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Ernst builds on USDA food safety center announcement
Following up on last week’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture about establishing a National Food Safety Center in Iowa, more details are emerging about what that move means for the state and the broader ag industry. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is planning to locate the new center in Urbandale, creating a hub for administrative, technical, and support functions as part of a broader effort to modernize the agency and better align it with production...
U.S. beef promotion efforts building momentum in Central America
U.S. beef exports to Central America have gained momentum in recent months, fueled in part by promotional activities funded by the Beef Checkoff Program. Lucia Ruano, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) representative in Central America, said BBQ Fest Costa Rica is a...
Telling the story of sustainability in the pork industry
The 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly called COP28, was an opportunity to tell data-driven facts about U.S. agriculture and sustainable on-farm practices. National Pork Board’s Chief Sustainability Officer Jamie Burr says 84,000 people...
Ethanol production hits two-year high
The Energy Information Administration says ethanol output surged to a two-year high, and inventories hit their highest points since April during the week ending on December 22. Ethanol production rose to an average of 1.107 million barrels per day, up from 1.071...
John Deere precision equipment leads the way after 30 years
Last year at Commodity Classic in Orlando, I had the chance to visit with Matt Olson of John Deere as they were rolling out their revamped precision farming tools for the 2023 growing season. They were excited to make updates to everything from displays to modems and...
2023 a memorable year for the ethanol industry
2023 was a year to remember for the ethanol industry with corn ethanol demand reaching the highest levels since 2019 and the blend rate in gasoline setting a record as production rose to 15-and-a-half billion gallons. Rising domestic demand for ethanol and growth in...
U.S., Brazil competitive balance in soybeans
The U.S. and Brazil are major competitors when it comes to exporting soybeans around the world. USDA’s Economic Research Service did a comparison study to figure out how changes in factors underlying production, marketing costs, and infrastructure might affect export...
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Don’t hold your breath on a new Farm Bill in 2024
The lines are in the sand and the differences are glaring as we approach what could be one of the greatest exercises in futility the federal government has seen in quite some time. Of course, we are talking about the Farm Bill, which seems to carry all the optimism of...
Food Bank of Iowa receives generous grant from State Farm
Earlier this week the Food Bank of Iowa received a grant from State Farm to support their goal of mobile food distribution and to help Iowans recover from last month’s tornado outbreak. The funds will provide the equivalent of tens of thousands of nutritious meals,...
Nominations open for FSA local county committees
Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local USDA Farm Service Agency county committees. The committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must...
Ag producers facing a record trade deficit
The U.S. is facing a record-large agricultural trade deficit in 2024. Betty Resnick, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the deficit has deepened significantly in the last two years. Resnick said there are many challenges contributing to the ag...
Emissions lawsuit against EPA filed on Tuesday
The National Corn Growers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association joined the American Petroleum Institute in filing a lawsuit against the EPA. The suit, filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenges...
