CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa) — 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 11 percent of the state is “very short” of topsoil moisture.
Davis County in south central Johnson farms in southern Iowa’s Wapello County, near the community of Agency. He has about 700 acres of row crops. “It’s such a spotty year all around the state, but ours look pretty good. I’m not going to complain. You go south of us in the southern half of Davis County and they’re cooked,” Johnson says. “They’re probably worse off than they were a year ago.” Johnson says fewer than 10 inches of rain has fallen crops since the end of April, but luckily he planted drought-tolerant corn.
“In our soils, we don’t have that natural water-holding capacity, the tilth that I think we do in the rich soils of northern Iowa and so the drought-resistent hybrids really pay off for us,” Johnson says. Johnson has pastures, too, and has produced enough hay to feed his cattle. In northwest Iowa, Iowa State University Extension Crop Specialist Joel DeJong expects to see good, but not record corn yields.
“We’re actually about 10 or more days ahead of normal since the first of May, so we’ve made great progress,” DeJong says. “Corn looks like most of its going to be mature in early September to mid-September, which means we’re going to have fairly good dry-down weather and we’re probably going to have a fairly early harvest, barring excessive rainfall.” DeJong says soybean pods in northwest Iowa are filling nicely.
“The good news there was we haven’t seen a lot of disease pressure, occasionally we see a field with some diseases. We haven’t seen a lot of soybean aphid issues like we see some years. I think there are some scattered locations that have had some problems, ” DeJong says. “…For me to guess soybean yields, it’s kind of look at the weather and make your best guess.” Nearly three-quarters of the state’s corn crop is rated good to excellent in the weekly U-S-D-A report, while statewide soybean conditions declined slightly to 70 percent rates as good to excellent.
(Radio Iowa) — 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 E-P-A’s anti-ethanol moves to benefit the oil industry isn’t helping either, according to Scholten. “Our American government is pushing down on our farmers,” Scholten says. “Who’s looking out for farmers? Who’s looking out for us?”
Scholten made his comments this weekend during a speech at The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Scholten, a former professional baseball player who now works as a paralegal in Sioux City, stressed his family’s farm roots. “My great-great grandparents turned the field in Worth County and so it’s in my blood,” Scholten said. “I’m a fifth-generation Iowan, first to be raised in town. Our family farm we rent out to a family friend.”
Scholten criticized the Bayer-Monsanto merger, arguing farmers will have to pay more for seeds and farm chemicals. And Scholten says farmers are the first victims in the Trump Administration’s trade policies. “The fourth district is bearing the brunt of these tariffs and that’s got to end,” Scholten said. “You look at the $12 billion bailout…It’s like you’re getting punched in the face and that same guy that’s punching you in the face gives you an ice cube.”
Scholten says both Democrats and Republicans have failed farmers by allowing the mergers of grain processing, meat packing and seed companies to create monopolies and “it’s time to get ahead of the curve.”
A round table discussion about the Farm Bill and Iowa’s Agricultural Economy will be held this Thursday, Aug. 23rd, in Atlantic. The Farm Forum takes place at the Atlantic Public Library, from 10-until 11:30-a.m., and features Democratic candidates for political office that include Tim Gannon (Ag. Secretary Candidate), Cindy Axne (3rd District Congressional candidate) and Denise O’Brien (Dem. candidate for House District 21). The forum will be moderated by retired Des Moines Register columnist Chuck Offenburger.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is conducting farmland leasing meetings across 4 different sites in Southwest Iowa during late August. Meeting sites include Carson, Shenandoah, Mount Ayr and Humeston and are coordinated by county ISU Extension and Outreach offices. The discussion will focus on various methods to determine a fair 2019 cash rental rate and the importance of good tenant/landlord communications. Also, a brief economic outlook will be presented along with a look at farmland prices. According the Cash Rental Rates for Iowa – 2018 Survey released in mid-May, the average 2018 cash rent statewide is $222 per tillable acre, a 1.4 percent increase as compared to 2017. Average cash rents statewide stabilized in 2018 after a decline of nearly 19 percent from the 2013 peak.
