Category Archives: Farming

Herbicide Linked To Damage Of More Than 150,000 Acres Of Iowa’s Soybean Crop

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Trish Nelson

Austin Frerick calls on EPA to ban the use of Monsanto’s Dicamba until further testing. WINTERSET – Today, Third Congressional District candidate Austin Frerick called on the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture to halt the … Continue reading →

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Is The American Farm Bureau Just Another Corporate Entity?

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Trish Nelson

This 60 Minutes expose of the American Farm Bureau from April, 2000 raises the idea that the Farm Bureau may care more about its Wall Street investments than it does about farmers.  We wonder what if anything has changed since … Continue reading →

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Who Really Owns American Farmland

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Dave Bradley

“We’re used to thinking of escalating rents as an urban problem, something suffered mostly by the citizens of booming cities. So when city people look out over a farm—whether they see corn stalks, or long rows of fruit bushes, or … Continue reading →

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Organic Food’s Sticky Wicket

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Paul Deaton

When people think of local food, most have seasonal sweet corn and tomatoes in mind. That hasn’t changed much in years. The quest for good-tasting food that does no harm has also been around for a long time. Organic food … Continue reading →

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Iowa Water Quality And Confirmation Bias

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Paul Deaton

Progressives, farmers and environmentalists heard there is movement in the Iowa legislature to fund water quality and ears perked up — a natural impulse to interpret new events as supporting something we already believe or are working on, also known … Continue reading →

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Will Mexico Stop Buying US Corn?

Posted on February 18, 2017 by Dave Bradley

A quiet shot across the unbuilt wall was fired Monday from Mexico City when Senator Armando Rios Piter said he would introduce a bill that would end the purchase of corn from the US. This is in response to some … Continue reading →

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How SILT Creates Farming Opportunities For Young Iowans

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Trish Nelson

Sustainable Iowa Land Trust Meet Ben. Ben grew up in Cedar Falls, but after a stint volunteering on a farm decided to dedicate his life to it. He didn’t see Iowa offering the opportunity he was looking for, so he … Continue reading →

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Watch Tom Vilsack Explain What Hillary Clinton Will Do For Rural America

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Trish Nelson

Thom Hartmann also asked Vilsack why Iowa is the only state where virtually all of the Republican elected officials have come out and aggressively endorsed Donald Trump. Watch the video for Vilsack’s candid response.  

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An Iowa Onion Trimmer

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Paul Deaton

Between picture perfect onions and the compost heap lies an opportunity. A friend grows onions using organic practices as part of a Community Supported Agriculture project. Onions are harvested from the field then dried in the greenhouse for storage. Sorting, … Continue reading →

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Majority of Iowa Waterways Exceed Drinkable Nitrate Limit

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Trish Nelson

IowaEnvironmentalFocus.org KC McGinnis | May 3, 2016 Data from the Iowa Water Quality Information System (IWQIS) shows that more than half of Iowa’s waterways being recorded currently exceed the nitrate threshold of 10 mg/l, with several outpacing levels from previous … Continue reading →

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