(Radio Iowa) – Ag equipment maker John Deere is announcing plans to eliminate some 800 jobs at plants in Iowa and Illinois over the coming weeks. It follows word last month the company would shift production of its skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from Dubuque to Mexico by the end of 2026. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is reacting to the news. “Anytime that you’re hearing about roll backs, layoffs, moving things outside of the state of Iowa or the United States,” Naig says, “you’re concerned about those things, you want to understand them.”

In a statement, the company cited rising manufacturing costs as a key factor, while lower crop prices have also caused a slowdown in new ag equipment sales. Some forecasters predict a 25-percent drop in farm income this year over last. Naig says the agricultural economy in general is experiencing what he called “softness” due to a number of factors. “The announcements that you’ve heard made of late are indicators of very much some softness in the ag economy,” Naig says. “Given the effects of inflation, high input prices, the cost of capital interest rates remaining where they are, all those things are contributing in the ag space to delaying decisions if you can — let’s just go sideways for a little bit.”

Deere is eliminating more than 200 jobs at its Davenport plant and another 99 in Dubuque at the end of August, and more than 500 in East Moline, Illinois at the end of September. Deere announced earlier this year it’s cutting more than 800 jobs at facilities in Waterloo, Ottumwa and the Des Moines metro. Naig says the souring economic effects aren’t just limited to the ag equipment sector. “That’s also playing out now in some of these announcements that you’re hearing made about even meat processing or manufacturing,” he says. “So, you try to take all that in and look at it holistically, but I do think that it’s certainly sending some signals about a softening in the economy or at least a lack of confidence in the economy, and those are things what we need to be addressing as a country.”

Secretary Naig says it’s imperative for the state to do everything it can to help agriculture and manufacturing continue to thrive, as they are key economic drivers in the state. His comments came Monday as he was in Davis County to tour a local parts fabrication business.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Food System Coalition representatives, Monday, announced a new plan for Iowa agriculture seeks to increase the state’s production of food rather than ethanol and animal feed. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports he plan, known as Setting the Table for All Iowans, outlines the coalition’s policy goals which include producing more locally grown food, getting more young people to become farmers and providing more financial assistance to farmers. Chris Schwartz, executive director of the coalition, said the plan is an opportunity to positively impact farmers, the economy and the local community.

From left to right, Chris Schwartz, Giselle Bruskewitz, Tommy Hexter and Aaron Lehman speak July 1, 2024 outside the Iowa Capitol about a coalition called Setting the Table for All Iowans. (Photo by Jack O’Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Director of Grinnell Farm to Table food hub Tommy Hexter said many commodity farmers are struggling because most of the profits are going toward the middlemen like seed, equipment and marketing companies. However, Hexter said selling produce locally cuts out most middlemen and leads to more money going into farmers’ pockets. “Setting the Table for All Iowans provides an opportunity to build that system where Iowa’s farmers and small business owners can truly thrive,” Hexter said in the press conference.

The plan also focuses on how to retain and attract farming talent to Iowa through investments in obtaining refrigerated trucks, increasing the number of rural grocery stores and providing needed equipment to small businesses. President of the Iowa Farmers Union Aaron Lehman, a fifth-generation family farmer, said investments like those are vital for the Iowa agriculture industry where there are more farmers above the age of 65 than below the age of 35.

Over the past two years, the Iowa Food System Coalition has organized a Food and Farm Day at the Iowa Capitol and invited legislators and state agencies to a food policy summit. One of the next steps for the coalition is to educate legislators about the plan so it can be used as a guide to create state policies, Schwartz said.

(Radio Iowa) – Smithfield Foods announced it is closing its Altoona ham boning facility to consolidate production volume at other locations in Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska to improve the company’s efficiency. The Altoona plant has 314 employees and the company says it will meet with them to provide additional details about the transition plan, severance pay, and potential employment opportunities with Smithfield. Smithfield employs nearly four-thousand people in Iowa at its farms and its food-processing facilities in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center and Sioux City.