Agriculture still nation's biggest industry Agriculture is the nation's biggest industry with assets forecast at $1. Cash receipts from livestock and livestock products totaled $7. Iowa also ranks first in egg production, first in hog production, seventh in all cattle, ninth in sheep and lambs, 10th in turkeys raised and 12th in dairy products. Iowa ranks first in corn, first in soybean, third in oats and 10th in hay production, statistics gathered by the federal government show. Livestock...

Also, some farmers may change their mind about planting more corn and switch some corn acres back to beans as corn prices have declined following release of the USDA report. Some acres may switch back to beans "Those are important factors and the bean market is trying to buy back some acres," says Wisner. There seems to be more strength in the soybean market right now. The acreage shift to corn projected in the report was bigger than many analysts anticipated. Studying the 2007 USDA...

USDA estimates soybean acreage will be down 8.4 million acres this year to accommodate some of the 12. Van Zandt knows lots of farmers are making the switch to more corn acres because he's seen it in the crop insurance coverage he writes as an insurance agent. That may cause some farmers to change their plans before they get the planters out of the tool shed. The push towards renewable fuels like corn-based ethanol has pumped up corn prices all winter, but the effect of USDA's planting...

The spread of increased corn acreage, though, means that the percentage share of the Corn Belt states in total acreage will decline by 2 percentage points. At the same time that many states are increasing corn acres, several states in the Southeast are projected to increase soybean acres, Schniktey said. The report includes a color map showing the projected increases nationwide plus a table comparing planted acres in 2006 and 2007 on a state-by-state basis. The gain is relatively small...

Under the program, livestock owners register their premises, apply for a USDA-recognized identification number that is attached physically to each of their animals, and choose an animal-tracking database (ATD) for tracing individual animals or group/lot movements. Under the program, livestock owners register their premises, apply for a USDA-recognized identification number that is attached physically to each of their animals, and choose an animal-tracking database (ATD) for tracing...

On the Farm -- Ted Shelsby Originally published April 8, 2007 With the surging demand for ethanol pushing up corn prices in recent months, agriculture officials expected farmers to ramp up corn planting for the coming growing season. And yet no sooner was the data released than did the second-guessing begin among farmers about the best course for the coming year. The new interest in corn is stimulated by President Bush's push for alternative fuel and a goal of reducing gasoline consumption...