WATERLOO, Iowa - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey presented Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area with an Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Award in recognition of their leadership in agritourism and sustainable heritage development. Northey recognized the efforts by Silos & Smokestacks to highlight the land, people, and communities in northeast Iowa that tell the story of agriculture in Iowa.  

VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON, August 2, 2017 - Deb Keller, a farmer from Clarion, Iowa, was elected as U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Chair on Wednesday at the organization's 57th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Vancouver, Washington. Keller, who represents Iowa Corn farmers with her USGC board seat, is a second-generation farmer and the past chair of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. She will be the first woman to serve as Chair in USGC's 60-year history.

Five-State Tour to Focus on Rural Prosperity, Preparation for 2018 Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2017 – The government of Japan has announced that rising imports of frozen beef in the first quarter of the Japanese fiscal year (April-June) have triggered a safeguard, resulting in an automatic increase to Japan's tariff rate under the WTO on imports of frozen beef from the United States.  The increase, from 38.5 percent to 50 percent, will begin August 1, 2017 and last through March 31, 2018.  The tariff would affect only exporters from countries, including the United