Cass County: Corn $4.12 Beans $11.00
Adair County: Corn $4.09 Beans $11.03
Adams County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.99
Audubon County: Corn $4.11 Beans $11.02
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.15 Beans $11.00
Guthrie County: Corn $4.14 Beans $11.04
Montgomery County: Corn $4.14 Beans $11.02
Shelby County: Corn $4.15 Beans $11.00

Oats: $2.73 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

Cass County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.98
Adair County: Corn $4.10 Beans $11.01
Adams County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.97
Audubon County: Corn $4.12 Beans $11.00
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.98
Guthrie County: Corn $4.15 Beans $11.02
Montgomery County: Corn $4.15 Beans $11.00
Shelby County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.98

Oats: $2.73 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill with new state restrictions on farm implement dealerships — so the owners of tractors and combines could repair the diesel exhaust fluid systems on the equipment themselves. Republican Representative Derek Wulf of Hudson, who’s a farmer, goes even farther, suggesting it could be interpreted to mean the systems could be permanently disabled.

“This bill is simple,” Wulf said. “It gives farmers and ranchers the ability to repair and alter their equipment that they own as they see fit and remove the diesel control systems if they so choose.” In early February, the Trump Administration announced that under its interpretation of the Clean Air Act, the exhaust systems on diesel powered farm equipment may be disabled FOR REPAIRS and manufacturers cannot justify limiting access to tools or software.

The bill that cleared the Iowa House last (Monday) night would require manufacturers to provide free information and software to diagnose and fix diesel exhaust systems. And they’d have to sell both the tools and replacement parts to make the repairs at a significantly reduced price.”I think it’s important that we realize that farmers are the original innovators in this country and we should continue to allow them to do that,” Wulf said. “Previous administrations have forced costly and burdensome emissions systems and regulations onto farmers and ranchers through the EPA. Every day this country faces 63 more farmers going out of business. Folks, we have to do everything we can to help reduce additional costs to farmers who have to pay the penalty with their livelihoods because of environmentalists’ interests.”

The bill passed with the support of 55 Republicans and two Democrats. Opposition came from nine Republicans and two dozen Democrats. Representative Kenan Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, says he’s all for saving farmers’ money, but permanently disabling the diesel exhaust system is risky.”If you have your tractor under warranty and you go to take this system off, all of a sudden now if you take your tractor back into the dealership and this modification has hurt the engine, you lose your warranty,” Judge said.

On February 3rd, President Trump’s E-P-A administrator said the Clean Air Act prohibits the removal or disabling of emission control systems, but the law has an exception that lets the systems be disabled to make a repair.

(Atlantic, IA) – Get ready to welcome spring by attending the Cass County Master Gardeners’ 2026 Spring Garden Seminar, scheduled for Saturday, March 28.  This year’s seminar is open to anyone interested in learning more about local garden topics, with a theme of Growing in Nature. The event will be held at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic from 9 AM to 12:30 PM and feature three presentations on timely garden topics. In addition to the presentations, the day will wrap up with an opportunity to make and take home a “puddling pool” for garden pollinators.

The event opens with registration and light refreshments at 8:30 AM. The first session begins at 9 AM with a presentation on Gardening in a Changing World by David McKinney with the Iowa Arboretum. The second speaker of the day will be Dr. Cindy Haynes, Iowa State University, sharing tips for Creating a Cut Flower Garden. David McKinney returns for the last session of the day to discuss Non-Native Plant Heroes. The program will conclude shortly after noon, with giveaways and a short closing. Participants are invited to visit the make-and-take station on their way home to create a custom “pollinator puddler” they can take home and install in their garden.

Plan now to join the Cass County Master Gardeners as we gather, learn and GROW together at the 2026 Spring Garden Seminar! Cost for the seminar, including refreshments and materials, is $30 for the day if paid by March 21. After this date regular registration and walk-in registration will be available at $35/attendee. Registration is now open and can be completed online by visiting the online registration page at https://go.iastate.edu/CZTFIK. Online registrations may be paid by credit card or check. Paper registration forms are also available at the Cass County Extension office or can be printed online. Registrations are not refundable but may be transferred to another attendee with advance notice.

A full schedule and program registration information is also available by visiting the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, or by stopping into the Cass County Extension office. Previous seminar attendees with a current email address on record will also receive a registration link by email. Questions can be directed to Kate Olson at 712-243-1132, or by email at keolson@iastate.edu. Mark your calendars, get registered, and plan to join the Cass County Master Gardeners for the 2026 Spring Garden Seminar on Saturday morning, March 28!

Cass County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.96
Adair County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.99
Adams County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.95
Audubon County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.98
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.96
Guthrie County: Corn $4.15 Beans $11.00
Montgomery County: Corn $4.15 Beans $10.98
Shelby County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.96

Oats: $2.75 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R will hold a series of listening session across the state starting Monday. The D-N-R’s Pete Hildreth says they want to get input on proposed changes in hunting and fishing regulations.

(as said)”These sessions offer a direct opportunity to provide feedback to our staff before formal proposals are submitted to the Natural Resource Commission,” Hildreth explains.

He says input from the from past meetings has led to significant regulation changes.

(as said)“Including adjustments to Canada goose seasons, raccoon hunting dates, and antlerless deer quotas. We encourage all the public to attend, ask questions, and share their perspective on the topics,” he says.

Hildreth says the sessions are also a way for people to discuss the highlights of the recent seasons.

(as said)” For example, folks that are interested in understanding or hearing how the 25-26 deer season went, that’s an opportunity for people to hear that,” he says.

