Political farm flubs Friday, June 6, 2014 U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley made a big political mess when he called Sen. Chuck Grassley "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." Team Braley then dug the hole deeper by misspelling some basic farm terms in a press release defending Braley's farming credentials. The Des Moines Register reports that Braley, a Democrat, was caught on video making the controversial remarks at a private Texas fundraiser in March. The video caused "a political forest fire" that Braley attempted to fight with an apology to Republican Grassley and a press release that stressed Braley's farm upbringing. However, when your press release says you grew up working on Iowa farms "detassling corn and bailing hay," it doesn't help your cause much. Braley's district is in northeastern Iowa, which is one of the top three agricultural states, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. BF A2 milk is coming to America Small farms get creative with crowdfunding
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online