Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a new rule that would change the requirements of meat, poultry and egg labels that say “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” to better align with what consumers understand the claim to mean.

Legislation is being proposed at the federal and state level to restrict foreign ownership of farmland, especially by China. The scrutiny comes after a Midwestern project was scuttled by military concerns and the flight of a Chinese spy balloon across the U.S.

The report from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach says from 2011 to 2021, the number of Iowa acres operated by large commercial farms grew to about 1,930 acres each. And acres operated by small farms fell by nearly 50%, with each farm operating about 300 acres.

Sensors in space could improve our understanding of whether crops in the Corn Belt have enough water to grow. Iowa State University researchers have gotten help from a NASA grant of more than half a million dollars to study this.

A new study shows a threefold increase in Midwest farm acres using the offseason crops to help protect the soil and reduce runoff, but it still makes up less than 8% of all farmland.

A new analysis says converting more land to grow crops for biofuels may harm wildlife protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Disease Center in Ames have been using American Rescue Plan funding to see how different coronavirus variants operate in deer over time.

As an invasive tick species spreads westward across the U.S., so does the threat of a new disease in cattle. Researchers are sounding the alarm.

A study done for the ethanol industry predicts dire consequences if carbon dioxide pipelines don’t go forward in Iowa but do in other states.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last month that it will not apply dietary supplement regulations to the hemp product CBD. The announcement has been frustrating for hemp farmers who have been waiting years for regulation.