DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is temporarily easing some regulations on propane delivery as cold weather drives demand up.

Reynolds signed a proclamation Friday to suspend some restrictions on the hours crews and drivers can work delivering propane. A release from the governor’s office says extreme weather conditions have contributed to low supplies of propane.

The proclamation expires Wednesday.

New research documents a decline in U.S. farmland over the past 30 years. John Piotti, president of American Farmland Trust, says his organization collected data in partnership with the USDA and the Conservation Science Partnership. And Piotti says farmland is disappearing at an alarming rate.

“Since 1982, 41 million acres — that averages out to about 100 acres every hour,” Piotti says. According to Piotti, this data will help leaders in the ag industry make needed changes to keep farmland in production. Farmers should also be able to improve their bottom line by using state-by-state data that will be released in January.

“It will help farmers make smarter decisions about the future,” Piotti says. “We’re not only going to look at what has happened, so you know for instance as a farmer, if you were in the wave of development that might push you out of farming.” Piotti says the data also dives into the future of agriculture, in light of climate change.

“We’ll have a better sense on how a piece of farm land will fare if precipitation changes or if a number of degree growing days changes,” Piotti says.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Amie Sites, Brownfield Ag News)

With temperatures predicted to dip well below zero, the Iowa DNR has decided to cancel First Day Hikes at 27 state parks scheduled for New Year’s Day. Todd Coffelt, State Parks Bureau Chief, said Friday “While it’s a great disappointment to us to cancel this event, the safety of park visitors comes first. We know that frost bite can set in fairly quickly at those cold temperatures, so we are using caution in making this decision.”

First Day Hikes are part of a national initiative to encourage people to spend time outdoors. Last year in Iowa, more than 1,200 people participated in hikes across the state. Coffelt said “We definitely will plan on hosting hikes again next year, and anyone can visit state parks during the winter and enjoy the beautiful scenery that’s unique to this time of year.”

First Day Hikes were scheduled to take place at the following parks in western and southwest Iowa:

• Lewis and Clark State Park
• Prairie Rose State Park
• Springbrook State Park
• Green Valley State Park
• Lake Anita State Park
• Viking Lake State Park
• Waubonsie State Park
• Wilson Island State Recreation Area

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The owners of a Sioux City bee and honey operation fear vandals may have cost the couple their business. Justin and Tori Engelhardt own Wild Hill Honey, and they found the damage Thursday morning when they went to dust snow off their 50 hives in a grove on their west Sioux City property. Justin Engelhardt says all the hives were knocked over, killing at least 500,000 bees. The vandal or vandals smashed any equipment they could reach but didn’t steal anything. He estimated the damage at $50,000 to $60,000.

He says “this probably sunk us,” because insurers don’t offer beehive coverage. No arrests have been reported.

w/Beth Kujala.

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Egg prices are expected to increase in the coming months as other countries want to increase the number they import from the U.S. The heightened demand for U.S. eggs overseas comes as the Dutch egg supply was contaminated by misuse of an insecticide and Europe, Africa and East Asia deal with bird flu outbreaks. Iowa State University professor Hongwei Xin directs the Egg Industry Center. “These AI (Avian Influeza) outbreaks in other countries, it’s very unfortunate for them, but it does benefit our industry somewhat,” Xin says.

Iowa is, by far, the top egg producing state in the nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a dozen eggs will cost about 30 cents more at the start of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017. Xin says another factor in the price spike is Americans are eating more eggs. “We are at about 274 eggs per capita, per year. This is the highest of the past 38 years and it is, actually, anticipated to continue to increase into 2018,” Xin says.

According to Xin, the growing demand is prompting producers to add hens to their flocks. That will eventually mean more eggs — lowering the price. Xin adds that egg prices are seasonal and usually reach their peak during the winter holidays and again around Easter.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is making changes in the paddlefish season in western Iowa to try and increase interest. Fisheries biologist, Ryan Hupfeld, says the ability to catch paddlefish on the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers in western Iowa returned in 2015 after nearly 30 years of being banned to protect the species. He says they’re now adjusting some things after the initial interest fell off. “We’ve seen the popularity and number of tags sold decrease in the recent years, and there’s always extras to go around,” Hupfeld says. “We also sent out a survey card that anglers return and it kind of guided our efforts to making some changes to the season this year to make it more popular.”

