w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is distributing grants to 10 gas stations in Iowa to replace fuel pumps and storage tanks. U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the new equipment will be able to dispense a higher volume of ethanol and biodiesel. “This grant program can essentially pay up to 75% of the cost of installing these dispensing systems and storage facilities,” Vilsack says. “That’s a deal pretty difficult to say no to.”

Last week, the biofuels industry blasted the Biden Administration for the E-P-A’s final ethanol and biodiesel production targets. This week, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is thanking the U-S-D-A for aggressively implementing this incentive program — and for announcing applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July.

The Iowa gas stations getting grants in this latest round of federal funding are in Baxter, Burlington, Carroll, Cedar Falls, Chester, Kalona, Marengo, Rockwell City, Waterloo and Van Horne.

(Radio Iowa) – The number of insects flying around has picked up as we head into summer. Iowa State University insect specialist, Zach Schumm, says he’s heard reports of one in particular. “Small black flies that actually bite. You can call them buffalo gnats, you can call them biting midges, there’s different names for them as well so they tend to be an annoying one too that has been seemingly particularly bad in some parts of Iowa this year,” Schumm says.

Some areas got much needed weekend rain — but the trade off will be more mosquitoes. “For mosquitoes in particular they really need standing water to reproduce,” he says. “So if we have a lot of standing water around or if you know if rain is replenishing puddles of water that are on the side of the street or replenishing water in ponds and there’s more standing water there then that’s going to allow for more reproduction of mosquitoes.”

Schumm says you should take a look around your yard and empty any of the water sources that might provide a place for the mosquitoes to breed.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s two U.S. senators say NASA’s lunar research may help improve food production and resource conservation on Earth. The lawmakers joined NASA astronaut Raja Chari for a discussion at Grinnell College this (Monday) morning. Chari, who was raised in Cedar Falls, says as astronauts learn to live on the moon through NASA’s Artemis Project, they’ll need to learn to grow food.

“I think it’s important that we invest in the technology in getting there so that we can continue to lead as a nation and lead the world,” Chari says, “just as we did during the Apollo era.” Chari is the leader of astronaut development and testing for the Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis Program. Republican Senator Joni Ernst says what astronauts learn from living on the moon may wind up influencing a wide range of federal policies.

“It’s important not just for the Farm Bill, but it’s important for other departments as well as we’re moving forward doing research on crops, on protecting our water — water purification,” Ernst says. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says NASA’s ag research may be more quickly adopted by the private sector. “What we learn from research out of gravity is very important for agriculture research,” Grassley says. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, was also at the event in Grinnell.

“My key takeaway is that collabortation is essential to making sure we can continue to collaborate,” Hinson says. “Hearing about the work happening on the International Space Station down to the work we’re going to be doing on the Farm Bill to make sure that research and that innovation is supported, I think it’s absolutely critical.”

NASA’s Artemis crew has begun training, with a target date in 2026 for landing on the moon and spending nearly a month living on the surface.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Fair doesn’t begin for another month, but that’s not stopping the fairgrounds from being used for an event this weekend. West Central Iowa Pullers and West Central Iowa Garden Tractor Pullers are hosting tractor pull activities this Saturday, at the Cass County Fairgrounds, in Atlantic. Alan Zellmer, with West Central Iowa Pullers, says once again the fairgrounds will serve as the location not only for the sights, sounds and smoke from the tractors as they roar down the track, but for some great food, and fireworks.

Activities begin at 10-a.m., with the Western Iowa Garden Tractor Pulls, out of Denison.

The big tractors are expected to travel on the track at around 4-p.m. Zellmer says there’s a new twist to the tractor pulls this year.

File photo from Western IA Pullers Facebook page

The working tractors will be allowed to pull the skid so that it won’t be hard on the tractor. The main (Sanctioned) tractor pull event will last about three-and a half hours. There are four Classes (categories) of tractors participating: Farm Stock; Altered Farm Class; 3,000 RPM Class, and the 3,200 RPM Class.

