one.” Ever since the Chinese Trade War, we have been saying that in agriculture. We were just fortunate to have the pandemic fall in 2020, and it gave us a reason to say that the...
Making “cents” of soil health practices
We all know that soil health practices make sense from a conservation perspective, but do they also make “cents” (or dollars) from a financial point of view? This will be one of many topics of discussion at the Practical Farmers of Iowa 2024 Annual Conference, which...
2024 will be a big year for dairy policy
Many opportunities for change and improvement in U.S. dairy policy have been delayed until 2024 or are in the formal rulemaking process. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the farm bill extension has delayed work on some of the...
U.S. Pork certified as compliant with animal welfare standards
Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus®) version 5.0, PQA Plus Site Assessment version 5.0, and Transport Quality Assurance® (TQA®) version 8 have been certified to be I-S-O, or International Organization for Standardization, compliant with international animal...
Ag groups pleased with rail re-opening
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reopened the Eagle Pass and El Paso rail crossings into Mexico. Ag groups like the National Corn Growers Association were happy with the move but cautioned the agency against making similar decisions in the future. “This is...
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South American Weather and Crop Update (6-18-24)
Contrary to the ever-changing weather we’ve seen here in Iowa, the weather has remained status quo in South America. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest conditions. Fortunately, that weather hasn’t impacted the safrinha harvest in...
Ethanol on display at Iowa Corn Ethanol 350
Supporting Iowa’s World Class Corn Producers at the Iowa Corn Ethanol 350 this past weekend were our friends at the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Iowa corn farmers are among the most productive in the world and continue to get better, believe it or not, which...
New year farm bill funding boost not a given
Increased funding for the farm bill next year is not guaranteed. There is also no certainty that increased funding can be counted on for political support for a new five-year farm and nutrition bill. A streamlined budget process known as “reconciliation” allows the...
Iowa crop progress and condition report
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and...
USDA continues to learn about H5N1 vs HPAI
It feels like we have had a broken record going around and around during the spring and fall of the past few years. We have talked at length about High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The main difference between the two is that when the virus jumped the species...
