(Radio Iowa) – State and federal officials announced this weekend that bird flu had been confirmed in a commercial flock of 240-thousand layer hens in northwest Iowa’s O’Brien County. Governor Kim Reynolds has recommended an additional half a MILLION dollars in state spending to support development of vaccines for bird flu and other foreign animal diseases.

The current outbreak of avian influenza began three years ago and the first human case of bird flu in the United States was identified in April of last year. In December, state officials reported the first human case in Iowa, in a person who worked in a commercial poultry operation. In a recent Radio Iowa interview, Reynolds said figuring out how to best mitigate transmission of the virus is key. “Think about it going from birds to hogs,” Reynolds said.”I mean just this past year it went to dairy. It’s scary the impact it could have not only on the food supply chain, but just to people as well.”

Governor Reynolds says the National Veterinary Service Lab in Ames is playing a critical role in confirming cases quickly, so current mitigation strategies can begin. When bird flu is confirmed in poultry, the birds are euthanized. “It’s been devasting what it’s done to our producers here in the state,” Reynolds says. A decade ago, over 30 million birds in Iowa poultry operations were euthanized during the previous outbreak of bird flu. Since March of last year, the virus has been detected in 12 commercial flocks in Iowa.

“I don’t want to see another epidemic like we dealt with before,” Reynolds said. In 2024, state and federal officials confirmed cases of bird flu in 13 Iowa dairy herds. Dairy cattle with signs of bird flu are segregated from the rest of the herd and the majority of the cattle recover from the virus.

(Iowa News Service) – Environmental advocates in Iowa want state lawmakers to tighten regulations on large livestock feeding facilities, which they say will help protect the state’s air and water. They say right now, Iowa is headed in the wrong direction. The group Iowa Food and Water Watch has a list of priorities for the 2025 Legislature – from opposing legislation that could limit pesticide companies’ liability, to protecting ground and surface water from the 4,000 large animal feeding operations in the state.

Food and Water Watch Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon said cleaning up Iowa’s drinking water is at the top of the list – by requiring those operations to adhere to the U.S. Clean Water Act. “Only 4% of Iowa’s CAFOs or factory farms have Clean Water Act permits,” said Breon, “and Iowa has more factory farms than any other state.” Livestock industry operators say they are always balancing efforts to be more environmental friendly with the need to keep up with consumer demand for meat products.

A Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).

Beyond polluting the air, ground, and surface water near CAFOs, Breon said the 109 billion gallons of manure produced by Iowa’s factory farms every year is threatening the state’s recreational opportunities. “It’s impossible to swim in the lake in Iowa in the summertime frequently, because of E. coli and algae blooms,” said Breon. “Our state is forced to issue warnings about beach closures, pretty much all summer long.”

An analysis by Food and Water Watch found that Iowa’s factory farms have been fined less than $750,000, despite multiple citations for water pollution over a decade.

(Radio Iowa)  – Today (Friday) is former Governor Terry Branstad’s last day as president of the World Food Prize. “But I intend to still be involved as a volunteer and I want to do what I can to help,” Branstad says. Branstad says one of his accomplishments has been reconnecting the World Food Prize with the work of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, the agricultural scientist who founded the World Food Prize in 1986.

“We’ve taken the staff and many other people up to see the Borlaug farm where he grew up in Howard County and we were in Mexico this year, next year we’re going in India and the year after to Africa, tracing where Borlaug did a lot of his research.” Branstad, who turned 78 this past November, grew up on a farm near Leland. He served nearly 22 and a half years as governor — the longest tenure ever for an American governor. He was the nation’s oldest governor in 2017 when he left office to become U-S Ambassador to China. When he was first elected governor, Branstad was just 36 years old — the nation’s youngest governor.

“It was a difficult year, 1982,” Branstad said. “Interest rates nationwide were over 10%. They were 8.3% in Iowa. We were at the onset of the Farm Crisis and it was a very challenging time. I was running against a very capable opponent: Roxanne Conlin.” Branstad left office in 1999 after four terms as governor and became president of Des Moines University in 2003. “The challenge was I was not an academic and I was not a doctor, so I was immediately suspect from the faculty,” Branstad says, “but I won them over.”