Hildreth says the complete schedule of meetings is available on the D-N-R’s website. In southwest Iowa, meetings will be held in:

• Creston, March 3, 6 p.m., Performing Arts Building multi-purpose room (124), 1201 West Townline Street
• Council Bluffs, March 5, 5:30 p.m., Bass Pro Shops, 2901 Bass Pro Drive

Cass County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.88
Adair County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.91
Adams County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.87
Audubon County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.90
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.88
Guthrie County: Corn $4.076 Beans $10.92
Montgomery County: Corn $4.07 Beans $10.90
Shelby County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.88

Oats: $2.92 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra says there will be a vote to end the E-P-A smog rule that keeps E-15 gasoline from being sold nationwide in the summer. The U-S House deadline for the bill passed Wednesday, and Feenstra says there were reasons the vote didn’t happen. “We had a couple discussions with the speaker. We have to understand, so there was a February 25th date. We had a snowstorm that hit D-C on Monday, and then we had the State of Union on Tuesday, and we’re done on Wednesday,” he says. Feenstra says the missed deadline doesn’t kill the issue.

“This is going to pass. It’s just a matter of if it’s this coming week, and we’re just making sure that when we take this vote, all right, whether it be this week or next week or this coming week, is that it gets passed, and then it moves on to the Senate,” Feenstra says. “I mean, we’ve been at this for ten some years now, and we’ve got to finally get it passed. It’s energy independence, it’s domestic energy. And, you know, it helps our commodity prices.” Feenstra leads the House Rural Domestic Energy Council and has been negotiating with lawmakers who represent states with oil refineries in trying to find a compromise on E-15.

“It’s a civil war within the oil refineries right now on E-15. The large refineries, small refineries, one of them refineries are sort of struggling. It’s not a win for everybody. We’re trying to get everybody to the table and say, hey, let’s get to neutral,” Feenstra says. The need for a new bill came after House G-O-P leaders removed a mandate for year-round E-15 sales from a budget bill that passed in January. The president of the Renewable Fuels Association says he is not terribly optimistic that we’re going to see the E-15 legislation passed before summer.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Lawsuits claiming that greenhouse gas emissions from an agricultural operation impacted the climate would be prohibited under a bill passed Thursday by the Iowa House.  Supporters of the bill, which passed with a vote of 66-24, said the bill protects against “frivolous” climate lawsuits, while opponents of the bill worried the language was too broad and would limit Iowans’ abilities to seek damages.  House File 2527 would limit farmers’ and ranchers’ liability in cases alleging an “actual or potential” effect on the climate caused “wholly or partly” by greenhouse gas emissions.

Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, introduced the bill and said on the floor that the “ag friendly bill” allows farmers to “continue to do what they do best, and that’s farm and ranch.” Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, introduced an amendment to the bill to exempt lawsuits related to nuisances or weather-related damages that could be tied to climate change. Scholten said the amendment clarified some of the “broad language” of the bill. He argued that without the amendment, a neighbor “suffering real tangible harm” like a farmer with damaged drainage, decreased property value or a polluted well, could be unable to seek damages in an Iowa court.

Scholten also took issue with the section of the bill that protects from lawsuits that are “wholly or partly” attributed to greenhouse gas emissions. This language, he argued, could be applied more broadly and allow a defendant to “escape liability entirely” for something like a “straightforward” weather damage claim, especially, as he argued it’s not uncommon for severe weather events to be partly attributed to climate change. Wulf said the bill’s intent was not to affect nuisance claims, nor to protect bad actors.

The House voted in favor of the bill and also adopted an amendment from Wulf that added “petroleum source” to the list of greenhouse gas emissions described in the bill. The House also passed, unanimously, House File 2596 to update language for Iowa’s grain indemnity program, which was revamped in 2025, and helps farmers get paid for sold grain when their buyers go bankrupt. The inclusion of credit-sale contracts – when a seller has sold and delivered the grain but will receive payment at a later date – was a source of conflict among lawmakers as they updated the grain indemnity program. Credit-sale contracts were included in the final version of the bill signed by the governor.

Both bills were sent to the Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – An ethanol industry leader says he doubts congress will pass a bill anytime soon that would allow the year-round sale of fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the deadline for a vote in the U-S House on a bill to end the E-P-A’s anti-smog rule that bars E-15 from being sold in the summer months. Geoff Cooper is president of the Renewable Fuels Association. “I am not terribly optimistic that we’re going to see legislation before summer on year-round E15,” Cooper says. “I hope I’m wrong about that. I hope this council produces legislative text that has a path to passage out of both the House and Senate.”

The House Rural Domestic Energy Council, led by Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra, has been negotiating with lawmakers who represent states with oil refineries to try to find a compromise on E-15 after House G-O-P leaders removed a mandate for year-round E-15 sales from a budget bill that passed in January. Cooper spoke with reporters during the National Ethanol Conference that’s underway in Orlando, Florida. “The trick with E-15 is obviously we have to find a path,” Cooper says. “We have to find a way to thread the needle and get legislation through congress and to the president’s desk…That is not an easy thing to do.”

Cooper is skeptical of Feenstra’s effort to craft a bill on E-15 that includes new guidelines for the E-P-A waivers oil refineries may seek to avoid the ethanol-blending mandate.) “We need to see the path to get that done,” Cooper said, “because I’m not sure I see it from where I sit today.” On Tuesday, Feenstra told the Des Moines Register the snowstorm that hit Washington, D.C., delayed the arrival of lawmakers who were part of E-15 negotiations and a deal may be introduced in the House next week. Iowa advocates for ethanol are expressing frustration.

This (Thursday) morning, the Iowa Corn Growers posted a message on social media saying corn prices are falling, rural economies feel the pressure and it’s time for congress to finish the job on E-15.