At a May 8 press conference at the State Capitol in Des Moines, officials of MidAmerican Energy Company announced plans to add up to 1,050 megawatts of wind generation capacity in Iowa by year-end 2015. The wind energy expansion will enhance economic development and provide in excess of $360 million in additional property tax revenues over the next 30 years. Landowner payments totaling $3.2 million per year also are expected as a result of the expansion. The company plans to build…

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Not so pretty. That's how you describe 6 inches of snow on the ground in Iowa on May 2 and 3, 2013. Snow is pretty when it clings to trees in winter. But when it's clinging to everything the first couple days of May -- not pretty. It's not winter. And you know you need to be planting corn. Not shoveling snow. It was strange. First time for school cancellations in May due to snow. I called a farmer in northern Iowa at Forest City where they had a foot of snow on the ground and…

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At a reception in Des Moines last week for Science Bound students, I met the Tello family. Science Bound is a program that began 20 years ago as a way to draw students from middle school and high schools in Des Moines, Denison and Marshalltown toward careers in agriculture, science and technology. The program is aimed at minority students and currently has 378 students enrolled, all of them in those three school districts. Felipe Tello and wife Hermelinda, immigrants to Iowa…

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A hog production facility idled for economic reasons is back in production. However, there are sounds of splashes and not squeals coming from the farm operation near Webster City. The business, called Iowa's First, has taken a proactive approach to circumventing the losses in livestock production due to economic changes by moving into fish farming. Farmers Mark and Jeff Nelson are producing hybrid striped bass in their unused hog facilities. The former hog barns now hold 18 large…

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The drought has been steadily lifting, and even in the northern and western Corn Belt, farmers are finally getting what they've needed -- some rain. It's at least a start at recharging subsoil moisture supplies in the driest areas. The rains are nine months too late for last year's crop, but with 2013 planting just around the corner, rain that fell on Iowa and western Corn Belt states this week was indeed welcome. Of course, one good rain doesn't break a drought and while…

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Many Iowa farmers planted cover crops in the fall of 2012 as a way to create more livestock feeding and forage options for this past winter. However, this spring they will need to terminate those cover crops by May 10 in order to remain eligible for crop insurance. That caution or reminder comes from the Iowa Cattlemen's Association. Some cattle producers also say they'd like to see that deadline extended to allow them to graze or hay the cover crop a little longer in the…

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A farmer I know from northeast Iowa, Jack Hartman, and I were walking along a street in downtown Des Moines last Saturday, headed toward Wells Fargo Arena, where the NCAA 2013 national collegiate wrestling championships were taking place. I hadn't seen Jack in a while. We talked about our kids and families and what they were doing these days and a little about farming. We also talked about how the International Olympic Committee recently announced plans to drop wrestling as an Olympic…

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Rain and snow during late February and first half of March in Iowa pretty much ran off rather than soaked into the ground because frost was still in the top foot or so of soil. That's what farmers attending the 2013 Iowa Master Farmer Awards day on March 14 in Des Moines reported. They came from all over the state; about 200 people attended. Northwest Iowa remains the driest part of the state, while thanks to snow and some rain, southeast Iowa is recharging its supply of subsoil moisture…

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Like it or not, it's time to raise Iowa's fuel tax, say backers of a proposal being discussed in the Iowa Legislature. Increased revenue is needed to pay for repairs to the state's deteriorating roads and bridges, and a tax on gasoline and diesel fuel is a user fee, say supporters of such a move. They also point out that the state's fuel tax hasn't been raised since 1989. For months lobbyists for road builders and contractors, along with other organizations advocating…

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, signed an agreement February 19 in Des Moines to expand the Wallace-Carver Internship Program for students interested in cutting-edge agriculture, science and research. The ceremony took place at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in downtown Des Moines with a crowd of 200 youth and business leaders attending. The partnership, as represented in the formal Memorandum…

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