Branstad says he had an “open door” policy in his office and started eating lunch in the school’s cafeteria. When he returned to the governor’s office in 2011, Branstad periodically ate in the statehouse cafeteria. Branstad has basic advice for people who want to enter politics. “First of all, you want to treat everyone with respect and dignity, so you want to treat people well,” Branstad says. “You also want to build (friendships.) I found internationally that is very important.” Branstad was U-S Ambassador to China from mid-2017 to the fall of 2020.

“It was a great experience and the Chinese people are nice people,” Branstad says. “Even though we have really big differences with their political system, we also have great respect for their work ethic, their commitment to education, and their friendliness and hospitality.”

Branstad says the contacts he made as a U-S ambassador were an asset in his work at the World Food Prize.

(Radio Iowa) – Two former Iowa governors are meeting for lunch today (Wednesday) to discuss the past and the future of the Des Moines-based World Food Prize. Democrat Tom Vilsack, who served two terms as Iowa’s governor, will become the organization’s C-E-O on March 1st. Republican Terry Branstad, elected to six terms as governor, has been president of the World Food Prize Foundation for the past two years. Branstad also served as U-S Ambassador to China and he says the foundation has made a good choice.

“I’m really excited about another former governor, somebody that understand agriculture,” Branstad said. Vilsack served 12 years as U-S Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama and Biden Administrations. Branstad served as U-S Ambassador to China during the Trump Administration and he says Vilsack’s international connections will be invaluable. Branstad says he and Vilsack have worked together on a number of projects and issues and he’s ready to pass the baton to Vilsack.

“He’s been a great supporter of the World Food Prize,” Branstad says, “and the thing I like about it from the very git go, we’ve had broadbased bipartisan support.” The Iowa legislature annually provides some funding for the World Food Prize, which hosts a symposium each October in Des Moines that draws dignitaries as well as reearchers and ag industry experts from around the globe. The World Food Prize is mainly supported, though, by donations by individuals, corporations and other foundations. Each year a World Food Prize laureate is recognized — and awarded a half a million dollar prize.

(Radio Iowa) – The unseasonably warm weather we’re having is likely going to put an end to the ice fishing season in most of Iowa. D-N-R spokesman Mick Klemesrud says it hasn’t been a great season up to this point either. “We had a lot of places, including on the Iowa Great Lakes, like on Big Spirit Lake, where we had open water. There’s a pocket of open water, it seemed like it would just never freeze over,” Klemesrud says. “And now that we’ve got these warmer temperatures and these high winds, it’s starting to chew up a lot of the existing ice and making some pretty tenuous situations up there.” He says continued days of above freezing temperatures make more and more ice disappear.

“Southern Iowa is going to be, the ice fishing season is probably going to be over by this weekend if the forecast holds. And in places like central Iowa, Big Creek Lake had an open pocket on it that didn’t freeze all winter and so that’s going to expand and chew up some ice and work Twin Lakes, same thing. Three mile and 12 Mile (Lake) had open water on them and it’s just kind of the same scenario,” he says. There are a few areas in north Iowa where the ice is still nice for fishing. “Clear Lake’s get good ice, there’s parts of Spirit Lake that have good ice, you just have to kind of avoid those open water areas,” Klemesrud says. He says you should do a little research on ice conditions before you head out.

“There’s a lot of good resources online. There’s a lot of good social media networks out there where people post how they did fishing, what they’re catching, where they’re going, that sort of thing,” he says. Klemesrud says remember the safety guidelines wherever you go to ice fish. “Check the ice often, don’t go alone, give yourself a big buffer around any open water. Bring a throwable flotation device and about 50 feet of rope, the worst case should happen,” Kelmesrud says.

Klemesrud says they had reports of nine Off Highway Vehicles or A-T-Vs breaking through the ice. Seven were at the Iowa Great Lakes and two were at Lake Rathbun. He says they were lucky there were no injuries reported.

(Radio Iowa) – After a 12-year run as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will be the next C-E-O of the World Food Prize Foundation. Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s tenure as leader of the Des Moines-based organization is set to end January 31st. Vilsack will take over on March 1st. Vilsack has said his interest in the agriculture sector was rooted in his work as a Mount Pleasant lawyer representing farmers during the Farm Crisis. “As a mayor, as a state senator, as a governor and as secretary I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in, to encourage and support programs that will advance opportunities for farmers, ranchers and producers,” Vilsack says, “because I remember the pain of the Farm Crisis of the ’80s.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack (photo from Ag Secretary’s office)

Vilsack turned 74 in December and, during an interview with Radio Iowa last month, Vilsack indicated he did not intend to retire. “My hope is I get a chance to figure out ways in which I can continue to make a contribution. I don’t think I’m ready for retirement and I don’t think I’d be very good at it,” Vilsack said. “…I hope that I’m able to continue focusing on ways in which I can showcase the work of American agriculture, that I can showcase opportunities to expand rural economies and the farm economy to give small and mid-sized producers a chance. I also have been working extraordinarily hard on nutrition and food security issues both domestically and globally.”

