Over the last years the Iowa Legislature has automatically given hunters whatever they want. More seasons, longer seasons, use of silencers so they can shoot into private property without the resident knowing it, can have loaded and un-cased guns in vehicles so they can quickly shoot out the…
Pete Coret’s letter calling for more promotion of ethanol (May 7) brings to mind the one aspect of our country that could finally bring us down.
I recently read your article in the March 26 edition about the sustained corn price due to growing ethanol demand. I, myself, am a strong supporter for the E-85 blend, which is a widely popular fuel for performance-oriented individuals because of its 106 octane rating and engine intake-cooli…
Your article dated Feb. 19 titled “Beef giant JBS to pay $52.5 M to settle price-fixing lawsuit” was no surprise.
Ethanol, an industry responsible for consuming 53% of Iowa’s corn crop, is an incredibly efficient, innovative fuel. While it already burns cleaner than traditional fossil fuels, new investments in carbon capture could make Iowa ethanol plants even more sustainable, competitive and successfu…
A case can be made that the “crisis” in “climate crisis” refers to a growing number of people using fear as a manipulation tool for personal gain. Manufacturing and construction of everything carbon-neutralizing seek profit by riding the coat-tails of climate fear-mongering.
The Feb. 12 article about the dichotomy of high residue making corn farming difficult raises some serious issues.
I wanted to believe it wasn’t true. The news was shocking, and it happened just a few weeks ago in Black Hawk County, Iowa. Eight hundred baby pigs were starved to death on a factory farm just west of Cedar Falls.
I don’t know of anyone in today’s modern world that would starve or freeze to death if so-called “sport hunting and trapping” were stopped. It’s a misnomer to call it sport when one side has semi-auto firepower, scopes, camouflage, is schooled in the lifestyle and habits of intended victims,…
I drive a short distance on gravel roads to go check pastured cattle each day. I often stop to pick up a beer can tossed out either to avoid the open container law or just for lack of respect for our environment.
I appreciate the effort people like Matt Russell (executive director of Interfaith Power and Light) put into a conversation on improving our world. But it reminds me of a recent campaign by former Representative Jim Leach promoting “civil dialogue.” As I listened to him on the radio it was a…
Our Iowa and U.S. lawmakers are going to shove another repugnant thing down our throats — Daylight Savings Time (DST) all year long. It’s being pushed by Big Money/Big Business and well-paid lobbyists and the ultra rich.
Michael Mackey’s column (Oct. 17, 2020) about the dairy industry points out the problems repeatedly, but his solution is only for government and business to sit down with dairy farmers.
President Trump’s re-election prospects still look good — in rural America — but do his agriculture policies justify rural votes?
In 1941, farm prices were all controlled by government, and things we purchased were also controlled with war stamps and coupons. The farm prices were good and farmers made money.
I commend Fritz Groszkruger for his derecho response – do NOTHING to destroy the home of soil life. Allow soil life to improve your soil. They need moisture and air. We used to think we were aerating by tillage. We now know that tillage seals the soil’s surface, resulting in water runoff and…
Record-breaking floods and hurricanes in the East, record- breaking drought and forest fires in the West, and here in the Midwest a “derecho” (I never heard that word before), but certain politicians and religionists say it’s all “just a hoax” and there’s no climate change going on even thou…
At Iowa State, profit doesn’t matter. That’s the only conclusion I can reach upon reading “Tillage options for unharvestable corn, ” Sept. 12, IFT.
“Waste not, want not” and “Leave no neighbor behind.”
Iowa and the Midwest have suffered severe damage from spring and summer floods over the past decade. These are the realities we are living with and they should grab our attention. However, this is not the time to despair.
No one reading this publication needs me to tell them that 2019 was a tough year for many farmers and rural communities. Here in the Midwest, we bore the brunt of an international trade war with China and wondered if we would be pulled out of NAFTA. We were battered by record flooding and sa…
According to University of Illinois’ Todd Hubbs (IFT, Jan. 18), despite lousy weather and prevented planting across much of the U.S., “corn prices continue to struggle.” On top of that, he projects increases for next year’s U.S. planted acreage of corn and beans — substantially for soybeans …
It’s always the same. Favor those that have been favored and not treat farmers fair. We farmers can’t even have a trade agreement. Pelosi and the House Democrats want to strengthen labor in the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. Labor has been strengthened nearly 90 years ago with the minim…
Iowa’s three big wigs, Senators Grassley and Ernst and Governor Reynolds, have all written to EPA administrator Wheeler complaining about waivers to small refiners. They think the government should be allowed to dictate how they produce fuel.
Every life, every work is a legacy. Survivors of the Great Depression left a legacy of extreme frugality. The ’80s farm crisis impacted not just farming practices and its related lifestyle but also our psyche, the survivors fear loss. They fear loss of the farm, loss of the farming lifestyle…