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Naig urges Senate action on Farm Bill
The House has passed its version of the Farm Bill, but Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the focus now turns to the Senate, where the legislation could face a much more difficult path forward. Naig said House passage was an important step toward giving farmers more certainty during a period of tight margins and ongoing economic stress. He said the legislation still sends an important signal that Congress recognizes the financial challenges facing agriculture right now. Naig said the...
South American Weather and Crop Update (2-27-24)
A bit of dryness in the upcoming forecast, but that will actually help harvest progress to continue to move along. Allendale commodity broker Ben Breisch gave an update on the latest weather conditions. Breisch said that harvest and planting progress in Brazil is...
NCBA cites priorities for elusive farm bill
The cattle industry is the latest farm sector to weigh in on its priorities for the ever-elusive farm bill. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Policy Division Chair Kim Brackett says NCBA’s top policy priority is the farm bill. Brackett’s comments are similar to...
United States cattle on feed up slightly
USDA ended last week with the monthly Cattle on Feed Report showing slightly higher inventories on February 1. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.8 million. The inventory...
Congressman Nunn leads Iowa delegation letter to EPA to speed up E15
It only took the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) five or six hundred days passed their deadline to rule on an application of bipartisan Midwest governors, led by Iowa’s Kim Reynolds to let them use a provision under the Clean Air Act to allow these states to use...
AFBF: Congress needs to pass a new farm bill this year
Members of the American Farm Bureau Federation are asking Congress to pass the farm bill this year. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says it’s critical that Congress finishes a farm bill in 2024. Duvall said Farm Bureau members are sending a...
USMEF pursuing opportunities for U.S. beef in Angola
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is leading a trade mission to Angola this week, and with the support of the Beef Checkoff Program, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Africa Representative Matt Copeland is participating. Copeland said that there are...
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More Ag News
2024 ISF floriculture show sees over one thousand entries
The Iowa State Fair kicked off today, and at the crack of dawn this morning, floriculture exhibitors were in the John Deere Ag Building preparing their flowers that they spent all summer growing. This year’s show was the biggest one in several years with over 1,000...
A new record setting Big Boar at the 2024 Iowa State Fair
The Big Boar competition is one of the fan favorite livestock events at the Iowa State Fair each year. This year’s winner, Finnegan, weighed in at a staggering 1,420 lbs on Monday. Finnegan weighed in as the heaviest of the seven hogs competing. The Big Boar from...
USB boosting soy demand and producer productivity
The United Soybean Board met in Baltimore, Maryland, for its July meeting. Brent Gatton, a Kentucky farmer and the Treasurer of the United Soybean Board, mentioned that the board has been focused on finalizing its investment portfolio for 2025. The aim is to ensure...
Large loss of Midwest farmland
The loss of agricultural land to different types of development is a long-standing topic at the national and state level. The University of Illinois’ Farmdoc Daily says development accounted for 55 percent of the 1.6 million acres lost in eight Midwestern states...
Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show is a great way to give back to Iowans
As the Iowa State Fair kicks off this morning in Des Moines, we look forward to all the ways we celebrate the agriculture industry in this state. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council embody the “Cattlemen Care” mantra. It’s a way that...
