(Radio Iowa) – A reward is being offered for information on an attempt to vandalize hog barns in northeast Iowa’s Alllamakee County. Brian Waddingham of the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers says there’s a total of 15-thousand dollars in reward money for the incident in late December or early January. “Someone attempted to throw Molotov cocktails through the tunnel fan openings and light the barns on fire,” he says. Waddingham says the arson attempt failed. “The buildings weren’t heavily damaged there was no fire the pigs were all fine — but it’s certainly a wake up call that we can’t tolerate this kind of vandalism — especially when it not only destroys public or personal property but also could jeopardize the lives of so many pigs,” Waddingham says.

He says they are unsure if the vandalism was random or targeted. “The sheriff’s office is still looking into things. Kind of right now we really don’t have a good indication one way or the other,” he says. “By offering that reward we’re hopeful that somebody does know the person or persons responsible for trying to cause that damage. They do come forward and contact the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department.”

The Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers put in ten-thousand dollars and another five-thousand was added from local sources.

(Radio Iowa) – A study commissioned by the renewable fuels industry suggests corn prices in Iowa would drop significantly if carbon capture pipelines are not built in Iowa. “It’s like asking a farmer, a corn farmer on the corn side of their equation to take an 85% pay cut,” Shaw said during an online news conference this morning.

New federal tax credits are available for proposed pipelines that would capture carbon from Midwest ethanol plants and ship the carbon to underground storage in North Dakota and Illinois. “We are now looking at Iowa being the only…state on the map where there is still an active effort to derail these projects,” Shaw said.

A bill in the Iowa House would establish new steps pipeline developers would have to clear. Most notable is a requirement that property owners along 90% of a pipeline’s route voluntarily let developers have access to their land. The study found the price for corn could plummet by as much as 80 cents per bushel if carbon capture pipelines are connected to ethanol plants elsewhere, but not in Iowa. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is asking its members to lobby House members to vote against the bill.

Tim Recker, a corn farmer from Arlington, spoke during today’s news conference. He called carbon pipelines the next step for the ethanol industry. “If we don’t find favor in getting CO2 transported, I’m going to be shipping corn to my neighboring states or I’m going to be putting a lot more corn on the river system — an 80 year old lock and dam system, our rail sytem or trucking it a lot farther than I do today,” he said “and to me, that’s going backwards in our industry, not forward.”

Shaw cited part of the study which found just 6% of Iowa field corn currently leaves the state without having value added either by being used to make ethanol, fed to livestock or converted to industrial use. “If we don’t align ourselves to be profitable under the current policy and market conditions and we let the ethanol production migrate out to those areas that do, the study found…44% of our corn would leave this state without having any value added to it,” Shaw said.

Key Republican lawmakers who have proposed new regulations for the pipelines say they’re defending the rights of landowners who don’t want their land seized through the government’s eminent domain process. Other pipeline opponents question the safety of the pipelines and whether capturing carbon from ethanol plants is among the best ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

DES MOINES, Iowa – March 20, 2023 – USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its biannual Agricultural Labor Survey in April. The survey will collect information about hired labor from more than 850 Iowa farmers. NASS will publish the data May 24 in the Farm Labor report available on the NASS website at nass.usda.gov/Publications. Survey recipients who do not respond by April 19 may be contacted by NASS to arrange an interview. In the survey, NASS asks producers to answer a variety of questions about hired farm labor
on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, total hours worked, and total wages paid for the weeks of Jan. 8-14 and April 9-15, 2023. Survey recipients can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.

“Agricultural labor data are critical for producers when hiring workers and estimating expenses,” said Greg Thessen, Director of the NASS Upper Midwest Regional Field Office. “The data that farm operators provide through NASS’s Agricultural Labor Survey also allow federal policymakers to base farm labor policies on accurate information.”

USDA and the U.S. Department of Labor use the survey data to estimate the demand for and availability of seasonal agricultural workers, establish minimum wage rates for agricultural workers and administer farm labor recruitment and placement service programs. “By asking about two separate time periods each time we collect these data during the year, we are able to publish biannual data and capture seasonal variation,” said Thessen. “This approach reduces the number of times we survey farms, while ensuring that accurate and timely data are available.”

Producers are encouraged to visit youtu.be/6oWSOjGTQzU for further information on and assistance completing this survey. All previous Farm Labor publications are available on the NASS
website at nass.usda.gov/publications/publications. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Upper Midwest Regional Office at 800-772-0825.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Spring is here, and you can get your planting skills refreshed or learn all about gardening, by attending the Cass County Master Gardeners’ 2023 Spring Garden Seminar, scheduled for Saturday, April 1.  The 2023 seminar features a theme of “Gardening for Life” and aims to provide information and inspiration to gardeners of all skill levels. The morning session will be held at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic, with a new optional luncheon and afternoon bus tour for those interested in making a full day of the event.

The event beings with registration and a light continental breakfast at 8:30 AM. The first session beings at 9 AM, and will feature Aaron Steil, Consumer Horticulture Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, discussing Late Season Plant Care.  Steil will return for the final morning session to lead a Gardening FAQ session, taking questions from the audience as well as discussing some of the frequently asked questions he gets on his Iowa Public Radio “Hort Friday” radio show and in his role as an Extension specialist.

