(Radio Iowa) – The new Farm Bill that has been delayed multiple times is one of the key topics of discussion at the Iowa Farm Progress Show that’s going on in Boone.

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he still feels it can get done yet this year. “Here’s what I’m optimistic about. I’m optimistic about the people who are involved in this process understanding the importance of it, of getting it done, certainly before the end of the year,” Vilsack says. “That’s important, because if it doesn’t get done before the end of the year, or if there’s not an extension before the end of the year, then there’s some ramifications that are pretty dire.”

The former Iowa Governor says both sides have to take the same approach. “To get it done, I think everyone in the process needs to be practical. And by that, I mean you have to take a look at what actual resources are indeed available for any new programs or expansions of existing programs, and try to fit whatever you’re proposing within the real cost,” he says.

Iowa Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra says increasing prices paid under crop insurance is a key reason to get the bill done this year. “You’ve got corn at three-dollars and 60 cents, you got soybeans at nine dollars and 40 or 50 cents, whatever it might be. I mean, it’s the killer,” he says. “We’ve got to increase those revenue prices, and we got to make sure that crop insurance is there and available, because we know it’s going to be used this year.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack (photo from Ag Secretary’s office)

House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania also discussed the Farm Bill in Boone. “I think it’s urgent that we do that this year. I to me, I have an urgency. I want to do it before the election. I think would that that’s really important. It’s important for our farm families,” Thompson says. He says the bill is being held up in the Senate. “Well, part of it is, you know, the Senate just has 90 pages of ideas. Some of them are great ideas, and they dovetail nicely with what we pass. Some of them are not so good ideas,” Thompson says. He says with only ideas, the lead senator is unsure if there are 60 votes to bring the bill forward.

(Thanks to Brent Barnett of the Brownfield Network.)

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with Landus, an Iowa-based agriculture solutions company, Wednesday, announced the purchase of Wickman Chemical in Atlantic, an independent Iowa-based agricultural chemicals provider, to expand its chemical products and services offerings. A press release said Landus’ acquisition of the company represents its continued commitment to delivering innovation to the farm and empowering our farmers with the tools they need to succeed.

Wickman Chemical, founded by Erich and Tammy Wickman in 1998 grew into one of the region’s prominent agricultural chemical suppliers.  Landis and Conduit President and CEO Matt Carstens said “Our purchase of Wickman Chemical reinforces our business strategy to bring the tools and innovation farmer-owners need to thrive.” He complimented the Wickman’s on the growth of their operation and dedications to their farmer customers. Carstens added, “We welcome both their team and customers from across Iowa and Kansas to Landus and look forward to building upon the great reputation of service Erich and Tammy established.”

The purchase agreement is in effect as of October 1, 2024, with Erich Wickman remaining with the company as a Chemical Marketing Specialist. Tammy Wickman will exit to focus on family and the farm. Wickman Chemical employees will remain in their roles to continue providing premium service to farmers, only now as Landus employees. The company will experience no major operational changes other than Wickman Chemical customers having access to all services provided by Landus.

(Sioux City, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in one northwest Iowa county are looking to the future when it comes to the proposed carbon capture pipeline potentially going through the county. KTIV-TV in Sioux City reports during their meeting Tuesday evening, Woodbury County Supervisors Jeremy Taylor and Mark Nelson proposed the county create a decommission plan requirement for the pipelines proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions. The plan would require Summit Carbon Solutions to prepare a decommissioning plan to restore the thousands of acres of land affected by its pipeline, once the pipelines are no longer in use.

The county board is still against the idea of carbon pipelines coming in at all, but Tuesday night they voted unanimously to require Summit Carbon Solutions to have a plan in place before they break ground. The county’s planning and zoning commission, along with the board of adjustment, will now begin work to draft an ordinance to put that plan into action.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Fair just wrapped up ten days ago, but Iowa State Fair C-E-O Jeremy Parsons says plans for next year are well underway. One concern — for the first time ever, the fair ran out of parking spaces on August 10th — the first Saturday of this year’s fair. “The largest single day in fair history, just less than 130,000 that first Saturday, obviously taxes our property and the same thing happened on that second Saturday as well,” Parsons says. ”

As the Iowa State Fair continues to grow and expand, we just have keep getting ready for bigger and bigger crowds.” The bus system in Des Moines operates a shuttle to the fairgrounds for people who park three miles away at the Iowa Capitol Complex. A record 270-thousand people took advantage of that service for this year’s State Fair.

CRESTON – Lake water levels at Three Mile Lake in Union County will be lowered an additional three feet as a part of an ongoing lake restoration project.

Managers will maintain the lake at approximately eleven feet below normal pool to expose additional areas of the lake bed and shoreline for construction. Water released through the lake’s outlet structure to lower the lake level will be released slowly to avoid downstream impacts.

Construction activities began in the fall of 2023 and will be completed in the spring of 2025, when managers will allow the lake to refill. An effort will be made to maintain recreation throughout the project and access to the lake for boating via the main boat ramp. Boaters should use caution throughout the lake as tree stumps, cedar tree brush piles, and underwater reefs may be at or near the water’s surface with the lower water levels.

The restoration project will improve and protect water quality in Three Mile Lake and provide new recreational opportunities for this popular destination. Planned activities include stabilizing the shoreline, improving the jetties, installing fish habitat and modifying the existing in-lake silt basin.

