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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 […]
Vilsack: America’s voluntary approach to agriculture is better than Europe’s mandates
BOONE, Iowa — The more than $1 billion the federal government is devoting to voluntary efforts to reduce agriculture’s adverse effects on the environment is a better long-term strategy than mandating new rules for farmers, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Tuesday. While state and federal officials in the United States have tended to […]
USDA plans ‘historic’ funding to help struggling farmers and develop new ag leaders
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will distribute up to $550 million to expand certain farmers’ access to land, money and markets and to create educational opportunities for students of higher-education institutions that cater to racial and ethnic minorities. “The idea here obviously is to enlarge the number of people that are engaged in this very […]
Biden administration plays long game for agriculture and trade
WOODWARD, Iowa — The United States could take international trade actions that might have an immediate impact on the operating costs for farmers and the markets available for their crops, but the Biden administration has opted for a longer-term strategy, one of the nation’s top emissaries said Thursday during a trip to a central Iowa […]
Carbon pipeline company reveals first potential eminent domain requests in Iowa
Summit Carbon Solutions on Monday submitted its first lists of properties for which it would seek eminent domain if landowners continue to oppose its pipeline plans, according to state regulatory filings. The Ames-based company wants to build a 680-mile pipeline in western and northern Iowa to transport captured carbon dioxide from a dozen ethanol plants […]
Wasted food is a climate threat that hurts agriculture, Democratic lawmakers say
People need better guidance on food packaging to decide whether or not their food that might have languished on refrigerator or cupboard shelves is still safe to eat, members of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and their witnesses said Friday. “The ‘use by,’ ‘best by,’ ‘sell by,’ ‘enjoy by,’ the many […]
Cattle association optimistic about transparency bill passage
Federal legislation aimed at aiding small cattle producers appears to have enough Republican support to pass the U.S. Senate, according to the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. Such support for the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act from the minority party in the Senate is crucial because legislation needs 60 of 100 votes to end debate and […]