Ag groups and utility companies are being challenged to propose changes in a bill that would set up a new statewide standard for addressing cases of “stray” electric voltage that zap farm livestock. Representative Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Clarion, is the bill’s manager.”It’s just easy to say, ‘No, no, no.’ How do we solve the problem?” Iverson asks. “Because we know stray voltage can be a huge problem.” It’s mainly a problem on dairy farms where, for example, cows hooked up to milking machines sometimes can get zapped if there’s a power surge. Matthew Steinfeldt, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, says farmers and utilities are doing just fine in resolving any problems and the bill’s unnecessary.

The best thing is to quickly identify and resolve stray voltage (issues). That’s what farmers want to do, but what this bill does, I mean, it’s a major change that will have a significant effect,” Steinfeldt says. “In a way, it takes away a right to due process. No other group in the state of Iowa is subject to something like this.” Kellie Paschke lobbies for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, another group that is opposed to the bill.  “This bill goes beyond just setting a standard for stray voltage,” Paschke says. “It completely changes how stray voltage claims can be pursued.” A three-member subcommittee has given initial approval to this controversial bill, but the three legislators say they’re hoping the interest groups involved suggest “major” changes in the legislation. Representative Brian Quirk of New Hampton was a member of the three-member committee. Quirk, who happens to be an electrician, says the bill needs to better define the standards for the stray voltage tests. 

“Cattle are a lot like people…Their tolerance levels (for pain) are a lot different,” Quirk says. “Where is that threshold?” Quirk supports the bill’s requirement that the state Utility Board be the first stop for resolving disputes over stray voltage. “I like the fact that the Utility Board, being a third-party resource, to actually define where the fault did occur,” Quirk says. “Should it be with the utility or with the consumer?” Critics say the bill limits a farmer’s ability to sue for damages if their livestock are harmed by stray voltage. Timothy Coonan is a lobbyist for Iowa R-E-C’s. 

“As Rural Electic Cooperatives, we’re very supportive of the diary industry. This bill is not to take a shot at the dairy industry, but more about resolving safety issues that result from stray voltage,” he says. “The process we’re proposing leads to resolution of those issues much quicker, much safer and less costly for everyone concerned.” The bill as currently drafted tries to combine laws and regulations from the states of Idaho and Wisconsin. Those states rank in the top five nationally in terms of dairy production. Iowa ranks 12th in the number of pounds of milk produced per year. According to the Iowa Dairy Association, there were more than 200-thousand dairy cattle in the state in 2010. There were more than 19-hundred dairy farms that year in Iowa.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Animal activists who go undercover to videotape abuse on farms and ranches could face criminal charges under proposals from Iowa and Nebraska lawmakers. Legislators say the measures would prevent misleading campaigns that paint entire industries as corrupt. Animal welfare groups say the proposals threaten their free-speech rights and would hinder efforts to expose animal abuse and neglect.
 
Iowa Democratic Senator Joe Seng and Iowa Republican Senator Tim Kapucian introduced the Iowa measure, which would make it illegal to gain access to an animal facility under false pretenses. Nebraska  Senator Tyson Larson of O’Neill filed the Nebraska bill. It would require people who suspect animal abuse or neglect to report their suspicion to authorities within 12 hours. They also would have to surrender all video, photo and audio evidence to investigators.

The 40th Anniversary ride of RAGBRAI will take more than 10,000 bicycling enthusiasts through a somewhat hilly northern Iowa this year. Officials with the Des Moines Register held a party Saturday night to announced the route for the July 21st through the 28th event. The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — the world’s oldest, largest and longest tour of its kind — begins this year in Sioux Center and ends 471 miles later in Clinton. In between, riders will stop overnight in Cherokee, Lake View, Webster City, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids and Anamosa. Webster City hasn’t hosted RAGBRAI since 1980. Cedar Rapids hasn’t seen riders pass through the community since a 2008 flood inundated the largest overnight town on the list.

There’s been no word yet on whether past Tour de France winners and RAGBRAI participants Lance Armstrong and Greg LaMond will join in, but officials say they expect about 60 percent of the riders to be from places outside Iowa, including some 20 countries. An economic study from the University of Northern Iowa two years ago found the festival brings $24 million in new spending to Iowa, or $3 million for each hosting town.

