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Helping Iowa’s growers prepare for whatever the crop season throws at them
When building their plans for the 2026 growing season this spring, farmers have been making tough decisions across the board. Decisions on high priced fertilizer and whether to cut back on inputs are being made as growers encounter lower prices for their commodities in the ag marketplace. Kim Tutor of BASF tells the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, that while growers prepare for the growing season, they need to be ready for anything. Disease pressure in 2025 was a good example of what can...
Wet weather slowing harvest all over
If you recall, we have basically been dealing with drought for the past two years here in Iowa. It seems now that our state may have been suffering longer than others. That doesn't mean we aren’t getting our rain at all, it’s just that harvest isn’t the most...
Cattle nutrition needs to be specific
While we know nutrition is a cornerstone of well-being for humans and animals, it has a large significance in the life of a cow, from calf to mature adult. Dr. Kevin Dill, director of dairy technical innovation for Purina, said cattle nutrition is not a...
WOTUS still in play after SCOTUS decision
The never-ending legal fight over EPA’s wetlands jurisdiction and which are considered Waters of the U.S. is beginning its next chapter. That’s according to testimony at a recent Senate hearing. The Environmental Protection Agency’s vagueness in a final Waters of the...
MRCC encouraging all farmers to practice sustainable agriculture
The Midwest Row Crop Collaborative (MRCC), a consortium that encourages farmers across the Corn Belt to use sustainable ag practices, has steadily grown since its inception in 2016 to include nearly 2,700 farmers. In its 2022 Impact Report, the MRCC said that 70% of...
Early 2023 hog and cattle weights lagged behind 2022
Live weights of both hogs and cattle ran below year-earlier weights for the early part of 2023. Hog live weights averaged 284.9 pounds through the week ending on July 8, 2023, compared to 287.3 pounds during the same time in 2022. That’s an average difference of over...
How crazy could 2024 be for commodity markets?
It’s been a crazy couple of years in the Ag marketplace and the economy. Pandemics, supply chain failures, weather, wars, and much more. It makes it difficult to try and get a handle on some of your marketing plans, especially as we finish the 2023 growing season and...
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More Ag News
South American Weather and Crop Update (4-24-24)
Variable amounts of rain can be seen across South America currently. This is good news for Argentina, as they have been worried about getting too much rain. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an update on the latest weather conditions. McBride said harvest...
USTR Tai insists efforts underway to ease Brazil ethanol tariffs
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai insists that U.S. efforts to get Brazil to ease its protectionist tariffs on American ethanol are being taken seriously. However, United States congress members have pushed back pointing out that Brazil increased its duties on...
Farmers oppose sale of Iowa fertilizer plant
The University of Illinois Farm Policy News says Iowa farmers told officials that they should block the sale of the Iowa Fertilizer Company to Koch Industries. The sale is worth 3.6 billion dollars. Farmers attending the Iowa Farmers Union’s listening session told...
Secretary Naig recaps legislative session for agriculture
Now that the state legislature has wrapped up their session, it’s time to look back at a few things that were of concern to agriculture. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig had a few policies he was most concerned about, and those were foreign land ownership and Meat...
Recent rains are quenching one of Iowa’s longest droughts
Over the past few months, the weather has largely been characterized by warmer-than-normal temperatures. Since the ground didn’t freeze as hard, that means the recent storms have been able to get moisture deeper into the soil. Iowa State Climatologist Dr. Justin...
