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Iowa House pipeline restrictions clear committee as deadline approaches
An Iowa bill that would require carbon dioxide pipeline companies to get voluntary easements for at least 90% of their routes — among other new requirements — was approved 12-7 by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and will be eligible for consideration beyond this week. “For me, the right and wrong here could not […]
New bill in Iowa House has significant restrictions for carbon dioxide pipelines
The three carbon dioxide pipelines proposed in Iowa are “economic development” projects that do not deserve the full weight of eminent domain to complete them, state Rep. Steven Holt, a Denison Republican, said Thursday. Holt unveiled a new bill that was submitted that morning — and co-sponsored by 21 of his colleagues — that would […]
USDA awards grants and loan guarantees for smaller meat processors in 15 states
In an ongoing effort to diversify the country’s meat processing and create new markets for smaller livestock producers, the federal government is distributing about $3.9 million of grant money and guaranteeing loans that total $5.7 million for more than two dozen projects in 15 states. “We are just in the beginning processes of this,” Tom […]
Thanksgiving holiday renews focus on bird flu, rising costs
Fresh turkeys are more expensive and smaller than usual leading into the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s due, in part, to the deadly and highly transmissible avian influenza that has wracked turkey producers this year. The virus, which is transmitted by wild, migrating birds, has led to the deaths of […]
Two Nebraska plants get a chunk of $73 million awarded by USDA to boost smaller meatpackers
Two Nebraska meat processors are among the first to receive grants — including nearly $20 million awarded to an Omaha packer — that respond to President Joe Biden’s plan to expand capacity of smaller, independent meat and poultry plants. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was at Greater Omaha Packing Co. on Wednesday to announce the […]
Northern Iowa specialty soybean dealer files for bankruptcy
A Kanawha, Iowa, company that specializes in organic and non-genetically modified soybeans filed this week for bankruptcy, about three weeks after the state suspended its grain licenses. Global Processing Inc. estimates that it owes more than 150 people, banks and others a total of between $10 million and $50 million, according to its bankruptcy petition […]
Federal government has given $800 million to keep indebted farmers afloat
More than 13,000 farmers have benefited from nearly $800 million in federal debt relief, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Tuesday. The assistance came from a new federal initiative to erase farmers’ loan delinquencies to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and private lenders or to resolve their remaining debts after foreclosure. Going forward, the […]
USDA hopes to boost fertilizer production as soon as next year
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $500 million to increase domestic fertilizer production, doubling its previous commitment, the agency has announced. The federal dollars would boost long-term projects and ready-to-go proposals that might have an effect as early as next year. Some of the first projects to get funding from the Fertilizer Production Expansion […]
Another pipeline company sues Iowa landowners for survey access
Summit Carbon Solutions filed lawsuits last week against three sets of northern Iowa landowners who have allegedly prevented its agents from surveying their properties, according to court records. The company is in the process of finalizing the route of its proposed pipeline, which would carry carbon dioxide captured from Iowa ethanol plants for underground sequestration […]
USDA more than triples funding for ‘climate smart’ agriculture
The Biden administration plans to distribute more than $3 billion to fund projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in agriculture and forestry — a tripling of its initial commitment in February. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was set to publicly announce the expansion of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program […]
Carbon pipeline company takes unwilling Iowa landowners to court
Navigator CO2 Ventures, one of three companies that have proposed liquid carbon pipelines in Iowa, recently sued four sets of landowners to gain access to their properties to survey the land, according to court records. The company filed petitions in August for injunctive relief against landowners in Butler, Clay and Woodbury Counties. The company claims […]
Ethanol plant fined for ongoing excessive air pollution
A southwest Iowa ethanol plant has been ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for its repeated air emissions of excessive, cancer-causing compounds in the past five years, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy is located just south of Council Bluffs in an industrial area along Interstate Highway 29. The […]