Iowa
Trump visits derecho-hit Iowa, talks about China
Pence: ‘We have a ways to go’ in settling trade war with China
In a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Vice President Mike Pence pointed on Thursday to China's promises to roughly double its purchases of U.S. farm exports as evidence that there is "no greater fighter on trade than President Donald Trump." The pledge was part of the "phase one" agreement that de-escalated the Sino-U.S. trade war and is scheduled for a six-month review by the two nations this weekend.
USDA’s coronavirus payments to farmers creep to $7 billion
With 18 days left for to apply for coronavirus aid, farmers and ranchers have received $7 billion of the $16 billion earmarked for assistance, an increase of $218 million from the previous week, said the USDA on Monday. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
Derecho hit 10 million acres of crops in Iowa
Three Farm Belt states get a quarter of coronavirus relief money
Farmland values constrained by falling income, pandemic
Farmland values across the Midwest and Plains are steady or lower than they were last June under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic and fears of declining farm income, said the largest U.S. farm management and real estate sales company. (No paywall)
Iowa expands offer of hog disposal aid
Feenstra defeats anti-immigrant King
Primary election may be decision day for divisive Steve King
Incendiary Rep. Steve King survived the closest election of his career in 2016 by defeating Democrat J.D. Scholten by 3 percentage points. He faces a potentially tougher race in the Republican primary election on Tuesday, against four challengers who say they are just as conservative as King without his tinge of white extremism.
As U.S. hog backup tops 2 million head, Iowa says it will help pay for carcass disposal
The persisting coronavirus slowdown at pork plants has stranded 2 million hogs on the farm with no buyer, and the backlog is growing, said economist Steve Meyer on Wednesday, suggesting that some farmers will be forced to destroy their animals. In Iowa, the state announced a program to help farmers cover the cost of carcass disposal. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As meat plants reopen, Iowa, South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Nebraska are coronavirus leaders
As many as 18 percent of workers in meat and poultry plants are infected with the coronavirus in Iowa and South Dakota, while Pennsylvania and Nebraska account for one-quarter of the Covid-19 cases nationwide, said CDC scientists and state public health officials. The CDC released the report as Smithfield Foods, one of the giants of the meat industry, began to reopen a hog plant that was a coronavirus hot spot three weeks ago.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Iowa leaders ask federal indemnities for hog culling
Farmers across the nation may be forced to kill 700,000 hogs a week because of coronavirus closures and slowdowns at slaughter plants, said four Iowa leaders in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence on Monday. Led by Gov. Kim Reynolds, the elected officials asked for federal indemnities to help the farmers stay in business.
Across the country, a call grows for moratoriums on huge livestock farms
As the number of massive livestock farms balloons in states like Iowa, Maryland, and Nebraska, communities are scrambling to figure out how to control the pollution and waste produced by thousands — or tens of thousands — of animals. In some places, officials have opted to ban the mega-farms altogether, and the idea of a moratorium on the biggest animal farms is gaining support in local governments, statehouses, and even in Congress. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Two states top $1 billion in Trump tariff payments this year
Producers in Iowa and Illinois reaped 20 percent of the trade war payments from the Trump administration, as cash disbursements leaped to nearly $10.2 billion nationwide for this year's crops and livestock. Iowa collected $1.15 billion and Illinois $1.06 billion, according to the USDA.
Judge says Iowa ag-gag law can’t be enforced, for now
Cellulosic ethanol continues to flow at first Iowa plant to produce it
Even as larger-scale producers of cellulosic ethanol shutter their plants, a handful of small-volume producers are staying the course. One of them, northwestern Iowa’s Quad County Corn Processors, has been using its distinctive distilling method to make cellulosic ethanol since 2014.
Pence tells Iowa, ‘I came … to turn up the heat’ on USMCA
Time is running short for President Trump to win congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year, with lawmakers set to work just eight weeks before adjourning in early December. Vice President Mike Pence called on House Democrats on Wednesday to set aside their “partisan impeachment” inquiry and approve the USMCA.
Largest ethanol maker closes Indiana plant, blames EPA waivers
At the same time that POET, the largest U.S. ethanol maker, said it was forced to shut down an Indiana plant due to EPA “mismanagement” of the ethanol mandate, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said that “farmers feel the government isn’t keeping its word” on biofuels.
Farmland loss in Midwest: 1.6 million acres in 20 years
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.