(An Iowa Capital Dispatch story) – A new report from the Iowa Food System Coalition shows that Iowa has 1,461 local food businesses spread across the state. Coalition staff said the report shows the economic viability of local food businesses across the levels of the food system.  Bob Ferguson, who serves on the Farm and Food Business priority team with the coalition, said the report showed an increase in the number of on-farm stores, farm stands and local food businesses from previous estimations. “There’s more there than one would suspect,” he said. “There needs to be a lot more, but there’s already robust local infrastructure that interacts with itself to provide local goods and services.”

The businesses, which include food farmers, processors, food hubs and more, are spread across the state, with greater concentration around Iowa’s largest cities. The majority, or 1,074, of the businesses are farmers and food producers. Meat and food processors make up the next highest category, with 189 meat processors and 47 food processors in the state. The report identified between 10 and 26, per category, of local wineries, restaurants, retail stores, groceries and dairy manufacturers in Iowa.  The remaining categories had fewer than 10 businesses each identified in the state: grade A dairies, breweries, coffee, food hubs, raw milk, uncategorized, grain mills, caterers, distributors and private chef services.

Farmers Market (USDA photo)

The report defined local food businesses as producers that sell direct to consumer, strategic supply chain partners and some large volume distribution services that make “substantial and effective efforts to produce or market source-identified local foods.”  Ferguson said the food system has become heavy at the top level and at at the small-scale level, but has been “hollowed” in the middle. The report that shows the number and spread of local food businesses, he said, shows that “infrastructure at the middle is still there.” Ferguson predicts the number of businesses will only continue to grow in the state.

In addition to providing local food infrastructure and economic impact, Ferguson said these local business also provide a “powerful sense of placemaking” or the “coolness factor” that helps people “feel great about being where they are,” which he said is important for rural development.  The report analyzed online directories, like the state’s Choose Iowa network, various food hubs, farmers market databases and registries for licensed dairy and meat processing plants. Because the report only makes use of regularly updated online lists, the coalition notes it is “likely an under-count” of local food businesses.

The coalition hopes future iterations of the report will also include business that don’t have an online presence.

(Radio Iowa) –  There’s no U-S-D-A weekly crop report due to the government shutdown, but the state’s top ag official says the end of the harvest close. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says his travels around the state and conversations with farmers indicates the corn and bean harvest is nearly complete. That would fit with the five-year average that shows 98 percent of soybeans and 91 of the corn is usually harvest by mid-November. Naig says the weekend drop of temperatures into the teens and low 20s marked the official end of the growing season.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan wrote in his weekly weather summary that temperatures took a “nose-dive” late into the Nov. 3 through Nov. 9 reporting period.  Several towns in northwest Iowa reported the weekly low temperature of 13 degrees Fahrenheit, which Glisan said was 14 degrees below normal. Despite the drop in temperatures toward the end of the week, the overall average temperature for the period was 47.2 degrees. The statewide average was 3.4 degrees above the climatological normal.

According to Glisan, more than 50 weather stations reported measurable snowfall during the reporting period. Pocahontas reported just slightly more than 5 inches of snow. The weekly precipitation average across the state was slightly under three-tenths of an inch, while the normal is 0.52 inch.  The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 81% of Iowa was in abnormally dry or drought conditions. About 15% of the state, mostly on the eastern edge, was in moderate drought conditions.

(Radio Iowa) – A Department of Natural Resources expert says they’re getting more data on a study of the decline of gray fox numbers. Furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says they’ve been putting collars on the elusive animals when they are found in live traps. “We’re up to three collared gray foxes since the start of this project two years ago. So, it’s a low and slow burn with this project, we knew it would be,” he says. “That’s why it started off as a pilot project.” He says it is encouraging that trappers and others have stepped up to help them collect data. “We’re getting more and more folks engaged with giving us reports of sightings. And so we’re going to continue trying to collar more gray foxes here this fall and winter,” he says.

Evelsizer says the tracking data and sightings are helping them track habitat and habits so they can get a picture of what is happening to the animals. “We have some pretty strong hypotheses or ideas about what may be leading to their decline, but we need to know what those are better. We need to , you know, have a better understanding of that,” Evelsizer says. He says they’ve enjoyed working with the animals. “The gray fox has been a really interesting animal to work with. They’re fairly small — adults weigh ten to12 pounds — so they generally are very easy to work with compared to some other species of wildlife,” he says.

