Reading Time: 3 minutes As the Midwest struggles with the ripple effects of this year’s devastating drought, farmland prices in Iowa hit a new record high on Thursday when an 80.47-acre parcel sold for $21,900 an acre, the auction firm that handled the sale said Friday. The parcel is located in Sioux County near Boyden, Iowa, about 42 miles […] Read more
Iowa farmland sale hits new record high at $21,900 an acre
ABC News seeks federal venue for “pink slime” lawsuit
Reading Time: 2 minutes ABC News sought on Wednesday to move to federal court a meat processor’s defamation lawsuit over reports about lean finely textured beef, a product that critics have labeled "pink slime." Lawyers for the network filed to transfer the case, brought last month by Beef Products Inc., the leading producer of the product, from of a […] Read more
Ego too big to fail, PFG founder admits 20-year fraud
Reading Time: 5 minutes Russell Wasendorf Sr., arrested on Friday, confessed to a 20-year fraud at his now-bankrupt Iowa brokerage, saying business troubles and his "big" ego left him no choice: "So I cheated." In the dramatic conclusion to a week-long saga that has shaken trader confidence in the trillion-dollar U.S. futures markets, authorities released parts of a detailed […] Read more
U.S. beef processor shuts plants over “pink slime”
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beef Products Inc., the top producer of ammonia-treated beef product dubbed "pink slime" by critics, said Monday it had halted production at three of its four plants in three states for 60 days from Monday. Rich Jochum, corporate administrator for the South Dakota-based company, said that the temporary closure could become "a permanent suspension." "This […] Read more
Farmland boom alters 40-year Iowa corn yield model
Reading Time: 2 minutes In response to surging Midwest farmland prices, researchers in Iowa are overhauling a decades-old formula used to predict corn yields, which will allow farmers and tax officials to more accurately value property. The corn suitability rating (CSR) has long been a Midwestern benchmark to forecast how productive an Iowa farm will be if corn is […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
