Articles Tagged: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Nearly 7 million chickens and turkeys in 13 states have been killed this year due to bird flu.

The fiscal 2023 budget proposed by House Republicans represents a less than a 1 percent increase from the current $8.1 billion budget. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Republicans have proposed spending just more than $8.2 billion, a 3.5 percent increase.

The city of Cedar Rapids, along with soil and water districts, is partnering with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to launch water quality practices projects.

Federal inspectors who visited Daniel Gingerich’s dog-breeding operations last September reported damaged flooring that was littered with feces and noted a strong odor of animal waste.

Iowa specialty crops, including hazelnuts, melons and cold-hardy red wine, got a boost this week with $300K in federal money awarded by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Farmers have harvested 91 percent of corn for grain, which is four days ahead of the five-year average, and 97 percent of the soybean crop, according to the USDA.

Warmer than average conditions continued across Iowa with a statewide average of 65.2 degrees, 11.7 degrees above normal. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.26 inch while the normal is 0.66 inch.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said he expects 2021 to be “another year where you’re going to have a lot of variability, but I think generally we can say things look better than we might have expected.”

Iowa meat lockers that make in-demand specialty products often struggle to get enough skilled workers. Which is why the Iowa Legislature created a task force to study whether the state should start an artisanal butchery program at a state community college or university.

But more timely precipitation still needed, experts say, before drought conditions can be eliminated.

Des Moines has become an extreme example of the conflict over clean water between agriculture and cities in farm states with minimal regulation.

Timely rains aid some areas, not others

Farmers reported many crops benefited from much-needed rain but more moisture is needed, especially in the northern two-thirds of the state. At the same time, other parts of the state got too much rain.

Group to explore economic-development opportunities for Iowa

Come hail or high water, there are parts of Iowa still badly in need of more rain.