Agricultural news, updates and trends from The Gazette.
Friday’s ruling in the lawsuit by the Sierra Club of Iowa and Trout Unlimited against the DNR and Supreme Beef says the state agency used “illogical interpretations and applications” to approve a nutrient management plan for an 11,600-head cattle feedlot near Monona.
The big challenge now is encouraging counties to launch and fund similar efforts to reduce runoff from Iowa’s 10 million acres of tile-drained farmland and combat the state’s multi-billion dollar problem with nitrogen pollution.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced about $40 million worth of grants for 31 projects in numerous states during a visit to Iowa State University, which is among the grant recipients.
Proposed legislation would require the state to prioritize maintenance of current publicly-owned lands over the acquisition of new lands. Iowa ranks near the bottom of the list of U.S. states for its share of publicly-owned land. About 3 percent of the state is public land.
Practical Farmers has a few billboards in Iowa, but most are white and have a simple message about the organization. But the Land Stewardship Project, based in Minneapolis, wanted to use Practical Farmers’ “Don’t Farm Naked” slogan on billboards in southern Minnesota.
Plant in Vinton once produced tons of the treat
1.5 million acres in Iowa to be part of $216M agreement
CapCO2 plans to have a pilot project by this summer to test a system that would capture CO2 from ethanol plants, combine it with hydrogen and turn it into green methanol -- a highly-sought renewable fuel.
A recent report highlights low EQIP and CSP acceptance rates across the country, although Iowa officials say the state is in better shape than depicted.
If Iowa lawmakers pass legislation blocking carbon dioxide pipelines, the pipelines still will move forward in other states, leaving Iowa out of a tax credit gold rush and forcing Iowa farmers to ship their corn out of state, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Spring is right on track in Iowa, with daffodils and tulips expected to bloom in early to mid-April with fruit trees flowering a few weeks later, said Patrick O’Malley, a Linn County-based commercial fruit and vegetable field specialist with Iowa State Extension.
Recently spiking inflation and interest rates could stunt growth of Iowa’s farmland values and disproportionately impact landowners.
Richard Childress to keynote 35th annual conference in Cedar Rapids
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