(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Network) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says her agency will release over half a billion dollars to expand the number of U-S retail outlets that sell E-15. Grants may be used to upgrade fuel pumps and other infrastructure so gasoline blended with a higher percentage of ethanol may be sold. “This will fund 543 projects in 29 states,” she said. “I know it has an outsized impact here in Iowa.” Rollins made the announcement Monday during a stop at an ethanol plant in Atlantic.

“At USDA, we are aggressively exploring ways to unleash American energy and incentivize homegrown biofuel production,” she said. President Trump signed an executive order on January 20th declaring a National Energy Emergency and he directed the E-P-A to consider issueing emergency waivers so E-15 may be sold year-round nationwide. Rollins spoke with reporters outside the Elite Octane plant which has processed 300 million bushels of corn since it opened in 2018.

U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, left, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst tour Elite Octane in Atlantic, IA. (Photo provided by Ernst staff)

“Here in the heartland, here in the very heart of America what you all stand for, what this amazing business stands for, what our farmers and ranchers stand for is how we do truly save the future of the country,” Rollins said, “and we do believe that E15 is a part of that.”

Also yesterday (Monday), during a stop in central Iowa, Rollins told reporters she’s planning another round of market disruption payments if Trump’s tariff announcement today (Tuesday) sparks a trade war. The first Trump Administration provided American farmers with 23 BILLION dollars in payments to cover trade-related losses.

(Reporting by Brent Barnett, Brownfield)

(Radio Iowa) – The recently REALTORS Land Institute survey shows the south-central district was the only one reporting a farmland price increase. Spokesman Matt Vegter says the state average value didn’t change much. “From September one to March one, the state of Iowa, for tillable land across all nine crop reporting districts, is down one percent, so pretty flat market,” he says. The south-central market was up two tenths of a percent, the north-central was down two-point-one percent, for the largest drop.

Vegter says better commodity prices kept things from moving too much. “You know, we kind of put in a low back in August, right when we did the last survey, as of September one, and since that survey, throughout the winter months, we’ve seen a pretty good rally in the corn and bean corn and bean prices. So, I think that’s kind of the, biggest factor, bringing us back to kind of that even mark,” Vegter says. Vegter says it’s hard to tell right now how tariffs may end up impacting land values

Emotionally, they’re definitely taking a toll. I don’t think we can give any data of what it’s done to the market,” he says. Vegter says he seen some changes that may be an indication of the emotional toll could have an impact. “January, February there was actually a lot more optimism in the land market, commodity prices had rallied and there were a lot of farms that had been sitting there on the market for a while with not a lot of interest, and they all got gobbled up in January and February,” he says. “And we felt like we were starting to build a little bit of steam, and then the tariff conversation started. So I think (it’s) to be determined what that does.”

The REALTORS Land Institute survey finds land value flat in the last 6 months.

He says one area of the survey was a surprise. “Eight out of the nine crop reporting districts were actually up one to two percent on the recreational land side. And that kind of surprised me,” Vegter says. “I didn’t think demand was going to be that healthy for rec ground the last six months, but respondents said it’s there’s all kinds of folks out there still wanting to buy a timber piece or a recreational piece.”

Vegter says that’s probably a holdover from the pandemic when people looked to get out away from the cities more and the rec ground became more popular.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who’s visiting Iowa today (Monday), says the Trump Administration is planning another round of market disruption payments **IF** the tariffs the president announces on Tuesday lead to a downturn in ag exports. “As soon as we fully understand the consequences, positive and otherwise, of these negotiations/renegotiations, we’ll have more announcements on that,” she said.

Rollins, though, says there’s less money available for the payments than there were in the first Trump Administration when U-S ag exports to China fell due to a trade dispute. “He was elected with the idea of tariffs being one of the top tools in his tool kit to realign the American economy, to put Americans first,” Rollins said, “but I also know that that president was proud last time that then USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, through some mechanisms through the USDA, was able to ensure that many of our farmers were made whole through those negotiations.”

