(Washington, D-C; Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced legislation this past Wednesday to increase enforcement of antitrust laws in the meatpacking industry, a step he said would help bring down the price of meat.

The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act would establish a team of investigators in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tasked with ensuring compliance with existing federal laws banning anti-competitive practices in the meatpacking industry. The investigators, working with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, would have subpoena power and be able to bring court action against meat packers and poultry dealers for violations of Packers and Stockyards Act.

A news release from Grassley’s office stated the measure was needed considering the substantial consolidation of the meatpacking industry in recent decades. Four companies currently control 85% of the beef market and 67% of the pork market, compared to controlling 36% and 34% of the markets respectively in 1980, according to Grassley’s office. Having four companies with such a large portion of control in the industry has “created a distorted marketplace through anti-competitive practices” at the expense of livestock and poultry producers, the news release stated.

Grassley said the bill, endorsed by the National Farmers Union and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, will help Iowa livestock farmers while bringing down grocery store prices. “For decades, America’s Big Four meat packers’ anti-competitive practices have made it harder for Iowa cattle producers to receive a fair price,” Grassley said in a statement. “Our bill empowers USDA, in coordination with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, to crack down on bad actors, ensuring a fair and functional marketplace that supports everyone who produces and enjoys quality American meat.”

(Iowa Capital Dispatch; Ames, IA) – Iowa State University has been awarded more than $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to carry out six research projects that will help prevent and combat animal disease outbreaks.

The Iowa awards were part of an announcement from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, of $15.3 million for research that enhances preparedness, detection and response to “the most damaging diseases that threaten U.S. livestock.”

Molly Lee, the associate director of ISU’s Center for Food Security and Public Health, said the projects will generate free resources for producers and animal health professionals.

“Animal disease preparedness is a valuable investment that strengthens our food supply, ensures farmers’ livelihoods and protects public health,” Lee said in a statement. “Supporting animal agriculture with grants like these is a critical and efficient use of federal resources.”

Some of the projects build on general biosecurity protocol, like “Disinfection 201” which received $315,000 to further develop an existing online module with disinfection guidance for different species and diseases. The “just-in-time” project was awarded $447,000 to develop an on-demand library of information to expedite an outbreak response, and another would make general biosecurity protocol trainings more relevant to small and niche producers.

Iowa State University in Ames. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Enhanced biosecurity has been a common phrase over the past several months as the highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to impact millions of birds and dairy cattle nationwide. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently announced $100 million to fund research around treatment, biosecurity and prevention of the bird flu. That funding, which is open for applications until May 19, is separate from the APHIS National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, through which the ISU research was awarded.

Another ISU project was awarded $284,000 to develop training materials and workshops for preparedness against the Japanese encephalitis virus, which can infect humans and most domesticated animals, including swine. The virus is mostly present in Asia and has not been detected in the U.S.

The final two funded projects at ISU would increase biosecurity measures for horses and research around foreign animal diseases that could affect the aquatic animal industry.

The funding is part of the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program which was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest Drought Monitor report shows improvement in most areas of the state thanks to above-normal precipitation in March. The D-N-R’s Jessica Reese McIntyre says western, and central and northwest Iowa got he most rain. She says northwest Iowa in particular had areas of severe drought. “That was completely removed with the rain that fell, the precipitation that northwest Iowa saw, and so that’s very encouraging,” she say. Mcintyre says there wasn’t much change in the southeast and southwest areas of the state. “They are just kind of floating along. There was a little bit of improvement in southwest Iowa, but for the most part, they are kind of holding to where they were,” McIntyre says.

Iowa Drought Monitor map (released 4-10-25)

The eastern side of the state has the largest area of drought. “Unfortunately, northeast Iowa did not see a whole lot of improvement. They’re still in the d1 classification, which is moderate drought,” McIntyre says. McIntyre says the overall picture is pretty good right now. “We are in a significantly better position than we were this time last year, as far as drought is concerned, because we didn’t bust out of that really long record drought until the end of May, early June,” she says.