The World Food Prize Foundation announced Vilsack’s hiring early this (Tuesday) morning.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The latest data from the CDC and USDA show the continued devastating effects of bird flu outbreaks across the United States – with Iowa, the nation’s leading egg producer, suffering substantial losses. Since November 2023, more than 12.1 million poultry birds have been affected in Sioux County, Iowa. Statewide, nearly 30-million birds have been affected.

On Jan. 17, health officials in Georgia, the nation’s leading state for chicken production, announced it was suspending poultry sales after detecting bird flu, for the first time, in flocks designated for commercial sale. This recent development is not yet reflected in the CDC and USDA databases used for this analysis.

Since federal and state government officials began tracking in February 2022, at least 1,400 outbreaks have been reported in more than 600 counties nationwide, affecting nearly 135 million birds. Other counties experiencing severe losses include Weld County, Colorado, with 9.95 million since April 2022, and Merced County, California, recording 8.35 million, according to the data.

Midwest states with the highest number of birds affected include Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska. Meanwhile, 67 human cases have been reported in the U.S. since the flu was first detected in humans in 2024, according to the CDC.

“While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures,” the agency stated on its website, which is regularly updated with the latest information.

McLEAN, Va., Jan. 23, 2025 — Glen R. Smith, a native of Atlantic (Iowa), was elected this week as chairman of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation board of directors. He succeeds Jeffery Hall, who served as chairman of the FCSIC board of directors from November 2016 until he was designated board chairman and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) on Jan. 20, 2025.

“I would like to thank the FCSIC board for electing me chair,” said Chairman Smith. “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead FCSIC because I recognize and value the role it plays in maintaining investor confidence in the Farm Credit System (FCS or System). This confidence is crucial for the System to have a dependable source of funds to lend to agriculture and rural America. I also want to thank Board Member Jeff Hall for his exemplary leadership of the FCSIC board of directors for the past eight years. I look forward to working with him and Board Member Vincent Logan as we continue to fulfill FCSIC’s mission.”

The Insurance Corporation is an independent U.S. government-controlled corporation responsible for ensuring the repayment of principal and interest on certain Farm Credit System debt obligations issued to investors. As of Sept. 30, 2024, the FCSIC insurance fund held $7.8 billion in total assets, insuring $434.8 billion in outstanding FCS debt. The FCS includes a nationwide network of borrower-owned cooperative lending institutions and affiliated service entities that have a leading role in providing financing to agriculture and rural America. The Insurance Corporation is managed by a three-member board of directors consisting of individuals who serve concurrently as members of the FCA board. FCA is the regulator of the FCS.

Chairman Smith has served as a member of the FCA board, as well as a member of the FCSIC board of directors, since December 2017, when President Donald J. Trump appointed him to the FCA board. President Trump designated him chairman of the board and CEO of FCA in 2019, and he served in that capacity through most of 2022. In his role on the FCA board, Mr. Smith has been particularly interested in encouraging the advancement of System programs for young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers, in addition to promoting the safety and soundness of System institutions. These board efforts culminated in regulatory actions that were entered into the Federal Register in February 2024.

Glen R. Smith (File photo)

Chairman Smith was raised on a diversified crop and livestock farm in rural Atlantic. His farm experience started at a very early age, after his father was involved in a disabling farm accident. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business. In 1982 Chairman Smith and his wife, Fauzan, moved back to his hometown and started their family agricultural operation as “beginning farmers.” In that same year, he established a locally based land service company. Today, their family farm, Smith Generation Farms Inc., has grown to encompass about 2,000 owned acres devoted to corn, soybeans, and hay. The company, Smith Land Service, specializes in farm management, land appraisal, and farmland brokerage, serving landowners in about 30 Iowa counties.

