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(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Ag Expo opens today (Tuesday) in Des Moines for its 103rd year, with a forecast economic impact of 19-million dollars over its three-day run. Katie Stien, with Catch Des Moines, says there will be more than 700 exhibitors traveling from 26 states and five Canadian provinces to display their latest products and services to farmers from across Iowa and the Midwest.

Spanning more than seven acres, Stien says the expo is the third-largest indoor ag show in the country, featuring everything from tractors to tech. The event opens at 9 A-M and will draw an expected 18-thousand people through Thursday afternoon at the Iowa Events Center.

(Radio Iowa) – A key senator is proposing new restrictions for commercially owned solar installations placed on farmland. Senate Ag Committee chairman Dan Zumbach says the goal is to establish limits on how close solar arrays may be to property lines, farm buildings and homes. “Most people that live around them don’t like what they look like when they’re used to looking at farmland or pastures and see this new industrial product coming in on farmland,” Zumbach says.

Zumbach, a Republican from Ryan, says it’s time to set rules for an industry that’s in its infancy. Representatives for utility companies and developers say requiring solar arrays to be 12-hundred feet from a residence or livestock facility would be a project killer. Christopher Rants is a lobbyist NextEra Energy, which is currently developing two solar arrays in Iowa. “We fundamentally believe that this is a decision that should be made by the landowner as opposed to the state legislature trying to make it for them,” Rants says.

The Iowa Farm Bureau supports some restrictions. However, Farm Bureau lobbyist Matt Gronewald warns the bill as currently written may prohibit farmers from installing solar panels to generate electricity for their operations. “Perhaps including a minimum acreage of solar facilities being 40 acres or larger might address that,” he says. Dustin Miller, a lobbyist for the American Clean Power Association, says the restrictions in the bill are pretty onerous.

“The only thing that this would really standardize is a halt in investment,” Miller says. “…What nuisance are we trying to cure here?” Last year, Zumbach proposed a ban on placing solar arrays on land rated as highly suitable for growing corn and soybeans. However, Zumbach says he learned that approach would have shifted solar development to areas of the state with the least productive farmland.

(Des Moines, Iowa/IA DNR News) -The paddlefish snagging season on the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers opens Feb. 1 and goes through April 30 (sunrise to sunset). Anglers fishing for paddlefish must have a valid Iowa fishing license, along with a special paddlefish license and unused transportation tag(s). The DNR asks you to “Please keep track of your catch and effort and complete the electronic survey after the paddlefish season whether you harvested a fish or not. The information collected will help the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) evaluate the success of the season and determine what potential changes/modifications may be needed.”

Furthermore, “If you catch a jaw-tagged fish (numbered band in the lower jaw), call the phone number on the tag and report the tag number, date of capture, capture location and eye-to-fork length. The Iowa DNR and other state fisheries agencies tag paddlefish to better understand and manage populations. Tagging provides valuable information to estimate population size, fish movement and growth.”

Paddlefish catch(DNR-photo)

The DNR notes also, “Ongoing drought conditions and low river levels might affect Missouri River boat ramp access.” For more information about Iowa’s special paddlefish season regulations, visit the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/paddlefish.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa tax checkoff that sends funds to the Fish and Wildlife Fund has seen some ups and downs in recent years. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Stephanie Shepherd, oversees what’s called the Chickadee Checkoff. “During tax year 2020, folks were especially generous. So we did see a big drop in donations this year from 2020. But those donations in 2020, were really high,” Shepherd says. She says the bigger concern is the number of people who check the box and make a donation. “A decade ago, we had several thousand more people who were donating, and we’re down to just about, six-thousand people donating, they’re just being more generous with their donations. So kind of keeping us at the same level, ” Shepherd says.

There were 62-hundred Iowa taxpayers who used the Chickadee Checkoff in 20212– a drop of one-thousand from 2020. Shepherd says they want more people to know how the checkoff money is used in hopes of increasing donations. “It is the only program that has a 100 percent focus on all the wildlife you can’t hunt, fish or trap. So you know, game species game fish have other funding sources through hunting license, and fishing license dollars,” she says. “But non-game wildlife doesn’t really have doesn’t get a lot of money from those sources. And our major funding to support those species comes from the chickadee checkoff and the natural resources license plates.”

