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USDA watching western drought, Midwest summer outlook
Summer weather patterns remain difficult to predict heading into the heart of the growing season, but USDA Chief Meteorologist Brad Rippey says current forecast models continue pointing toward ongoing drought concerns across much of the western United States. Speaking during a weather briefing in Washington, D.C., Rippey said forecasters are currently caught between fading La Niña conditions and the expected development of El Niño later this year. Rippey, who authors the weekly U.S. Drought...
Sign-ups still open for PFI’s N Rate Risk Protection Program
Farmers are always looking for ways to increase their sustainability while also improving their ROI, but sometimes that comes with an unavoidable amount of risk. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) is offering its N Rate Risk Protection Program to help encourage farmers...
Iowa hit record E15 sales in 2023
JOHNSTON, IA – The Retailers Motor Fuel Gallons Annual Report, just released by the Iowa Department of Revenue, found E15 sales increased 47 percent year-on-year to a record 178 million gallons. The report also found a record 68 million gallons of biodiesel was...
February was another strong month for pork and beef exports
U.S. pork exports posted another excellent performance in February, which was fueled by growth in the Western Hemisphere, South Korea, and Australia. February pork exports increased 14% from a year ago to more than 250,000 metric tons (mt), while value jumped 15% to...
Biosecurity is paramount with dairy herds in wake of HPAI crossover
There have been concerns raised since we learned that High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) crossed the species barrier to Dairy herds in different parts of the country, mainly in the plains. Producers are concerned about the safety of their herd and making sure that...
Deadline quickly approaching for rural nurse scholarship program
This year, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses is recognizing April 7-13 as Occupational Health Nurses Week, and AgriSafe Network is celebrating by offering 125 continuing nursing education scholarships for the 2024 Nurse Scholar program. The...
Fuel and power prices climbing again
At a time of declining farm income, fuel and electricity costs are climbing once again. Unleaded gasoline averaged $3.54 a gallon nationally last week, that is up 14 percent from the start of the year. The national diesel price averaged $4. As planting season...
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More Ag News
La Nina likely to return this fall
The weather has been on the drier side in some parts of the state recently, as regions like western Iowa have seen the return of abnormally dry conditions on the drought monitor. However, this isn’t as big of a problem right now, as the crops are very close to full...
July was a strong month for beef and pork exports
Exports of U.S. beef continued to build momentum in July, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said July beef exports totaled 110,419 metric tons (mt), up 7% from a year ago-...
Farming efficiently and improving yields with PTx
In the spring of 2024 AGCO announced the launch of PTx bringing two of its precision ag entities, Precision Planting and PTx Trimble, together under one umbrella. Seth Crawford is the general manager of PTx and he says that with AGCO’s precision ag offerings from...
SAF coalition submits comments on energy credits and incentives
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition submitted comments responding to request for stakeholder comments on energy credits and incentives from the House Ways and Means Committee. In its comments, the Coalition underscored the economic benefits associated with SAF...
Hoegemeyer pleased with 24 performance and looks forward to 25
Record yields are being predicted once again in 2024. Now, we may wonder where those yields are coming from. However, what we have heard mostly around the state is that crops look good. People are saying that except for some drowned-out spots, the plants look strong...
