WASHINGTON — Agricultural groups and farm-state lawmakers notched a significant win when U.S. House Democrats chose not to touch a big tax break for inherited property, avoiding for now a confrontation. But opponents remain wary that the idea could come back at any time as Democrats shape their massive $3.5 trillionContinue Reading
President Joe Biden’s administration has announced it will return the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management to Washington, D.C., reversing a controversial decision by the Trump administration — with the support of a bipartisan array of Colorado political leaders — to relocate the office to Grand Junction. The BLM’sContinue Reading
A Granville, Iowa, dairy farmer appealed to a Senate subcommittee Wednesday to help fix a “broken” milk-pricing system she said has worsened conditions in an era of financial uncertainty. Christina Zuiderveen, managing partner of Black Soil Dairy LLC and an industry leader, said the federal milk marketing orders system “promisedContinue Reading
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Monday finished marking up its section of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The agriculture portion would provide funding for historically Black land grant colleges and investments in urban agriculture, along with boosting U.S. Department of Agriculture programs to address climate change threatsContinue Reading
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late last week approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Among the highest priorities for President Joe Biden in the plan was addressing climate change, and the panel included initiatives ranging from oil and gasContinue Reading
The last privately owned stretch of undeveloped land along East Okoboji Lake will become a wildlife sanctuary and low-impact public park after a $8.2 million fundraising effort wrapped up with a day to spare. The nonprofit Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation will retain ownership of the 50 acres just north ofContinue Reading
As the Labor Day weekend begins, the state has issued “swimming not recommended” advisories for nine beaches. High levels of fecal bacteria were found in samples taken early this week at seven state park beaches: Backbone near Dundee Keomah near Oskaloosa Lower Pine near Eldora Nine Eagles near Davis CityContinue Reading
A shortage of ammunition is likely to drive up prices for hunters and sport shooters through at least part of next year, industry observers say. National reports have indicated that prices are up 30% for some types of ammo. Some prices have quadrupled from pre-pandemic levels, Forbes reported. As Iowa’sContinue Reading
Iowa will be at the center of efforts to use plantings to sweep carbon from the air and to build on renewable energy as the next farm bill approaches in 2023, U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne said Wednesday. Major pandemic-relief funds from the federal government also make this a good timeContinue Reading
Iowa pheasant hunters could reasonably expect one of the best seasons in the past dozen years, based on an annual population survey. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources found enough birds on its annual August roadside survey to project a kill of 250,000 to 350,000 roosters, or male pheasants, thisContinue Reading
A national environmental group has developed a clickable map that describes some of Iowa’s most pressing pollution problems in fine detail. The Environmental Working Group’s “water atlas” shows what Iowans have long known in a broad sense — the state is awash in manure and commercial fertilizers. That fact affectsContinue Reading
At my house, 2021 has been the summer of the insurance claim. An ice dam on the roof that leaked into a spare bedroom started the ball rolling in February. We ended up replacing the roof, which was finished less than a week before a July storm pelted us withContinue Reading
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Iowa Pork Producers Association that challenged a California state law restricting the sale of pork in that state. California’s Proposition 12 is a 2018 law that bars the sale of pork derived from breeding facilities that fail to allow a certainContinue Reading
The Interior Department will make significant steps toward restarting its leasing programs for onshore and offshore oil and gas development in the coming months, the Biden administration said in a court filing Tuesday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates holding a sale for offshore leases in October or November,Continue Reading
President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order aimed at increasing competition across all sectors of the economy. This is a long time coming and a good first step in addressing a number of long term problems. One important point of interest for agriculture is the change to the GrainContinue Reading