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Columns

The growing disconnect between hard numbers, soft policy

Like much of the news anymore, the initial numbers from the 2022 Census of Agriculture were accurately reported, quickly downplayed — or even worse, ignored — by most Big Ag groups, and then just pushed aside by the rush of the next day’s news. That’s a mistake — because the ...

Argentina on the cusp of something greater

To the casual observer Argentina has it all … good demographics, natural resources and an educated public. What holds Argentina back, according to Brazilians, is that Argentines live there. They are a failed political state. It is like they go to great lengths to squander all of their ...

Market Insider Weekly Newsletter

NEWS *The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a petition from eight Midwestern states allowing sales of E15 during the summer months. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said this announcement was a “good news, bad news” situation. Cooper is pleased with ...

A Farm Bill update with Sen. Grassley

Q: Will Congress renew the Farm Bill this year? A: The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee held its annual oversight hearing in late February to review operations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared before the committee to answer ...

Securing Iowa’s valuable farmland

One of my favorite days of the entire year is the Century and Heritage Farm ceremony that takes place during the Iowa State Fair. During the all-day event in the historic Livestock Pavilion, hundreds of multi-generational farm families, many in matching t-shirts, wait their turns to proudly ...

A spirited evening

Bourbon, beer, and barbecue are among my favorite things that begin with the letter “b.” It was only natural that I felt compelled to attend the Bourbon, Beer, and Barbecue tasting event held recently at Valiant Vineyards and Distillery, located in Vermillion, South Dakota. As my wife and ...

Perils of home repairs

There comes a time in every home owner’s life when something breaks or doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to work. Some repairs take just minutes, while others gobble up our time and leave us as wide-eyed as laborers with loose pantlegs on corn shelling day. It’s the woman of the house ...

Market Insider Weekly Newsletter

NEWS *The clock is ticking for a new farm bill. American Soybean Association Executive Director of Government Affairs Christy Seyfert does not want to see this legislation pushed into next year. “We’ve been advocating for a new and improved farm bill for two years and hope that we can get ...

Ag meetings provide valuable information for farmers

We now move into the latter half of the short month of February and there is not much happening on the national scene. We could talk about Fanni, but it has been recommended that I not talk politics. She must have had a miserable childhood where she was constantly teased about her name all ...

We must end reckless government spending

Basic economic theory tells us that when too many dollars chase too few goods, the result is inflation. Americans don’t need to take a course in economics to understand this concept because President Biden personally delivered a real-world example. By wasting trillions of dollars – approved ...