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Cattle industry reflects on policy wins from 2025
The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association is wrapping up another busy year in the cattle industry. While there were plenty of struggles to overcome in the past twelve months, there are many victories to celebrate as well. ICA Director of Government Affairs Kelli Wicks said there were two major policy victories in particular that will benefit producers for years to come. Looking ahead to 2026, Wicks said one of the issues the ICA will be focused on is allowing cattle producers to graze CRP land. Wicks...
Helping young people entering the beef industry
The 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting was held in San Diego, California. Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, observed several new attendees this year. NCBA can take steps to assist younger individuals in entering the industry....
Lawmakers won’t compromise despite outcry for new farm bill
The huge outcry for a new farm bill from hundreds of Ag stakeholder groups last month seems to have prompted little movement from either side in Congress. That’s not a surprise to United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Over 500 Ag-related groups led by the...
Secretary Naig welcomes pesticide petition by Attorneys General Bird, Hilgers
Following the announcement today in Omaha by Attorneys General Brenna Bird of Iowa and Mike Hilgers of Nebraska that the states will jointly file a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the regulation of pesticides, Iowa Secretary of...
Ag Bio act will keep U.S. Biobased production at home
The Plant-Based Products Council and its supporters in Congress are hopeful that legislation aimed at expanding the agricultural bioeconomy will significantly impact the upcoming Farm Bill. The proposed Ag BIO Act seeks to increase the manufacturing of plant-based...
Small businesses seeing excellent growth across the country
Small businesses are the backbone of agriculture and local rural economies, as they create jobs and keep money local while adapting to the needs of consumers. Over the past several years, there’s been an even greater shift towards supporting small businesses over...
Ag chemical price transparency report helps farmers find savings
Farmers Business Network is celebrating its tenth year in 2024 and as a network of farmers it is always striving to help farmers work together. One of the ways in which FBN helps farmers each year is with its ag chemical price transparency report that allows farmers...
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Preparing the next generation of advocates for the pork industry
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) introduced a new initiative in 2024 called the “Young Pork Advocates” for students aged 18-22. The program is intended to help young advocates for the pork industry learn more about the industry and in turn pass that...
Keeping cattle healthy by minimizing stress
Many producers are rightfully worried about managing cattle diseases from infecting their herds, but there is another part of disease management that sometimes gets overlooked- stress management. When cattle are stressed, they have a tougher time fighting off those...
Corn and soybean harvests nearly complete
As of November 10, 95% of the 2024 corn crop in the top 18 corn-growing states was harvested. This was up from 91% a week prior and ahead of the five-year average of 84%. USDA said 96% of the soybean crop in the top 18 growing states was in the bins. This was up from...
Turkeys and egg layers see greatest impact from H5N1
Since 2022, the U.S. poultry industry has been battling a particularly persistent strain of H5N1, or avian influenza, and more than 100 million birds have been affected over the last two and a half years. Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, said...
BASF providing farmers with more tools to grow successful crops
Nobody in the state of Iowa would describe 2024 as normal. While it gave us more moisture than in years past, it also gave us a very dry second half of the year, which opened the door to different diseases and pests. The best we can do is learn from the lessons...