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks during news conference in Waukee, joined by (from left to right) Iowa Ag Sec. Naig, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Gov. Reynolds and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn. (RI photo)

The trade-related payments to U-S farmers during the first Trump Administration were spread over three years and ultimately surpassed 23 BILLION dollars. Rollins told reporters the president’s next set of tariffs policies are still “to be determined,” but she’s begun planning for payments to farmers should the tariffs impact ag commodities. “Literally as we speak, as we’ve been driving from location to location here in Iowa, I’ve been on the phone non-stop managing a lot of that,” Rollins says, “or working to ensure that our farmers and our ranchers are represented in those negotiations.”

Rollins says Trump has believed for decades that America and its products and goods get a raw deal on the world stage and he needs to change that. “He believes very sincerely that for the long term that this is the right move for the country, that ultimately the economy will thrive and all Americans will be better off,” Rollins says, “…but we have some, you know, maybe a couple of weeks, maybe a few months while we’re working all of that out.”

Rollins was confirmed as U-S Agriculture secretary on February 13th and she says expanding overseas markets for U-S meat and grain is one of her top priorities. “I’m taking calls all day every day, all night every night from Democrats and Republicans as we’re working to realign the government,” she said. Rollins visited an ethanol plant in Atlantic this (Monday) Morning and toured a hog facility near Waukee this (Monday) afternoon before making her way to Newton for a meeting at a hybrid seed company.

She’ll speak tonight (Monday) at the annual Iowa Ag Leaders banquet.

(ATLANTIC, IA, March 31, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. This includes new projects approved within the first 100 days of the Trump Administration and advances President Trump’s January 20th Executive Order on Unleashing American Energy, underscoring our commitment to farmers, ranchers and small business owners in rural areas, and their essential role in building a stronger, more energy secure America.

Secretary Rollins made the announcement today during an event at Elite Octane LLC in Atlantic, Iowa—a state that leads the nation in ethanol and biodiesel production, with 42 ethanol plants capable of producing over 4.7 billion gallons annually and 10 biodiesel plants with the annual production capacity of 416 million gallons.

“President Trump is honoring our commitment to America’s farmers, ranchers and small businesses, especially here in Iowa where corn and soy growers are crucial to supporting ethanol and biodiesel production,” Secretary Rollins said. “Under the President’s leadership, we are moving away from the harmful effects of misguided climate policies like the Green New Deal. Instead, USDA will deploy energy investments that prioritize the needs of our rural communities. Through HBIIP, we will expand access to domestic, homegrown fuels which will increase good paying jobs for hardworking Americans, restore rural prosperity and strengthen our nation’s energy security.”

Background:

USDA is aggressively exploring additional ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown U.S. biofuels, including working alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) that support the biofuel industry, as well as supporting EPA’s review of any potential emergency fuel waivers to allow the nationwide year-round sale of E15. In the current agricultural economy, U.S. biofuels remain a bright spot and tremendous opportunity.

Established at USDA Rural Development during President Trump’s first term, HBIIP helps expand the production of domestic biofuels by helping fueling stations install the pumps, storage containers, and other necessary infrastructure needed to offer biofuel options at the pump.

HBIIP investments directly impact American farmers. The expansion of biofuel infrastructure broadens the availability of fuels like E15, E85, and B20, made from American-made agricultural commodities. Additionally, this program protects American farmers from retaliatory trade practices, diversifies the nation’s energy supply, creates jobs and supports economic growth in rural communities.

(Iowa News Service) – A federal judge in Cedar Rapids hears arguments today (Monday) in a case that could make or break the future of wetland protection programs in the state. The Farm Bill contains a wetlands conservation compliance program known as Swampbuster. It limits the number of acres a farmer can plant and still receive U.S. Department of Agriculture funding, if they have wetlands on their property. Claimants in a lawsuit say that provision is unconstitutional.

Food and Water Watch Staff Attorney Dani Replogle said beyond protecting wetlands, farmers she’s representing say it doesn’t make sense to plant crops on every acre. “In order to have a sustaining farmland over generations, you need to have diverse ecosystems that include wetlands,” said Replogle, “for things like drought and flood mitigation, as well as habitat for a variety of animals.”

