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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

IA: Rural/Farming

Farmers apply fertilizer, including nitrogen, before spring planting so the seed and the growing plant have nutrients available throughout the season. (Adobe Stock)

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plan pays IA farmers to reduce excess nitrogen use

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates up to 15 million acres of soybeans have been damaged by dicamba drifting beyond where it was applied. (Adobe Stock)
Court bans popular but controversial pesticide

A federal court has banned the use of a highly controversial but popular pesticide in the Midwest. Advocates for sustainable agriculture said the …

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California could buy tax credits from large-scale livestock producers in Iowa to offset California diesel emissions. The new regulations rate Iowa's livestock operations 'cleaner' than diesel. (Adobe Stock)
Iowa CAFOs could cash in on California emissions credits

Iowa factory farms could cash in on new proposed carbon emissions tax-credit rules in California. The new emissions standards would allow …

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The Wildlife Disease Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention Act seeks to create a Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program though the Wildlife Health Office at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Adobe Stock)
Wildlife disease measure could benefit IA ag industry

Wildlife advocates are asking Congress to pass bill that would help states track diseases killing wildlife across the country. In Iowa, the measure …

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Practical Farmers of Iowa now has a full-time Spanish Engagement Outreach Coordinator to assist the growing number of Latino farmers in the state. (Adobe Stock)
High demand prompts IA farm group to increase Spanish-speaking services

A rural advocacy group has invested in reaching out to Spanish-speaking farmers in Iowa - a population that has grown dramatically. There has been …

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The Iowa Environmental Council is calling on the Department of Natural Resources to add better protections for the state's air, soil and groundwater quality in new regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations. (Adobe Stock)
Environmental advocates want tougher CAFO rules

After a two-and-a-half-year process, time is winding down for the public to comment on new rules for concentrated animal feeding operations in Iowa…

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Rural advocates are pushing for more protection for independent producers in the next Farm Bill. (Adobe Stock)
Rural groups push for environmental protections in next Farm Bill

Even though the current Farm Bill has been extended for a year, rural advocates are speaking up about protecting independent and family farms when …

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If the United States shifted 180,000 acres, or 0.2% of its corn acreage, of genetically modified corn to non-genetically modified, it would generate $7.75 million in additional revenue for U.S. farmers and successfully meet Mexico's shifting needs, according to Farm Action. (Adobe Stock)
Mexico's GM corn ban opens market for American farmers

Mexico has issued a ban on importing genetically modified corn from the U.S., potentially opening a new market for American farmers. Mexico is the …

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Around 400 million acres of American farmland are projected to change hands this year in what amounts to the country's largest-ever generational land shift. (Practical Farmers of Iowa)
Young Iowa farmers struggle for a leg up

Today is the deadline for small farmers seeking financial assistance to apply for grants from a farm advocacy organization designed to help them get t…

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The USDA says producers can increase their environmental stewardship activities through the department's Conservation Stewardship Program. (Adobe Stock)
Family farm advocates suspect profit motive behind some 'conservation' practices

Midwest family farm advocates have sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, opposing recent additions to conservation practices they said …

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Iowa has nearly 31 million acres of farmland. The average farm is about 360 acres, according to the USDA, and much of is monitored with high-tech equipment. (Iowa State University Extension Dept.)
Iowa farmers concerned with e-data use by corporations

New polling data show Iowa farmers are taking advantage of high-tech agriculture practices, and more plan to do so. But some say there's a downside …

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Cedar Rapids, in eastern Iowa, had only 15.5 inches of rain in all of 2022, which is about half of what it would normally get by early October. (Adobe Stock)
IA implements first-ever drought plan

The State of Iowa has just put its first-ever drought plan to work to help it manage one of the longest and most severe dry periods in recent history…

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