(Radio Iowa) – Creating a field of solar panels to generate power doesn’t have to mean taking farmland out of agricultural production. Mallory Tope, a policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs, says “dual use solar” is an excellent solution for meeting the growing demand for renewable energy while also utilizing Iowa’s fertile soil for growing crops — and growing other things. “A dual use solar site combines solar generation with agricultural use,” Tope says. “There’s a lot of different options. You could do livestock grazing, crop production, pollinator habitat, beekeeping, but it really just is the essence of using the same land to have ag and solar generation.”

The center is launching an educational campaign designed to reach policymakers at the city, county and state level. “There’s a lot of concern around having solar on agricultural land and taking that land out of production, but with dual use, you’re able to get both and have all the benefits that come with having a solar site,” Tope says. “You get the tax revenues, the landowners get their lease payment, but you still get to use that land for agricultural production.” The Center for Rural Affairs is working to encourage local leaders to consider agri-solar and dual use when drafting or amending ordinances that relate to solar development.

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“It’s a great solution, as a lot of people maybe don’t want to completely take out land for just solar, but with agri-solar, you still can get some use out of it,” Tope says. “It’s kind of like the best of both worlds, having that energy generation and being able to still use your land for some agricultural usage.” To support dual use development, Tope says counties could set additional land-use expectations, adopt zoning approaches that allow for mixed land use, or set up overlay districts for special solar permits.

A report from the Clean Grid Alliance says Iowa has more than 30-million acres of farmland, with about 18-million considered “prime” acres, while about 25-hundred acres statewide are devoted to solar, generating 260-megawatts of power.

(Radio Iowa) – The trapping season opens in Iowa Saturday with a D-N-R expert saying the prospects look good. Furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says some of the animals have managed the recent wet to dry weather swings better than others. “The more aquatic fur bear species like beavers, otters, mink and muskrats, they’re more affected by this extreme wet to dry to wet, intra-annual variation that we’re seeing more than ever in Iowa,” he says. “That’s hard on them for rearing litters and overwintering successfully.”

He says the bobcat, coyote and foxes, are less impacted by that, but it can impact their numbers to some extent when it gets really dry out. He says the price of fur is one thing that has trappers more motivated. “There’s a little bit of optimism because of reports of an increased demand and wild furs from more countries than have been at the table the past few years. So the demand is there a bit more than it has been the last few years,” Evelsizer says. But he says you are not going to make a fortune with fur in Iowa.

“Trapping is not a lucrative sport any longer. It’s something to do just out of sheer passion and a way to enjoy the outdoors and learn many things about reading animal sign and just seeing things go on out there while you’re out there,” he says. Evelsizer says it is a venture that doesn’t take a big investment to get started. “It’s one of those activities where you can keep it as simple as you want or as complex as you want,” Evelsizer says. “So generally, for a few hundred dollars you could get enough equipment to get a taste of trapping, If you wanted to get into it even more than you can spend even more.”

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Evelsizer says it’s also not hard to learn the basics. “There’s more ways than ever to get into trapping. Probably the number one way is to find a seasoned, experienced trapper that’s and you know that can kind of play a role as being a mentor,” he says. “Another option is to attend one of our beginner Trapper education events that are held annually around the state.” A change was made to the trapping law to try and get younger kids interested. “Youth trappers under age 16 can go trapping with a licensed adult now without having to pay for a youth for harvester license,” Evelsizer says.

He says you can find out more about trapping on the D-N-R’s website.