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Lessons learned from this growing season to be applied next year
Every growing season is like a year spent in the agronomy classroom for growers. Every time a farmer thinks they have seen it all, mother nature finds a way to throw a curveball. This year disease pressure was prevalent throughout the Corn Belt and southern rust was found early and often across Iowa. Robby Meeker is an agronomy manager with Wyffels Hybrids and he says that while disease pressure was rampant this year, not everyone felt that pressure. Although southern Iowa has seen southern...
AM radio supports quality of life in rural America
AM radio is a critical to rural America, according to National Farmers Union President Rob Larew. Speaking at the NFU annual convention this week, Larew said automakers shouldn’t limit access to information. “In terms of like emergency information and getting the word...
Farms received nearly a quarter of each food-at-home dollar in 2022
In 2022, farm establishments received 24.1 cents for each dollar spent on food at home and 3.6 cents for each dollar spent on food away from home. These amounts, called farm shares, highlight the different paths that food takes from farms to consumers' points of...
Low demand hurting dairy so far in 2024
The dairy industry just seems to never be able to catch a break these past few years. Regulations, trade disputes, labeling products that aren’t dairy as though they were, and the list goes on and on. As we move through these first three months of 2024. We see that...
South American Weather and Crop Update (3-12-24)
Drier weather in Brazil is providing less-than-ideal conditions for the safrinha crop that has been planted so far. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest South American weather patterns. On the other hand, that dry weather is allowing...
Tyson Foods to close Perry pork packing plant
Tyson Foods has signaled that it will permanently close its pork packing plant in Perry in late June. Tyson is the biggest employer in the city of Perry and the closing of the facility will leave 1,276 plant workers without jobs. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining...
USDA finalizes “Product of the USA” labeling rule
The Department of Agriculture this week finalized a rule related to voluntary labeling claims of ‘Product of the USA.’ USDA’s final ‘Product of the USA’ rule will allow farmers to label meat, poultry, and egg products when they are born, raised, and processed in the...
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More Ag News
Farmers tracking pollination and disease pressure in mid-July
At this time of year, our crops are pollinating, and we need the weather to cooperate in order to make sure our yields can be as high as possible. Since we have plenty of moisture in the soil, it’s mostly up to the temperatures to cooperate. Nate Meyer, southwest Iowa...
Edge-of-field conservation practices are simple and effective
Edge-of-field conservation practices aren’t complicated, but they are highly effective at improving water quality. These can be as simple as a grass waterway or a buffer strip beside a small creek, or they can be much more intensive, like a bioreactor at the end of a...
Vilsack discusses expected record farm trade deficit
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says this year’s expected record farm trade deficit is due to a strong U.S. economy and U.S. criticism of a major trading partner, China. Vilsack says the U.S. economy’s strength, with its stronger dollar, is largely to blame for USDA’s...
U.S. soybean supply to rebound in 2024-2025 marketing year
The U.S. soybean supply for marketing year 2024-2025 is forecast at 4.8 billion bushels, eight percent higher than the previous marketing year but down 20 million bushels from last month’s forecast. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service Acreage...
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...
