Ag and Environment

MetLife Inc. said today that it originated $2.8 billion in agricultural mortgage loans in 2011, consistent with 2010, and has more than $13 billion in agricultural mortgage loans outstanding.…

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is leading opposition to a decision by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to approve a construction permit for a 5,200-head hog confinement expansion proposed by Capstone Finishers LLC of …

Stroh Corp. has been approved by the Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA) as a GreenSTAR energy solutions provider, the only company in Iowa to receive the designation and one of 48 in the country. …

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will visit the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in downtown Des Moines during his visit to Iowa this week.

Xi will join the World Food Prize Foundation for the …

McDonald’s Corp. said today it will require its pork suppliers to get rid of gestation pens that animal-rights groups have long deemed cruel to pigs, Bloomberg reported.

“There are alternatives that we think are better …

The Iowa Wind Energy Association’s annual conference will be April 9-11 at the Iowa Events Center, with the theme Iowa Wind Power: A Model for America. The conference will feature information sessions and 60 industry …

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., parent company of Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., announced yesterday that by 2020 it will invest $10 billion in research and development and introduce 4,000 new products centered on …

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. will partner with OligoCo Inc., a Washington state-based biotech company that specializes in genetic synthesis, to develop technology to improve crops. The two companies will work on technology that will use …

Purchases of wind turbines and other equipment will decline 18 percent this year and won’t return to 2011 levels for five years, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Capital investment in wind-power assets worldwide will …