A granary in Portsmouth has closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. G & R Grain Company Incorporated, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on January 1^st, in the Southern District Court of Iowa. Farmers found out about the move when they attempted to sell or pick up their grain. A simple sign on the door indicated the company’s actions.

The notice said “This property and all of the assets of the company are under the jurisdiction of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa. It is anticipated that Deborah L. Petersen will be appointed as Trustee.” It also provided a telephone number for concerned persons to call.

Petersen said affected farmers would need to file a claim on the bankruptcy for money owed them, with their own attorney. Details on the disposition of the stored grain will be released sometime next week. Petersen said the next steps are to liquidate the assets and collect the accounts receivable.

She said also, a partial distribution of the funds and assets could come by this summer as long as things go well with the courts and selling the assets. The last date to file a claim is May 20^th, 2013. The meeting on the matter will take place February 19^th, 2013 in Council Bluffs.

More information on the G & R Grain Company Inc. bankruptcy case can be obtained by calling Deborah Petersen at 712-328-8808, or the U-S District Court’s Case Information system, at 1-866-222-8029. The case number, is 13-00001.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Holiday storms that pounded much of the nation with snow and rain did little to ease the overall grip of the worst U.S. drought in decades.  The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows that about 61 percent of the continental U.S. remained in some form of drought as of Tuesday, down less than a percentage point from the previous week. That number has been above 60 percent largely since July.

More than 21 percent of the lower 48 states are in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories. That’s down slightly from the previous week.  All of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota are in drought.   But some areas in the Southeast are emerging from drought after heavy rains since Christmas Day.

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JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – A group that monitors the biodiesel industry in Iowa says a record has been set for production.  The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says the state’s biodiesel plants produced 184 million gallons in 2012. That’s up from the previous 2011 record of 169 million gallons.

IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw says he expects more production in the new year after Congress reinstated the biodiesel tax incentive that had expired. He says that will be beneficial for jobs, the environment and energy security.

The group, which represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry, says soybean oil accounted for more than 70 percent of production. Animal fats came in second at 18 percent. Canola oil, inedible corn oil, and used cooking oil made up the remaining 10 percent.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The bill Congress approved Tuesday night providing tax relief for most taxpayers also helps wind energy and ethanol producers by extending tax credits designed to encourage continued development.  States like Texas, the nation’s leading wind energy producer, and Iowa, the leading ethanol maker, should benefit from the incentives. Many of the credits had expired in 2012.

The bill extends to the end of the year a production tax credit for wind energy on any facility under construction before the end of 2013.  The bill also extends a $1.01-per-gallon tax credit for cellulosic ethanol made from corn plants, grasses, algae, and sources other than corn kernels. The bill allows ethanol makers to depreciate equipment for new plants placed in service in 2013 and extends biodiesel production tax incentives for two years.

Officials with ISU Extension and Outreach say Confinement site manure applicators should plan to attend a two-hour workshop offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in order to maintain or renew your confinement site manure applicator certification. The Shelby County workshop will be offered on January 29th, 2013 at 1:30 pm in Harlan at 906 Sixth Street.

Angela Rieck-Hinz, ISU Extension and Outreach program specialist and coordinator of the manure applicator certification program, says “Iowa law requires confinement site manure applicators to attend two hours of continuing education each year of their three-year certification period, or take and pass the exam once every three years. “If applicators fail to get the two hours of continuing education each year, they will be required to pass a written exam to be eligible to recertify.”

The workshop serves as initial certification for those applicators that are not currently certified, recertification for those renewing licenses and as continuing education for those applicators in their second or third year of their license. Operators must be certified to handle, transport and apply manure if the confinement livestock operation has more than a 500 animal unit capacity, unless the manure is applied by a commercial manure applicator. The certification fee is $100 for a three-year certificate. The fee is paid when applicators initially get certified and then every three years when they re-certify to apply manure.

Confinement site applicators are also required to pay an annual education fee of $25. All fees and application forms must be sent to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to complete certification requirements. ISU Extension and Outreach will charge a $10 fee to applicators choosing to view the certification materials on a non-scheduled reshow day at the county office. For this reason all applicators are encouraged to attend the workshops or to plan to view training materials on the scheduled reshow date at their local county extension office. This fee will not apply to workshops or scheduled reshow dates. Contact the county extension office to determine which days are scheduled for the manure applicator certification programs.

Applicators are encouraged to complete certification requirements prior to March 1st to meet certification deadlines and avoid being assessed a $12.50 late fee for re-certification.

For more information about meeting dates and locations, or to schedule an appointment to attend training, contact the ISU Extension – Shelby County office at 712-755-3104 or visit http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/confdates.html to see the 2013 workshop schedule.

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