Evelsizer says the public, trappers and partner groups such as the Iowa Wildlife Federation have also become really interested in finding out what is happening with the animals.

(Radio Iowa) – Mother Nature’s thrown Iowa a few curve balls this fall, making it difficult for people who love looking at the oranges, yellows and reds of autumn to know when and where to go. Chip Murrow, an urban forestry program specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says some parts of Iowa have trees that are already bare, while others are still fully leafed out and mostly green. The wide weather swings share part of the blame.

Radio Iowa photo

The amount of daylight may also play a role in the color show, plus, species like black walnuts might drop their leaves early, while oaks typically keep them well into winter. So, where can Iowans still go for the best fall color show?

While the recent weather has been unseasonably warm, the forecast calls for very cold temperatures and snow likely for this weekend. Murrow says that could spell the end of the fall color. Or not.

Typically, northern Iowa sees the leaves change color first, followed by central Iowa, then the south, although this year, parts of eastern Iowa have seen cold snaps that missed the rest of the state, prompting an earlier, faster fall in the east.

WASHINGTON (KCRG) – Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says there will be a bailout to assist farmers dealing with the impacts of the government shutdown and Trump Administration tariffs. “There will be a bailout and there should be a bailout,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday. “The federal government ought to make up for what they’ve done negatively to hurt the family farmer.”

Senator Grassley said the bailout would likely range from $10 billion to $13 billion. This announcement follows President Donald Trump’s recent agreement with China to reduce tariffs and resume purchasing U.S. soybeans.

Grassley’s office was unable to provide further details on the plan.

(Radio Iowa) – Ground is being broken today (Thursday) at the state’s largest zoo on an 18-million dollar expansion called Wild Iowa, which will showcase various species that are all native to Iowa. Alex Payne, spokesman for Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, says it’ll be their first installation for bobcats, and nearby they’ll build a new habitat for American bald eagles, which will include a place where the big birds can perch above visitors.

“There will be some enclosure there for them, but it will be a brighter area so they’ll be able to receive more sunlight than they have in their current habitat, and more room for them to be able to go out and explore around the area,” Payne says. Another section of the new exhibition will be dedicated to river otters, and it will offer visitors an up-close underwater view of the playful creatures. Payne says it’ll be a big improvement over the current otter habitat.

Otter Habitat (Blank Park Zoo image)

“We will move our otters over to the new Wild Iowa section, so the bald eagles and otters will be moving over there, and then next to that, we’ll also have our bobcat area that we’ll be adding, and then we’ll also have our Discovery Cabin and we’ll include some Blanding’s turtles, which are native to Iowa, and some other animals that are native to the Iowa area.” Today’s groundbreaking event also marks the launch of the zoo’s 60th anniversary, what Payne says will be a year-and-a-half-long celebration of the zoo’s past, and the exciting things that are still to come.

“We broke ground in May on our new lion habitat, so that will open next summer, and that’s part of our overall Expand the Impact campaign,” Payne says. “Then Wild Iowa, we’ll be breaking ground now and then that will probably be about a year, so we’re looking into probably spring of 2027 for Wild Iowa.” What was originally called the Des Moines Children’s Zoo opened in May of 1966. It now draws about a half-million visitors every year.

(Radio Iowa) – A northern Iowa organization called “Hunting with Heroes” is gearing up for an annual pheasant hunt later this week in Kossuth County. Bernie Becker, a spokesperson for the group, says six veterans from other states who’ve been wounded in combat will go hunting and four veterans who’ve been guests of the group before will be mentors. “We have probably about 1500 acres lined up that’s never been hunted just for these guys to hunt this year and we’re really looking forward to it,” Becker says. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys coming. We’ve talked to them and they’ve been chosen by people that have been here before and they are capable of doing the hunt because it’s kind of strenuous for combat wounded guys.”

Becker says they try to make sure the wounded vets are comfortable handling new shotguns. “The first day they come in we take them to a sporting club and get them used to shooting these new shotguns that we provide for them and we donate them to them to take home,” Becker said. “We try to hunt about two hours and then we take a break. Everybody has to catch their breath, even me, and then we go back at it again.”

