(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship launched a $70,000 pilot program Monday to help schools purchase local meat, poultry, produce, dairy, eggs or honey through the Choose Iowa program. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, schools are eligible for a dollar for dollar match up to $1,000 per building, which means up to $2,000, per participant will go to local food producers. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig called the program a “win for everyone involved.”

“Students are served fresh, locally produced foods. Schools can support and build relationships with Choose Iowa members in their communities,” Naig said in a press release. “School food service programs create new markets for small and beginning farmers to sell their products, and that helps generate economic activity in rural communities.” Choose Iowa is a state-run program that identifies, brands and promotes Iowa grown and raised foods, beverages and products. The pilot purchasing program was authorized by the Legislature in 2024, and its first tranche, which helped food banks in Iowa purchase from local producers, launched over the summer. This pilot program allocated $225,000 in total to food banks that purchased from local growers.

Specialty crop growers and local food advocates hope to see the purchasing programs, which are currently in the pilot stage, funded permanently. Naig also stressed the importance of Choose Iowa when talking to lawmakers about the department’s funding for the upcoming fiscal year in an appropriations subcommittee. According to a 2021 study by researchers at Iowa State University, about 95% of table food consumed in Iowa is grown outside of the state.

The Iowa Food System Coalition said local food purchases made by institutions like schools, hospitals and food banks are “essential” to strengthening a local food system and supporting more farmers to grow fruits, vegetables and other crops that end up on Iowa tables. The coalition has listed a number of 2025 legislative priorities, including a push to make the Choose Iowa purchasing program permanent. Choose Iowa has more than 170 members across the state who sell Iowa-made products from meat and vegetables to prepared foods and goods. Schools must purchase from Choose Iowa members to be eligible for the funding. “I strongly encourage schools around the state to apply for participation in this purchasing program,” Naig said.

Iowa producers can become Choose Iowa members online. Interested schools can apply for the pilot purchasing program online through April 7. IDALS said participating schools will be announced in April, and reimbursement for schools will begin in the fall school semester.

(Radio Iowa) – Moderate drought conditions expanded slightly last month in central and eastern Iowa, according to the state’s latest Water Summary Update. Jessica Reese McIntyre, an environmental specialist with the Iowa D-N-R, says she’ll be watching closely for worsening drought conditions, but she adds, winter is typically the driest time of the year in Iowa.

McIntyre says, “In the month of February, we saw another month of below-average precipitation, just as we did in January.” The state’s average snowfall in February was four-point-eight inches, nearly two inches below normal. “While this could raise concerns about potential drought conditions worsening, it’s still winter,” she says, “and winter is when we receive the least amount of precipitation across the state, and also, the ground is still frozen.”

Iowa DNR graphic

The National Weather Service forecast for March indicates a slight chance for above-average precipitation in the eastern half of Iowa and average precipitation in the western half.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Engineer’s Office posted on social media, Friday, that a weight limit embargo on county gravel roads is in effect until further notice. The embargo means the weight limit for vehicles traveling on gravel roads, cannot exceed 10-tons. That includes school buses, which are limited to travel on hard surface roads only, until the embargo is lifted.

It was placed into effect due to the soft road conditions resulting from the rapid freezing and unfreezing of gravel road beds with the recent weather.

The weight embargo on Shelby County gravel roads will remain in effect until conditions improve and the embargo is rescinded.

Cass County: Corn $4.18 Beans $9.57
Adair County: Corn $4.15 Beans $9.60
Adams County: Corn $4.15 Beans $9.56
Audubon County: Corn $4.17 Beans $9.59
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.21 Beans $9.57
Guthrie County: Corn $4.20 Beans $9.61
Montgomery County: Corn $4.20 Beans $9.59
Shelby County: Corn $4.21 Beans $9.57

Oats: $3.16 (same in all counties)

(Iowa News Service) – A new report by the group Food and Water Watch says egg companies are exploiting the bird flu outbreak for profit in Iowa. Data show egg prices in the Midwest were already sharply higher long before the latest wave of avian flu.  Some 75% of egg-laying hens are raised on almost 350 factory farms in the U.S. – each housing about 850,000 birds. Now over $5 a dozen, egg prices in Iowa grocery stores are nearly twice what they were two years ago.

Rebecca Wolf, senior food policy analyst with Food and Water Watch, said highly consolidated corporate egg producers are using the outbreak and their market control to drive the numbers still higher – even though egg production costs have remained nearly flat. “Prices rising before the bird flu outbreak, and now an astronomical impact with the actual, real impacts of the bird flu,” said Wolf, “which is a classic case of what we say is price-gouging consumers, so really taking advantage of that market control.”

Farm for growing broiler chickens to the age of one and a half months

Iowa raises more egg-laying hens on factory farms than any other state, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Iowa has lost nearly 30 million birds in the current avian flu outbreak. As the nation’s leader in raising egg-laying hens, Wolf said Iowa’s consolidation makes the industry fragile and highly sensitive to any disruption. She claimed operators designed it that way.

