(Radio Iowa) – A Senate committee has overhauled a wide-ranging bill that key House members said would — in their words — “clean up the mess” the Iowa Utilities Commission created by granting a pipeline permit to Summit Carbon Solutions. Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny has proposed a 34-page alternative and it got support from the other Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee.

“House legislation over the past few years has discriminated by project type, creating protected classes of landowners,” Bousselot said. “or it was simply intended to attack a particular project.” The bill is now eligible for debate in the full Senate, which has never considered any pipeline-related bill since Summit’s project was first proposed in 2022. This year’s original House bill would have set a 25 year limit on the operation of a carbon pipeline. Bousselot gets rid of that limitation and, instead, sets some standards for any type of pipeline, transmission line project or structures to generate power proposed since last year.

“I believe it is important that we pass legislation protecting all landowners, not just those impacted by a certain pipeline project by taking into account all potential future contingencies,” Bousselot said. Former Congressman Steve King of Kiron  was at the Iowa Capitol yesterday (Wednesday), urging senators to stop Summit’s carbon capture project.  “This is dangerous material. We don’t have regulations for it,” King said. “…People are at risk here.” Kim Junker, a Butler County farmer, expressed her frustration during a Senate subcommittee hearing.

“My husband and I are registered Republicans and frankly I’m sick and tired of the games the Republicans have been playing with our lives, our livelihoods, our business, our property and our legacy,” she said. “You guys work for us, your constituents, not just your big donors.”

Bousselot’s plan says the Iowa Utilities Commission would have to decide within a year if a project qualifies for eminent domain.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman reports, that under the “Authority of the Fire Chiefs [in the County], the Open Burn Ban for Montgomery County is now lifted.”

The ban had been put into place on February 28th, due to windy conditions, combined with tinder vegetation and low humidity, that created a situation where any fires that would start, could spread rapidly, endangering life and property. There were in fact numerous grass and field fires in late February and throughout the month of March, in Montgomery County.

Again, the Burn Ban is no longer in effect. A Burn Ban for Pottawattamie County that had been in effect since March 18th, was lifted April 1st. As of April 2nd, bans on open burning remain in effect for: Adair; Audubon; Guthrie; Mills; Page and Union Counties. (UPDATE: The Mills and Page County burn bans were lifted effective immediately today – April 2nd)

Cass County: Corn $4.27 Beans $9.67
Adair County: Corn $4.24 Beans $9.70
Adams County: Corn $4.24 Beans $9.66
Audubon County: Corn $4.26 Beans $9.68
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.30 Beans $9.67
Guthrie County: Corn $4.28 Beans $9.71
Montgomery County: Corn $4.29 Beans $9.69
Shelby County: Corn $4.30 Beans $9.67

Oats: $2.89 (same in all counties)

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is ending two local food programs this month, which is a financial blow to some eastern Iowa farmers. The programs helped connect regional food producers with food banks and schools statewide. Funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance and Local Food for Schools programs was approved under the Biden administration, but is now being cut off. Emmaly Renshaw is with Iowa Valley R-C-and-D, a nonprofit that supports food supply chains across Iowa.

“What we have seen in the last three years of LFPA and LFS has been absolutely phenomenal, as farmers have more stable revenue through these programs, as food hubs are able to have that revenue, they’ve grown,” Renshaw says. “We’ve seen new trucks, we’ve seen new cold storage, we’ve seen new connections.” Renshaw says the total revenue for producers in both programs was 360-thousand dollars. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said they were COVID-era programs that needed to be eliminated. Emma Johnson is an owner of Buffalo Ridge Orchard in Central City.

“Local food is going to be more expensive, because currently, we’re at a stage where every farm is having to do every single part of production — sales, distribution, all of it,” Johnson says, “and this is why it was so important to actually build the infrastructure for local food.” With the programs being discontinued, Johnson says her orchard has roughly 50-thousand pounds of apples that she needs to find a new way to sell.

(Radio Iowa) – About a dozen people rallied outside the Iowa Capitol today (Tuesday), criticizing a bill shielding some farm chemical makers from lawsuits alleging product labels failed to warn of cancer risks. The bill narrowly won approval in the Iowa Senate last week and is eligible for consideration in the House. Ava Auen-Ryan of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action says the legislature’s time would be better spent finding ways to lower Iowa’s rising cancer rate. “Not working on bills that provide immunity to giant corporations,” she said.

Jenny Turner’s husband died in 2018 of a type of lymphoma she says has been linked to Roundup. “He wasn’t a farmer. He was a school band director, but he used Roundup in our yard and he had summer landscaping jobs and he lived in Iowa where we have high concentrations of pesticides and nitrates in our air and water.” Turner, who is from West Des Moines, says the bill is being pushed by lobbyists to benefit Bayer, not farmers.

