Author: staff

By Cami Koons Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have expanded Iowa public lands access with two parcel acquisitions in Fremont County.  The 350 acres abut existing public lands owned by state and federal agencies and will be enrolled in the Iowa Habitat and Access Program to allow public hunting access while employing habitat management practices to improve the prairie.  The Iowa Habitat and Access Program is managed by wildlife biologists at Iowa Department of Natural Resources who help to improve the quality of wildlife habitat on a property. The first parcel is a 174-acre addition to the Copeland Bend Wildlife…

The December USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report is scheduled for release on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Historically, there are no production adjustments in this report, only demand adjustments. Here is what farmers need to know about the U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat markets, and what Grain Market Insider will be looking for in the updated balance sheets. The November WASDE had corn ending stocks increasing from 2.11 billion bushels in September to 2.154 billion, soybean ending stocks decreasing from 300 million bushels to 290 million, and wheat ending stocks increasing from 844 million bushels to 901 million.…

I wish I could remember the last time I was able to scroll through my social media feeds and not roll my eyes and sigh at some ridiculous anti-science statement. My blood pressure starts to rise each time I read a scientifically unsound, excessively absurd opinion about farming, ranching, or our food supply. And unfortunately, too often, it’s not from an animal-rights extremist. The calls are coming from inside the house, y’all. Recently, a close friend — who is a fabulous writer — was criticized for an article that featured unbiased producer sources and was backed by credible data on…

Prominent animal-rights activist Zoe Rosenberg was sentenced this week to serve 90 days in jail for stealing four chickens from a Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in Sonoma County, California. Rosenberg, who did not deny taking the animals, was one of multiple Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) activists involved in the incursion at the facility in 2023 and led to misdemeanor charges. In a post on social media, Rosenberg, 23, said she also has to pay over $102,000 in restitution, spend two years on supervised probation, maintain employment or remain enrolled as a student, stay away from Perdue facilities in Sonoma County, and…

Many rural Coloradans, especially in agricultural communities, feel looked down on by their urban counterparts. One cattle rancher I spoke to put it plainly. “It’s an attitude … we are the idiots … we are the dumb farmers … we don’t really matter.” The sentiment is also portrayed in popular culture such as the hit TV show Yellowstone. “It’s the one constant in life. You build something worth having, someone’s gonna try to take it,” says patriarch John Dutton. He was facing repeated threats by developers from “the city” to annex his land for a luxury hotel and resort development.…

As farmers face historic headwinds and market hardships, calls to the national Farm Aid hotline and the Iowa Concern hotline — where farmers can get support in times of mental health crisis or need — are increasing. This fall the Iowa Concern hotline saw four to five times the number of calls it had in the same months last year, said Tammy Jacobs, the hotline’s manager. The Farm Aid hotline is also seeing a change in the urgency of calls. “We’re seeing more established farmers calling in — people who know how to play the game and how to access…

As of 9:01 a.m. CT, March corn was down less than a penny at $4.46¾ per bushel. January soybeans were also down less than a penny at $11.19¼ per bushel. March CBOT wheat was down 1½¢ at $5.38¾ per bushel. March KC wheat was unchanged at $5.34 per bushel. As of 8:59 a.m. CT, March Minneapolis wheat was up 3½¢ at $5.76½. This morning, USDA announced China is buying 462,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2025/2026 marketing year. Shortly past 9 a.m. CT, January feeder cattle were up $2.50 at $339.08 per hundredweight (cwt). February live cattle were up…

You can pry cookie dough out of my cold, dead hands. I ignore every warning label regarding consuming raw, undercooked eggs like I ignore the various indicator lights on my car’s dashboard. I’ll admit, this isn’t because I don’t believe there’s a risk — it’s really as simple as, “I’ve eaten it all my life and never had an issue.” Yet this stubborn, probably witless ideology isn’t something that should be encouraged; there are gobs of memes that reinforce the belief that enjoying a chunk of cookie dough should be guilt-free. So, why is it that when someone consuming raw…

By Peter Goldsmith. Guy Allen, and Mike Doherty Introduction The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) introduces readers to the question whether Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) presents a new market opportunity for US soybean growers. This article wraps up a three-part series on the topic of Africa as a potential export market for US soybeans. The African market presents a very complex landscape. While it is large, diverse, and growing rapidly, there exists great uncertainty, significant business risks, and demand for soybean and associated products are just beginning to emerge. This first article in the series focused on the larger food and…

Cover crops improve soil health and water quality, prevent nutrient loss, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they’re grown on only about 5 percent of U.S. agricultural lands. That’s despite billions in annual federal investments, primarily in the form of cost-share and incentive payments to farmers who adopt conservation practices. With a new, first-of-its-kind study, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say investments in farm demonstration networks may be the key to faster, more widespread adoption. Their work links the implementation of a Wisconsin farm demonstration program with a 50 percent increase in cover crop adoption over baseline levels within just…