In between the two general sessions, attendees will enjoy 60 minutes of “lightning learning sessions” where they will have the opportunity to rotate between short presentations on topics including food donation gardening, pollinator gardens, the benefits of gardening for health, and small space gardening.

Spring Garden Seminar 2023- “Gardening for Life” will be held at the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds in Atlantic. Registration and a light continental breakfast begin at 8:30AM on Saturday, April 1.  The program begins at 9AM and will conclude by 12:30PM. Attendees are encouraged to spend the afternoon lunching and exploring in the Atlantic area; suggestions and coupons will be provided to all who register! NEW this year is an option for attendees to sign up for an afternoon session featuring a box lunch and a bus tour to two local garden destinations: the Cass Health Healing Garden and Rolling Acres Organic Farm.

Cost for the morning seminar sessions, including continental breakfast, materials and refreshments is $25. The afternoon session featuring lunch, transportation and garden stops can be added on for an additional $20 fee. Attendees are encouraged to register early as space is limited. Early registration deadline is March 25. After this date, a limited number of walk-in spaces will be available for the morning session at $30/attendee. Walk-in registration will not be allowed for the afternoon bus tour. A full schedule and registration form are available for pickup at the Cass County Extension office, or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

Previous seminar attendees with a current address on record will also receive a brochure with a registration form in the mail or by email. Questions can be directed to Kate Olson at 712-243-1132, or by email at keolson@iastate.edu. Mark your calendars, get registered, and plan to join the Cass County Master Gardeners for the 2023 Spring Garden Seminar on Saturday, April 1!

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration Market in Atlantic, is scheduled for Thursday, April 6 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th Street, Atlantic, IA 50022). Over 20 vendors are scheduled to attend the holiday farmers market. Spring Celebration Market is held the Thursday before Easter, so shoppers can pick up Easter dinner and Easter basket goodies and farmers market favorites such as premium local produce, meats, jams, desserts and baked goods, candles, crafts, art, jewelry, and bath and body products. Pim’s Thai food
truck will be in the Community Center parking lot selling Thai Food for the duration of the event (4:00-7:00 PM). Spring Celebration Market is the last holiday farmers market Produce in the Park is hosting before the summer market season starts June 1.Spring Celebration Market offers both in-person shopping as well as pre-ordering.

Pre-ordering will be available from Thursday, March 30 to Tuesday April 4. Shoppers can pick up pre-orders and shop in person at Spring Celebration Market on Thursday, April 6. Spring Celebration Market vendors confirmed as of March 19 include Johnna Joy Designs, Wud Bi Ten, Sweet Sisters Vegan, Brun Ko Farm, Holiday Baking, Sue’s Country Garden, Ter-Bear Honey, Noble Provisions, Smudge – Candles, Soaps, and More, Kringleman Pastries, Spirits of the Faire, Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts, Donna’s Jewelry, Studio Samantha, Bridgewater Farm, Midwest Candles by Brit, Frosting, Inc., Creekside Crystals and Crafts, Blessings Bakery and Gifts, Knuckle Down Crochet, Crafts, and Pet Treats, Silver Valley Craft Corner, Pim’s Thai Food Truck, and Precursor Printing.

Produce in the Park continues to accept vendor applications to Spring Celebration Market. For more information visit produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com or contact the Market Manager at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com.

Spring Celebration Market is sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, First Whitney Bank and Trust, Cass Health, Gregg Young Automotive of Atlantic, and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. For the latest information, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/) or sign up for the Produce in the Park newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

Bridgewater Farm will be selling fresh spinach and other premium organic produce at Spring Celebration Market April 6.

(Radio Iowa) – A lead sponsor of a bill that would set new regulations for proposed carbon pipelines projects says there may be changes in the bill when it’s debated in the House. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says the main part of the bill would require that developers get voluntary access to 90 percent of the miles along the pipeline route before state officials could grant them eminent domain authority to seize the rest.

Holt says he’s confident the House will vote on the bill before month’s end.

Bills in the SENATE that outlined new rules for carbon pipelines never made it past an earlier deadline. Representative Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the concern is the bill will die in the senate.

The two House lawmakers made their comments during a weekend appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S. Last month, Governor Reynolds said she’s watching to see what happens with the House bill. While saying there could be areas where pipeline regulations could be tweaked, Reynolds told reporters she’d be having conversations with lawmakers about how new regulations could impact the ethanol industry. The pipelines are touted as a way to make ethanol carbon free and therefore expand markets the corn-based fuel.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss prepping for the Spring season, checking licenses, turkey season dates, prairie chicken day and much more.

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(Radio Iowa) – A bill being considered in the legislature would eliminate the state sales tax on the sale on beehives. State Apiarist Andy Joseph estimates there are about half a million beehives in Iowa. “Most beekeepers are pretty small scale, between two and 10 hives,” he says, “and then we have a handful of beekeepers, maybe a dozen, maybe 15 on a commercial industry level and a lot of those have thousands and thousands of hives.” In total, there are an estimated 45-hundred beekeepers in Iowa. North Dakota produces the most honey of any state. Iowa currently ranks 16th.

