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Pilot program targets nitrogen efficiency
As Iowa farmers prepare to get planters rolling this spring, a new soil testing effort is aiming to help producers better manage fertilizer costs while also improving environmental outcomes. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the pilot program focuses on understanding how much residual nitrogen is already present in the soil before additional fertilizer is applied. He says recent conditions, including drought and a warm winter, have created higher-than-normal nitrogen carryover in some...
Ag industry leaders examine markets in Korea and Japan
A team of about 20 representatives of the beef, pork, corn, and soybean industries traveled to South Korea and Japan last week with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Heartland team to examine how checkoff dollars are being used to promote U.S. beef and pork in...
Founders of Hidden Falls LLC receive PFI’s 2023 Farmland Owner Legacy Award
Practical Farmers of Iowa has awarded the 2023 Farmland Owner Legacy Award to the founding members of Hidden Falls LLC, for their efforts to create land access for beginning farmers while protecting ecologically sensitive land. The award was presented on Sunday, Sept....
Iowa meat has never been better
It's never been better- the taste and quality of Iowa's homegrown beef products and the job being done by our wonderful independent cattle producers. The strides we are seeing on Iowa’s cattle farms are not by accident though as the groundwork has been laid for a lot...
Farmers face higher diesel prices for harvest
Input costs are limiting the profits for farmers when you compare them against the higher grain prices we have been enjoying. When these prices were increasing a few years ago, farmers knew that the high-profit margins were going to be short-lived. Many farmers we...
Encouraging conversations on carbon pipelines
Conversations about the pros and cons of carbon capture pipelines and other carbon technologies are very much ongoing, and many of those conversations have a lot of emotion involved. Joe Heinrich, executive director of the Smart Carbon Network, said there are...
Delayed farm bill could limit ag program funds
Growing concern over a government shutdown but also over a delay in passing a new farm bill and how that may affect safety programs like crop insurance during a dry year here in Iowa. It appears politics are being played with the annual defense spending bill in the...
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Farm bank lending increased in 2023
Agricultural loan demand increased in 2023, and agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks grew 6.7 percent to $110 billion. The American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank Performance Report credits elevated production costs, commodity price volatility, and a return...
South American Weather and Crop Update (3-26-24)
Argentina is still dealing with crop concerns from the amount of rain they’ve gotten as of late. Even with that rain, though, dryness is still looming over South America. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest weather conditions in Brazil...
Vibrant market for U.S. red meat in South Korea
An agribusiness trade mission organized by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is underway in Seoul, South Korea, led by Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) helped coordinate the...
Naig gives update on legislative efforts for agriculture
As the state house gets ready to wind down for the year, and tractors and farms get ready to wind up, we have decided to take a look at a few of the initiatives that the Iowa government looked at concerning agriculture policy. Two of those come right to the forefront,...
Cattle on feed report shows big jump in February placements
The latest Cattle on Feed report was released on March 22nd by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and it shows a significant increase in placements in feedlots in February. The latest Cattle on Feed report from USDA indicates that placements in...
