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Year-round E15 legislation is still in trouble
There are more warning signs that year-round E15 legislation is in trouble. Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin told USDA Secretary Rollins at a recent hearing that strong influence from interest groups is stalling year-round E15. According to Slotkin, there is an urgent need for Rollins to personally engage with senators to get year-round E15 to the president’s desk. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley showed concerns about Congress having to rely on temporary solutions that would not allow...
FDA is on top of HPAI testing in wake of new outbreaks
After a lull in the number of new HPAI outbreaks, we have seen three more dairy herds in California testing positive recently. It does bring the seasonal issue back into focus. The disease seems to flair up with the migration season of birds. As we enter into fall, we...
South American Weather and Crop Update (9-10-24)
Drier conditions are persisting in Brazil as planting begins for the next crop. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest weather patterns in South America. While there is some rain forecasted for the southern areas of Brazil, most of the...
Secretary Naig announces availability of crop insurance discount program
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will once again offer its Crop Insurance Discount Program for acres that are planted with cover crops. Farmers and landowners who plant cover crops...
Grassley sees lame duck farm bill as unlikely
Prospects for a lame duck farm bill don’t look much better than those before the November elections, according to ag lawmakers and lobbyists. September will be full of debate over simply keeping the government funded. Congress returns after the elections for two weeks...
Ag groups urging Congress to pass new farm bill
As the U.S. ag economy continues to spiral downward, over 300 food and farm groups sent a letter to Senate and House leadership asking Congress to pass a new farm bill that would help to slow it. Joe Gilson, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau,...
More dairy included in school nutrition campaign
Making sure that our children have access to healthy food at lunch is something that everyone agrees on. However, that’s about where the agreement ends. How nutrition is provided has become a heated and increasingly political debate over the past decade or more. Many...
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Ag industry still seeking some more clarity from USDA
The recent USDA guidelines on climate-smart ag practices for biofuel feedstocks has been generally received positively, but there are still some areas that need clarification. Fortunately, there is now a 60-day window for farmers to speak up about what they would like...
Tariff war is the last thing beef producers need
The North American beef cattle herd size is at a 40-year low, after several years of drought and feed shortages in primary cattle regions have taken a heavy toll on cow and heifer numbers. While cattle producers are seeing record-high prices, the beef processing...
EPA nominee Zeldin vows clarity in WOTUS rules, timeliness on RVOs
Former Congressman Lee Zeldin was recently questioned at his Senate confirmation hearing for the post of EPA Administrator. At the hearing Zeldin vowed to provide more clarity on WOTUS rules, timeliness on renewable volume targets, and cooperation with USDA. Zeldin...
U.S. agriculture dominated by family farms
In 2023, roughly 86 percent of all farms were small family farms. A USDA report says these farms have a gross cash income below $350,000 and operate on 41 percent of all U.S. agricultural land. The family farms produced 17 percent of the total value of U.S....
La Niña has brought drier trends back
After a double-dip La Niña in 2022 and 2023, we were relieved to see El Niño return to start 2024, bringing us back a mild winter and more moisture. After a few years of heavy drought, farmers breathed a sigh of relief. However, it was soon announced that we were...
