Blockbuster investigation (!) --->> The @IMidwest reports that the @IowaFarmBureau has evaded paying federal taxes by using intermediaries and sham transactions to loan millions of dollars to its for-profit insurance holding company @FBFS. #AgTwitter investigatemidwest.org/2021/10/07/the… My response to this corruption.

Check this out. I love maps. And I'm in the midst of dairy research so this is a thread that combines both.

Here's a map of dairy operations in Iowa (map.counterglow.org). Bigger industry trends can be seen by analyzing this map. #agtwitter Most of the operations in NE Iowa (and the random ones around the state) are traditional dairy farms. Why? That area is hilly (known as the driftless region) so row cropping is less common.

Here's the thing. These traditional farms are going broke left and right.

1 man, 7K+ employees, and 5m+ hogs

This is the story I wrote w/@charli3mitchell about the rise of a hog baron and the societal impacts of his concentrated power. #agtwitter #ialegis vox.com/the-highlight/… This story begins in 1993.

Des Moines business leaders commissioned a VA-based consulting firm to write a report on how to improve IA's business climate. It chided IA politicians and business leaders for “complacency” w/the state’s relative economic health and low unemployment.

Earlier this year, the @nytimes posted a hiring position for an Agribusiness reporter. From what I hear, it wasn't filled and it shows. Random reporters get assigned to cover Ag and they end up copy/paste industry framing. For example, the real story w/dairy is the collapse of family farms right in front of our eyes. We've lost half of them since the election of President George W. Bush. nytimes.com/2020/12/29/sci…