“Once upon a time, ancient history, Iowa was number one. We had more beekeepers, more hives and produced more honey than anywhere else, so by basically every metric we were number one, but that’s going back almost 100 years,” Joseph says. “That changed with all the farm changes in the ’40s, you know, Farm Bill changes and then technology changes increased farming.” Jamie Beyer of Boone is a lobbyist for the Iowa Honey Producers Association. He says the economic benefit of bees is immense.

“How do you measure good pollination versus poor pollination? When we have a lot of bee colonies across the state, we have better pollination,” he says, “even in our soybean fields.” Beyer, who is from Boone, manages about 50 hives for his business, called Beyer’s Bees. He says bees are just as valuable to the state’s economy as pigs and cattle — and the state sales tax shouldn’t be assessed when bee hives sold or rented for pollination. The Iowa Honey Producers Association hosted Honey Bee Day at the Iowa Capitol yesterday (Thursday).

Iowa Honey Bee Day at the Capital, Thursday (RI Photo)

“One of the goals of the Iowa Honey Producers Association is to become better at producing honey,” Beyer says. “We actually import twice as much honey as what Iowans consume.” The association served legislators, staff and Capitol visitors an array of food with honey as an ingredient. They also had a display of honey products that included a bottle of mead made in Iowa. Mead is fermented honey and the association had to get special permission to bring the alcohol into the Capitol — and keep the bottle capped.

(Radio Iowa) – On issues ranging from electric cars and ethanol to farm subsidies for billionaires, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst questioned U-S Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today (Thursday) during a hearing before the Senate Ag Committee. Ernst, a Republican, says it’s hard to understand why the largest ten-percent of farms are raking in 70-percent of commodity payments, and she says critical reforms are needed in how the U-S-D-A decides who gets the cash.

“Thus far, grants totaling $157 million have been awarded,” Ernst says. “Three of the largest grants total $69 million, which comprise nearly half of the funds awarded, three projects who are privately owned by some of the wealthiest people in the United States.” Vilsack, a Democrat and a former Iowa governor, says proper procedures are being strictly followed with regards to the millions of dollars in agricultural grants that are being awarded.

“The level of investment is based on the application that people have submitted,” Vilsack says. “Some of these plants are very small. The Charles City plant, for example, is very small. It needed $8 million and we provided it. The Cherokee plant needed several million dollars, we provided it. So Iowa has received several grants already and I anticipate and expect they’re going to receive at least one more.” Ernst says recent recipients of the U-S-D-A grants include a man who’s on the Forbes billionaires list, as well as a South Carolina family that owns major production facilities in five states.

“I have no objection to families succeeding and owning a lot of businesses and I wish them great success,” Ernst says, “but what I find problematic is that taxpayer dollars are being doled out as free grants to billionaires, while applications from farmer-owned startups like Cattlemen’s Heritage in southwest Iowa are deemed unworthy through these grants.” Cattlemen’s Heritage promises to be a regional cattle processing plant that’s planned for the Council Bluffs area. Owners say they’ll hire 800 workers who will process up to two-thousand head of cattle per day when the plant opens, tentatively in late 2024. Vilsack says he’s well aware of the endeavor.

“The Iowa project you mentioned is actually on the list that’s currently under review,” Vilsack says. “We’re in the process of finishing the environmental review that is required under NEPA, before grants can be issued. So, just be patient. I think you’re going to find that that is a project that merits additional investment.” Ernst applauded the U-S-D-A’s efforts to promote green energy, but denounced what she called an “ardent push toward electric vehicles,” calling Iowa-made, corn-based ethanol a ready-made resource that’s a cheaper energy solution and that’s “very beneficial for our farmers.”

Vilsack didn’t address those comments directly.

(Massena, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is hosting an Introduction to Turkey Hunting program this Saturday, at the Outdoor Classroom shelter, located at 76977 Tucson Road, Massena, IA. (Two-miles south and two-miles east of Massena. Two-miles east of Highway 148 on Tucson Road, on the south sign….just look for the sign. The program begins at 10-a.m.  Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee says turkey hunting remains popular.

Lee explains there is a big difference in hunting for pheasant and turkey: the time of year.

This Saturday’s program will focus on “Becoming a Turkey Hunter,” for first-timers and can serve as a refresher for those who may be a bit rusty where their hunting skills are concerned. CCCB employees will talk about scouting, calling, and equipment needed as well as different techniques and equipment used by successful turkey hunters.

This program will be great for someone who wants to start turkey hunting or those with more experience. The CCCB will have examples of calls, decoys, blinds and other tools used in the turkey woods. And, as with last year, there will be a drawing for a prize at the end of the event.

Bring a notepad to take notes, if you want, otherwise just show-up at the Outdoor Classroom this Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 10:00-a.m., to learn a few things and get started on your turkey hunting adventure. Micah reminds you, that we’re about three-weeks away from Youth Turkey Hunting Season.