The two major party candidates for state ag secretary say preserving Iowa's soil and cleaning up the state's lakes and streams are an important mission for the State of Iowa, but they differ on a proposal that's been around nearly eight years to raise more money for that mission. Tim Gannon, the … [Read more...]
Ag Secretary candidates discuss E-Verify for all businesses, including farm operations
The two major party candidates for state ag secretary say it may be time to discuss requiring that businesses use the federal E-Verify system to check if prospective workers are citizens or legal residents. The man accused of murdering Mollie Tibbetts was working at a dairy farm near Brooklyn under … [Read more...]
Grassley calls for border security boost in wake of Tibbetts murder
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is asking officials in the Department of Homeland Security to explain how the man accused of murdering Mollie Tibbetts got from Mexico to Iowa and was able to live here illegally for up to seven years. "We must prevent murders like this from occurring again," … [Read more...]
Van Buren and Appanoose Counties declared ‘primary natural disaster areas’
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designed two more southern Iowa counties as disaster areas, due to drought conditions. A week ago, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue declared drought-striken Davis County a "primary natural disaster area." Now, he's giving Appanoose and Van Buren Counties the same … [Read more...]
Nearly two-thirds of Iowa corn crop rated good to excellent
The latest U.S.D.A. report on Iowa crops indicates the rain that's fallen recently in parts of Iowa may help boost corn and soybean yields. About two-thirds of the state has adequate moisture levels in the topsoil and subsoil to support the final stages of crop development, but the report indicates … [Read more...]
Congressional candidate Scholten says government policies are ‘pushing down on our farmers’
J.D. Scholten, the Democrat challenging Republican Congressman Steve King's bid for a ninth term, says consolidation in agriculture and President Trump's trade war are making it harder for farmers to make a profit. The EPA's anti-ethanol moves to benefit the oil industry isn't helping either, … [Read more...]
New soybean pest found in 16 western Iowa counties
Iowa soybean growers have a new threat to worry about, the soybean gall midge. The recently-discovered pest is confirmed in 16 western Iowa counties so far and it's destructive. Professor Erin Hodgson, an extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State University, says there are still many … [Read more...]
Ambassador Branstad says Chinese trade discussions continue
Farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest want quick resolution to the looming trade war due to the negative impact it’s starting to have on their bottom lines. Speaking in Des Moines over the weekend, the U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, says he isn’t sure how long the impasse with China … [Read more...]
Iowa State Fair talk among farmers focuses on challenges in the field
Farmers attending the Iowa State Fair are talking about the challenges they've faced this growing season. Josh Nelson farms with his family near Belmond in north-central Iowa. He says they've probably lost about 10% of their corn and soybean crops to heavy rains and flooding. But otherwise, Nelson … [Read more...]
Grassley says passing Farm Bill this year would provide farmers continuity
Senator Chuck Grassley says the chairman of the Senate Ag Committee has assured him the 2018 Farm Bill will become law before year's end. "And I sure hope so, because I don't want to do what we had to in 2013 -- extend the Farm Bill for one year," Grassley says, "because farmers need that … [Read more...]