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Western drought intensifies despite Midwest rainfall
Recent rainfall across Iowa and much of the eastern Midwest has helped improve soil moisture conditions heading into the growing season, but USDA Chief Meteorologist Brad Rippey says many areas farther west continue battling intensifying drought conditions. Speaking during a discussion in Washington, D.C., Rippey said drought still covers nearly two-thirds of the United States, with some of the worst conditions stretching across the Plains, the South, and parts of the western U.S. Rippey, who...
Grassley: Farm Bill work needs to be completed early in ‘24
The farm bill is often known as one of the most bipartisan pieces of legislation that Congress works on each cycle. United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says that during this year’s attempt to create a new five-year farm bill, he noticed a shift in attitudes....
Iowa Pork honors top OL in HS championship games
The Iowa Pork Producers Association paid tribute to seven players in the state high school football championships for their valuable, but often unheralded, contributions. The Hog of the Game Award goes to the outstanding offensive lineman in each of the seven state...
Looking Ahead to 2024 Seed Decisions
Here’s the latest on technology in the seed bag available for you for 2024 coming up from our friends at DeKalb in Iowa. The only way to continue to improve and to create products that are in demand in the marketplace is by accurately analyzing the prior results...
The Chinese marketplace is intriguing for U.S. soy
It's a crazy world we live in. Civil unrest, war, and just plain disagreements are causing our global marketplace to be a very unstable area as the years have gone on. More so lately after numerous trade disagreements that caused us to either reevaluate or update our...
Preparing for updated Salmonella standards in swine
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) is updating the performance standards for Salmonella in raw pork. Since Salmonella has many different serotypes, which are groups of microorganisms that share distinctive surface...
Ag economy barometer lists input prices as primary concern
The Purdue University Ag Economy Barometer was started in 2015. It’s a monthly survey of 400 different farmers every month. Dr. James Mintert of Purdue says the most recent survey showed a slight improvement in overall producer sentiment. Mintert says that of all the...
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How U.S. agriculture can make up for lost commodity sales to China
Rabobank’s RaboResearch team this month released its bi-monthly North American Agribusiness Review. Roland Fumasi the North American Head of RaboResearch says that the report shows certain segments of the ag sector are facing more headwinds than others in 2024. Fumasi...
Gov. Reynolds signs two important cattle bills
Last week, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed two high-priority bills for the Iowa Cattlemen's Association (ICA) into law. The event marked a great victory for today’s cattle producers as well as future generations. ICA CEO Bryan Whaley said the first of the two bills,...
USMEF Spring Conference guest speakers preview presentations
When the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring Conference kicks off this Wednesday, May 22, in Kansas City, the lineup of guest speakers will include CattleFax CEO Randy Blach. Blach said he’ll discuss the status of the U.S. cattle industry’s herd rebuilding...
Groups react to House farm bill ahead of markup
Some of America’s leading agricultural organizations are reacting to the House version of the farm bill put forth by Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson ahead of markup on May 23. American Soybean Association President Josh Gackle believes the legislation will...
Moving last of your stored crops requires some strategy
As planting is wrapping up across much of the state, our attention will soon turn back to other matters on our farm. One of those is the bins full of old crop grains that haven’t been marketed yet. If you still hold on to some uncontracted grains, you are likely...