The wounded veterans participating this year are flying in tomorrow (Thursday) and they’ll be hunting in Kossuth County this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Veterans Day, they’ll participate in an annual food distribution event in the small Kossuth County town of Lakota. Last year, the group provided over 500 complete Thanksgiving meals to area veterans and the widows of veterans. Becker says this year they’re planning on handing out over 600 meals for the upcoming holiday.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with AgriVision Equipment and PrairieLand Partners have announced the Next-Gen Tech Expo will take place this Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., at the WeLead Training Center in Council Bluffs. The event provides a unique opportunity for high school juniors and seniors interested in becoming agricultural technicians to showcase their mechanical knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, all while engaging with industry professionals.

Throughout the day, students will take part in a series of interactive challenges. Top performers for the day, will not only earn prizes but also be considered for a spot in the 2026 class of the WeLEAD Tech Institute, a program dedicated to developing the next generation of highly skilled service technicians. While students compete, parents will have the opportunity to explore the many ag tech education and career pathways available through partnerships with AgriVision Equipment and PrairieLand Partners.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn and a small group of central Iowans from the ag sector say farmers don’t like bailouts, but emergency federal assistance is needed after tariff tensions roiled the grain markets. Vernon Flinn, who raises corn, soybeans and cattle in five central Iowa counties, says he’s prefer to have the free market dictate prices — but short term help is needed.

“Part of the problem we’re facing is brought on by the government, so I think the government’s got an obligation to help maybe bail guys out of it,” Flinn said. Flinn recently paid a huge bill to replace two tires that were punctured when the combine rolled over a set of deer antlers in a field. “(With) $4 corn, there’s not a lot of money to go around to buy $26,000 tires,” Flinn said.

Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, says President Trump’s recent negotiations with China will yield results for Iowa soybean farmers — and the Big Beautiful Bill Trump signed in July provides tax benefits to farmers. “No farmer that I’ve ever talked ever says they want a bailout. What they’d like to be able to do is expand their market — that’s both internationally, as the president just showed in his Asia trip, but it’s also domestically — something that the Biden Administration failed to do for us for four years, something that this administration can do for us right now,” Nunn says.

“It’s one of the reasons I just had a conversation with (Treasury) Secretary Bessent about opening up E15 year round…and expansion of biofuel consumption in the U.S.” Nunn hosted a roundtable discussion yesterday (Tuesday) at the Heartland Co-op in Carlisle. Tom Hauschel (HAH-shell) is the co-op’s C-E-O. “We’re off to a very difficult start this year, with the farm economy what it has been and the crop size with all the fungus and rust that we had,” Hauschel said. “It’s the most stressful year we’ve had in the entire history of the cooperative.”

The Heartland Co-op was formed in 1987 with the merger of co-ops in Panora, Dallas Center, Minburn and Granger and it expanded in 1993 when a grain business in Carlisle and co-ops in Alleman and Mitchellville joined the enterprise. Hauschel says the financial pressure that started at the farm gate is now being felt at the retail level and federal officials need to develop a long-term plan for the ag sector.

“Payments are a short-term fix. It’s not going to solve the problem next year because if we don’t move this ball forward, we’re not going to solve next year’s problems,” Hauschel said, “so this problem is just going to snowball and then we’re going to lose farmers. We’re going to lose the young kids.”

A recent Creighton University survey of rural bank C-E-Os in Iowa and other Midwest states found a firm majority of the bankers believe President Trump’s approach to trade with China is about right, but nearly 85 percent of the bankers surveyed support emergency federal payments to farmers due to the financial hit of trade losses.

Wednesday, November 5th, Atlantic-native Glen Smith will sit for a congressional hearing on his appointment as United State Department of Agriculture Undersecretary of of Rural Development.  Smith, Who served as President of the Farm Credit Administration, said this process began in April.

Smith said the F-C-A confirmation process was not quite this involved.

Smith says he’s honored to have the opportunity to work at the U-S-D-A.

Glen R. Smith (Official FCSIC photo)

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5th at 2:00 pm central time and can be viewed at:

https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/hearings/nomination-hearing-11-05-2025.