The largest corn state in the US is suffering from drought on the eve of planting season. Although forecasts for spring rains may temporarily improve the situation in Iowa, weather models predict that drought conditions in the northern and eastern parts of the state will intensify in the summer
by Wagamaga
2 comments
For the fourth year in a row, the largest corn-producing state in the United States, Iowa, has recorded one of the driest periods of the year before the start of the sowing season. This is reported by Reuters.
As noted, according to an updated report from the US Drought Monitor, the country’s largest corn-producing state is experiencing one of the driest periods going into the growing season.
Such dry conditions will allow farmers to plant quickly this season, which is a bearish move for grain futures, which are already trending lower this year.
Although forecasts for spring rains may temporarily improve the situation in Iowa, weather models predict that drought conditions in the northern and eastern parts of the state will intensify in the summer.
They call it a March to Madness …
**Iowa Women’s basketbaal team is in Albany New York – they’re everywhere …**
* [https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-basketball/2024-ncaa-womens-basketball-tournament-the-albany-2-regional-field/](https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-basketball/2024-ncaa-womens-basketball-tournament-the-albany-2-regional-field/)
​
**The Des Moines Register says that tech companies “love” building data centers in Iowa** because of available crop land, access to high-speed fiber optics, and a low risk for natural disasters.
The area is already home to two Microsoft data centers, three Facebook data centers and one Google data center. In addition, Iowa provides Microsoft, Facebook, and Google with “millions in tax incentives” to build their centers there. However, all three companies have had to guarantee a certain amount of jobs for locals that pay US$18-US$25 an hour.
​
* [https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/google-named-as-company-behind-proposed-576-million-cedar-rapids-data-center/](https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/google-named-as-company-behind-proposed-576-million-cedar-rapids-data-center/)
​
* [https://www.datacenterjournal.com/data-centers/iowa/](https://www.datacenterjournal.com/data-centers/iowa/)
​
>**Almost a third of hogs in the US are now raised in Iowa**
>
>While hog production has exploded in the state, smaller farms have been pushed out as the industry consolidates, according to the report. The average farm in Iowa markets 9,600 hogs a year, 20 times more than 1982. But over the same period, the number of farms raising hogs in Iowa plummeted by 90%, the report found.
>
>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/05/us-industrial-hog-farming-rural-towns](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/05/us-industrial-hog-farming-rural-towns)
​
**Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, creating nearly 30 percent of all U.S. ethanol.**
* [https://www.iowacorn.org/corn-uses/ethanol/ethanol-plants](https://www.iowacorn.org/corn-uses/ethanol/ethanol-plants)