April 3, 2023 (DES MOINES) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and a 15-member delegation have just returned from a trade mission to Vietnam and the Philippines. The mission, coordinated by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), included representation from Iowa’s livestock and grain organizations as well as other agricultural associations. The purpose of the mission was to encourage trade development, bolster partnerships and identify opportunities to expand export markets.

In 2022, Iowa companies exported $227 million in agricultural goods to Vietnam and $273 million to the Philippines. Southeast Asia has considerable trade potential, and Vietnam, as one of the fastest growing feed markets in the world, and the Philippines, as the region’s second most populous country with a need for consistent food access, both offer trade and industry development opportunities.

Vietnam and the Philippines both ranked in the top 10 U.S. agricultural export markets in 2022. Vietnam was the second largest soybean meal market for U.S. exports in 2022, and the Philippines had become the major U.S. ethanol importer for the region as the ninth largest market in 2021. Beef and pork exports are also a key market while the region’s animal protein consumption is expected to increase by 20% over the next five years.

“Vietnam and the Philippines are already important trading partners for Iowa, but we have an opportunity to increase our market share because of their growing populations and our longstanding reputation as a dependable, proven, and consistent supplier of high-quality products,” said Secretary Naig. “Our global customers welcome the opportunity to meet with Iowa farmers, and these relationships will benefit us long-term as we seek to sell more Iowa corn, pork, soybeans, beef, biofuels and many other products.”

The Iowa ag delegation visited areas in and around Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and Manila, Philippines, from March 24 – April 1. The business meetings included trade policy updates, information sessions on Iowa’s agricultural industry and business development discussions. The delegation included Iowa companies from the ag processing industry and representatives from the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Corn, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Soybean Association. IEDA worked with the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Soybean Export Council to identify business prospects for the mission.

IEDA’s International Trade Office connects Iowa companies with markets for their products and services, educates Iowa businesses on exporting and assists global companies wishing to establish or expand operations in Iowa. To find out more about these services or other trade missions, visit iowaeda.com.

ATLANTIC, IA (April 2, 2023) – Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration Market is this Thursday, April 6 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St. Atlantic, IA 50022). 12 of the 26 vendors participating in the pre-Easter farmers market are accepting preorders through 11:55 PM on Tuesday, April 4. For additional information on preordering, and to preorder online, visit www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com.

Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts will offer a limited selection of products for purchase on-site at Spring Celebration Market. However, Miss NiNi cautions that only limited flavors and desserts will be available for in-person shoppers, and pies will only be available by preorder. Shoppers looking to enjoy one of Miss NiNi’s gourmet desserts on Easter weekend are encouraged to preorder must-have items, such as a particular cheesecake or pie. Miss NiNi’s desserts can be preordered at www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com. Customers with questions about Miss NiNi’s products should call Janine at 712-249-0145.

Miss NiNi smiles with her pies.

Spring Celebration Market vendors confirmed as of April 2 include: Johnna Joy Designs, Sweet Sisters Vegan, Brun Ko Farm, Holaday Baking, Sue’s Country Garden, Ter-Bear Honey, Noble Provisions, Smudge, 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, Unicorn Clouds, Imagine Garden Gift Store, Sugar Mama Cookie Co., Precursor Printing, and The Rocking Horse.

Pim’s Thai Food Truck will be in the parking lot of the Cass County Community Center selling their popular Thai food throughout the duration of the Thursday farmers market (4:00-7:00 PM).

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.

KJAN’s Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss spring wildlife spotlight surveys, tips on prepping for turkey season, prescribed burns, and seasonal park positions.

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(Radio Iowa) – A House-passed bill to set new guidelines for development of carbon pipelines has been tabled in the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says the conversation isn’t over. “We’re hearing a lot from both sides and we’ll continue to take that feedback and see if there’s consensus in the Caucus,” Whitver says. “Right now there isn’t.” Whitver is the leader of the 34 member Republican Caucus in the Senate.

“There are just a lot of different opinions and if you look at the different people who are working and interested in this bill, it’s very unique to have Farm Bureau and Sierra Club and Iowa (Citizens for Community Improvement) and Food and Water Watch on one side versus the entire ag industry on the other side,” Whitver says. “There’s just as many opinions as there are (senators) at this point.”

The House voted 73 to 20 in favor of a bill that would have required developers to get voluntary access to 90 percent of the properties along the pipeline routes before eminent domain authority could be used to force the other landowners to grant access to their property. While that bill was not considered in the senate, Whitver suggests lawmakers will continue to discuss how and whether to intervene.

“It is a hot issue, but it’s hot on both sides,” Whitver says. “There’s definitely people that want to see the pipeline happen. They think it’s going to be good for the ag industry. There are people that are very concerned about property rights and so it’s definitely it’s an issue that will continue to come up over the next few years.”

It’s possible the Iowa Utilities Board review of the three proposed pipeline projects will not be completed before the 2024 legislature reconvenes. A recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll found nearly eight out of 10 Iowans surveyed oppose the use of government’s eminent domain authority to compel reluctant landowners to sign over property along the pipeline routes.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would have set a few new ground rules for carbon pipelines has stalled in the Senate. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, led debate of the bill in the House, where it passed on a 73-to-20 vote. “The legislation’s one of the most important things we could have done this session,” Holt says.

The bill would have required that 90 percent of a carbon pipeline’s route be secured through voluntary agreements before eminent domain authority from the state could be used to compel other landowners to sign easements. “A lot of concerned citizens across the state of Iowa do not want their property taken for this project — an economic development project and I’m disappointed,” Holt says.

