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US hog inventory edges lower; productivity ticks up
The U.S. hog and pig inventory totaled 73.7 million head as of June 1, down slightly from a year earlier and from March, USDA said Thursday in its quarterly report. Market hogs accounted for 67.8 million head, while 5.88 million were kept for breeding, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Despite the smaller herd, production indicators improved. Producers weaned 33.5 million pigs from March through May, slightly above last year, with an average of 11.87 pigs per...
Western Region FFA VP brings rural and urban experience
There are four new regional vice presidents on this year’s National FFA Leadership team. One is Abigale Jacobsen, the West Region Vice President from Elk Grove, California. Jacobsen said her background, with plenty of rural and urban experience, gives her a unique...
Secretary Naig announces the creation of the Iowa organic advisory council
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced the formation of the Iowa Organic Advisory Council within the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and appointed seven Iowans to serve on it. A similar Organic Advisory Council existed previously...
Secretary Naig talks about the wrap up of Harvest
As Mother Nature forces many of us into a slowdown this week, we do have a lot to be thankful for. All in all, the conditions for harvest were ideal. Yes, we would like to see more rain, but when you need to be able to just keep plugging away, Mother Nature has...
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 &...
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Federal lawyers file to further delay 2026 Renewable Fuel Standards
For the 2026 Renewable Fuel Standards, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was supposed to have finished its work by the start of November last year. That did not happen, even though the EPA is required by law to finalize Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes 14...
AFBF comments on USDA’s HPAI strategy
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced a blueprint intended to bring avian influenza under control. Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the current outbreak dates back almost three years. Many Americans are concerned about...
Developing a third source of nitrogen for crops
A new study has uncovered some interesting findings that could change nitrogen management for farmers. Researchers have found that gene-edited bacteria can supply nitrogen to crop roots during early corn growth. Dr. Logan Woodward, development agronomist for Pivot...
Farmers to plant more corn than first thought
U.S. farmers are seriously considering planting more corn and less soybean acres this spring than they did last year. Both growers and analysts told Reuters that they’re hoping to squeeze out more profits and shield themselves from possible tariffs on Mexico and...
GROWMARK honors 2024 Enduring Farms and advances sustainability efforts
GROWMARK and its FS-affiliated companies have named the Enduring Farm winners for the 2024 calendar year in addition to publishing its annual Endure Report detailing the GROWMARK System’s environmental, social, and governance engagement for the prior calendar year as...