The Page County meeting site will be Thursday, Aug. 23, beginning at 1:30 pm. with doors open at 1 pm. The meeting will be held at the Shenandoah Public Library located at 201 S Elm St. The meeting will last approximately three hours and will be facilitated by Charles Brown, Farm Management Specialist, with ISU Extension and Outreach. Pre-registration is required at least two days before the meeting and a $20 per individual or $30 per couple fee is payable at the door. Participants will receive a 100-page booklet and meeting handouts designed to assist landowners, tenants and other agri-business professionals with issues related to farmland ownership, management and leasing arrangements.
Contact the Page County Extension office at 712-542-5171 with your questions or to pre-register on or before August 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm
(Radio Iowa) — Iowa farmers can expect more details on the federal government’s $12 billion trade relief package by the end of the month. That’s the word from USDA Trade Under Secretary Ted McKinney, who says farmers will need to sign up for the program and compensation will be based on 2018 yield data. “We hope and are intending to make that easy, so they can go online and get the form,” McKinney said. “A lot of it is already stored at the Farm Service Agency location. We’re going to encourage them to get that in very quickly.”
McKinney said while most farmers would prefer markets, relief from retaliatory tariffs is necessary as they continue to face a down farm economy. “The mitigation strategy isn’t something anybody wanted, but when other countries didn’t like our desire to straighten out and fix these inadequacies that get at free, fair, and reciprocal trade, we undertook the program with a lot of support,” McKinney said. ‘
According to McKinney, farmers should be able to apply for the program beginning around September 4. He made his comments in a meeting with reporters at the Indiana State Fair. (NOTE: Indiana *is* correct)
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 17, 2018 — Pipeline Foods LLC, the first U.S.-based supply chain solutions company focused exclusively on organic, non-GMO and regenerative food and feed, has announced the acquisition of a 3.4 million bushel grain elevator in Atlantic, Iowa, USA.
Pipeline Foods has signed a purchase agreement to buy the facility from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and is making capital investments in new equipment and improvements needed to upgrade the elevator to test, clean, grade, dry, store and ship organic grains. ADM will continue its conventional soybean origination at the site through segregated operations.
“This acquisition is a key component in Pipeline Foods’ mission to increase organic supply chain efficiency and transparency,” said Eric Jackson, chief executive of Pipeline Foods. “In owning and operating another facility dedicated to organic grains and oilseeds, Pipeline Foods will have a direct relationship with farmers in the region, helping to ensure identity preservation of the product and allowing us to take ownership at the farm gate, thereby increasing transparency and traceability for all stakeholders.”
This investment is positioned to support the growing demand from protein producers for U.S.-grown organic grains. Atlantic is uniquely located in the heart of the western corn belt, at the nexus of major truck and rail routes. This will allow the Pipeline Foods merchandising team to originate organic grain from Iowa and the surrounding states, and improve logistical efficiencies when serving customers on both coasts via the Iowa Interstate Railroad with connections to all Class I major rail lines.
“We’re pleased to be able to partner with Pipeline Foods, and look forward to continuing to work with our local farmer partners to source conventional soybeans in and around the Atlantic area,” said Pete Goetzmann, regional vice president, ADM Grain.
The Atlantic elevator will be open for operation in mid-September and will accept its first organic grain deliveries shortly thereafter. With the completion of the acquisition, Pipeline Foods will operate six organic processing facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
DES MOINES, IA – Records were broken at the 36th annual Governor’s Charity Steer Show, which raised over $294,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. This year’s event featured the highest selling auction. The money raised benefits the Ronald McDonald Houses of Des Moines, Iowa City, and Sioux City. All of the houses are located near hospitals and provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children.
The Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association sponsor the annual steer show and auction, which was hosted by Governor Kim Reynolds on August 11, 2018 in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fair.
Cass County Conservation is hosting their “Breakfast with the Birds” program this Saturday at Sunnyside Park in Atlantic. The program will be held at the Camblin’s Addition Shelter beginning at 9:00am with free will donations being accepted. Kay Neuman, rehabilitator and Educator at Saving Our Avian Resources will show and discuss several of her permanently injured birds. They are hoping to have a bird that is fully recovered and ready to release back into the wild. Cass County Conservation hopes you will join them to support raptors and education.
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