Cass County: Corn $4.26 Beans $10.06
Adair County: Corn $4.23 Beans $10.09
Adams County: Corn $4.23 Beans $10.05
Audubon County: Corn $4.25 Beans $10.08
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.29 Beans $10.06
Guthrie County: Corn $4.28 Beans $10.10
Montgomery County: Corn $4.28 Beans $10.08
Shelby County: Corn $4.29 Beans $10.06
Oats: $3.11 (same in all counties)
(Radio Iowa) – The manager of an ethanol plant near Council Bluffs says a bill that would set new restrictions on the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline in Iowa would also impact his company’s plan connect to a Nebraska pipeline. Mike Jerke is C-E-O of what’s known as SIRE — Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy.
“SIRE has engaged two different engineering companies to look at expansion of our facility,” he says. “All of that is predicated on the ability to sequester CO2 and the demand pull that would bring.” A nearly 400 mile long natural gas pipeline in Nebraska is being retooled and will start capturing carbon from ethanol plants this fall. Jerke says his ethanol facility plans to start sequestering carbon in mid-2026 and connect to the Tallgrass Trailblazer pipeline in Nebraska.
“We have 100% voluntary easements for our project,” Jerke says. “We have those secured.” Jerke says the bill requires a type of insurance that would violate the permit his company is seeking and the legislation would set a 25 year limit on operating a pipeline transporting liquid carbon dioxide. Jerke says that would be a death blow because his company already negotiated 45 million dollars worth of contracts to buy the equipment needed to sequester C-O-2.
“We’ve probably spent a little over half that because equipment purchases take time and construction will come here in the fall,” Jerke says. “Apparently this is going to be, if this is to stand or be signed into law, something that we would only be able to operate for 25 years…Just extremely problematic would probably be putting it lightly.”
Jerke made his comments during an online news conference hosted by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. The group is urging Governor Reynolds to veto the pipeline bill.
Iowa state parks and forests are gearing up for a busy Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the outdoor summer recreation season.
“Park visitors are excited to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather,” said Sherry Arntzen, chief of the DNR’s State Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau. “Our parks offer a variety of activities for all enthusiasts from hiking the trails to picnicking, fishing and swimming. There’s something for everyone while enjoying the outdoors.”
Campers are urged to plan ahead when visiting Iowa state parks and forests for Memorial Day weekend. Most electrical and full hookup sites in busy parks are already reserved, so campers may want to consider non-electric sites or at “hidden gem” parks a little further away from home. To find site availability and make a reservation, go to https://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com/
For an up-to-date list of park and trail closures due to renovations or weather-related alerts, visit the DNR’s Alerts and Notifications web page.
Park visitors can help take care of the parks by cleaning up trash after themselves, and carrying out what they brought in. Please park vehicles in designated parking lots and not along roadways. If visiting beaches, be aware that most swimming areas do not have a lifeguard on duty, and pets must be kept off beaches and be on a leash.
“We hope that campers enjoy their time and make memories while staying in our parks and recreational areas, and do so safely and return again,” Arntzen said.
Tips
(Radio Iowa) – You may have noticed lots of those helicopter maple tree seeds filling up rain gutters or piling up on the sidewalk this year. State Forester Tivon Feeley says the large amount of seeds created a momentary concern for some homeowners.
“A lot of the silver maples, or the red Maple or red silver Maple hybrids that we planted in this state, it didn’t look like they were going to leaf out in the top third of the tree,” Feeley says. “And then I started getting phone calls from people said, well, it’s turning brown instead, and it turned out it was just a massive seed production.” Feeley says the trees were just adjusting to conditions. “And those seeds are in mass quantities at the top of the tree, and so the tree didn’t put on a flush of leaves. It’s going to wait to do so until the seeds drop and put all of its resources into the seeds,” he says. “But we’re recovering from that, all those trees appear to be doing just fine with new leaves, so I think we should be set for a decent season.” 
Feeley says the amount of seeds can depend on the type of tree and also can depend on dry or wet weather conditions. “You know, some of the oaks will produce acorns every year, and other oaks will be every other year or every three years,” he says. “With maples, it’s yearly, and you’ll have a kind of a low, seep crop, especially when they’re dry, or they might even drop that seed crop, really not let it develop all the way. But we get plenty of moisture this year, and so we’re seeing a bumper crop just about every tree species.”
