The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Tuesday an expansion of a popular cost-share conservation program that helps farmers convert cropland to pasture. The program has existed since 2016 in select southwestern Iowa counties where it has helped farmers convert more than 16,000 acres of less-productive cropland into pasture. Now, with funding from […]
Iowa row crops are in good conditions as of the latest crop progress and condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, though plant pathologists in the state are starting to see disease pressure creep up. Corn, soybean and oat acres were ahead of last year’s crop across most developmental stages, according to the report […]
Water quality is shaping up to be a big issue in many of Iowa’s races for the Nov. 3 election but especially in Iowa’s race for secretary of agriculture, where Republican incumbent Mike Naig faces water quality advocate and Democratic candidate Chris Jones. Iowa Capital Dispatch sat down with each candidate to talk about water […]
July ended with hot temperatures and record high dew point temperatures, according to a weekly weather report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. While the temperatures were warm and parts of the state could use some rain as of the July 27 through Aug. 2 reporting period, Iowa’s crops continue to progress […]
As part of his bid to be Iowa’s next secretary of agriculture, Democratic candidate Chris Jones unveiled policy framework with a 10-year goal of requiring schools to source half of their food from local farms. Jones, whose platform focuses largely on improving water quality in Iowa, said building the infrastructure to support locally grown food […]
Iowa corn and soybean crops are generally in good to excellent condition, according to the latest report, even while parts of the state were hit with heavy rains that triggered disaster assistance from a federal agency for houses and businesses in certain counties. Corn grown for grain in Iowa rated 80% good to excellent and […]