“Now I know that glyphosate is useful for some farming, but everything has its pros and cons and Roundup has a cost. Bayer would like to pretend that there is no cost,” Turner said. “Our state legislature must not help them silence people’s right to redress that cost in court.”

Bayer — the maker of Roundup — says the litigation industry has unfairly targeted glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. The company says glyphosate minimizes the need for plowing and increases the productivity of crop land.

(Radio Iowa) – Emergency officials are recommending that residents of the south-central Iowa town of Otley evacuate or shelter in place due to a smouldering fire at a co-op. The fire at the Two Rivers Cooperative fertilizer storage facility started early Monday afternoon and officials say it could smoulder for several days. The main concern is burning sulfur, which can cause respiratory issues. The facility had 265 tons of sulfur when the fire started, plus even larger amounts of other farm chemicals like potash and urea.

About 800 people live in Otley and emergency officials say people who live near the town should consider evacuating or remaining inside due to air quality concerns.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa ag business will have its first non-family member leading the organization later this year. Sukup Manufacturing announced that Chief Financial Officer Tom Mangan will become the company’s next president and C-E-O as part of their succession planning. The Shefield company started in 1963, and is known for its grain bins and other ag products.

(Left) Steve Sukup, President & CEO; (right) Tom Mangan, CFO.

Steve Sukup has been president and C-E-O for the past five years and will start a transition to chairman of the board of directors in October. Mangan was the first non-family executive of the company when he joined as the C-F-O in 2020. Sukup says nine family members still remain actively involved in the business.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is not a fan of tariffs and fears farmers will be hurt, as President Trump plans to unveil a new series of tariffs against multiple nations Wednesday, on what the White House is calling “Liberation Day.” During a stop in Iowa Monday, U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said American farmers would again receive market disruption payments if there’s a trade war. Grassley says those payments would either have to be funded through taxes or by borrowing. “It would be too early to talk about how much aid or what form it would be, because we don’t know the impact of the tariffs, because that’s probably not going to be what tariffs we put on,” Grassley says, “it’s other countries’ reaction to the tariffs.”

During Trump’s first administration, those trade-related payments to U-S farmers topped 23-billion dollars over three years. Grassley, a Republican, is concerned farmers will see their international trade partners be forced to retaliate by imposing their own tariffs on a range of commodities. “It’s very apt to be against agriculture products. It wouldn’t be the only products probably that they’d put on a retaliatory tariff, but at least some,” Grassley says, “and then you’d have to know the financial impact of that before you would say how much money.” Grassley says he’s partly encouraged by Rollins’ saying agricultural producers would have a financial safety net.

Senator Grassley (File photo)

“I’m kind of glad that they’re willing to stand behind the farmers,” Grassley says. “I think that’s a way of kind of admitting that some of these trade policies of this administration could work negatively against agriculture, and that they’re willing to step in and fill the vacuum or the void.” He adds, however, farmers would rather get their money from the markets and not the federal treasury. Grassley says tariffs can be troublesome. “You folks know I’m a free and fair trader,” Grassley says. “If President Trump is successful in reducing tariffs from other countries, I’ll say ‘Amen.’ If he’s unsuccessful, I’ll say ‘I told you so.'”

(Radio Iowa) – With the arrival of warmer weather, Iowans are more prone to get outside and exercise, and if you’re searching for something easy that also has a positive impact on your health, consider the simple act of walking. Jessica Boland, a wellness consultant at Gundersen Health, says walking involves no expensive or special equipment, other than a decent pair of tennis shoes. “It’s an activity that people can start and build up their minutes or miles. It has physical benefits, such as a decrease of certain diseases. It also reduces stress,” Boland says. “So if you are looking for a physical activity and you don’t know where to start, walking is a good place to begin.”

She suggests starting out with short distances and gradually adding to them. While jogging or running can also good for one’s health, Boland says walking may be easier on your body. “In terms of impact, it is a lower impact activity, so not as hard on your joints,” Boland says, “and it’s something that you can begin, increase your minutes or miles without having a lot of jarring on your joints.” There are many free apps available for our phones that will track steps taken and calories burned.

“If you’re going to walk outside, you need to be mindful that you have enough light that you can see the roads when you’re walking,” Boland says. “If you are going to walk in the dark, make sure that you have a light so you can see the ground and that you also put on some reflective gear so cars can see you.” Having a friend to walk with, or an accountability partner, helps to keep you motivated and on-track with your goals. She suggests putting planned walks on your calendar so you’re more likely to take them.

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.