Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig encouraged eligible Iowa farm owners to apply for Century or Heritage Farm recognition as part of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s (IDALS) program.  The program was created by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) and IDALS to honor families who have…

Sometimes, the solution you need is right in your own backyard — or near it. Farmers who grow wheat and other grains have struggled since at least the 1800s to tame the wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus), an insect that gets inside grain stalks and topples them, reducing yields. A…

Hundreds of U.S. meat processing plants, including major pork producers, could face export disruptions as their access to the Chinese market nears expiration, Reuters reports. These facilities were granted eligibility under a 2020 trade agreement, but with that deal expiring, their registrations remain uncertain. The lapse could impact billions in…

By Mei Mei Chu and Tom Polansek BEIJING/CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) – Beijing has renewed registrations that allow hundreds of U.S. pork and poultry facilities to export to China, industry groups said on Monday, after lapses threatened shipments to the world’s largest meat importer. The renewals are a relief to U.S. farmers and meat…

On Tuesday, March 18, FFA student members, advisors, and leaders across the country will come together to share the importance of agriculture with elected officials and their communities as part of National Ag Day. National Ag Day, which is being celebrated on March 18 this year with the theme Together,…

It has been my experience that nothing is truly perfect, and that perfection is, at best, an ephemeral illusion. And even if something seems perfect, it never stays that way. For example, a person might procure an ice cream sundae from his or her neighborhood ice cream dealer. The flawlessness…