Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation this week extending the transportation of overweight loads of corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage and stover for this harvest season. The new proclamation will expire Dec. 1. The previous waiver issued earlier this fall was set to expire Friday, Nov. 17.

In the news: 

Caswell currently serves as an At-Large Director and is Chairman of the AAI Legislative Committee. He was elected to the board by the membership in the fall of 2015. 

Janurary 8 - 12, 2018 | Ames, IA

The new Advanced Grain Elevator Operations Management Short Course offered by AAI and the ISU Grain Quality Initiative is nearly full! We are limited to 30 participants for our January session, and as of press time, there are only seven (7) seats remaining. Once filled, we will collect names for a waiting list and for a possible secondary offering notification. Registration closes once the class if full. Register today!

In a new report to Congress, the Environmental Protection Ag­­ency's Hypoxia Task Force (HTF) highlighted the progress that Iowa and 11 other states in the Mississippi River valley are making in reducing nitrogen and phosphorus loading in the Gulf of Mexico.

The task force's report strongly backs state strategies, such as Iowa's Water Quality Initiative (WQI), as the best solution to reduce nutrient loss from both point and non-point sources, to improve surface waters and ultimately to reduce the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Iowa's WQI was implemented in 2013 by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) with technical support from Iowa State University.

"This report is a strong indication that Iowa and other states are on the right track to improve water quality in the long term," said Rick Robinson, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation environmental policy director. "The HTF recognizes that cooperative efforts of farmers, communities and states are the cornerstone in taking on the challenge of improving water quality." Read More

by: Brownfield News

American ethanol supporters are asking the federal government to retaliate after Brazil imposed 20 percent tariffs on U.S. ethanol shipments larger than 158 million gallons.

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president Bob Dinneen calls the move blatantly protectionist. 

"We have written to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, alerting him that we will be filing a petition to suspend Brazil's designation under the Generalized System of Preference, the GSP." Read More

Nine years ago, one of the first bioreactors in Iowa was installed on Mike Bravard's farm near Jefferson, Iowa.  Last week, that bioreactor was reconditioned, all in an effort to make water cleaner for people downstream. Water quality data at this site in central Iowa has shown the practice reduces nitrate levels by 20% to 60%. In fact, over its first seven years of use, the bioreactor removed 1,500 lbs. of nitrogen at a cost of $6 to $8 per lb. of nitrogen removed. Chris Hay, senior environmental scientist at the Iowa Soybean Association, in his presentation at the event, reported that with recent improvements in design and available materials, those costs of removal are moving to under $3 per lb. of nitrogen removed. Read More

Sukup Manufacturing Co., the Iowa-based maker of grain bins, is giving 160 of its longtime employees a wellness benefit many of us might like: A free trip to Hawaii in January.

That's just the cherry on the health care sundae the Sheffield, Iowa, manufacturer announced Monday.

As many companies ask employees to pick up more of their health care costs, Sukup is bolstering its health benefits. Read More

by: Agri-Pulse

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has gotten headlines for placing a hold on Bill Northey's USDA undersecretary nomination, but the Texas Republican hasn't gotten what he really wants: a meeting at the White House and substantive changes in renewable fuel policy.

The hold was placed after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt  offered a list of assurances - including rejecting a proposed RFS point of obligation change and a pledge to increase biofuel blending requirements - to Midwestern senators that allowed for the nomination of Bill Wehrum as an EPA official to move forward. Sen. Joni Ernst had held up Wehrum at the committee level after the Iowa Republican said she wasn't satisfied with his responses to questions related to governance of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

This week, Cruz sent a  letter  to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds explaining his rationale for the hold and asking to work with her to find "common ground."   Read More