Today (Thursday) is the last day of the legislature’s work week and also the deadline for policy bills from the House to have cleared a Senate committee. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says Republicans who control the senate’s debate agenda could have at least scheduled a subcommittee hearing on the bill.  “I think that if the bill would have come to the floor, it would have had strong majority support,” Wahls says, “so I was surprised.”

It’s possible some of the elements of the bill could be tacked onto a budget bill next month. There’s also a chance state regulators’ review of the pipeline projects might extend into early 2024. Holt says that means it might be possible for next year’s legislature to revisit the issue. “Dynamics can change around here very quickly around here when it’s an election year and people begin to hear a lot from their constituents, so we’ll see where it goes.” Holt says, “My concern about waiting a year, obviously, is that eminent domain could already be in process for some of our land owners, but maybe the process will not be that far along, so we’ll see.”

The proposed Wolf pipeline to capture carbon from A-D-M plants is about 300 miles long and the developer says it’s getting voluntary access to the route and will not need to seek eminent domain authority. The other pipeline developers are expected to ask the Iowa Utilities Board for eminent domain authority to secure easements from landowners who haven’t voluntarily granted access to their properties. Navigator’s pipeline would stretch about 800 miles through 33 Iowa counties.

The Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline would be about 680 miles long and pass through 29 counties. Advocates say the pipelines will make ethanol a low-carbon fuel by capturing and shipping carbon from Iowa ethanol plants to underground storage sites in Illinois and North Dakota.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa-based group that aims to help farmers practice a form of agriculture that benefits both the land and the people is working to recruit new members, especially in northwest Iowa. Practical Farmers of Iowa agronomist Sarah Carlson says the issue of water quality is one key area where they’ve determined they can start discussions with potential members.

Carlson says crop rotation, cover crops, and grazing all help to reduce nitrate loss and reduce erosion, which are two of the biggest water pollutants. Some of the older concepts are still very much workable, especially with precision agriculture, which Carlson says has led to a new term, precision conservation.

She says P-F-I works with farmers to diagnose trouble spots, get them out of production and into some sort of conservation project.

(Union County, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report the DNR’s Field Office 4 staff were notified Tuesday afternoon of wash water release from an Iowa Select livestock trailer wash facility in Union County.

The release, due to a broken check valve, caused approximately 5,000 gallons of wash water to overflow onto the ground. The wash water reached an unnamed tributary, which connects to Sevenmile Creek. A fish kill did not occur because the unnamed tributary is currently dry.

Iowa Select staff have taken action, including flushing and pumping the wash water out of the area, south of Highway 34 and downstream of the unnamed tributary to prevent wash water from reaching Sevenmile Creek.

The DNR will continue to monitor clean up efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Radio Iowa) – Farmers are traditionally the first to jump in and help when a neighbor is in trouble, but farmers may be very slow to help themselves, especially when it comes to their mental health and dealing with stress. Dr. Kimberly Lansing, a rural medicine specialist with the Gunderson Health System, says spring planting season looms in Iowa, what may be one of the most difficult times of the year for farmers and too few will seek counseling to cope. “Often, there are worries about a stigma associated with mental health, and people are afraid to seek help,” Lansing says. “Sometimes, they don’t know where to seek help, and so it’s a very interesting kind of plus-and-minus to a farming community.”

A University of Iowa study finds suicide rates were 45-percent higher for people in rural areas, and farmers stood out as having even higher rates compared to the general population. The U-I study found farmer suicide rates for the Midwest were three times the national average. Help is available through a variety of resources, including the Iowa Farm Bureau and the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Lansing says farming is an exceptionally difficult career path, with continual challenges from the weather, equipment, labor, and the commodities markets.

“It’s always been this sort of a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’ you know, we’re the tough American farmer and people depend on us,” Lansing says. “It’s less than 1% of the population that are farmers, and they’re feeding this entire country, so there’s a responsibility that comes with that.” Some farmers have been on the same land for generations and she says nobody wants to be the one who loses the farm. Social isolation can be a real problem for farmers, Lansing says, and we need to learn to lean on each other more.

“People that are close to them, neighbors, fellow farmers, it’s really important when you do see these folks, to really kind of try to pick up on how things are going for them,” Lansing says. “It doesn’t hurt to grab an extra coffee, an extra pastry, and pop by your neighbor’s farm and say, ‘Hey I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going?'” Lansing says farmers need to consider how quickly they’d rush to help a neighbor in need.  “And try to give yourself that same amount of compassion and realize that you’re not just a number, you’re not just another farmer, you are part of the whole puzzle,” Lansing says, “and we need you to be there and we need to help you do your best to do what you love to do.”

The Gunderson Health System includes a hospital in West Union, and clinics in Fayette, Decorah, Waukon, Lansing, Postville and Calmar.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is known for its many thousands of acres of fertile farmland which help to feed perhaps millions of people around the world, and a new report details just how valuable the agriculture industry is to the state. Brent Johnson, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, says the report just confirms what we already know, that agriculture is vital to our state’s economy and identity.

The report says Iowa has 326-thousand jobs that are directly tied to agriculture with an economic impact of more than 96-billion dollars tied to those jobs. When that 96-billion figure is trickled down to Main Street and other industries, he says it quickly more than doubles to nearly 222-billion dollars. Even through the past few years with the pandemic, Johnson says agriculture saw steady gains, and farmers are growing significantly more food on less land.