(Radio Iowa) — Ethanol industry leaders defended the Renewable Fuels Standard at a hearing Tuesday before the House Energy Committee. At issue is the recently released draft of the 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act, which aims to sunset the RFS. Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, called the RFS an overwhelming success, despite years of mismanagement. “Repealing the RFS is unnecessary and will further destabilize a struggling farm economy and ethanol sector. Moreover, the draft does nothing to stop the EPA’s continued misuse of the small refinery exemption authority,” Skor said.

Geoff Cooper, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, said ending the RFS by 2022 would reduce ethanol demand. “We simply cannot support the RFS program as the draft envisions without a much stronger signal to the market that ethanol’s role in our fuel supply will continue to grow,” Cooper said. Wesley Spurlock, former president of the National Corn Growers Association, said the RFS benefits farmers, consumers, and the environment – noting corn-based ethanol has 43-percent lower Greenhouse Gas emissions than gasoline. Iowa is the nation’s top producer of ethanol.

w/Kate Olson.

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Firefighters from Audubon and Exira responded to a hog confinement operation fire this (Tuesday) morning, about three-miles east of Ross. The incident at the Lawrence Handlos farm at 1599 Mockingbird Avenue was reported at around 10:15-a.m., according to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office. Audubon Fire Chief Tyler Thygesen told KJAN News the first crews arrived around 12 minutes later, and found the flames confined to the southwest part of one of the confinement buildings and got the flames knocked down.

A firewall operated as it should and kept the damage to that part of the building, still the structure contained a significant amount of interior damage. The fire was declared under control at around 11:25-a.m. Audubon firefighters remained on the scene overhauling the site until around 12:45-p.m.

Thygesen said Exira Fire provided extra water to fight the flames, and everyone worked well together, including the owners, who worked to shut-off the power and gas. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. All the confinements were empty fortunately, so no animals died, and no firefighter injuries were reported.

East Pottawattamie County 4-H’ers held a Gingerbread House Decorating Contest yesterday (Sunday), at the Oakland Community Center. The event was for youth in grades K-12. 16 teams made up of 1-5 youth worked together to create and decorate their gingerbread houses.  6 teams of kindergarten –3rd graders were given a pre-assembled gingerbread house to decorate, while 4th – 12th graders were given the pre- baked gingerbread house ready to assemble and decorate.

Graden Keiser and Grant Bane decorating their gingerbread house.

Madison Baldwin and McKenna Sick working on building and decorating their gingerbread house.

All teams were provided with frosting and candy decorations and were given the option to bring in their own additional tools and candy decorations.  Teams were given an hour and half to work together to complete their houses.  All completed gingerbread house photos were taken and are posted on the East Pottawattamie County 4-H Facebook page, where voting will take place throughout the week.  The gingerbread house in each age group (Clover Kids, Juniors, Intermediates, Seniors) with the most Facebook “likes” by 12pm noon on Thursday, December 13, 2019 will win a prize.  Winners will be announced Thursday afternoon.

You’re asked to stop by the East Pott. 4-H Facebook page and like all your favorite houses.

(Radio Iowa) — Leaders in northwest Iowa’s Great Lakes area are enlisting the help of a University of Iowa scientist to study ways to manage flooding. Heavy rains this past summer caused shoreline erosion and temporarily shut down the region’s lakes. Bill Van Orsdel, with the Iowa Great Lakes Association, says closing the lakes causes serious economic damage to a community that thrives on recreation. “It’s devastating to the homeowners, to the residents and to the vacationers,” Van Orsdel says.

Scientists project that over time, these rains will get heavier and the risk of flooding will increase, so the association wants to do something about it. Larry Weber, a U-I Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is working with a team using computer models to estimate how much the Lower Gar Lake will rise with different amounts of rainfall. Flood control measures include adding more channel structures called culverts, or using a bridge or dam that could handle water flow differently. “We want to make sure we design something that has the utility and lifespan of many decades,” Weber says. “So we want to make sure we think of increasing intensity of rainfall in the future.”

Weber and his team plan to continue to look at different rainfall conditions and will share results with Iowa Great Lakes officials and residents in early 2019.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

A man from Madison County was hospitalized Sunday after he was accidentally shot while hunting. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that a hunter had been shot near Macksburg. Deputies identified the hunter as Ronald Butler, of Macksburg. Investigators said Butler was with two other adults when the shooting happened. They say he apparently dropped his shotgun as he got out of a vehicle, causing it to discharge.

Butler was taken to the Madison County Hospital, then flown to a Des Moines hospital for additional treatment for his injuries. He was conscious at the time of the shooting, though his condition was unclear as of Sunday night.

And, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a fatal hunting incident in eastern Iowa’s Marion County. The incident happened late Sunday afternoon, just north of Lake Red Rock. One person died, but their name and the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. No other details were immediately available.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Dec. 7, 2018 – Ryan and Alle Bailey of Ringgold County have been named Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s (IFBF) 2018 Young Farmer Achievement Award winners at this year’s IFBF “Century Strong” 100th annual meeting in Des Moines, Dec. 3-5.  The award honors Iowa farmers between the ages of 18 and 35 who demonstrate outstanding management ability on their family farms and have a positive presence in both Farm Bureau activities and their local community.

As fifth generation farmers raising grain and cattle, the Baileys agree there’s no better place to grow up than on an Iowa farm. Because Ryan says legacy is very important to him, he and Alle have continuously worked to improve their family farm by converting old buildings on their land into areas where their cattle can have access to feed, seek comfort during inclement weather and have a designated place to give individual attention to cattle that need it. By working with nutritionists, veterinarians and with the use of genetics, the Baileys have seen health improvements within their livestock, creating a greater efficiency in getting cattle to market.

On the crop side, the Baileys run their own retail seed business. They offer drone crop scouting and agronomic solutions for their clients. On their own farm, they use precision ag to apply fertilizer where it is needed in the exact amount that is needed. They’ve also planted 50 acres of cover crops with a goal to increase these acres for cattle grazing. Their other goals include increasing their cattle herd size, finding ways to implement additional water quality practices and adopting new technologies for record-keeping. The two are on the Ringgold County Farm Bureau and members of the IFBF Young Farmers. They are also active within the cattle industry, serving various positions with the Iowa Beef Industry Council, county cattlemen and Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. In their community, they are involved in their church and civic groups.

As winner of the Young Farmer Achievement Award, the Baileys will have the option to lease a John Deere G-Series Skid Steer/Compact Track Loader (one year/1500 hours), 5-7 Series Tractor/Loader combo (1 year/300 hours) or take home a 590E Gator (valued at $9,500). They also receive a 90-day no payment, no interest (NPNI) John Deere Financial Certificate up to $5,000, and an all-expense paid trip to the 2019 GROWMARK annual meeting in Chicago. In January, the Baileys will travel to New Orleans where they will represent Iowa in the national Young Farmer Achievement Award competition at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention.

(Radio Iowa) — The soggy weather in recent months frustrated many farmers who were delayed in harvesting crops, but Iowa’s wettest fall since 1941 has pulled the entire state out of drought conditions for the first time since May of last year. Tim Hall, coordinator of hydrology resources for the Iowa DNR, says the key to becoming drought-free was southeast Iowa getting plenty of precipitation. “And (that area) has gotten a lot of precipitation over a long period of time, which is really what it takes to get us out of a sustained drought like we’ve been in,” Hall explained.

The final remnants of drought in Iowa were erased in November. “In addition to the drought designation being removed, all of our shallow aquifers across the state appear to be in really good shape going into the winter,” Hall said. “That means we should have adequate groundwater supplies going into the spring months and we’re very encouraged by that because it’s been some time since we’ve felt comfortable with that.”

Iowa’s rainfall total for September, October, and November was about six inches above normal.

(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Ag News) — A top Iowa Farm Bureau official says he’s thankful Mexico didn’t start a food fight during the renegotiation of NAFTA. David Miller, the IFB’s director of research, notes – unlike other countries – Mexican trade officials did not target agricultural products when retaliating to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. “I’ll call it normal course relative to corn imports, and pork and beef trade with Mexico has remained solid,” Miller said. “So, Mexico has remained a very good agricultural product importer and trade partner with us, and I think us with them.”

Speaking this week to Brownfield Ag News at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in Des Moines, Miller said he wishes that would’ve been the model for other countries involved in trade disputes with the U.S.  “That you would not be moved to use food and agriculture products as the retaliatory products,” Miller said.

Miller was quick to point out China did retaliate on U.S. food and ag products and that Mexico has done so in the past. He added it’s “refreshing” that, for the most part, the U.S., Canada and Mexico have kept food out of the tariff dispute.

(Radio Iowa) — Reports that the compromise Farm Bill loosens restrictions on farm program payment eligibility are raising the ire of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. Grassley says Farm Bill negotiators have apparently adopted House provisions making it easier for nieces, nephews and cousins of farmers to become eligible for farm payments.  “I believe that they have worsened existing law,” Grassley said. “Where does this end? Are you going to have your third-cousin collect farm payments because he happens to be a Wall Street banker?”

Grassley is also upset that his provision to tighten payment limits was left out of the bill. “This is how far out of control the waste of taxpayers’ money has gone and the injustice it does to the family farmers – that have dirt under their fingernails and are entitled to some protection from the federal government,” Grassley said. “Giving all this money to people who aren’t farmers is going to just jeopardize popular support for helping the family farmer.”

Grassley voted against the 2014 Farm Bill because those payment limitations were dropped from the final version. He told ag reporters in a conference call this week that he hasn’t made up his mind whether to oppose this Farm Bill.