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Ag and biofuel groups step up call for year-round E15 sales
More than 70 biofuel and ag groups have joined together to renew the call for Congress to pass year-round E15 legislation. The renewed push for legislation comes as Congress reconvenes and is powered by the legislation nearly being passed in Congress last year. Renewable Fuels Association Chief Economist Scott Richman says air restrictions block E15 summertime sales in most of the country. RFA, Growth Energy, and a host of farm groups argue in a letter to lawmakers that permanent year-round...
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...
Make sure to heavily consider yield potential before replanting
The plentiful amount of rain we have received so far this crop season has been a blessing for the drought conditions across the state. In fact, Iowa is now entirely drought-free. However, receiving so much rain in a relatively short period of time also has some...
Middle East chefs and culinary students educated on U.S. beef
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Corporate Chef Germán Navarrete is based in Mexico City, but his talents are employed throughout the world. With support from USDA and the Beef Checkoff Program, Chef Navarrete recently conducted training sessions for chefs and...
Getting the best deal possible as interest rate cuts remain elusive
To combat inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023. As inflation has receded, expectations for rate cuts have not materialized. 2024 has been a difficult interest environment for farmers with rates steady and no...
USDA funds to support farmworkers
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA is awarding $50 million to 141 awardees in 40 states and Puerto Rico. The funds come through the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program and will reach 177 unique agricultural operations and more than 11,000...
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Dry weather can cause complications for soybean harvest
The dry weather is allowing harvest in Iowa to progress at a quick pace, and that’s especially true for soybeans in northeast Iowa. While the ease of harvest is great, the dry weather also has some inherent risks. Beck’s agronomist Lee Koenigsfeld said they’ve gotten...
AFBF supporting farmers suffering from hurricane damage
Hurricane Helene was the deadliest storm in America since 2017, with over 225 lives lost and many others still missing. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, says agriculture is an important part of the Southeast and has a long road to...
Make management decisions before planting to battle corn rootworm
Corn rootworm can cause significant yield loss but the best way to deal with the pest is to develop your plan for the yield robbers before planting. That’s according to Kevin Langdon a technical product lead for insecticides with Syngenta. Langdon says that corn on...
Secretary Naig announces record investments to expand E15, biodiesel availability statewide
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program (RFIP) Board recently approved 126 project applications from Iowa gas stations for new and expanded E15, E85, and biodiesel infrastructure projects. Totaling...
Heartbreaking AG stories continue after Hurricane Helene
It has been well over a week since Hurricane Helene unleashed her fury on North Carolina and Tennessee. Even as we await today’s landfall of Hurricane Milton, once called the second strongest hurricane ever recorded, people are still trying to put their lives together...
