Stories

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said he will be asking the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include more individuals who make a direct living off the land in an upcoming workshop focused on competition in the agricultural industry.

The groups coming together believe that decades of bad farm policy and unchecked corporate mergers have driven independent family farmers out of business and created powerful corporate factory farms and agribusiness giants that dominate the market. But there exclusion from the antitrust workshops mean their voice will likely be muted.

State and national officials will be in Ankeny on March 12 for the beginning of an unprecedented series of workshops on competition in the agricultural industry.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture announced last year that they would jointly host the series on a wide range of topics of interest in the agricultural [...]

The nation’s struggling dairy farmers received a $290 million boost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday.
The department is implementing a new program, the Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Program, which was authorized by the 2010 agriculture appropriations bill and will provide loss assistance payments to eligible dairy farmers.

As more American families question their ability to put food on their tables, there are actions that all of us can take to combat food insecurity.
“I believe hunger is one of the great challenges that confronts us today in a tough and difficult economy, and I think we have an opportunity and a responsibility to [...]

Blogger Mike Stark, who has been asking congressional leaders who oppose health care reform on camera about the specific demographics of their own districts, caught up with U.S. Rep. Steve King, the Republican who represents Iowa’s 5th Congressional District.
When asked if how many people residing in his district were uninsured, King responded that the people [...]

An international team of scientists, funded with $10 million in grant money from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and supported by at least two Iowa entities, has completed the first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig — a scientific advance that holds promise for both future swine production and human medicine.
“Understanding [...]

Facing increased demand for behavioral health services, agencies in at least 28 states have been looking to Iowa for advice on the problem. A federal program designed to address the rural mental health crisis nationwide has been authorized by Congress, but hasn’t been funded.

More help is on the way for Iowa’s cash-strapped pork producers.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Thursday that his agency intends to purchase an additional $30 million in pork products this fiscal year for federal food and nutrition assistance programs.

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: