A new analysis of the federal government’s enforcement of animal-welfare laws has found that regulators penalize only 1 percent of the breeders who are cited for violations. more

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is announcing up to $5 million to fund agreements that address Iowa-specific conservation issues. more

All hay producers in the region are invited to attend the annual Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association Annual Meeting and Conference on March 14 at Buzzy’s Bar and Grill, 414 Main St., Welton. more

Sales and service of Deere’s biggest products return to Scott County with P&K Midwest’s acquisition of River Valley Turf. more

Mashed potatoes and pizza are popular foods on their own. But a group of students in Jan Garland’s fourth-grade class at Walcott Elementary School took a chance and combined the two, winning a statewide agriculture contest in the process. more

All hay producers in the region are invited to attend the annual Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association Annual Meeting and Conference on March 14 at Buzzy’s Bar and Grill, 414 Main St., Welton. Registration is at 10 a.m. with the program at 10:30 a.m. more

Scott County’s 4-H family celebrated a year of achievement at the annual Family Fun Night, Jan. 27 at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds Starlite Ballroom. more

Career Development Events gives FFA students a chance to get involved with something they’re interested in and they can build a career out of it. These competitions are super beneficial for new members to get engaged, see what their interests might be, and give them that agriculture exposure. It’s an amazing career exploration experience. more

If you could go back to your High School FFA days, what advice would you give yourself? more

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomes North Scott students to her office, along with Reps. Luanna Stoltenberg and Norlin Mommsen, Scott County supervisor John Maxwell, county planning and zoning board member Joan Maxwell and superintendent Joe Stutting. more

North Scott FFA is open to students from other districts. I was one of those many students along with my friends Molly and Hailey. Hailey and I both come from a different district that didn’t offer FFA, but it was something we were very interested in more

North Scott FFA leader and ag instructor Jacob Hunter leads the first students into the district's Regional Innovation Center under construction on Eldridge's South First Street. more

Legislation that was advanced Monday by an Iowa Senate subcommittee would allow livestock feedlots to spread manure in fields without the approval of state regulators in certain situations. more

Bill Northey, who was Iowa’s top agriculture official for more than a decade and a leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, died at the age of 64. more

Annual ethanol production in Iowa reached a new peak last year of 4.6 billion gallons, according to data compiled by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. more

Eight  Iowa Master Pork Producers of 2023 upheld the highest standards of the Iowa Porl Producers Association for animal well-being, food safety, and the environment. more

Washington County pig farmer Matt Gent is the new president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. He took over the role during the organization’s annual meeting in Des Moines on January 23. Gent and his family own a farrow-to-finish swine enterprise called Prairie Pork near Wellman. They also grow corn and soybeans. more

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) obligated a record $85.8 million in conservation practice funding to Iowa farmers in fiscal year 2023, through 1,628 conservation program contracts that will help treat natural resource concerns such as soil erosion and water quality on 386,736 acres. more

2023 was a milestone year for conservation and water quality in Iowa. Not only did we recognize 10 years of the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, 40 years of the state’s Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program, and 50 years of the state’s conservation cost-share program, but we also set yet another record for conservation implementation in the state. more

As I write this article, I am in the middle of a project looking at soil health and water quality benefits when multiple conservation practices are utilized together.  I find myself pondering different ways to implement conservation on the ground.  With its expansive fields of corn and soybeans, Iowa has long been a cornerstone of American agriculture. Now, the state is at the forefront of a movement to prioritize soil health and water quality. Farmers across Iowa are adopting conservation practices such as cover crops, no-till farming, and edge of field practices to enhance soil health, improve water quality, and boost overall productivity. more