Stories

Corn prices on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped significantly this morning after a report (pdf) from USDA predicted that this year’s crop will be much larger than investors and analysts expected:

Corn and soybean prices dropped sharply Friday following the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October crop production estimates.

Until they dry out, Iowa cornfields are just so much moist dirt. At harvest time they will yield a certain amount of food, but about 20 percent of U.S. corn is used to make ethanol.

The biofuel boom, along with drought and other factors, has created a worldwide food problem.

Several countries have recently seen bloodshed, unrest [...]

Michael Pollan, whose best-selling book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, recently reached the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list, drew an overflow crowd of nearly 400 people in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon. He was in town to read from his latest food-related book. 

Pollan was also feted at a so-called [...]

Responding to a question in Washington, Ia., former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney downplayed the remarks of a national co-chairman of his presidential campaign who had stated that Iowa is where “they pick corn” not presidents.

Romney noted that he has “made more visits to Iowa than any other candidate.”

During her featured speech at the University of Iowa Energy Expo on Wednesday in Iowa City, Hunter Lovins said that pursuing corn ethanol was “daft.”  The audience, mostly college students, did not challenge her claim.  Her presentation and the theme of the Expo was focused on reducing our carbon footprint to reduce global warming [...]

As the wettest August in Iowa’s history comes to an end, farmers are assessing the impact of the recent wild weather on their crops. In some areas of the state, powerful storms dumped more than a foot of rain in less than one week.

Despite some areas where crops were damaged by flooding and powerful winds, [...]

Here's a look at some of the stories in agriculture news from the past week.
Planting of corn in Iowa is nearly complete, according to a report from Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey.
The Des Moines Register is reporting that growth in the renewable fuels industry is bringing up the value of Iowa farmland.
A Wallaces Farmer article [...]