(Radio Iowa) — The ethanol plant in northwest Iowa that makes the fuel from corn cobs and corn stalks is downsizing and 30 employees will be laid off in early 2020. The POET-D-S-M’s Project Liberty cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg broke new ground in the industry according to Hugh Welsh, the company’s president for North America.

“The technological advancements that we’ve already made will pay dividends for decades to come as we move towards a low carbon future, a future that we would move to much quicker if the EPA would do their job,” Welsh says.

Welsh says several E-P-A decisions have crippled the market for cellulosic ethanol. The plant will shift to research and development and Welsh says the company is looking to license its technology elsewhere.

“As far as jurisdictions outside of the United States, we’ve historically looked to Brazil, to South America, some of the European countries and to China,” Welsh says. After layoffs in February, just 40 of 70 jobs will remain at the Emmetsburg plant.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Amy Mayer)

Sponsors of the Cass County Conservation Board’s Trumpeter Swan arrival date contest, have determined the official arrival of the swans was November 8th. There was on that day, 15 Trumpeter Swans at the Schildberg Recreation Area that stayed more than twenty-four hours. The person who picked their arrival date, was Todd Roecker.

He will receive a Trumpeter Swan 8-by-10 print from the Cass County Conservation Board. Cass County Conservation thanks to all who participated!

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, Monday evening, updated the Parks Board on various projects and studies. Rasmussen said there’s been a lot of progress at the Schildberg Recreation Area over the past month.

The portable toilets at Schildberg will be removed, since the waterless restroom is open for use. The bathhouse is also done, but will remain closed for the Winter. It will be opened up in the Spring at the same time as the Campground. The small at Schildberg is also in-place. The big dock will likely be installed next Spring. Both were heavily damaged during flooding earlier this year.

Rasmussen said the roads at Sunnyside Park will remain open until at least the first moderate snowfall. Work on the Ice Skating Rink will be underway before the ground gets too hard. He said they hope the rink will be more successful this year than last.

New Gazebo installed on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex, as part of a T-Bone Trail attraction. (Ric Hanson/photo)

And, as we mentioned earlier, the T-Bone Trailhead gazebo on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex is up and ready for use. He said they are working with Nishna Valley Trails’ Dave Chase on what he thinks needs to be located inside the gazebo.

Rasmussen said also, they harvested seeds from the AMU Well Field for planting in the parks to create wildlife refuges and better stabilize the banks along Bull Creek.

He said the seeds include Kentucky Blue Grass and other native plants. And, he said a Fluvial Geomorphologist and District Forester did a walk through of the Bull Creek pathway to help identify solutions to property erosion along the creek.

The Washington G.E.M 4H Club recently attended County Convention on Sunday, November 10th.  The club had the winning secretary and historian book and was also awarded highest club enrollment and the community service award.

Photo submitted by Melanie Petty

The club was also received top herdsmanship for sheep, at the Cass County Fair.  Melanie Petty, Project Coordinator for Industrial Steam, says “4H is a wonderful program to get kids involved in.  If you are interested in joining 4H reach out to the Iowa State Extension Office at 712-243-1132 and find a club that’s right for you.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (Nov. 18, 2019) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today (Monday) commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Conditions report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.

“Four consecutive days of favorable weather allowed many farmers to finish up soybeans last week,” said Secretary Naig. “There is still some corn in the fields, especially in northeast portions of the state which has received above-average snowfall. If we can get another stretch of dry days, many farmers will be able to wrap up harvest.” The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Snowfall in the first part of the week ending November 17, 2019 slowed down harvesting activities in parts of Iowa by limiting farmers to 4.7 days suitable for fieldwork according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Propane shortages continued to be a challenge for farmers across the State as they try to dry down their corn crop due to high moisture content. Fieldwork activities included harvesting corn and soybeans; baling corn stalks; applying anhydrous and fertilizer; and fall tillage.

Topsoil moisture condition was rated 0 percent very short, 2 percent short, 83 percent adequate and 15 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition was rated 0 percent very short, 2 percent short, 83 percent adequate and 15 percent surplus.