McIntyre says we are getting into our wettest months and if that holds true this year, we could see more of the dry conditions go away.

(Radio Iowa) – The wild turkey hunting season gets underway today (Friday) with the youth season. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Jim Coffey says hunters bagged a record 16-thousand birds last year. “We’re expanding a similar harvest this year as well, because most turkeys that hunters are after are the two year old birds. And we had good production in 2023. Our 2024 production was down a little bit, but it shouldn’t, shouldn’t hamper hunters from seeing plenty of birds this year,” Coffey says. Coffey says the mating season dictates the movement of the wild turkeys and that is why more of the young males are taken.

“There tends to be a dominance hierarchy, and those two year old birds are not yet on that dominance hierarchy, so they’re willing to travel, and then they have to fight a little bit more and kind of look for females versus that dominant male that just kind of stays in one area and kind of lets the ladies come to him,” he explains. Coffey says the warm weather has some of the wooded areas starting to get green and that can impact turkey hunting. “So typically what that does is the green up means a little earlier leaf out, and that makes a little more difficult to see in the woods,” Coffey says. “So from a hunter standpoint, it can help you, because it makes you a little less visible to turkeys that have great eyesight. But at the same time, it’s a little harder for you to see as well. And so as we see the season progress and get greener, it gets a little harder to see the birds and hear the birds and and so hunters like to kind of pick the right time of the year for their situation.”

Coffey says any edge you can get is important as wild turkeys have one of the lowest rates of success for hunters. “We’re going to expect around 22 to 25 percent of our hunters to be successful, and that just depends on how you define success. To me, any day you’re in the woods chasing a turkey is a good day. And some days we take a bird home, and some days we don’t, most days we don’t, most days we don’t.”
Coffey says always remember the safety rules for any hunt. “And turkey hunting world, the first thing to do is be like defensive driving. Is we don’t want to wear red, white or blue on our person, because those are, those are similar colors, so that the head of the male wild turkey. And then, of course, if we do get a chance to take a shot, we must take a shot, and know what’s beyond our bird,” he says.

The youth season starts things off and runs through Sunday. The first regular wild turkey season opens on April 18th.

(Radio Iowa) – An official with the Iowa D-N-R is warning the state’s anglers to be on the lookout for a ferocious, toothy type of fish that spawned a horror movie in the early 2000s. It’s called the northern snakehead and it’s native to places like China, Russia, and the Koreas. Kim Bogenschuts, the state’s aquatic invasive species program coordinator, says it’s believed snakeheads reached the U-S as aquarium fish for collectors, though they’re not friendly with other fish.

“They can get to be over three feet long,” Bogenschuts says. “They’ve got really big teeth and are very aggressive, which is why sometimes people then get rid of them.” If those “pets” were dumped into waterways, that would explain why the fearsome fish are finding their way into the Mississippi River, though none have been confirmed in Iowa’s waters, at least not yet. The northern snakehead is tan with dark brown splotches in a pattern that may resemble a python’s skin and a head that looks, well, snakelike. Bogenschuts says it might be mistaken for a couple of native Iowa fish. “If people are familiar with what we call our bowfin or dogfish, which is a long, tubular, muscular fish, the snakeheads look similar to that,” she says, “although their heads are more flattened and they do have scales on their heads.” In addition to having bands of sharp teeth and a vicious temperament, the northern snakehead is especially renown for being able to survive on land — for several days at a time.

“If they’re in wet grass, wet vegetation, they can slither through it, because they can get enough oxygen from the moisture,” Bogenschuts says. “They’re also capable of kind of like burrowing in the sediments, so if the water levels drop down, they can still get air from the moisture where they’re at.” It’s that unusual behavior that prompted horror filmmakers to focus on a fictionalized version of the feisty fish.”Back when they were first found in the U.S., there were a few movies made, ‘Snakehead Terror’ and things like that, where these giant fish were walking across the land and, you know, eating people,” Bogenschuts says. “It’s not quite that scary, well, it is scary for our native species.”

