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<\/b>
\nNorth Iowa farm fields, intended for growing corn this summer, aren\u2019t yet planted. Hundreds of acres\u2014mostly in the northern tier of counties adjacent to the Minnesota border\u2014have ponds from April snows and several inches of early May rain.
Earlier this week, USDA\u2019s crop update said three-quarters of North Iowa\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s widely seen as their primary safety net: crop insurance.
The program covers all sorts of crops, \u201cfrom corn to clams,\u201d Iowa State University agriculture economist Chad Hart said. But it\u2019s not like the types of insurance most people are familiar with.<\/p>\n

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