Over the last two years, several large pork packers have closed plants in California, Minnesota and most recently Iowa. For some pork producers, this means additional miles and more money to deliver hogs on top of tough economic times.

The Iowa Food System Coalition wants to make locally produced food the norm rather than an exception and released a 250-page plan to get there in the next decade.

With bird flu spilling into dairies across the U.S., several Midwestern states have ramped up efforts to curb the virus. Few have expanded testing requirements like Iowa.

Tyson Foods is shuttering its pork processing plant in Perry on June 28. Community leaders are trying to make it easier for workers and their families to stay in the community and find new opportunities.

One of the state’s top dairy producers in northwest Iowa is optimistic that producers can overcome an outbreak in cattle as state and federal agricultural officials take action against the virus.

In early June, state and federal officials confirmed bird flu infections in two dairy herds in northwest Iowa. The cases made Iowa the tenth state in an ongoing outbreak.

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee's nearly 1,000-page version of the 2024 Farm Bill includes language that would make it harder for states to regulate how livestock are raised beyond their jurisdictions.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows three quarters of the state has had adequate rainfall this spring.

The ethanol industry said capturing carbon emissions from ethanol plants and storing it underground is needed to help the industry keep up with the trend toward greener energy. But it’s unclear what the direct benefit to the farmers who supply corn to the ethanol plant might be.

Lab-grown and plant-based meat alternatives would have to be labeled as fake or imitation products. The law also prohibits school districts, community colleges and public universities in Iowa from purchasing lab-grown meat and any foods misbranded as meat or egg products.