Feeley says there have not been a lot of major issues for trees this year outside of the normal invasive bugs and some storm damage.
(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa is debating whether to renew its lease on the Macbride Nature Recreation Area, which hosts thousands of students each year for wildlife camps, research projects and educational opportunities.
A special university committee estimates it would cost nearly $15 million to make upgrades to cell phone service and repave the roads. Connie Mutel is a writer and conservationist with previous ties to the university and thinks the estimated costs are overblown. “I don’t think that they need to spend large amounts of money to install that cell phone coverage and pay for it every year. And in terms of Wi-Fi coverage, I have no understanding why they feel that would be required,” Mutel says.
Mutel says she thinks the report exaggerated some of the costs. “The press for complete technological connections with that area kind of astounded me. Field biologists, field scientists, are used to doing research in remote locations –way more remote than anything in Iowa,” she says.
The report was submitted to university president Barbara Wilson, but the University has not said when a decision may be made..
(Radio Iowa) – A coalition of over 100 ag groups is expressing concern about a soon-to-be-released federal report on how chemicals and other factors may be contributing to rising levels of childhood diseases. The “Make America Healthy Again” or MAHA report will come from the agency lead by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who said yesterday (Tuesday) there’s not a word in the draft he’s seen that should worry the American farmer. Scott Henry of Nevada, a fourth generation Iowa farmer, suggests that’s hard to believe because Kennedy has compared farmers to terrorists in the past.
“From my perspective, I hope that the people writing the report have actually come to a farm,” he says. Last year as a presidential candidate, Kennedy said toxic chemicals like glyphosate — the main ingredient in Roundup — are contaminating the U-S food supply. Henry says the impact of anti-agricultural activists like Kennedy could be severe if farmers are no longer allowed to use Roundup to control weeds. “We care about keeping our soils, our water and the staple food we create for the American consumer safe and affordable,” Henry said.
Henry says it’s scary that science may not drive future decision making about Roundup, which has been approved for use by the E-P-A for decades. Without Roundup, Henry and other farmers say yields will drop and costs will rise. “The biggest thing that I want to make clear today is that if the MAHA commission’s report drives future policy decisions, food prices will go up and instead of making America healthy again, we’ll making America hungry again.” Modern Ag Alliance executive director Elizabeth Burns-Thompson says while the report hasn’t been issued yet, the ag community wants to get their concerns about Kennedy on the record now.
“Frankly what he’s talked about not only through the campaign trail, but during his time as secretary continuing to draw attention and speculation around pesticides broadly and specifically certain chemistries,” Burns-Thompson said. In 2020, Kennedy said the company that makes Roundup is the enemy of every admirable American value. Yesterday (Tuesday), during a U-S Senate hearing, Kennedy said the Trump Administration will not do anything that would put farmers out of business.
The Make America Healthy Again report is due to be released tomorrow (Thursday). During an event last week, one of Kennedy’s top advisors said the report won’t forbid the use of farm chemicals, but many of the leading herbicides and pesticides used in the U-S have been phased out or banned in every other country in the world and the report will offer policies to solve the issue of toxins in the environment.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University Extension’s annual survey shows the first statewide decline in cash rental rates for farmland since 2019. Rental rates went up nine percent in 2023 and were stable last year. Ann Johanns, a program specialist with I-S-U Extension, says the average drop this year is eight dollars per acre. “I think it was probably what we were kind of expecting to see for 2025’s rents,” she says.
The survey does not seek information about cash rental rates for individual farms. Farm operators, landowners, realtors and professional farm managers are asked instead about cash rental rates for cropland in their counties. Cash rental rates for corn and soybean fields dropped in 68 out of Iowa’s 99 counties.
“Almost all the crop reporting districts were down slightly except for the southeast corner of the state,” Johanns says. “It’s kind of hovered around $250 an acre the last few years and it was up just a couple of dollars at $254 (an acre).” The biggest decrease was in south central Iowa, where rental rates for cropland fell nearly seven percent.
