On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release in which Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that the Watershed Improvement Review Board (WIRB) has approved thirteen applications totaling more than $5.1 million in grants to support water quality projects. The grant funds will be matched with $13.3 million in local funding. As a result, $18.48 million will be going to improve water quality throughout the state.

Continue reading to see what projects were approved…

On Thursday, June 11, 2009, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced in a press release that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is eligible to receive $242,767 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

The grant funds are designed to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.

To ensure that funds are used in the most efficient manner possible, the Department is encouraging specialty crop stakeholders to submit public comment to identify their priorities for the program. IDALS is also establishing a new Review Committee to help review, evaluate, and make recommendations on grant proposals submitted to the Department.

Click for information on deadline and submitting reviews and applications…

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today issued a statement on reports that China is banning pork imports from Iowa due to the Influenza A/H1N1 outbreak. Other countries have taken similar actions against states where people with the infection have been found.

However, international health officials have repeatedly confirmed that people cannot contract the H1N1 virus from eating pork and other meats. Over the weekend the World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health and the World Trade Organization issued a joint statement to that effect. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has also repeatedly emphasized to trading partners and consumers the safety of U.S. pork.

Sec. Northey’s statement follows here:

“Iowa pork, and all pork for that matter, is safe and China and the other countries that are banning pork imports are not acting based on science. It is unfortunate that these unjustified actions are being felt most dramatically by the farmers who raise pork. The industry has already been facing very difficult economics for the last several months, and this just adds to the difficulties experienced by Iowa’s pork producers.”

As the House adjourned for the 1st session of the 83rd General Assembly, the House Republican Research Staff put together an end of session wrap-up of notable bills in all committees.

2009 End of Session Wrap-up

From this week’s House Republican Newsletter:

Emerald Ash Borers on Verge of Entering Iowa

On Tuesday, April 7, 2009, and in response to a discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Wisconsin, the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release on behalf of the Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team to highlighted ongoing steps being taken to prevent an infestation in Iowa and detect the beetle if it is in the state. EAB is an invasive beetle that feeds on ash trees and eventually kills them. The new infestation was found near Victory, Wis. on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Allamakee County in Northeast Iowa. This new infestation is less than 5 miles southeast of the Minnesota-Iowa border. The Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team includes officials from IDALS, Iowa State University Extension and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the USDA Forest Service.

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is native to the Asia, and was introduced in the United States near Detroit, Mich. in the 1990s. Although not yet found in Iowa, EAB has more potential for future harm to Iowa forests and urban communities than any other insect currently being dealt with in the United States. EAB kills all ash (Fraxinus) species by larval burrowing under the bark and eating the actively growing (cambium) layers of the trees. EAB has been killing trees of various sizes in neighborhoods and woodlands across the Midwest. Ash is one of the most abundant native tree species in North America, and has been heavily planted as a landscape tree in yards and other urban areas. According to recent sources, Iowa has an estimated 58 million rural ash trees and approximately 30 more million urban ash trees.

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From this week’s House Republican Newsletter:

Senate Panel Passes Biodiesel Fuel Mandate & Repeal of Biodiesel Retail Tax Credits Measure

On Tuesday, March 10, 2009, the Senate Transportation Committee passed Senate File 294, which became Senate File 408 by a 9-aye to 4-nay vote. SF 408 requires that any diesel fuel sold or advertized in this state after July 1, 2009, must be a biodiesel blend of at least 5%. On July 1, 2012, the threshold increases to at least 10% until July 1, 2015 when it must be at least 20% thereafter.

The bill temporarily excludes certain nonmotor-vehicle diesel engines (motors at electrical generating plants that utilize nuclear power unless biodiesel is approved by the nuclear regulatory agency, railroad locomotives, off-road logging equipment and machinery, and vehicles and equipment used at aircraft landing fields) from this requirement until July 1, 2012.

SF 408 includes exceptions to the mandated minimum biodiesel level under which IDALS may issue a threshold suspension order. The first circumstance is when less than 5% of the biodiesel sold in this state under the applicable threshold is produced from nontraditional feedstocks (such as algae cultivated for biofuels production, waste vegetable oil or tallow/animal fat). The second situation is when no specification by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or A.S.T.M. international applies to the designated minimum biodiesel blend threshold fuel. In any circumstance, the minimum level of biodiesel can not be less than 5%. However, IDALS may issue a suspension order applicable to motors in a facility under the control of the federal nuclear regulatory agency if this agency has not approved the designated biodiesel fuel.

In addition to IDALS suspension order authority, SF 408 grants the Governor power by executive order to adjust the biodiesel fuel designation if the Governor determines any of the following:

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