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Congress proposes changes to Endangered Species Act
New legislation is aimed at providing improvements and updates to the Endangered Species Act. Shelby Hagenauer, senior director of government relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the organization especially appreciates the updates help to incentivize early adoption of actions that would help wildlife. Hagenauer said the Endangered Species Act was first passed with good intentions in 1973 to protect species in peril. After a potential House vote this week, the bill will move...
EATS Act is seeing pushback. Where do we go from here? (Part 1)
We have talked at length with Iowa lawmakers supporting the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act brought forward by Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in the House and in the Senate by Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. According to what we have been told, it is...
Agoro Carbon introduces new legume cover crop practice
Agoro Carbon has added legumes into a cover crop mix, which expands their carbon market offerings to farmers. Clay Craighton, Agoro Carbon strategic accounts manager, said the addition will allow legacy farmers- who are already utilizing cover crop strategies- to join...
Ethanol industry says EPA taking too long to finalize summertime E15
The ethanol industry says in a letter to EPA chief Michael Regan that it’s way past time for the agency to ‘green light’ summertime E15 use requested in April 2022 by eight Midwest governors.The Renewable Fuels Association says the deadline is more than a year old to...
Behind the scenes of Iowa’s hard cider industry
The agriculture industry in Iowa is very diverse- there's no question about that. Our food comes from a lot of different places provided by local producers. Several of those places were on display this week on the Johnson County Ag Group Annual Farm Tour, including...
$580,000 in water quality practices to improve six publicly owned Iowa lakes
DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 2, 2023) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced today that six Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) will receive water quality funding from the Publicly Owned...
IDALS is ready for another busy Iowa State Fair
We are now into the single-digit countdown to the Iowa State Fair. Of course, nobody is more excited about this than our own Riley Smith. He has already mapped out what food he is planning to eat and when, and that includes when he is there outside of work hours.But,...
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Is the economy affecting Farm Bill progress?
Despite the high rises of the DOW and the S&P 500, the economy for the average American is not in a good place. Political and economic pundits are arguing back and forth whether we are in a recession or not. If we are in one, it hasn’t been an epic recession, but...
Growth Energy highlighting biofuel opportunities
Heading further into 2024, one of the top missions for Growth Energy is year-round, nationwide access to E15. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor spoke on E15 during her keynote address at the group’s annual meeting. Skor said it’s a proven fact that year-round E15 will save...
Competition in overseas markets increasing during 2024
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer talked about the state of the ag economy and the headwinds it faces in 2024. During his speech at the 100th Annual Ag Outlook Meeting, he said there are challenges ahead. “We've seen a lot of growth in trade for agricultural...
2022 Census Of Agriculture indicates loss of farms and farmland
The USDA released the 2022 Census of Agriculture this week. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says some of the results were concerning, especially the number of farms and total amount of farmland across America. While those numbers sound large, Secretary Vilsack was able to...
Crop insurance costs to jump 29 percent
The federally-subsidized crop insurance program will cost an additional $27.7 billion over the next decade. A Congressional Budget Office report says the government pays roughly 62 cents of each dollar in premiums, and sales of livestock and forage policies are...