One of the changes now splits the purchase of tags into two periods, and allows you to buy two tags if there are tags remaining after the first period. The timing of the season has also been tweaked. “We are starting it much earlier — we are starting it on February fourth and it ends on April 30th. Also, due to the anglers’ comments, we are allowing the harvest of rough fish including Asian carp during the paddlefish snagging season,” Hupfeld says.  The previous seasons had started in March. Hupfeld says they knew they had to do something after seeing the fish numbers. He says there are more than 300 fish taken in 2015 and it has dropped down to 100 in the last two years.

Hupfeld says moving the season date back adjusts to the river conditions, which may’ve played a role in the drop in harvest. “On the river systems where there is not a dam and they congregate, a lot of times in the colder time periods when water temperatures are cool they are in these deep overwintering holes where you might be able to target them before they migrate up north in the spring,” Hupfeld says.

Hupfeld says they’ve tried to adapt the season based on what they heard from anglers, and says it’s key for anyone buying a paddlefish tag this year to return the survey card. “All these suggestions that we’ve gotten in the last couple of years have kind of guided our efforts in hopefully making the season more successful for anglers,” according to Hupfeld. “This year if you do purchase a tag, please keep note of your catch and effort and return those cards whether you harvest a fish or not. We appreciate any input provided and take that in consideration in moving forward with the season and hopefully make it more successful for everybody.”

You still have until January 7th to buy a 2018 paddlefish license for the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers. For more information on the season, go to the D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ethanol plants in Iowa have produced a record amount of the gasoline additive this year, narrowly topping last year’s record. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade group, says Iowa’s 43 ethanol plants turned out 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol this year surpassing the 4.1 billion gallons produced in 2016.

The association’s executive director, Monte Shaw said in a statement Thursday that the record is largely due to several plant expansions, increased demand of exports and rising sales of higher blends of fuel like E15, which is 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline. Shaw says the industry will continue to push in 2018 to get more gas stations to install E15 pumps.

Iowa, the nation’s top corn grower, also leads the nation in corn-based ethanol production.

Iowa cattle producers are putting in extra work to make sure their animals are well taken care of in this extreme cold. David Trowbridge, president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, says the breeds of cattle raised in Iowa are “built” for cold weather environments. But, they still need plenty of attention to survive sub-zero conditions. “They’re adequately able to handle the weather as long as you can keep fresh feed, fresh water and bedding…a comfortable place for them to lay down,” Trowbridge says.

Another challenge is helping cattle maintain their footing by keeping their pens free of frozen material or chunks. “Probably the most important thing in the wintertime is keeping the lots smooth enough that the ground isn’t rough,” Trowbridge says. “That might involve muck scrapers to scrape the pens…so they have smooth access to feed and water.”

Trowbridge oversees a 7,000 head cattle lot near Tabor in southwest Iowa’s Fremont County. According to the Iowa Beef Industry Council, there are more than 3.8 million cows on farms across the state. Iowa is ranked 9th in the country in terms of beef cow production and 12th in dairy cows.

(Radio Iowa)

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll probably be joining other Iowans in switching off your Christmas lights for the season, leaving folks with little to look at outside that has any color or interest. If your snow-covered landscape looks too barren, you can’t do much now, but horticulturist Bob Hendrickson suggests -next- autumn, you leave your perennial plants in place, especially things like tall ornamental grasses. “Folks often ask, ‘When is a good time to cut those down? Can I cut them down in the fall or in the spring?’ and we always say you want to keep them up all winter long for interest, something to look at rather than a blank slate,” Hendrickson says. “Not all plants are created equal. Some look more interesting than others.”

Hendrickson says many of us are tempted to hack down those grasses when the growing season ends, but he says to resist the urge and let them stay. “They’re adaptable, they’re tough, they add a lot of movement to the landscape, backlighting and all of this cool stuff with grasses,” he says, “but, they really stick out and shine in the wintertime.” They may not add a lot of color, but leaving those perennials in place over the winter will serve an important purpose, as they’re a good habitat for certain pollinators.  “A lot of our native bees are solitary and they overwinter in the hollow stems of plants,” Hendrickson says. “People have actually observed these bee balm stems, which are hollow, cutting them back and seeing bees emerge out of the stems in the spring.”

He also suggests leaving plants with interesting seed pods in place, just to make the landscape more visually appealing during the dead of winter.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James in Omaha)