Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Environmentalists are crying foul over a vote by a state panel they say guts legislation protecting Iowa waterways.
Holstein cows (Photo: Wikipedia)
During the 2009 legislation session, lawmakers passed a bill banning manure applications on frozen farm fields between February and April and between December and April on snow-covered farm fields. The ban aimed to prevent nitrogen, phosphorus and bacteria from washing into waterways when snow melted.
During the prohibited periods, producers have to notify the Department of Natural Resources in cases when emergency application is required — such as equipment failure, unusual weather conditions or other “unforeseen circumstances” — and could apply manure only on land where risk of runoff is relatively low. The legislation was supported by the Iowa Farm Bureau in lieu of more stringent rules presented by the state environmental commission that did not provide emergency exceptions.
During the 2010 session, lawmakers attempted to amend the bill to grandfather in animal operations constructed before July 1, 2009, from having to make improvements to their facilities to accommodate the law. The changes did not pass.
But during its last meeting in July, the state’s Environmental Protection Commission voted 5-0 in favor of a five-year extension to claim inadequate manure storage as an emergency exemption that would permit the application of liquid manure on frozen and snow-covered ground during the winter months. The move was greeted with outrage from advocates who fought hard to pass the original ban.
“Giving factory farm operators five more years to increase their manure storage is outrageous,” said Kevin Shilling, a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, which advocated for the tougher new rules. “We know factory farm operators will use this decision as an excuse to spread manure on frozen ground.”
Farmers say they avoid spreading manure on frozen or snow-covered ground, if possible, because the natural fertilizer saves them money on fertilizer purchases. Sometimes, they run out of manure storage, and other times wet conditions in the fall lead them to try winter applications instead.
Susan Heathcote, a member of the EPC, said the vote was in response to concerns from the dairy industry that small dairies need more time to get technical and financial assistance and construct new manure storage basins to add the capacity to avoid winter application.
Falling milk prices have caused huge financial strains on America’s dairy farmers, and the vast majority of producers that have maintained their dairy operation continue to receive at least $1 less per hundredweight (cwt) than their costs to produce the same — a situation that can easily and quickly result in the producer being thousands behind break-even within a month.
Many cash-strapped dairy farmers have attempted to save money and lower milk production by changing to a lower quality feed, which in turn results in more manure at a time when dairy farmers are hard pressed to find the money to build another facility.
However, the EPC’s decision violates the spirit of the law and the intent of the legislature, said Natalie Snyders, an organizer for Iowa CCI. She said the rules only apply to facilities 500 animal units and above, and the smallest dairies to which they would apply would be 500-700 head of cattle.
Not only that, but the changes don’t only apply small dairies. The exemption will be available to all farms regardless of size, she said.
“Nothing in the new rule says anything about the exemption applying only to small dairies,” Snyders said. “Anybody can use insufficient storage as an emergency excuse.”
Snyders said CCI is still calling on the DNR to “not take excuses and to crack down as much as possible on those spreading on frozen and snow-covered ground without sufficient reason.”
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