Iowa — Latest Stories

JBS Buys Assets from its Hog Supplier TriOak

JBS will buy undisclosed assets from Iowa hog producer TriOak, locking up a supply of Prop-12 compliant hogs and vertically integrating an already consolidated industry.

Mergers & Acquisitions, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayDecember 20, 2022JBS, Iowa, pork, Primary Feature

The Iowa Farmer Group Backed by an Insurance Company

The Iowa Farm Bureau sells itself as a member-driven organization, but dividends from a financial services firm pay most its bills and executives.

PolicyClaire KellowayOctober 14, 2021Farm Bureau, Iowa

Democratic Candidates Call for Antitrust Reform at Heartland Forum in Northwest Iowa

Last Saturday, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and other Democratic Party presidential hopefuls gathered in Storm Lake, Iowa at the Heartland Forum to present their platforms for revitalizing rural communities. Preceding the forum, a coalition of farming groups held a rally nearby calling for a moratorium on large agricultural mergers and a Farmers Bill of Rights.

PolicyClaire KellowayApril 2, 2019Antitrust, Bayer, checkoff, consolidation, COOL, Farm Bureau, GIPSA, Iowa, merger, monsanto, politics, seeds

Federal Judge Deems Iowa’s Ag Gag Law Unconstitutional

Earlier this month, a U.S. District Court judge struck down Iowa’s “ag-gag” law on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment. The ruling concludes a 2017 lawsuit brought against the state by a broad coalition of animal rights, environmental, and community advocacy groups including the ACLU and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Policy, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayJanuary 17, 2019Iowa, transparency, chicken, pork, Ag-gag, Animal Welfare

New Iowa Egg Bill Would Block Grocers from Selling Only Cage-Free Eggs

Kroger, Albertson’s and Walmart are just a few of the big U.S. grocers that have committed to transitioning to sell only cage-free eggs over the next decade. But a bill in Iowa would block grocers from going entirely cage-free in the state, a move that illustrates the power of the factory farm egg industry in the country’s biggest egg-producing state.

RetailKevin CartyMarch 29, 2018eggs, Farm Bureau, Iowa, chicken, organics, Cage-free

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Idaho’s Ag-gag Law

On January 4, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho’s “ag-gag” law, finding it an unconstitutional violation of free speech. The decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled against an ag-gag law. Opponents of the law, which had been in effect since 2014, hope that the ruling will provide a precedent for overturning ag-gag laws in several other states.

DairyLeah DouglasJanuary 11, 2018ACLU, cooperative, dairy, Idaho, Iowa, tax bill, Wyoming, Leah Douglas, Ag-gag, Animal Rights

Food & Power Newsletter: The Battle for Nebraska: Communities Take On Industrial Chicken and Pork

“We need a moratorium here in Iowa. We’ve got too many factory farms.” That’s Adam Mason, state policy director with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. He’s not alone in his desire for dramatic action to be taken against the proliferation of factory farming in his state. Communities across the country are standing up against corporate, industrial farming in their towns and cities. This growing anger is in part a response to weak state and federal protection of open and competitive livestock markets.