U.S. beef processor shuts plants over “pink slime”

Beef Products Inc., the top producer of ammonia-treated beef product dubbed "pink slime" by critics, said Monday it had halted production at three of its four plants in three states for 60 days from Monday. Rich Jochum, corporate administrator for the South Dakota-based company, said that the temporary closure could become "a permanent suspension." "This […] Read more

Price and optimism sky high in Iowa

Reading Time: 2 minutes If there is an epicentre of the nation’s farmland boom, it can be found here amid the rolling hills of northwest Iowa. A fortune is being plowed into the dirt of Sioux County, where well-heeled farmers and wealthy investors compete fiercely for some of the most fertile land in the corn belt. Prices across Iowa […] Read more