The U. S. House’s attempt to pass a farm bill failed this morning. A number of Republicans were trying to leverage votes for a conservative immigration bill
North Iowa farm fields, intended for growing corn this summer, aren’t yet planted. Hundreds of acres—mostly in the northern tier of counties adjacent to the Minnesota border—have ponds from April snows and several inches of early May rain.
Earlier this week, USDA’s crop update said three-quarters of North Iowa’s intended corn acreage is unplanted. That contrasts with the southern two-thirds of the state where 79 percent is planted. Corn plants are emerging in 26 percent of the state’s acreage.
Statewide, one-third of the soybean acreage is planted.
The first version of the 2018 farm bill has only minor changes to one of the programs most farmers hold dear and what’s widely seen as their primary safety net: crop insurance.
The program covers all sorts of crops, “from corn to clams,” Iowa State University agriculture economist Chad Hart said. But it’s not like the types of insurance most people are familiar with.