The track will be illuminated when it gets dark, for safety reasons. Duke Aerial, in Atlantic, is providing the lights. Zellmer says participants in the big tractor pull event come from all over, including the Sioux City area. The day concludes with a fireworks display by “Wild Willie’s Spectacular Fireworks Show.” In addition, there will be a beer garden, two food trucks, and the Cass County Pork Producers will be serving-up some delicious food and drinks.

There is NO CHARGE to attend the Tractor Pulls, but free-will donations will be accepted. Any leftover proceeds will benefit a fund for the Atlantic Splash Pad Project.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss safe boating over the upcoming holiday, hunter education classes set in Atlantic for September, Master Conservationist program and more.

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Jim Field visits with Griswold-area farmer Josh Bierbaum who was recently honored with a Young Farmer Leadership Award from the Iowa Farm Bureau.

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The Iowa D-N-R says swimmer’s itch is starting to show up in some Iowa lakes. Environmental specialist, Daniel Kendall, says we see it every year.

Kendall says the flatworm can’t live in a human and they quickly die, causing an allergic reaction below the skin resulting in welts and itching. He says the parasite eggs are spread by bird droppings that hatch in the water and infect snails.

He says swimmer’s itch has turned up in north central and northwest Iowa lakes.

He says there are steps you can take
steps to try and avoid getting the itch.

Kendall says the health risk isn’t major — just uncomfortable.

The welts and itching caused by the parasite can last for several days to about one week and usually don’t require a visit to the doctor. An antihistamine along with calamine lotion can be used to treat the affected areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its final rule for biofuel blending requirements over the next three years, with ethanol production targets that are not as high as initially proposed in December. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says this latest E-P-A decision fails to meet the intent of the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The rule does increase production requirements for biodiesel and renewable diesel, but Naig says those levels are below current usage. The state ag secretary is also accusing the E-P-A of pitting one sector of the renewable fuels industry against another by lowering the ethanol numbers.

Naig says the Biden Administration has failed to support the benefits of renewable fuel production.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, says for an administration obsessed with reducing carbon emissions, this rule makes absolutely no sense. Senator Joni Enrst, a Republican from Red Oak, says the Biden Administration is refusing to recognize that biodiesel and ethanol are homegrown cleaner fuel solutions that are available today. The president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association says the proposal fails on all fronts and the head of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says the E-P-A has set up a lose-lose situation for ethanol and biodiesel producers. Critics say the Renewable Fuels Standard diverts too much prime farmland to produce fuel rather than food.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Adair and Cass County is offering the Iowa Master Conservationist Program as a joint program between the two county Extension Offices this summer and fall. Classes will take place at local outdoor parks and public areas, providing participants with hands-on interaction with the diversity of the state’s natural resources. The program teaches about Iowa’s natural ecosystems and the diversity of conservation challenges and opportunities that exist in the region. Graduates of the course learn to make informed choices for leading and educating others to improve conservation in Iowa.

The program consists of approximately 12 hours of online curriculum and six face-to-face meetings. The online modules will include lessons and resources by Iowa State subject-matter experts to be reviewed at the participants’ own pace at home or at their local County Extension office. Module topics include conservation history and science, understanding Iowa ecosystems, implementing conservation practices in human dominated landscapes and developing skills to help implement and educate others about conservation practices.

The first hands-on learning program will be a partnership program with Harrison County Extension on Thursday evening June 29^th at 5:30 PM. This meeting will take place at Willow Lake Recreational Area, near Woodbine where participants will learn about the different landforms of Iowa, specifically the Loess Hills of Western Iowa and what makes them unique to Iowa and the world! Subsequent meetings will be held at different locations in Adair and Cass County one Tuesday evening per month from July-October of 2023. All local meetings will begin at 6 PM and last from 2-3 hours depending on the topic. Each face-to-face meeting will be led by local subject-matter experts to demonstrate how the principles covered in the online curriculum play out locally.

Registration for the course is $50 per person and is due at the time of registration. To register or with questions, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Adair County at 515-231-2741 or Cass County at 712-243-1132 or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass or www.extension.iastate.edu/adair for registration forms and details. The deadline to register is Wednesday, June 28^th.