Agriculture

With a bit more cool weather, berries should be red and plump by the time customers who book an appointment arrive to pick their own.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has granted a northeast Iowa cattle feedlot a water use permit, despite concern from neighbors and environmental groups the feedlot will draw more water than stated in its permit renewal request.

With no new cases of bird flu in Iowa since May 2, the state on Friday lifted a ban on live bird exhibitions. That means chickens, ducks, pigeons and a pheasant may return to the Linn County Fair June 22-26.

The deadline for signing up for the 2022 Census of Agriculture is June 22. Farmers who raise and sell at least $1,000 of products, including some animals, qualify to take the twice-a-decade census.

The Iowa Legislature wants to spend $1 million next year to revise the state’s long-standing nitrogen fertilizer calculator used in seven corn-growing states. Some water quality advocates fear the update will mean more fertilizer applied to fields and more runoff into streams and lakes, but two Iowa State professors welcome the opportunity for new research into the nitrogen question.

Culver is returning to his leadership position at the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, which boosts farmers’ access to loans.

Avian flu is spawning fantastical claims similar to the ones that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring how conspiracy theories often emerge at times of uncertainty, and how the internet and a deepening distrust of science fuel their spread.

Iowa Valley Resource, Conservation & Development will continue to drop new videos each month through August to show consumers how to best find and connect to the food grown close to home.