Top Stories
Farmers already expect higher breakeven prices in 2027
The Purdue University/CME Group's Ag Economy Barometer declined in April as economic uncertainty caused a dip in farmer optimism for the future of their operations. Michael Langemeier, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, says that corn growers are doing the math and expect even higher breakeven prices during the 2027 growing season. Despite the dip in the ag economy barometer and tightening margins for producers, many respondents to the survey indicated that they...
Farm groups react to MAHA commission report
On the heels of Thursday’s report released by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, industry organizations are calling for science-based agricultural policy. In a statement, the Modern Ag Alliance said the report raises the possibility that the federal government...
NPPC: Line speed rise won’t hurt safety
It takes tremendous effort and coordination to move our agricultural products from the farm gate to the grocery store shelves. Every step of the supply chain relies on effort and efficiency to keep food flowing to consumers. One of the most critical links in that...
Be early and active when managing post-emergence weeds
With most of the crops planted at this point, it’s time to be thinking about post-emergence weed management already. Northeast Iowa Beck’s Agronomist Lee Koenigsfeld said it’s important to take care of weeds while they are small and easy to kill. When it comes to...
U.S. cattle herd may be rebuilding due to strong demand
Signs are pointing to a rebuilding of the cattle herd in response to continued strong consumer demand driven by increasing quality. That was the message from CattleFax CEO Randy Blach to attendees of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring Conference as it got...
GT Thompson stresses farm safety net as tax bill heads to Senate
House Ag Chair GT Thompson says the Trump Tax Bill, which is now headed to the Senate, will improve the farm safety net. While most of last week’s House debate on the president’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” focused on SNAP and Medicaid savings opposed by Democrats, Ag...
Ethanol industry urges Reynolds to veto eminent domain bill
Iowa ethanol advocates and farmers are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a bill restricting carbon sequestration pipelines. The advocates said in a press conference Thursday the bill is “extremely problematic” to biofuels, farming, energy and Iowa economies. The bill,...
Video
More Ag News
July 2025 brought historic rainfall to Iowa
After experiencing an already wet month in June, history would suggest that July would back off on the faucets a little bit. That was not the case this year, though, as Iowa experienced the second wettest July on record. Dr. Justin Glisan, state climatologist for...
USMEF applauds confirmation of new USDA Undersecretary for Trade
On Saturday evening, the U.S. Senate confirmed Luke Lindberg as USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs on a vote of 77-18. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom said there was strong bipartisan support in the...
USDA says farmland values up, cash rents stable
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer says that USDA’s annual snapshot of farmland value and cash rents shows a slowdown in year over year growth. He expands on land values when breaking down the numbers for cropland and pasture values. Farm real estate value by state...
Secretary Naig announces start of construction on Middle Cedar watershed project
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that construction is starting on a “batch and build” water quality project in Tama and Grundy Counties. This project, led by Heartland Co-op, will include the installation of 14 saturated buffers and four...
Precision spraying expands on Iowa farm acres
Farmers and custom applicators are finding that using a mix of equipment is key to keeping up with the demands of modern crop management. For operations across Iowa, combining Hagie’s front-mounted boom sprayers with John Deere machines outfitted with See & Spray...
