Snowstorms and cold temperatures dampened sales for many Christmas tree farms across the state. While the work is year-round, their retail season is typically condensed to a two or three week window in late November and early December.

When bird flu spilled over into dairy cattle last year, researchers discovered high concentrations of the H5N1 virus in the raw milk and udders of infected cows. A new study shows the mammary glands of other livestock and humans could also be suitable hosts for the virus.

For more than 60 years, Iowa State University has sponsored an annual land survey. This year shows a small increase that lags behind inflation.

The federal funding package to reopen the government included a one-year extension of certain 2018 Farm Bill programs. Several expired Sept. 30 or would have been null by the end of the year.

Seed corn companies are using more laborers with H-2A visas, according to data from Iowa Workforce Development and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Local contractors say they have teens, who rely on the summer jobs, waiting to do the work.

For Qore, a new facility in Eddyville, the next frontier for sustainable fashion is growing in Iowa's fields.

Roughly 25% to 50% of the total commercial nitrogen applied to fields across the state occurs in the fall. Waiting for cooler soil temperatures helps prevent nitrates from flushing into streams and rivers.

Contractors say they have enough local labor to detassel Nebraska’s seed corn but they’re losing work to migrant workers on H-2A visas. A 2024 law attempted to increase transparency in detasseling.

Iowa farmers are seeing a drop in their income. Economists say one of the last indicators of a failing farm economy is land prices. A recent land auction gives a view into whether people on the ground level are worried.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July allocated $170 billion for immigration enforcement, detention and deportation. Some agricultural organizations and programs have issued guidance for farmers who employ foreign workers.