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5/11/2021 Stress in life is normal, especially in the agricultural community where farmers are up against factors out of their control such as the weather, markets, and local and federal policies impacting their bottom lines. While stress can move people toward positive change and action, when it crosses the line of impacting decision-making, relationships and physical health, it needs to be addressed. During May Mental Health Month, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) wants farmers to know help is available. “As a grain and livestock farmer, I understand the mind-set of wanting to push through, get the job done, and suppress how we’re feeling to not concern others,” says Craig Hill, IFBF president. “But if we’re not taking care of ourselves, we will be unable to take care of the things we hold dear like our families, farms, land, and livestock.”
by Perry Beeman The country’s top environmental official spent his first trip to Iowa largely meeting with farmers, not environmentalists. Michael Regan, a former top North Carolina environment official who now heads the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, told reporters at a news conference near the Dico Superfund site in Des Moines he will be in no rush to change the state’s voluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy. He did not sound like a man moving quickly to regulate nitrogen and phosphorus, the two main farm fertilizers causing pollution issues from Iowa’s streams and lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental groups have long pushed for that, suing at times in unsuccessful attempts to force action.
DES MOINES, Iowa (May 3, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig reminds eligible farm owners to apply for the 2021 Century and Heritage Farm Program now. The program was created by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to recognize families who have owned their farms for 100 years and 150 years, respectively. To be included in the 2021 Century or Heritage Farm Program, completed applications must be received by June 1, 2021.
To apply, download the application on the Department’s website at iowaagriculture.gov/century-
Applications may also be requested from Kelley Reece, coordinator of the Century and Heritage Farm Program, at 515-281-3645 or Kelley.Reece@IowaAgriculture.
FBL, Farm Bureau P&C sweeten merger deal to $61 per share Monday, May 3, 2021 11:06 AM Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and FBL Financial Group, Inc. today announced that they have agreed to amend their previously announced definitive merger agreement, sweetening the deal for unaffiliated shareholders by another $47 million. The companies said they would now offer $61 per share in cash for shares that aren’t already owned by FBPCIC or Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, an increase from the $56 per share under the definitive agreement dated Jan. 11. The amendment was approved by the boards of both FBPCIC and FBL Financial Group. The revised offer represents an increase of 8.9% and 63.8%, respectively, over the previously agreed offer price of $56 per share and FBL Financial Group’s unaffected closing share price of $37.25 on Sept. 3, 2020. The aggregate purchase price under the amended agreement now stands at about $575 million. “The revis