Iowa

The Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in Iowa, often the No 1 corn and soybean state, says, "Corporate America is fighting a losing battle over the GMO issue" against a right-to-know movement among consumers for labeling foods made with genetically modified organisms.

Crop conditions in Iowa and Illinois, the two biggest corn- and soybean-growing states, out-shine U.S. ratings in a year that seems headed for record harvests, said USDA data. The neighboring Midwestern states grew 31 percent of U.S. corn and 27 percent of U.S. soybeans last year, says USDA.

The campaign in Iowa to succeed Democrat Tom Harkin, a Senate Agriculture Committee member, gained a lot of attention in the past week. Handicapping of the race ranged from "leans Democratic" to a toss-up. Over the weekend, the Washington Post's "Election Lab" said its model shows "78 percent chance of GOP win" - a much stronger reading than other forecasts.

The government "has no clear idea" how Porcine Epidemic Virus entered the United States a year ago, Reuters says. The virus, with a high mortality rate for newborn pigs, has killed 10 percent of the U.S. hog herd and helped push pork prices to high levels.

The owners of Quality Egg, based in northwest Iowa, pleaded guilty to charges related to a massive salmonella outbreak in 2010 in which thousands of people fell ill and 550 million eggs were recalled, says USA Today.

Beneficial rains moistened the western Corn Belt, particularly Nebraska and western Iowa, said the Drought Monitor, which says 38 percent of the contiguous 48 states are in drought vs 40 percent a week ago.

Ethanol profitability hit a record high of $4.50 a bushel in the last week of March, $2 above the previous record, for a "representative Iowa ethanol plant," says economist Scott Irwin of U-Illinois at farmdocdaily. Profits surged because of high gasoline prices, comparatively low costs for corn, large exports, low inventories and a sluggish transport system.

Slowed by a cold and wet spring, farmers have planted 29 pct of corn land in the 18 major states, 13 points behind the five-year average of 42 pct planted by the first week of May, says the weekly Crop Progress report. A week ago, planting, at 19 pct, was 9 points behind average. If corn is planted after May 20, yields are lower.

The National Weather Service forecasts more precipitation than usual in the Midwest, the Plains and the Pacific Northwest for late April, which could delay spring planting but relieve dry conditions in the western Corn Belt and the central and southern Plains.

The 2014 farm law ended the direct-payment subsidy and made crop insurance the major farm support. For most states, there is little difference in the state's share of the receipts.

Mike Conaway of Texas, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said he began the footwork last year to succeed Frank Lucas as chairman of the Agriculture Committee in 2015.

Eighteen US senators sign letter to USTR Michael Froman saying United States should press Japan to increase market access for US farm exports.

The EPA proposal to relax the ethanol mandate could pinch the market for biofuels made from crop debris, grass and wood, says a front-page story in the Des Moines Register.

The Midwest lost 1.06 percent of its farmland in the two decades ending in 2021; development accounted for half of the loss, said three Ohio State University analysts on Monday. "The role of large urban areas is paramount, as 81 percent of land lost to development in the eight states occurred within metropolitan statistical areas," which are regions with a core city of at least 50,000 people and strong ties to its surrounding communities.