The statewide average rental price per acre for rented farm ground was 271 dollars this year. Landowners rent nearly six out of every 10 acres of cropland in Iowa.
(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Tuesday he will not pursue a gubernatorial election and will instead seek another term as agriculture secretary.
Naig was one of the many Republicans considered a potential candidate in the race to succeed Gov. Kim Reynolds after she announced she would not seek reelection in 2026. Naig had said in April he and his family were “thoughtfully discussing that possibility.” But on Tuesday he said he had decided not to run, adding that there was “still work to be done growing our state and economy as secretary of agriculture.”
Naig has held his current position since being appointed in March 2018 after serving as deputy agriculture secretary under Bill Northey, who was appointed undersecretary for farm production and conservation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. Naig won reelection in the 2018 and again in 2022 against Democratic challenger John Norwood.
He said he plans to officially launch his 2026 campaign for agriculture secretary at a later date. Naig said he will continue to “fight for the hard-working men and women who feed and fuel the world and keep Iowa as the greatest agricultural state in the country.”
BOONE, Iowa [KCCI] – A Boone family is recovering after a fire destroyed their barn and killed six show lambs over the weekend. The fire reportedly started on the west end of the barn and quickly spread to the entire building. The cause of the fire, which took place Saturday afternoon, was still under investigation.
Heath Oakes – who owns the barn – said he suspects a pile of manure may have self-combusted and ignited old corn stalks. The flames were fanned by strong winds. The flames spread across the field and down to the road, but firefighters managed to prevent damage to a neighbor’s field.
Oakes tried to save the lambs, but the flames were too intense. Despite the loss of livestock, Oakes expressed relief that his family was unharmed.
The family still has a few lambs in a nearby barn. They have set up a GoFundMe to assist with rebuilding efforts.
(Radio Iowa) – A ceremonial groundbreaking today in Boone for a plant that will produce Daisy Brand sour cream and cottage cheese. The 676 MILLION dollar project will eventually employ over 250 people. Ben Sokolsky is president of the family-owned company. “It is our most ambitious project yet,” Sokolsky said. Milk for the plant will come exclusively from Marshall Ridge Farms in nearby State Center, one of the largest dairy farms in Iowa. It will add seven-thousand cows to its milking operation by the time the Daisy plant in Boone opens in late 2028 or early 2029.
“Without milk, none of this would be possible,” Sokolsky said, “so that’s pretty important.” Sokolsky spoke at a luncheon in Boone today (Tuesday). Dan Culhane, president and C-E-O of the Ames Regional Alliance, was the host. “While economic development occurs every day in our communities, it doesn’t always come together to this magnitude,” Culhane said. “And so that’s what we’re really celebrating today.” Boone Mayor Elijah Stines says it’s a transformative project.
“One that will not only reshape the economic landscape of Boone, but the entire region,” Stines said. “…The future of Daisy Brands, the City of Boone and the State of Iowa is all brighter because of this investment.” Governor Kim Reynolds says many groups and individuals get credit for making the deal with Daisy possible — including local leaders, state agencies and the private sector. “This nearly $700 million investment isn’t just a number. It represents real opportunity. It means hundreds of new jobs, it means an expanded tax base, it means new momentum for local businesses, schools and family farms,” Reynolds says.
Ceremonial groundbreaking for Daisy Brand plant in Boone with Gov. Reynolds in center and Daisy Brand president Ben Sokolsky to the left of Reynolds. (RI photo)
“It simulates construction with plans for housing and hospitality projects already underway.” Daisy Brand currently has plants in Texas, Arizona and Ohio. State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the project in Boone will boost Iowa’s dairy industry and create permanent, good paying jobs. “Today is a heaping dollop of good news and we can all be excited about that,” Naig said, prompting laughter from the crowd as he recited a line from a Daisy sour cream commercial.
Over one of every two cups of sour cream sold in the United States is Daisy Brand sour cream. Data shows overall sales of cottage cheese were up 16 percent last year and the company’s president says Daisy Brand hasn’t seen this kind of growth in cottage cheese sales since the 1970s.
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