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News from May Cattle on Feed Report
The May Cattle on Feed Report offers some of the latest trends from the cattle feedlots. USDA livestock analyst Michael McConnell provides some details. Total inventory was up 2% year over year, that was driven in part by a 6% increase in April of cattle placed in feedlots compared to last year. McConnell says that marketings of fed cattle decreased 10% from the previous year. That was USDA livestock analyst Michael McConnell.
Iowans encouraged to visit farmers markets
As summer kicks off, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is encouraging Iowa families to visit and support the more than 200 farmers markets located across the state. Farmers markets and farm stands provide consumers with easy access to local fruits, vegetables,...
ISU developed test to detect Japanese encephalitis virus
In 2013, when the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus made its way to the U.S., the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (ISU VDL) had to design a high-capacity test to keep up with the outbreak. Now there’s another disease that’s made a global spread. Japanese...
April pork exports largest in almost three years
April exports of U.S. pork reached the highest volume and value since May 2021, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). It was also a robust month for U.S. beef exports, which were the largest in 10 months and valued...
NPPC Working with our neighbors to protect our animal populations
Global trade is a complex thing. There are agreements in place, tariffs, trade barriers, and the list goes on and on. It’s not just saying, “Hey we would like to sell you some food.” And they respond, “Okay here’s our money.” There are so many rules, regulations, and...
Raising pork sustainably leads to long-term success
Sustainability in agriculture is a big focus for much of the industry in 2024. Sustainability in animal agriculture is a holistic approach to raising livestock in which farmers do more with less and in the process can increase profitability by using fewer resources....
HPAI detected in a Sioux County dairy
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a herd of dairy cattle in Sioux...
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Benson Hill unveils updated website made with farmers in mind
In the effort to tell the company’s new brand story, Benson Hill has updated and enhanced its website. The changes now showcase how Benson Hill’s seed innovations are driving a more sustainable future for feed, food, and fuel markets. Rich LaBonte, vice president of...
Marketing pork to the confident meat eater
The National Pork Board completed a sophisticated segmentation study of U.S. consumers to learn their priorities to connect with them emotionally. David Newman, vice president of market growth for NPB, said the Confident Meat Eaters, one of the seven consumer...
Iowa Ag Secretary Naig discusses Pure Prairie Poultry situation
Earlier in the month we learned of the situation surrounding the Pure Prairie Poultry company and the financial woes leading to producers not having feed for the birds and lacking the payments they were supposed to receive. The Iowa Department of Agriculture &...
October cattle report shows strong demand for cattle and beef
Last Friday’s Cattle on Feed report confirms a strong demand for cattle and beef says USDA economist, Michael McConnell. September placements into feedlots of 2.16 million head is down 2% from a year ago. Marketings out of feedlots were up 2% leaving feedlots October...
Forty percent of farmers work off the farm
The 2022 Census of Agriculture showed about 40 percent of American farmers worked 200 or more days off the farm in 2022. The majority, 93 percent, of the 3,078 U.S. counties for which data was reported had at least 30 percent of producers working 200 or more days off...
