(Radio Iowa) – Staff members from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are running the roads at night in all 99 counties this month, shining spotlights out both sides of their vehicles as they search for creatures from otters to badgers. Jace Elliott, a deer biologist with the D-N-R, says this annual Springtime Spotlight Survey is one of the agency’s largest and most comprehensive efforts that provides valuable information on about a dozen species. “It’s a nocturnal survey where staff in every county of the state run two 25-mile transects with spotlights and note any mammals,” Elliott says, “both furbearers and deer that are spotted along the way.” The surveys start about an hour after sunset, preferably on nights with low wind, high humidity and above-freezing temperatures.

Elliott says the routes cover different habitats — from river bottoms to farm fields, prairies, woodlots, pastures and timber stands — and they’re seeking out critters of all kinds. “Very common species like deer, raccoons, possums, skunks, those are typical to detect in any county,” Elliott says, “but then there are also some more rare or elusive species, like bobcats, mink. There’s about a dozen wildlife species, everything from deer to house cats.” Keeping the routes and conditions consistent provides more reliable data, he says, and it offers an important index of observations about a variety of Iowa’s animal populations.

“We’re running only 50 miles in a county, which is a big effort, but we still can only hope to see approximately 5% of the landscape,” Elliott says. “The numbers that we track every year are, of course, not a census, but they reflect a trend. If we were to detect less deer year after year in a certain county, then we can infer that that population is declining.” The survey was started in the 1970s as a way to collect information on the raccoon population, but it’s been greatly expanded. The results will be posted this summer on the Iowa DNR’s website.

https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Population-Harvest-Trends

(Radio Iowa) – A Senate committee has overhauled a wide-ranging bill that key House members said would — in their words — “clean up the mess” the Iowa Utilities Commission created by granting a pipeline permit to Summit Carbon Solutions. Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny has proposed a 34-page alternative and it got support from the other Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee.

“House legislation over the past few years has discriminated by project type, creating protected classes of landowners,” Bousselot said. “or it was simply intended to attack a particular project.” The bill is now eligible for debate in the full Senate, which has never considered any pipeline-related bill since Summit’s project was first proposed in 2022. This year’s original House bill would have set a 25 year limit on the operation of a carbon pipeline. Bousselot gets rid of that limitation and, instead, sets some standards for any type of pipeline, transmission line project or structures to generate power proposed since last year.

“I believe it is important that we pass legislation protecting all landowners, not just those impacted by a certain pipeline project by taking into account all potential future contingencies,” Bousselot said. Former Congressman Steve King of Kiron  was at the Iowa Capitol yesterday (Wednesday), urging senators to stop Summit’s carbon capture project.  “This is dangerous material. We don’t have regulations for it,” King said. “…People are at risk here.” Kim Junker, a Butler County farmer, expressed her frustration during a Senate subcommittee hearing.

“My husband and I are registered Republicans and frankly I’m sick and tired of the games the Republicans have been playing with our lives, our livelihoods, our business, our property and our legacy,” she said. “You guys work for us, your constituents, not just your big donors.”

Bousselot’s plan says the Iowa Utilities Commission would have to decide within a year if a project qualifies for eminent domain.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman reports, that under the “Authority of the Fire Chiefs [in the County], the Open Burn Ban for Montgomery County is now lifted.”

The ban had been put into place on February 28th, due to windy conditions, combined with tinder vegetation and low humidity, that created a situation where any fires that would start, could spread rapidly, endangering life and property. There were in fact numerous grass and field fires in late February and throughout the month of March, in Montgomery County.

Again, the Burn Ban is no longer in effect. A Burn Ban for Pottawattamie County that had been in effect since March 18th, was lifted April 1st. As of April 2nd, bans on open burning remain in effect for: Adair; Audubon; Guthrie; Mills; Page and Union Counties. (UPDATE: The Mills and Page County burn bans were lifted effective immediately today – April 2nd)

Cass County: Corn $4.27 Beans $9.67
Adair County: Corn $4.24 Beans $9.70
Adams County: Corn $4.24 Beans $9.66
Audubon County: Corn $4.26 Beans $9.68
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.30 Beans $9.67
Guthrie County: Corn $4.28 Beans $9.71
Montgomery County: Corn $4.29 Beans $9.69
Shelby County: Corn $4.30 Beans $9.67

Oats: $2.89 (same in all counties)

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is ending two local food programs this month, which is a financial blow to some eastern Iowa farmers. The programs helped connect regional food producers with food banks and schools statewide. Funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance and Local Food for Schools programs was approved under the Biden administration, but is now being cut off. Emmaly Renshaw is with Iowa Valley R-C-and-D, a nonprofit that supports food supply chains across Iowa.

