Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is joining other ethanol supporters in criticizing an Associated Press story that focuses on the negative side of growing an increasing amount of corn for fuel in Iowa and across the Midwest. The report accuses farmers of polluting water supplies with fertilizers and rolling over millions of acres of conservation land, while destroying wildlife habitats. Grassley, who has farmed for decades in northeast Iowa, defends the profession and the corn-based fuel.

“Ethanol has been a bright spot in our American energy policy,” Grassley says. “For instance, I filled up my flex-fuel car yesterday for $2.39 with 85% ethanol.” The national average for regular unleaded gas is three-17 a gallon, and it’s three-oh-three in Iowa. Officials at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association call the A-P report inaccurate and misleading. Grassley agrees, particularly with the claim about so much fertilizer that’s allowed to runoff into our waterways.

“You don’t put all those ingredients into the soil with the idea you want it to end up down in the Gulf of Mexico,” Grassley says. “You can’t afford that.” He takes exception to the allegations farmers are poor stewards of the environment or are wasteful or negligent with chemicals and their conservation practices. Grassley says, “Farmers take all kinds of precautions to keep the investment they have in producing a crop or raising livestock to make sure it’s done in an economical way because they’re not going to be in farming if they don’t do that.” The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association called the A-P story a “smear of ethanol” which “misrepresents” Iowa farmers “with a hidden anti-ethanol agenda.” Grassley agrees.

“You’ve got to remember that farmers drink the water, eat the same food as the city people do,” Grassley says. “They’re going to want to make sure that it’s safe for themselves as well as for everybody else.” The Renewable Fuel Standard is a federal mandate that more and more ethanol is blended into our gasoline as the years pass. Grassley, a Republican, says, “Big oil is using its power and money to try to get rid of this Renewable Fuel Standard because it likes crushing its competition.” He adds, “Affordable and abundant energy is fundamental to America’s economic strength, economic security, and even our national security.”

Other critics of the A-P story include U-S Ag Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who says some elements of the report are simply “not true” and are “inaccurate.”

(Radio Iowa)

Sales of locally-grown food accounted for at least nine-million dollars in economic activity in Iowa last year according to a new report. Researchers at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University tracked “institutional purchases” of locally-grown food by grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and schools. The researchers say this is the first attempt to try to measure the economic impact of regional food systems in Iowa.

Their work went beyond the traditional concept of a grower selling to a consumer at a farmers’ market to track sales between growers and businesses. Restaurants, grocery stores and other bulk purchasers reported buying nearly nine million dollars worth of locally-raised food products. On average, local food purchases accounted for a little less than nine percent of an institution’s overall food budget.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Farm Bureau program designed to teach children about agriculture is opening the process for teachers to apply for grant money. The Teacher Supplement Grant program was established in 2003 and this year will award $200 to teachers in language arts and science who develop classroom programs that help students learn about agriculture. Farm Bureau has awarded nearly $100,000 to teachers in the last three years of the grant program.

The organization says with one of six Iowa jobs related, indirectly or directly, to agriculture, there’s a great need to bring creative agriculture education to Iowa’s elementary students to help them understand how farming is part of their everyday lives.

Teachers are encouraged to incorporate lessons of food safety, seed genetics, and environmental practices in their current curriculum.

Annual farm income tax preparation is a real challenge with changing tax codes and regulations. To help farmers through this process, the Iowa Farm Bureau is hosting a farm income tax webinar this Friday, November 15th, at 1:00 p.m.

Event speakers will draw on their experiences to provide useful, timely information for participants. Speakers include Roger McEowen, Director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation (CALT) at Iowa State University, and Charles Brown, President of AgriFinancial Services, LLC. The event will be available live, online to anyone wishing to attend. The webinar will also be recorded and available exclusively to Farm Bureau members online, along with webinar handouts.

Farmers can access the webinar from their home or farm office by going to www.iowafarmbureau.com, finding the webinar banner and entering the forum as a guest on the day of the event. Local sites are also being organized where farmers will gather to view the event together. In Southwest Iowa, the Cass County Extension Office in Atlantic and the Adair County Extension Office in Greenfield are the two local viewing sites. Other locations are set up around the state, and interested farmers are encouraged to visit the Farm Bureau website for an updated list of local viewing sites. No pre-registration is required for online or local viewing sites.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – This year’s corn crop is the largest the nation has ever seen, and exceeds earlier government projections.  In its first report since the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it expects 13.99 billion bushels of corn. It had forecast 13.8 billion bushels. The previous record was 13.1 billion in 2009.

Heavy rains delayed spring planting and drought conditions returned to parts of the Midwest. Some analysts thought there would be a subpar harvest. But adequate rain and cooler temperatures at pollination time produced exceptional results, especially in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Prices dropped below $4.20 a bushel Friday, the lowest since 2010.

That means some farmers see lower profits, but chicken, pork, and beef producers will have lower feed costs. Grocery prices won’t be impacted.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says they will keep the Fire Danger warning signs in the county in the “Low” category. Even though signs are in the low position, EMA Coordinator Bob Seivert says the winds will be gusty today (Thursday) and Friday, so anyone planning to conduct an open burn should consider that, and possibly consider postponing open burning until the weekend. The fire danger warning signs will be updated again on Monday.

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks discuss the latest news from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Iowa is the top soybean producing state in the nation and researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are hoping to help growers by determining which soybean varieties react the best to a changing climate. James Bunce is a Research Plant Physiologist with the USDA. “We’re looking for variation among soybeans in how they respond to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration,” Bunce says. Rising CO2 tends to stimulate yields of many different kinds of crops, according to Bunce, including some soybeans.

“What we’re trying to do is just optimize that stimulation by finding the varieties that respond best when grown at high CO2,” Bunce says. “And ultimately we’re trying to find the genes that are responsible for that, but the first step is just to find varieties that respond better than others.” Bunce says finding the most CO2 adaptable soybeans is important because it will help maintain an abundant and affordable food supply. He notes the U.S. is “remarkably lucky” in terms of our natural resources.

“The amount of money that we spend per capita for food is very low compared to most other places in the world, just because we have such abundant food crops and resources to grow them,” Bunce says. “This is just trying to keep that favorable balance of food supply intact as the climate changes.” Iowa farmers grew 414 million bushels of soybeans last year. Soybeans are increasingly used for human consumption and alternative fuel, but are still predominantly used for animal feed.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Kate Olson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS