A bill that would significantly change the property tax system for Iowa homeowners has cleared the Senate. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, calls it the first step toward a plan that can win approval in the Iowa House and be signed into law by Governor Reynolds. “This is not the final product, […] View Full Story
The U.S. Department of Labor is conducting its annual revision in labor numbers to start the new year. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says that resulted in the December unemployment number dropping one tenth of a percent. “December was revised to 3.4%, which is the number that was released today for January. So we […] View Full Story
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live and feeder cattle were higher, optimistic about higher direct business and the lower move in corn. June live cattle closed $.12 higher at $245.92 and August live cattle closed $.05 higher at $242.42. May feeder cattle closed $1.37 higher at $368 and August feeder cattle closed $1.90 higher at […] The post Cattle futures higher waiting on direct trade appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
An Illinois farmer says even though he booked his fertilizer last fall, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have concerns. Brian Corkill raises corn and soybeans in Henry County. “When you stop the flow of any product, it takes a long time to get things moving and get back to where it needs to be,” he says. “So I guess I’m a little more concerned about stuff […] The post Illinois farmer says uncertainty lingers ahead of planting season appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
Can farmers survive in the current ag economy? Joe Outlaw with Texas A&M University says it’s getting more difficult. “There’s more people saying I can’t do this anymore.” He says it’s a terrible time to borrow money, interest rates and input costs remain high. “I have a lot of farmers calling me, telling me the […] The post Not a golden age: ag economists warn of financial pressure on farmers appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
An agronomy expert says growers should prioritize pest management during the 2026 growing season. George Huckabay is the lead agronomist for Vive Crop Protection… “The biggest thing in the Midwest is corn rootworm,” he said. “That’s going to be the number one problem up there.” He says corn rootworm has become increasingly problematic the last […] The post Agronomist warns growers to stay ahead of corn rootworm this season appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
Soybeans were modestly higher on short covering and technical buying. Brazil’s harvest is nearing completion, with record harvest all but confirmed, while early harvest activity is ongoing in Argentina. Stateside, the trade’s monitoring any potential adjustments to planted area. One of the big questions right now is export demand for U.S. beans from China, with […] The post Soybeans rise, corn and wheat fall ahead of WASDE report appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
A senior research economist with MU’s Food and Ag Policy Research Institute says once the Middle East conflict ends, it will take some time for fuel and fertilizer prices to come back down. Bob Maltsbarger says if the conflict were resolved today, nitrogen prices would remain elevated through fall application. “If this was happening before […] The post MU’s FAPRI: fertilizer price relief could take longer than expected appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
Three years of research and hundreds of farmer surveys have led to a new policy brief aiming to diversify the Corn Belt. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) says in the I-states (Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa), 94% of crop production is currently dedicated to corn and soybeans. Lauren Asprooth, food systems scientist with […] The post Diversifying the Corn Belt appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
The chief economist for the Renewable Fuels Association says U.S. ethanol exports have been on a strong upward trajectory over the past several years. Scott Richman tells Brownfield, “We had by far a record year in 2024. We thought that was a pretty good level of exports at about 1.9 billion gallons. We broke that […] The post Ethanol exports continue upward trend, RFA says appeared first on Brownfield Ag News. View Full Story
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