The Smiths have four grown children and six grandchildren, all involved in various degrees with production agriculture. In 2017, their son Peter assumed managerial responsibilities for both the family farm and business.

(Iowa News Service) A company working to create sustainable energy sources is investing in corn to make jet fuel, which it said burns far cleaner than the traditional, petroleum-based version. Some Iowa farmers see it as a market for their crops in addition to the ethanol they already create. Alyssa Shousse, a corn farmer near Griswold, sees producing jet fuel with her corn as an opportunity to create sustainable energy from her crops beyond ethanol and on a much bigger scale. Jets used nearly 100 billion gallons of fuel last year.

“It’s an absolutely insane number,” Shousse acknowledged. “If there’s a better way that we can break into that market, make it a little bit more renewable, I think any of that is good for making a better impact for the environment.” Supporters want federal lawmakers to create incentives to encourage more sustainable airline fuel production in Iowa and across the U.S., perhaps creating incentives mirroring the support ethanol receives.

Patrick Gruber is CEO of the fuel development firm Gevo, which has facilities in Iowa and is part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition. He said it is competitive with traditional jet fuel and far more environmentally friendly. “A petro-jet spews out about 22 pounds of CO2 per gallon,” Gruber pointed out. “We can eliminate that whole footprint of 22 pounds.”

Supporters argued sustainable aviation fuel burns cleaner than traditional jet fuel. They want to expand the practice to include more sectors of agriculture. Critics have countered the effects of agricultural-based jet fuel are still up in the air.

CLIVE, IOWA – Carroll County pig farmer Aaron Juergens has been named the new president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). He assumed the role during the organization’s annual meeting in Des Moines on January 21. Juergens manages over 100,000 nursery and finishing pig spaces for Sunburst Valley Farms near Carroll. Juergens said in a press release, “It’s an incredible honor to lead this outstanding organization and work alongside such a dedicated board of directors. This group has always been a source of inspiration for me. I never imagined being elected to serve on the board, let alone as president. It’s truly overwhelming.”

Juergens previously served as IPPA’s president-elect in 2024. He succeeds Matt Gent, a Wellman pig farmer who now holds the position of past president on the IPPA Board of Directors. Juergens expressed his gratitude for Gent’s leadership, noting his ability to navigate the association through a challenging year. Both Juergens and Gent will serve one-year terms in their respective roles. “Matt did an outstanding job guiding us through a tough year, and I hope to build on his success,” Juergens said. “2025 looks promising, and I’m optimistic about a great year ahead for Iowa pork producers.”

Juergens has been an active member of IPPA since joining its board of directors in 2020. He has contributed to several committees, including public relations, finance, and producer education. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Iowa Pork Leadership Academy and the National Pork Producers Council’s Pork Leadership Institute. For over a decade, Juergens has served as a speaker for Operation Main Street, a program tied to his recognition as a recipient of the Dale Carnegie Course Highest Award for Achievement.

Aaron Juergens

Beyond his work with IPPA, Juergens is deeply involved in agriculture and his community. He is a member of the Carroll County Pork Producers and has received multiple accolades, including the Iowa Environmental Steward Award in 2009, the national Pork Industry Environmental Steward Award in 2010, and the inaugural Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award in 2011. In 2014, he was named an Iowa Master Pork Producer.

Juergens also participates in several local organizations, including the Carroll County Farm Bureau, Rotary Club of Carroll, Carroll Chamber of Commerce, and the New Hope Foundation, a nonprofit supporting adults with disabilities. He holds a business management degree from Loras College in Dubuque. Juergens and his wife, Chelsey, reside in Carroll with their three children.

During the annual meeting, the delegates passed three resolutions:

• That IPPA and NPPC have meaningful conversations with USDA and the new Secretary of Agriculture as to why the pork industry is being burdened with USDA’s country of origin labeling requirements for the Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs, particularly in relation to pork coming from Canada.
• That IPPA will work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) to continue the engagement of all types for pork producers in the US SHIP, and that IPPA will provide additional resources to enhance the participation in US SHIP.
• That IPPA work in collaboration with NPB, and colleges of veterinarian medicine to develop actionable plans and strategies for when a PRRS outbreak takes place and to develop an evidence-based protocol for producers to use on the farm.

The delegates passed a complimentary resolution to recognize Matt Gent for his outstanding efforts as IPPA president in 2024.