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the 30 million acres of wetlands in the Upper Midwest are responsible for preventing $23 billion a year in residential flood loss costs. CTM Holdings, which filed the suit, is challenging the constitutionality of the Swampbuster provision of the 1985 Food Security Act, because it says the USDA doesn’t compensate farmers for easements on their unplanted acres.

Replogle said the suit doesn’t consider the future of the program or the farmers who rely on it. “It’s a really short-sighted attack,” said Replogle, “on a program that has been in place for decades to protect these wetlands and to, you know, reward farmers who are practicing good stewardship of their land.”

Groundwater and native wetlands habitat are also under threat by corporate agriculture, which is known to pollute rivers, streams, and wetlands with manure runoff.  Large scale ag operators say they’re trying to find more environmentally friendly ways to do business while keeping up with consumer demand.

(Adair County, Iowa) – Multiple firefighting agencies responded Friday afternoon to a large field fire located about two-miles west of Orient, or about eight-miles south of Greenfield, in Adair County.

Officials say Creston Fire Department was requested for mutual aid to assist the Orient Volunteer Fire Department, Greenfield Volunteer Fire Department, Fontanelle Fire & Rescue, Bridgewater Fire & Ems, and Prescott Fire & Rescue contain a massive field fire, while battling winds of 30-to 50-miles per hour. 

The fire was believed to have started from a downed power line, and high winds spread the fire to what is said to have been a two-mile line of flames. (Photos are by Chuck Spindler, via the Creston FD Facebook page)

Highway 25 was closed for a while due to dense smoke. Area farmers showed up en masse to disk fields to create fire breaks. Water tankers constantly refilled the multiple brush trucks as firefighters worked the field fire, while several pumper/tanker crews attacked the fire in an abandoned house. Several outbuildings, an RV and the house were damaged or destroyed in the flames.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office was coordinating traffic in the area and the Adair County Health System‘s ambulance was on scene for support.

(Jefferson, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, this (Friday) afternoon said the source of dark and murky water in a stormwater drainage ditch near the North Raccoon River in Jefferson, has been identified. On March 26, the DNR Field Office in Atlantic was notified of dark colored water observed in a stormwater ditch in Daubendiek Park on the southwest side of Jefferson, which drains to the North Raccoon River.

DNR field staff responded to the incident, and upon arrival observed multiple pockets of discolored water in the ditch. City staff constructed a berm in the stormwater ditch to prevent contamination from reaching the North Raccoon River, and pumped nearly 6000 gallons of contaminated water out of the ditch.

A stormwater drainage ditch with discolored water in Daubendiek Park in Jefferson.

On March 28, DNR staff received a phone call from a resident who reported seeing a Sloan Plumbing, Heating, A/C, and Septic vehicle dumping wastewater from its truck into a manhole at the north end of Kelso Park in Jefferson. Officials with Jefferson Public Works and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office contacted Chad Sloan, the owner of Sloan Septic, for more information. Mr. Sloan stated he directed one of his employees to dump in a manhole at that location due to the normal dumpsite being blocked by construction at the wastewater plant.

The employee unknowingly chose the storm sewer manhole instead of the wastewater collection system manhole. It is estimated that nearly 1000 gallons of septic waste were dumped into the storm sewer system.

The Iowa DNR, Jefferson Public Works and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public for helping to identify the source of the contaminated water.

To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.

(Radio Iowa) – Volunteers will soon be listening for frogs and toads in Iowa wetlands as part of an Iowa D-N-R survey that’s been happening for 35-years. Program coordinator Stephanie Shepherd oversees the volunteers who listening for the ribbits and croaks to track what are some of the most vulnerable species in the world.

“They’re very sensitive to their environment, or they have a lot of stressors that are impacting them,” she says . She says the survey helps biologists monitor what’s happening in Iowa’s wetland ecosystems.

“They’re just really important part of those wetland systems and keeping them running and balanced,” Shepherd says. The frog and toad survey turns 35 this year, making it the state’s longest-running amphibian survey.