A survey of Midwestern agricultural lenders conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank finds plenty of wary farmers across Iowa and the region. Nathan Kauffman, with the Omaha branch office of the Fed’s seven-state 10th District, says not too many farmers and livestock producers are worried about this year, but 2015 is another matter. “Thinking about 2014, the crop insurance price for corn, for example, was set at $4.62 which is quite a bit higher than where cash prices are right now,” Kauffman says. “Going into early next year, February will be another important month, just thinking about what the crop insurance price might be set going into next year.”

Kauffman says most rural bankers reported solid credit conditions, but also say farmers are being very cautious about making equipment purchases or other capital outlays. “The important thing to note for now is that it looks like credit quality is still strong,” Kauffman says. “Repayment rates, though they’ve softened a bit, are still relatively strong, although that does present some concerns going forward.”

Analysts say this cautious approach by farmers will cause an economic ripple effect that will be felt by businesses throughout Iowa and across the region.

(Radio Iowa)

A deadly virus that’s driving up pork prices as it’s wiped out as many as one in every ten piglets in Iowa in the past year can be spread through hog feed, according to new research. Dr. Scott Dee, the study’s lead author and research director at Minnesota’s Pipestone Veterinary Services, says they were stunned to learn Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, or P-E-D-V, can travel through livestock feed.

“That’s why I think the industry is a little reactive to that, because it’s new, it’s a surprise,” Dee says. “Again, no blame on the feed industry because we’re partners and we have to work together, but we have to realize that it is a potential risk, so we can manage that risk.” Iowa’s first P-E-D-V case was found more than a year ago. Since then, the virus has killed as many as seven-million pigs nationwide.

There have been more than 41-hundred cases reported in 26 states, including more than a thousand cases in Iowa. Dee isn’t sure where the virus originated but believes the study’s findings can help deter future outbreaks. He says the revelation that P-E-D-V travels through feed has shaken the pork industry. “The feed’s the wild card because historically feed hasn’t been a risk factor for disease transfer,” he says. “Now, all of the sudden, we have a pathogen that does. The fact that the feed could potentially be a vehicle was a big surprise.”

The study is being published in the B-M-C Veterinary Research Journal. Later this month, Dee’s team will release a paper on commercially-available feed additives which he says will help in the prevention of P-E-D-V. The Hawkeye State is the nation’s number-one hog producer in an industry worth some six-point-seven billion dollars to the Iowa economy.

(Radio Iowa)