Shepherd says the Wildlife Diversity Fund is used for many different things. “Working to enhance habitat for non-game wildlife, finding areas to conserve for non-game wildlife and doing data surveys for species such as the Rusty Patch Bumblebee, which is a federally endangered species,” she says.  Some of the other species it helps are songbirds, bald eagles, salamanders, turtles, and monarch butterflies. Shepherd says a majority of people now are filing their taxes electronically, which she says can hinder donations. “With most tax preparers, you need to be very vocal that you’d like to donate to the Chickadee Checkoff or they will just skip right over it. Some tax preparers will even charge more if you want to donate on the contribution line. So you know, that’s a deterrent for folks,” Shepherd says. “And then also, if you’re using one of the electronic programs like TurboTax, or whatever, a lot of times it can just be easy to skip over or miss.”

She says any amount you can donate will help. “Folks can donate as little as a dollar on their state tax form….there’s four different charitable organizations on the tax form that are eligible for donations and you can throw a dollar at each of them and it makes a difference,” she says.  Shepherd says the average donation is 12 dollars. If you do miss the Chickadee Checkoff on your tax form, you can now donate directly to the Wildlife Diversity Program on the Iowa D-N-R website.

The Chickadee Checkoff has been on Iowa tax forms since the 1980s.

(Radio Iowa) – Black bears would become a protected species under legislation working its way through the Iowa House. Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville says the goal is to let state officials regulate hunting if the black bear population grows. “I think it’s important for Iowans if we do see a shift or a reintroduction naturally of black bear in Iowa that we have a system,” Jacoby says, “that we don’t want to shoot them on site, but going through the Department (of Natural Resources) and the legislature decide on how we want to handle possible open hunting seasons.”

Jacoby says he sponsored the bill after hearing from a number of people in Winneshiek County. “A couple of years ago a couple of some black bear were seen in Winneshiek (County),” Jacoby says, “and I think there’s also some black bear that venture into Iowa more than we know.” The bill directs the Department of Natural Resources to monitor the population of black bear in Iowa and set up a hunting season if the population needs to be controlled or reduced at any point. “I happen to be experience in Superior National Forest up north,” Jacoby says. “I’ve been around bears for the last 40 years and frankly I’m more scared of getting trampled by a moose than a bear.”

Todd Coffelt of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says if the population increases, a so-called “season” for black bear should be included in the part of state law about “fur harvesting.” “Even though we may use the word hunt for black bears,” Coffelt says. For example, there’s currently a coyote season in Iowa, alongside seasons for trapping smaller animals like mink and muskrats. That season started November 5th and ends January 31st.

(Radio Iowa) –  For the first time about nine decades, the leader of the Iowa Pork Producers Association is a woman. Trish Cook, of Buchanan County, was elected Tuesday at the organization’s annual meeting. Cook and her family run a farm near Winthrop that produces 32-thousand hogs a year as well as corn and soybeans. Cook says one of her goals for 2023 is to build on the vigilance Iowa pork producers have developed in recent years to guard against biohazards, like foreign animal diseases.

As for being the first woman in the post, Cook says the things that are important to her are important to all pork producers, which she says starts with working as a team.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture has confirmed the first case of avian influenza in the state in more than one month. The case is reported at a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County with some 28,000 birds.

The last case of bird flu was reported in an Ida County commercial turkey flock on December 12th. Seven of the 31 outbreaks confirmed since last March have been in Buena Vista County.

Turkeys. (IPR photo)

Sixteen of the outbreaks have involved commercial turkey operations.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says it is seeking people who enjoy the outdoors, camping and meeting new people, to consider becoming volunteer campground hosts for the upcoming recreation season. Volunteer campground hosts live in state parks from one to five months assisting DNR staff with light maintenance duties, checking in campers, and being a resource for visitors enjoying state parks and forests. Campground hosts are provided a free campsite while they are actively hosting during the camping season. Hosts volunteer 20 – 40 hours per week, including weekends and holidays, while living on site in their own camper.

Host positions in the KJAN listening area are available at the Springbrook State Park.

Information about campgrounds and state parks is available online at https://www.iowadnr.gov/about-dnr/volunteer-opportunities To discuss the host position, contact the state park directly, or call 515-443-2533.

w/Kate Olson.

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