“What we have seen in the last three years of LFPA and LFS has been absolutely phenomenal, as farmers have more stable revenue through these programs, as food hubs are able to have that revenue, they’ve grown,” Renshaw says. “We’ve seen new trucks, we’ve seen new cold storage, we’ve seen new connections.” Renshaw says the total revenue for producers in both programs was 360-thousand dollars. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said they were COVID-era programs that needed to be eliminated. Emma Johnson is an owner of Buffalo Ridge Orchard in Central City.

“Local food is going to be more expensive, because currently, we’re at a stage where every farm is having to do every single part of production — sales, distribution, all of it,” Johnson says, “and this is why it was so important to actually build the infrastructure for local food.” With the programs being discontinued, Johnson says her orchard has roughly 50-thousand pounds of apples that she needs to find a new way to sell.

(Radio Iowa) – About a dozen people rallied outside the Iowa Capitol today (Tuesday), criticizing a bill shielding some farm chemical makers from lawsuits alleging product labels failed to warn of cancer risks. The bill narrowly won approval in the Iowa Senate last week and is eligible for consideration in the House. Ava Auen-Ryan of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action says the legislature’s time would be better spent finding ways to lower Iowa’s rising cancer rate. “Not working on bills that provide immunity to giant corporations,” she said.

Jenny Turner’s husband died in 2018 of a type of lymphoma she says has been linked to Roundup. “He wasn’t a farmer. He was a school band director, but he used Roundup in our yard and he had summer landscaping jobs and he lived in Iowa where we have high concentrations of pesticides and nitrates in our air and water.” Turner, who is from West Des Moines, says the bill is being pushed by lobbyists to benefit Bayer, not farmers.

“Now I know that glyphosate is useful for some farming, but everything has its pros and cons and Roundup has a cost. Bayer would like to pretend that there is no cost,” Turner said. “Our state legislature must not help them silence people’s right to redress that cost in court.”

Bayer — the maker of Roundup — says the litigation industry has unfairly targeted glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. The company says glyphosate minimizes the need for plowing and increases the productivity of crop land.

(Radio Iowa) – Emergency officials are recommending that residents of the south-central Iowa town of Otley evacuate or shelter in place due to a smouldering fire at a co-op. The fire at the Two Rivers Cooperative fertilizer storage facility started early Monday afternoon and officials say it could smoulder for several days. The main concern is burning sulfur, which can cause respiratory issues. The facility had 265 tons of sulfur when the fire started, plus even larger amounts of other farm chemicals like potash and urea.

About 800 people live in Otley and emergency officials say people who live near the town should consider evacuating or remaining inside due to air quality concerns.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa ag business will have its first non-family member leading the organization later this year. Sukup Manufacturing announced that Chief Financial Officer Tom Mangan will become the company’s next president and C-E-O as part of their succession planning. The Shefield company started in 1963, and is known for its grain bins and other ag products.

(Left) Steve Sukup, President & CEO; (right) Tom Mangan, CFO.

Steve Sukup has been president and C-E-O for the past five years and will start a transition to chairman of the board of directors in October. Mangan was the first non-family executive of the company when he joined as the C-F-O in 2020. Sukup says nine family members still remain actively involved in the business.

April 1:

• Joy Miller of Atlantic (winner)
• Clint Mathisen of Massena

April 2:

• Kenny Hinson of Atlantic (winner)
• Bennett Blake of Atlantic
• Randy Rush of Atlantic
• Lynnette Herrick of Wiota

April 3:

• Penny Beaman of Brayton (winner)
• Big David “Smitty” Smith of Atlantic
• Lola Ehen of Atlantic

April 4:

• Dorothy Peters of Marne (winner)
• John Carlson of Griswold
• Miley Kelly of Griswold
• Jane Jessen of Exira
• Wendy Petersen of Atlantic

April 5:

• Mark Madison of Adair (winner)
• Jessie Wheeler of Exira
• Bobbie McNees of Atlantic

