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Calls grow louder for Washington to deliver a Farm Bill
It’s been another week of reminders that Washington still hasn’t delivered on one of agriculture’s most basic needs: a new Farm Bill. Earlier this week, Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig said that agriculture craves certainty, and that’s something producers haven’t had in a long time. Now, the National Farmers Union is joining that growing call, urging lawmakers to move from talk to action and finally get a comprehensive bill passed. The National Farmers Union continues to focus on key policy...
South American Weather and Crop Update (8-31-23)
A little bit of rain in South America, but that’s not enough to deter farmers from finishing harvest. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest weather patterns. Harvest in Brazil is slightly behind the average, but McBride said this might...
Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting next week
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board will hold its Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting in Denver on September 6-7. The Committee consists of 20 cattle producers- ten from the beef board and ten from the federation. Jimmy Taylor, chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board,...
Grassley criticizes EPA WOTUS final rule and calls for legislative fix
United States Senator Chuck Grassley says it’s time to end the WOTUS back and forth between the courts and the EPA and pass a legislative ‘fix’. Even after Senator Grassley said the Supreme Court rejected the EPA’s ‘significant nexus test’ for a navigable water to...
Quarter 2 flat for farm incomes
Earlier this year we discussed the prediction that the second quarter earnings wouldn’t be too exciting for farms across the Midwest. After all the dust has settled, we see that this prediction holds somewhat true. While we may not have seen quite the decrease we...
Grill pork this Labor Day holiday
The first tailgating weekend and the final summer holiday are right around the corner, so what locally grown meats will you be putting on the grill? Iowa is the number one pork producing state, so if that’s your protein of choice this weekend, National Pork Board’s...
Vilsack defends administration’s ethanol policy and climate-smart programs
Today, at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the Biden Administration's approach to supporting family farmers and the biofuels industry. Vilsack touted the department's Climate Smart Agriculture partnerships during his...
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Low cattle inventory brings higher beef prices
USDA’s biannual Cattle Inventory report showed the nation’s cattle herd at 87.2 million head, down roughly two percent from last year. This is the lowest herd size in 73 years, and it means that we could be seeing record beef prices in the grocery store soon. American...
What to expect in the February WASDE report
The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) are released each month by the USDA and provide annual forecasts for supply and use of both U.S. and world wheat, rice, coarse grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The January report is typically thought of as a...
Secretary Naig encourages applications for century and heritage farm recognition
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig encourages eligible Iowa farm owners to apply for Century or Heritage Farm recognition as part of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Century and Heritage Farm Program. The program was created by the...
Iowa agriculture mourns the loss of Bill Northey
It came across social media and the agriculture information chain like a lightning bolt, yesterday. Bill Northey, former Iowa Agriculture Secretary and Former USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation passed away at the age of 64. Northey was a Spirit...
Building trust with consumers through quality practices
Pork certification programs are designed to help the farmers who raise pigs and also those who transport pigs to continually improve practices. Stephanie Wetter, the director of animal welfare for the National Pork Board, tells the IARN that the two main certification...
