While the Iowa Department of Natural Resources requires farmers to submit documents outlining their plans for spreading livestock manure, the agency doesn’t collect records of where and how much manure is actually spread.
Of the 38 agricultural violators identified this year, only one has been fined for its violations, in a “sweetheart deal” according to lawyers involved in a case against the facility.
An analysis by Investigative Midwest found that a substantial share of Iowa’s rivers and lakes labeled as impaired have remained in poor condition for at least a decade, highlighting persistent pollution risks for swimmers, boaters, and others who regularly use these waters.
The Gazette sat down with Matt Gent, a pig farmer from Wellman who in January was named president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the industry,
Iowa environmental groups — inspired by a successful campaign in Minnesota — are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in and protect drinking water in northeast Iowa from agricultural runoff.
They were commenting at a public hearing on a proposed revision to Iowa Administrative Rules Chapter 65 -- which the Iowa Department of Natural Resources stripped of additional karst protections last fall after livestock owner groups expressed concerns.
A draft of a new Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 65 released in September required new CAFOs near karst terrain to have a greater barrier between manure basins and the porous soil common in northeast Iowa. But the version the DNR sent to the Environmental Protection Commission in mid-November did not include that provision.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has approved a manure plan for Supreme Beef, a cattle feedlot in northeast Iowa, but opponents questioned whether it’s legal for the applicant to tweak the plan midway.
Private wells in Minnesota are facing nitrate contamination that must be addressed. Iowa is no stranger to these water quality issues
Supporters and critics speak at a public hearing about nutrient management plan for 11,600-head cattle feedlot.
A coalition of environmental groups is seeking to force the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its regulation of large livestock operations that release pollutants into waterways.
Owners of an 11,600-head cattle feedlot in northeast Iowa withdrew their application for a manure management plan after a public hearing in which opponents said there were errors and omissions in the plan.
A half-dozen people -- some who have opposed Supreme Beef since 2017 -- spoke against the feedlot’s new proposed nutrient management plan at a virtual public hearing Tuesday attended by nearly 40 people.
A cattle feedlot near Monona must submit a new manure plan to the state after a Polk County judge overturned state approval of the previous plan.
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.
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