(Radio Iowa) – Students in the Morningside University’s Applied Agriculture and Food Studies program put their work to good use by donating food from their on-campus garden Monday to the Food Bank of Siouxland. Food Bank associated executive director, Valerie Petersen, says it’s a great way to receive fresh food. “We can’t get any fresher in this can we? So we’ve worked with Morningside University for a long time now. We’ve worked with their applied Ag department for a long time, and we just kept working together, and eventually they said, ‘Hey, we have all this produce that’s going to be coming out. We would love to donate it to you.’ And we said, that’s great,” Petersen says.

Associate Ag professor, Dan Witten is also a board member of the Food Bank. “We’ve, as a faculty and as a department, have donated to a couple of the Food Bank’s outlets, but this was the first year we made an intentional effort to directly raise product for the food bank, and we hope it’s many to come,” he says. Witten says students did most of the work to raise the vegetables “Our students are responsible for an experiential learning activity known as May term on campus. While spring term was wrapping up and we were rolling into May and June term, students actually planted 90 percent of what you see growing out here, if not 95 percent of it,” Witten says. “And now, over the summer, we had multiple student interns help manage the crop. Now we’re using students to help harvest it.”

The students also donated food to local pantries, including 100 pounds of cucumbers donated to the United Methodist Church, which is located next to the Sioux City campus.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a bright blue liquid observed near the West Branch of the East Nishnabotna River near Oakland, in Pottawattamie County.

On August 22, the DNR Field Office in Atlantic received reports of a blue liquid in an inlet area on the east bank of the East Nishnabotna River in Oakland. According to information provided anonymously to the DNR, the blue liquid was first observed around August 11th.

By the time DNR officials were notified, the blue liquid was found in the recessed area near the river and not in the river. Soil staining in the area shows the blue liquid likely reached the East Nishnabotna River before the DNR was notified.

A bright blue pool of unidentified liquid near the East Nishnabotna River in Oakland

A large storm sewer outlet was identified directly above the pooled water. Oakland city officials were notified, and assisted DNR with placing booms and absorbent pads to avoid further release into the river.

Water samples were collected and submitted to the State Hygienic Lab for analysis. No dead fish were observed.

If anybody has any information on the incident, please contact the DNR Field Office in Atlantic at (712) 243-1934.

To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.

MONONA COUNTY – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a diesel spill in a tributary of Willow Creek in Monona County. On August 25, the DNR Atlantic Field Office was notified by the Monona County Sheriff’s Department of a pickup truck running off the road into Pumpkin Run, a small tributary that travels east to Willow Creek, northwest of Mapleton.

Officials say the truck was carrying a 50 gallon drum of red diesel when the driver, Christopher Kreger, lost control near the intersection of Highway 141 and Plum Avenue. The tank’s contents emptied upon the pickup truck entering Pumpkin Run, in addition to a small amount of oil.

Willow Creek with booms

Red diesel fuel flowed downstream reaching Willow Creek. Booms were placed in Pumpkin Run and downstream in Willow Creek south of the 120th Street and Hwy 141 intersection. DNR Staff did not observe diesel fuel or any odors downstream of Simmons Creek.  The driver is cooperating with the DNR and local sheriff to clean-up the diesel fuel. No injuries were reported and no dead fish were observed. The investigation is ongoing.

To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.

CLIVE, IOWA – The viral “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon” promotion by the Iowa Pork Producers Association involving Iowa State Cyclone football players is back for the 2024 season, with more students joining the cast. The first in a series of episodic videos featuring Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon launched Monday, August 26. The players have renewed a NIL (name, image, likeness) agreement with the Iowa Pork Producers Association to encourage people to, well, purchase more ham and bacon.

The campaign debuted in September 2023 and quickly went viral across social media, earning millions of views and gaining widespread national attention. The Sports Business Journal named the partnership between Iowa Pork and Iowa State players the “Best NIL Deal of 2023”. Cyclones Alec Cook and Zach Lovett were later added to the campaign and return this year.

Matt Gent, a pig farmer from Wellman (IA) said “The Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon promotion exceeded beyond our wildest dreams last year and we’re thrilled to partner with these student-athletes once again.” Gent also serves as president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. “This campaign…”he said, “is such a fun way to encourage people to buy pork, bring some more recognition to these players, and to provide meals to families in need.” One change to this year’s promotion is Tommy Hamann’s decision to leave the Iowa State football program and focus on his engineering degree. The video episode released today, “Goodbye, Tommy” shows Hamann bidding farewell to the group, leaving Purchase, Moore, Bacon, Cook and Lovett wondering what happens next.

In a series of videos to be released every Monday at 10 a.m. for the next seven weeks, several other Cyclone students will participate in tryouts for the campaign to see if they fit into the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ mantra. The episodic series will conclude on Monday, October 7, just in time to celebrate National Pork Month, aka “Porktober”.

In conjunction with the NIL partnership, the Iowa Pork Producers Association will donate $1,000 worth of pork to a food pantry chosen by every student that appears in the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ videos. The donations from the “Goodbye, Tommy” video will go to:

· Food Bank of the Rockies in Denver, Colo., in the name of Myles Purchase

· DMARC in Des Moines, Iowa, in the name of Tyler Moore

· Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners in Plymouth, Minn., in the name of Tommy Hamann

· Lake Mills Food Shelf in Lake Mills, Iowa, in the name of Caleb Bacon

· Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, Neb., in the name of Alec Cook

· Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, in the name of Zach Lovett

The Iowa Pork Producers Association donated a total of $13,000 worth of pork to those students’ food pantries of choice last year. The ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ videos can be found on the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube channels.