Top Stories
Interior official highlights ranchers’ stewardship role
When I was in Washington, D.C. recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Karen Budd-Falen, Associate Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Interior, about several issues affecting western livestock producers. One topic that generated significant discussion was public lands grazing and the misconceptions Budd-Falen believes continue to surround the practice. According to Budd-Falen, one of the most common criticisms is the belief that ranchers receive inexpensive access to federal...
Scouting crops from inside the combine cab
As harvest continues to wrap up, farmers need to be scouting their fields for what things need to be changed for next year. Fortunately, the combine cab is the perfect mobile office to do this scouting from. Northwest Iowa AgriGold Agronomist Jeff Morey said there are...
Trade developments are encouraging, but more progress is needed with China
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced agreements on reciprocal trade with Malaysia and Cambodia and frameworks for agreements on reciprocal trade with Thailand and Vietnam. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom said...
Big week for tariffs and SNAP
It’s a big week for President Trump’s tariffs with the issue set to be addressed in court. The Supreme Court is set to hear challenges to President Trump’s tariffs, brought by small businesses and several states. Critics argue that the 1977 law doesn’t grant the...
NASS reports returning this month
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will release several key agriculture reports in November, including a monthly crop supply and demand report that wasn’t issued last month because of the government shutdown. According to a post on its website, NASS...
China’s soybean purchases seen as symbolic, not transformative
It’s been months of uncertainty between the United States and China since President Trump placed new tariffs on Chinese goods, sparking another round of back-and-forth tension in the ag sector. Now, an agreement reached last week has China pledging to resume purchases...
Lots of yield variability as Iowa harvest wraps up
Harvest in Iowa is very close to wrapping up- in fact, many farmers have put away their combines already. At this point in the season, we have a pretty good idea of how the yields are looking. Northwest Iowa AgriGold Agronomist Jeff Morey said there’s been a lot of...
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Reporting deadline approaching for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
USDA recently announced $12 billion is available for a Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, and the first deadline for getting signed up for the financial assistance is this week. Richard Fordyce, USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said the first...
China not honoring commitments in Phase One Agreement
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has launched a Section 301 investigation of China’s implementation of the U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement, popularly known as the Phase One Agreement. A public hearing on that investigation will open tomorrow (Dec. 16)....
USDA to update Expanding Access to Risk Protection with final rule
The public comment period closes on January 27th for a final rule designed to expand producer access to crop insurance and other risk protections. USDA Risk Management Agency Administrator Pat Swanson says the goal of the Expanding Access to Risk Protection (EARP)...
Quarterly economic condition report for U.S. agriculture
The Farm Credit Administration received its quarterly report on economic conditions affecting agriculture and an update on the overall performance of the Farm Credit System. Despite a turbulent year with tariffs and trade, the U.S. economy is expected to end 2025 on a...
Property rights pressure rises across rural America
It is easy to assume Iowa’s fight over carbon pipelines and new transmission lines is something unique to our state. But the same pressures and frustrations are playing out across rural America. Our neighbors to the south in Missouri are confronting many of the same...