April 6:

• No Birthdays Submitted

April 7:

• No Birthdays Submitted

April 8:

• Joyce Hayes of Atlantic (winner)

April 9:

• Lily Knudsen of Marne (winner)

April 10:

• Joy Hansen of Brayton (winner)
• Diana Peterson of Atlantic
• Alvina “Viney” Thelen of Anita
• Alan Lillard of Atlantic

April 11:

• Keith Grabill of Audubon (winner)
• Vickie Tibben of Audubon

April 12:

• Mara Mae Myers of Atlantic (winner)

April 13:

• Beth Lauritsen of Exira (winner)
• Mary Ann Huegerich of Exira
• Lisa Shotwell of Exira
• River Myers of Adair

April 14:

• Nancy Zellmer of Atlantic (winner)

April 15:

• Roux Dailey of Atlantic (Winner)

April 16:

• Elinor Elsberry of Atlantic (winner)
• Darwin Alm of Atlantic
• Donna Zellmer of Atlantic

April 17:

• No Birthdays Submitted

April 18:

• Sara Paulsen of Exira (winner)
• Debbie Leistad of Atlantic
• James Hickman of Atlantic
• Jair Ehrman of Anita
• Marjorie Frisbie of Walnut

April 19:

• Cindy Copeland 0f Atlantic
• Doris Christensen of Audubon
• Carolyn Dix of Atlantic

April 20:

• Sheri Fletcher of Atlantic

April 21:

• Nancy Petersen of Audubon (winner)
• Jenna Andersen of Audubon
• Mary J Blunk of Atlantic

April 22:

• Todd Lawshe of Audubon (winner)
• Brynn Lamp of Atlantic
• Dawn Marnin of Anita

April 23:

• Raelynn Weisenborn of Exira (winner)
• Elvis Wayne Rush of Wlanut
• Roger Sinow of Gray

April 24:

• Donna Willoughby of Atlantic (winner)
• Kristen Waters of LaVerne, Az
• McKinley Sandbothe of Atlantic
• Lane Alan Myers of Atlantic

April 25:

• Carolyn Landon of Exira (winner)
• Josh Edwards of Cumberland
• Dennis Veither of Atlantic
• Brittany Knudsen of Atlantic

April 26:

• No Birthdays Submitted

April 27:

• Brenda Roenfeld of Atlantic (winner)

April 28:

• Sarah Becker of Atlantic (winner)
• Mariah Stockwell of Elk Horn
• Sherry Kramer of Atlantic

April 29:

• John Roenfeld of Atlantic (winner)
• Mitch Munch of Exira

April 30:

• Kay Nowatzke of Audubon (winner)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is not a fan of tariffs and fears farmers will be hurt, as President Trump plans to unveil a new series of tariffs against multiple nations Wednesday, on what the White House is calling “Liberation Day.” During a stop in Iowa Monday, U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said American farmers would again receive market disruption payments if there’s a trade war. Grassley says those payments would either have to be funded through taxes or by borrowing. “It would be too early to talk about how much aid or what form it would be, because we don’t know the impact of the tariffs, because that’s probably not going to be what tariffs we put on,” Grassley says, “it’s other countries’ reaction to the tariffs.”

During Trump’s first administration, those trade-related payments to U-S farmers topped 23-billion dollars over three years. Grassley, a Republican, is concerned farmers will see their international trade partners be forced to retaliate by imposing their own tariffs on a range of commodities. “It’s very apt to be against agriculture products. It wouldn’t be the only products probably that they’d put on a retaliatory tariff, but at least some,” Grassley says, “and then you’d have to know the financial impact of that before you would say how much money.” Grassley says he’s partly encouraged by Rollins’ saying agricultural producers would have a financial safety net.

Senator Grassley (File photo)

“I’m kind of glad that they’re willing to stand behind the farmers,” Grassley says. “I think that’s a way of kind of admitting that some of these trade policies of this administration could work negatively against agriculture, and that they’re willing to step in and fill the vacuum or the void.” He adds, however, farmers would rather get their money from the markets and not the federal treasury. Grassley says tariffs can be troublesome. “You folks know I’m a free and fair trader,” Grassley says. “If President Trump is successful in reducing tariffs from other countries, I’ll say ‘Amen.’ If he’s unsuccessful, I’ll say ‘I told you so.'”