OMAHA (Via the Iowa Capital Dispatch) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced $124 million in grants and loans to projects in 44 states, including Iowa, that are aimed at saving energy and creating more income streams for smaller farmers and rural businesses. The heftiest award — nearly $4 million — went to Nebraska-based Bluestem Systems to help boost a creative process that removes water and pathogens from manure. In doing so, the company produces dry fertilizer and recycles the water for on-site use. Russ Vering, owner of Bluestem Systems, based in Howells, Nebraska, was on the panel. He said the nearly $4 million FPEP award headed to his business will help construction and equipment purchases at two Nebraska locations and another in Iowa.

In all, Vilsack said, the 542 projects — most of the awards range from about $7,000 to $1 million — are expected to advance President Joe Biden’s pledge to expand clean energy and allow small- to mid-sized farm and rural operations a better chance at competing with larger counterparts. Thirty Iowa projects received a total of just over $2.76 million.

Speaking to a group of about 75 people at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Vilsack described key challenges faced by most farmers. Since 1981, he said, the nation has lost some 545,000 farms and 155 million acres of former farmland. While the nation has enjoyed record farm income in the last few years, he said, the income has been concentrated among about 7% of s farms that cumulatively collect up to 89% of the bounty. Part of the answer to shrinking rural communities, Vilsack said, is to provide access to funding via programs such as REAP and FPEP. Such monies, he said, open the door to creating other “value-added” opportunities and sources of income for farmers. Instead of “get big or get out,” Vilsack said: “The word is entrepreneurial.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in Omaha on March 28, 2024, announced about $124 million in grant and loans to smaller farms and rural businesses across the country, including 30 in Iowa. (Photo by Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) via Iowa Capital Dispatch

Of the newly announced grants and loans, Vilsack said the investments he announced “Will expand access to renewable energy systems and domestic fertilizer, all while creating good-paying jobs and saving people money that they can then invest back into their businesses and communities.

Among the larger REAP awards for Iowa projects were:

Among the larger Iowa recipients were:

• DeWitt Travel Mart – $395,527 to help install a 423.5 kilowatt solar array at its convenience store in DeWitt.
• Deck Supply Services – $283,977  to help install a 281.8 kilowatt solar array at its sheet metal work manufacturing operation near Walcott.
• L & S Ag Center Inc. – $203,477 to help install a 199 kilowatt solar array at its farm supply business in Worthington.
• D Daufeldt Farms Inc. – $160,728 to help install a 114 kilowatt solar project at its turkey production operation near West Liberty.
• Home 40 LTD – $160,259 to help install an energy-efficient grain dryer at its oilseed and grain production farm operation near Britt.