Iowans who think they’ve caught a snakehead should snap a photo of it and send the pic to the D-N-R. Bogenschuts says the fish should not be released — but killed — and do not leave the body on shore. She notes, snakeheads are supposed to be quite tasty to eat.

(Radio Iowa) – The new leader of an agricultural products company in north-central Iowa is very aware of the impact the Trump administration’s latest round of international tariffs may have on his business’ bottom line. Tom Mangan is president and C-E-O of Sukup Manufacturing Company, based in Sheffield, which is known for its corrugated metal grain bins.

“Priorities change, sometimes on a day-to-day basis, depending on what’s going on in the world,” Mangan says. “We’ve got a lot of conversation about tariffs. That does have some impact on us, because we’ve got some great customers and dealers in Canada. Also we’ve got a European subsidiary that we get product out to. And then Mexico and Central America is also a big market for us, so a lot of tariff concerns.”

Tom Mangan. (photo from Sukup Manufacturing)

Mangan says most of the company’s products are built with American-made components, including all U-S steel. He says Sukup is growing and now employs more than 800 people. “We put up a new big building here in Sheffield. Over the past five years, we’ve grown to double the size of our Manly operation, into Clear Lake, into Hampton. We acquired two companies just in the past 15 months in Ramco Innovations in West Des Moines, and then also, just within the past few weeks, the manufacturer of our bin stairs, Greene, down in Illinois.”

Mangan is the first non-Sukup family member to run the company since it was founded in 1963.

(Lewis, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is now taking Pre-orders for the CCCB’s Native Plant Sale.  The order form and payment will be DUE April 30th 2025 at 4-p.m. Forms can be found online https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/conservation-office/

Native Local Eco-type live Plants will be sold. Live plants from nursery will come as small plugs; cells are 5” deep x 2” wide at top, or 4.5”deep x 2” Cone.

Two species of Native grass, and 11 Native Forbs are being offered, including many that benefit Pollinators.! New this year: Rough Blazing Star and Pale Purple Coneflower.

All orders must be picked up during designated times at the Conservation office in Lewis, unless prior arrangements are made. Designated pick up times will be: Thursday May 25th 8 AM-6 PM OR Friday May 26th 8AM-7PM.

Plants not picked up will be donated with NO REFUND.

(Radio Iowa) – Spring is spawning season and Iowa’s fish hatcheries are working to grow the fish to fill lakes across the state. Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery Manager Kim Hawkins says they were very successful in collecting the northern pike needed this year. “Within one night, we had over 130 fish in one net, so we caught plenty,” she says. Hawkins says it took them six nights last year to catch the same number of fish. The extract the eggs from the females and fertilize them with the males and then wait for them to hatch. “We warm the incubator water up to about 50 degrees so with these northern pike since they usually spawn in shallow sloughs or shallow lakes and those types of areas with that water nice and warm in those sections it only takes about 13 to 15 days for them to hatch,” Hawkins says. Other species are grown in the hatchery and then released, but not the pike.

A Northern Pike at the Spirit Lake Hatchery. (IA DNR photo)

“We don’t raise them past hatch, so once they are sac fry, when they first hatch out of their eggs, we will distribute them into the waters that we had fish requested,” she explains. “And most of those are shallow lakes, either they’re brand new renovated shallow lakes or some that are just newly renovated a few years ago. So, that’s were most of these fish go for the year.” Spirit Lake also handles walleyes and muskies. “Our walleyes will go in about 30 different lakes and impoundments, and we are only one of two hatcheries in Iowa that do the walleye fry,” Hawkins says. “So, Rathbun Hatchery also takes care of the southern and eastern portion of the state, so they have another stocking list to do. Muskies are our priority for up in this hatchery, we are the ones who produce those for Iowa.”

Hawkins says the Spirit Lake Hatchery is open to the public starting Thursday (April 10) from 8 a-m to 8 p-m seven days a week until the netting is completed for the walleyes and muskies.