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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a forum Thursday in Ames to collect public input on the implementation of several new livestock laws.
The Ames event is one of three such town meetings nationwide to be conducted by the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. The meeting will allow the public to provide comments and recommendations about the implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill related to the swine and poultry industries.
A USDA press release states that GIPSA will use comments and recommendations gathered at the three forums to write the regulations needed to implement several new sections of the farm bill dealing with livestock.
The farm bill, which became law earlier this year, includes an all-new livestock title designed to help protect livestock producers from unfair market manipulation.
Specifically, the forum will seek input on Section 11005 and Section 11006 of the farm bill. Section 11005 provides protection for poultry and swine producers, allowing them to decline contract arbitration as the only means of settling contract disputes. Section 11006 is designed to protect against undue preferences in livestock markets and bolster regulation.
The Ames event will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16 in Ames at the Iowa State University Scheman Building. The only other GIPSA town hall meetings will be held in Arkansas and Georgia.
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