“So, if one birds is sick in one of those 300-some facilities, which is what we’re seeing,” said Wolf, “then all of those birds, in this case, have been culled for the bird flu.” Chickens are more susceptible to disease in cramped confinements, and concentrated manure also threatens air and groundwater quality.

Industry operators say they’re trying to address potential environmental pollution while meeting consumer demand for high-quality poultry.

DES MOINES, Iowa (March 8, 2025) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1 HPAI) in a mixed species backyard flock in Dallas County, Iowa. This is Iowa’s fifth detection of H5N1 HPAI within domestic birds in 2025.

About H5N1 HPAI

H5N1 HPAI is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations. H5N1 HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys. H5N1 HPAI can also impact dairy cattle, and 13 cases were detected in Iowa dairy herds in June of 2024. With supportive care, dairy herds recover with limited, or no mortality associated with the disease.

Heightened Biosecurity 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is strongly encouraging Iowa poultry producers and dairy farmers to bolster their biosecurity practices and protocols to protect their flocks and herds. In addition, the Department has numerous biosecurity resources for poultry producers and dairy and livestock farmers to reference on its website.

Suspected Cases in Poultry 

If poultry producers or those with backyard birds suspect signs of H5N1 HPAI, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.

Clinical signs of H5N1 HPAI in birds may include: 

• Sudden increase in bird deaths without any clinical signs
• Lethargy and/or lack of energy and appetite
• Decrease in egg production
• Soft, thin-shelled and/or misshapen eggs
• Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
• Purple/blue discoloration of the wattles, comb, and legs
• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing, sneezing, and/or nasal discharge (runny nose)
• Stumbling and/or falling down
• Diarrhea

Food Safety 

It remains safe to enjoy eggs and poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always properly handle and cook eggs and poultry products, including cooking to an internal temperature of 165˚F.

Public Health 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to believe the threat to the general public remains low. Any questions related to public health should be directed to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

Wild and Migratory Birds

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asks those who find five or more sick or dead flocking birds within a week to report their findings to their local wildlife biologist or state conservation officer. Do not approach or bring home wild or migratory birds that appear sick or are deceased.

List of Confirmed Cases

As H5N1 HPAI detections are confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, those cases are added to tracking websites located on the USDA APHIS website.

(Shelby, Iowa)  – A clean-up day is planned for Sunday, April 6th, 2025 at Carstens 1880 Farmstead near Shelby.  With upcoming events planned for the summer season, members of Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc. and interested community volunteers are invited to join in this effort to spruce up the farmstead grounds. Clean-up day will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Carsten’s 1880 Farmstead President Terry Torneten says “Winter is behind us so we can get to the farm now. We would appreciate everyone’s help to get the place cleaned up.” Jobs that can be done during clean-up day include raking leaves, picking up small limbs and sticks, trimming trees, minor repairs to the buildings, and dusting off displays that have been in storage since last year.

Carstens 1880 Farmstead is located at 32409 380th St, Shelby, just south of I-80 exit 34. For more information on clean-up day call,402-699-6941.

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Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc., a non-profit group of local volunteers, oversees a working farm museum exhibit located between Minden and Shelby, Iowa in Pottawattamie County.  The farmstead is the home of Carstens Farm Days, which is held the first weekend after Labor Day each September.  The farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  For more information visit the web site: www.carstensfarm.com

DES MOINES— Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Saturday), signed an extension of the proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer, and manure.

The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through April 7, 2025. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), manure (dry and liquid), and distillers grains to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

This proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (6) (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

WEST DES MOINES, IA – Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) producer member Elite Octane, an ethanol plant near Atlantic, today (Friday, March 7th) celebrated producing its 1 billionth gallon. Since the plant began operating on July 1, 2018, it has processed over 300 million bushels of corn from area farmers. IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw congratulated Elite Octane, “for reaching the one-billion-gallon milestone.” Shaw said “Not only does this milestone celebrate the plant, but it celebrates the impact Elite Octane has on the local community, area farmers, and consumers across the nation. This is a testament to ethanol’s role in American energy dominance while providing consumers with a cleaner-burning, cost-savings solution at the pump.”

With its 53 employees, Elite Octane has paid more than $1.6 billion to local corn farmers since commencing operations in 2018, nearly all funds received within 60 miles of Atlantic, Iowa. The over 300 million bushels of corn were processed into more than just ethanol.

Elite Octane, Atlantic Iowa (photo from the company’s website)

Elite Octane also produced more than 2 million tons of high protein animal feed and over 300 million pounds of corn oil as well. Additionally, 50 percent of all the water used in the ethanol production process is recycled water from the City of Atlantic that would otherwise be discharged down the river.