Seventy-seven percent of the corn for grain crop has been harvested, 10 days behind last year and 12 days behind the 5-year average. Producers in the Northwest and North Central Districts have harvested over 85 percent of their expected crop, while harvest in the Northeast District was just 58 percent complete. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was at 20 percent.

Ninety-five percent of the soybean crop has been harvested, over 1 week behind average. The South Central and Southeast Districts still have more than 10 percent of their soybean crop remaining to be harvested. The number of cattle grazing on corn stalks increased this past week. There were also reports that below normal temperatures and mud have been stressful on livestock.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds returned at the end of last week from a trade mission to Japan. Reynolds talked about the mission during an event in Sioux County. “As we met with the different individuals that are marketing our products, they saw a lot of potential for us to not only capture some new market share, but to also capture some of the market that was going to Australia. So — it was really productive,” Reynolds said. She says there’s also hope the U-S/Japanese trade agreement will lead to more opportunities.

“We were hoping that it would get out of committee while we were there — and did get stalled a little bit. As we talked to the different officials and especially with the Embassy visit, they still felt very confident that it would be ratified in their congress or the DIET. And they wrap up their session round December 5th,” Reynolds said. “So the goal and what everybody felt very optimistic with is that would get it through and it would go into effect the first of January.”

Reynolds says they also had good visits with companies that have invested in Iowa and have businesses located within the Hawkeye state.  “It’s not only exporting our products but looking for foreign direct investment into the state of Iowa,” according to Reynolds.  The Iowa governor says the delegation was able to make several pitch presentations as to why Japan would want to consider investing in Iowa.

DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation that will temporarily allow vehicles that transport propane and anhydrous ammonia to be oversize and overweight.

The late harvest and high demand for petroleum products throughout the Midwest have resulted in low supplies of propane as well as difficulty transporting adequate supplies of anhydrous ammonia for agricultural activities. The proclamation temporarily suspends certain provisions of Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Code, pertaining to movement of oversize and overweight loads of propane and anhydrous ammonia.

The proclamation is effective November 16, 2019, and will expire at midnight on December 15, 2019. The proclamation language and rules can be found here. On October 3rd she signed a proclamation easing the hours of service regulations for propane transporters, and continues to be in contact with industry stakeholders and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase the amount of  propane in the pipelines to Iowa.

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a Bird House Workshop next Saturday (Nov. 23rd). The workshop will be held at the Outdoor Educational Classroom in Massena, beginning at 9-a.m. All ages are welcome! During the workshop, you’ll learn all about making bird houses. You can make a bird house and take it home afterward, for a suggested donation. Suggested donations for House Wren house $8, Bluebird $8, and Kestrel house $10. The event s for people of all ages. Children must be accompanied by adult.

Please pre-register by November 18th by calling 712-769-2372 or email lkanning@casscoia.us.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State natural resources officials say Iowa will report 622 river, lake and wetland segments with impairments to the Environmental Protection Agency as part of its 2018 summary of water quality. That’s a 2% increase over the 608 reported in the 2016 report.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says Thursday the 622 water body segments on this year’s list had 831 impairments. An impairment means a segment of a water body doesn’t meet established quality standards.

The most common river impairments in Iowa include bacteria presence and fish kills, for which the most common cause is animal waste. Iowa has more pigs and egg-laying chickens than any other state, and it constantly struggles to balance water quality and agricultural interests.

The most severe problem for lakes is algae growth. That’s often the result of nutrients such as phosphorous from farm fertilizer washing from fields into the water. Environmental activists Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement say it’s evidence the state is failing when it comes to improving water quality.

Officials with Guthrie County ISU Extension and Outreach report Guthrie County 4-H has been challenged to raise $50,000 to be used toward building a new 4-H STATIC building for the 2020 Guthrie County Fair. If you can help, consider giving your tax-deductible donation to the Guthrie County 4-H Foundation on Giving, Tuesday, December 3, 2019.

Donations can be made online at http://bit.ly/2oxM0DY (specify that your donation is for Guthrie County or by mail to: Guthrie County 4-H Foundation, 212 State Street, Guthrie Center, IA 50115.