The event’s theme this year is “Celebrating 40 Years of Iowa,” and its less-intensive route should afford space to pause and reflect: The route is the 18th-shortest in RABRAI history and the 11th-flattest. Only eight routes since the ride’s 1973 inception have been easier. While the precise number of towns that riders will pass through on their river-to-river run won’t be released until March, here’s what’s known about the route: Riders should pace themselves for the stretch between Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids. It will be their hilliest day with a 3,576-foot climb. At 84.8 miles, it will also be the longest. Returning riders should feel confident, though; Despite a shorter distance, last year’s route featured more hill-climbing on day one than this year’s route does in the first three days.

A study by the Iowa Bicycle Coalition has determined that the economic and health benefits of cycling amount to nearly 365-million dollars of direct or indirect impact on the state. Coalition executive director, Mark Wyatt, says the direct impact involves a lot of things. “It’s people spending money on bicycle gear and equipment, and it’s people taking trips and enjoying unique trails, or having the opportunity for hotel stays, and things like that that really add up in dollars very quickly,” Wyatt says. He says the impact is bigger than they expected. “That’s a million dollars per day that’s spent on bicycling…averaged out over the year,” Wyatt says. The study estimates that bicycling saves the state 73-point-nine-million dollars in healthcare costs for those who cycle recreational, and it shows another 13-thousand-266 dollars in health care costs saved by those who commute to work. Wyatt says the impact of the states bike trails could be even bigger.

“I think there’s a huge opportunity for tourism, and one of the things that this study didn’t address was out-of-state tourism dollars coming into the state,” Wyatt explains. The survey was released on the heels of the annual Iowa Bicycle Summit, which is Saturday in Des Moines.  Wyatt says the summit has been an education session the past eight years, but this year they’ve expanded it to a consumer expo. “People can come and look at bike gear and talk to people who’re running bike trail events, and all sorts of trends and what’s great about bicycling,” Wyatt says. There are some 50 vendors who will be at the summit. The event runs from 8:30 a-m until 4:30 p-m at Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines. You can find out more at: www.iowabicyclecoalition.org.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

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USDA/FSA Executive Director for Iowa, John R. Whitaker, has announced that $10.8 million of Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) funding has been received for Iowa’s farmers to repair land that was damaged by 2011 natural disasters. Counties receiving ECP funds for Missouri River Flooding are:  Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, West Pottawattamie, Mills, and Fremont.  Woodbury County will also receive funding under the EFRP program.  Dubuque, Benton, and Tama Counties will receive ECP funding for damages related to 2011 summer storms.  

ECP provides cost share assistance to rehabilitate farmland and conservation structures. Producers/landowners who have suffered terrace washouts, flood debris in the fields and deposits, fences washed out and other damage to eligible conservation structures should contact the local FSA office for more information. EFRP participants may implement emergency forest restoration practices, including emergency measures necessary to repair damage caused by natural disaster to natural resources on nonindustrial private forestland and restore forest health and forest related resources on land.  

FSA County Committee’s determine eligibility based on on-site inspections of the damaged land and consider the type and extent of the damage. If you would like to learn more about ECP, EFRP, or other programs administered by FSA, please contact your local office or go online to www.fsa.usda.gov

Officials with the Monsanto Seed Company said Tuesday Blane Kerkhoff, of Audubon, has been selected as a winner in the “America’s Farmers Grow Communities” contest, which gives farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organizations. The donations are available through the Monsanto Fund. Kerkhoff has designated the Audubon High School Wresting Fund to receive the award in Audubon County. Audubon Community School District Superintendent Brett Gibbs, Kerkhoff and a Monsanto representative will participate in a check presentation ceremony Saturday morning, beginning at 9:30., at the Audubon High School (800 3rd St. in Audubon).

Farmers in 39 states and 1,245 counties were eligible to win $2,500 for their favorite community nonprofit.  America’s Farmers Grow Communities is part of a broad commitment by the Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to society, by helping them grow their local communities.

Nearly 60,000 farmers participated in the second annual Grow Communities program, which is designed to benefit nonprofit groups such as ag youth, schools and other civic organizations. For more information and to see a full list of winners, visit www.growcommunities.com