The algae is then used in animal feed. BioProcess C.E.O., Tim Burns, says a successful trial last summer of the algae’s use in other products led to the expansion of the Shenandoah facility. “So we’re working with companies now for fish meal replacements and omega oils that are higher-value oils that we’ll be putting out from the farm,” Burns says.

BioProcess plans to begin selling the product made at the new plant in the third quarter of this year. “We are working across the whole platform with companies from the fuel industry to the feed and food industries,” Burns explains. He says their product has shown a lot of versatility.

“Algae has opportunities, has different strengths that can be taken advantage of and grown that can be plugged in to those markets,” Burns says. Construction on the BioProcess facility is expected to be complete in June.

Zimmerman’s family has argued that the ban interferes with the practice of their religion and challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance. After hearing oral arguments of the case during a special session held back in October in Mason City, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that the county’s goal of road preservation can be accomplished less restrictively without banning the tractors used by the Mennonites.

The court said the ordinance violated Zimmerman’s religious rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court reversed the decisions of the lower courts and remanded the case back to district court for entry of an order of dismissal.

See the full ruling here: Steel Wheels Ruling PDF

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

“You have the low value of the dollar which is supporting U-S agricultural exports overseas, you have stronger growing incomes in global markets, especially developing countries,like China,” Henderson says. “At the same time you have historically low interest rates which are turning record high farm incomes into record high farm values. So there are all of these similarities underpinning the agricultural economy.”

One of the primary differences though between now and the 1970′s, is the level of debt. “In the 1970′s U.S. agriculture leveraged themselves up, quite a bit, and increased the accumulated debt over that decade, and that’s one thing that we haven’t seen yet at this stage in terms of the agricultural boom of today,” Henderson says.

Henderson says the general economy will probably remain stagnant for a while until unemployment goes down. He says the agricultural economy has given some support to the general economy, particularly in the midwest, where there has been the strongest employment growth, lowest unemployment rates, and the strongest income gains of any region of the country.

“I think going forward what you are going to see its going to be more agriculture in terms of its size of the economy will provide some support going forward, and we’ll need to have some stronger growth in terms of the overall broader economy to help stimulate that agricultural demand domestically, and support of our liberties on our debt and that of what we have been accumulating here recently,” Henderson says.

Henderson says government regulations may play a significant role in determining how fast the general economy may rebound. The Federal Reserve Official says he doesn’t see the Board of Governors making many drastic changes to interest rates in the near future.

By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars

Harkin says, “They need to get additional information in, go back to the drawing table and write a better regulation.” The original proposal spelled out that children younger than 16 would be banned from using most power equipment, while those under 18 would be barred from working in locations like grain bins and feed lots. The new version will reportedly contain more exemptions for kids whose parents own or run the farms on which they’re working.

“I hope they’ll reach agreement on a regulation that protects kids but also recognizes family agriculture,” Harkin says. “It’s one thing to say that kids shouldn’t be operating fork lifts or humongous tractors or combines and to say they can’t even drive a garden tractor.”

Harkin, a Democrat, says he agrees with those who’ve spoken out against the proposed regulations which would tear down generations of farm family traditions.

“There has to be some balance, some rational thinking,” Harkin says. “Some of what they’re proposing, fine, but I talked to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack about this. He says it would go so far to say that kids couldn’t even drive a tractor across the road, well, kids have been driving tractors for years.”

Labor department officials say they’ll work with the Ag department and others to make sure the new rules reflect rural communities’ concerns.

The governor released this statement on the rules:

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today commended the United States Department of Labor after learning that the department has begun to reconsider onerous regulations on youth working on farms.

In November of 2011, Gov. Branstad and Sec. Bill Northey sent a letter to Sec. Solis voicing their concern. In the letter, Gov. Branstad and Sec. Northey asked the department to give Iowa farmers a fair opportunity to comment and called the rule “a prime example of Federal overreach.”

“I am pleased to learn that Secretary Solis and the Department of Labor are reconsidering their burdensome regulations on Iowa farm families,” said Branstad. “As I grew up on a family farm, I learned the value of a strong work ethic by working alongside my family. I firmly believe that Iowa farm families are better at ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their children than bureaucrats in Washington.”

“It is important we continue to provide opportunities for young people to learn about agriculture and gain experience by working on farms in a responsible manner,” Northey said. “This announcement by the Department of Labor shows that they are responding to the comments they received and hearing the concerns of the farming community.”

“It’s just easy to say, ‘No, no, no.’ How do we solve the problem?” asks Representative Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Clarion who is the bill’s manager. “Because we know stray voltage can be a huge problem.”

It’s mainly a problem on dairy farms where, for example, cows hooked up to milking machines sometimes can get zapped if there’s a power surge. Matthew Steinfeldt, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, says farmers and utilities are doing just fine in resolving any problems and the bill’s unnecessary.

“The best thing is to quickly identify and resolve stray voltage (issues). That’s what farmers want to do, but what this bill does, I mean, it’s a major change that will have a significant effect,” Steinfeldt says. “In a way, it takes away a right to due process. No other group in the state of Iowa is subject to something like this.”

Kellie Paschke lobbies for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, another group that is opposed to the bill.

“This bill goes beyond just setting a standard for stray voltage,” Paschke says. “It completely changes how stray voltage claims can be pursued.”

A three-member subcommittee gave initial approval to this controversial bill earlier today, but the three legislators say they’re hoping the interest groups involved suggest “major” changes in the legislation. Representative Brian Quirk, a Democrat from New Hampton, was a member of the three-member committee. Quirk, who happens to be an electrician, said the bill needs to better define the standards for the stray voltage tests.

“Cattle are a lot like people…Their tolerance levels (for pain) are a lot different,” Quirk said during today’s subcommittee meeting. “Where is that threshold?”

Quirk supports the bill’s requirement that the state Utility Board be the first stop for resolving disputes over stray voltage.

“I like the fact that the Utility Board, being a third-party resource, to actually define where the fault did occur,” Quirk said. “Should it be with the utility or with the consumer?”

Critics say the bill limits a farmer’s ability to sue for damages if their livestock are harmed by stray voltage.

“As Rural Electic Cooperatives, we’re very supportive of the dairy industry. This bill is not to take a shot at the dairy industry, but more about resolving safety issues that result from stray voltage,” said Timothy Coonan, a lobbyist for Iowa Rural Electric Cooperatives. “The process we’re proposing leads to resolution of those issues much quicker, much safer and less costly for everyone concerned.”

The bill as currently drafted tries to combine laws and regulations from the states of Idaho and Wisconsin. Those states rank in the top five nationally in terms of dairy production. Iowa ranks 12th in the number of pounds of milk produced per year.

According to the Iowa Dairy Association, there were more than 200,000 dairy cattle in the state in 2010. There were more than 1900 dairy farms that year in Iowa.

Wapello County farmer Colin Johnson speaks at governor’s news conference.

Governor Terry Branstad has filed a formal objection to a state rule which requires farmers to hire a state inspector to review electrical work done on their farms.

Branstad says legislators specifically exempted farmers when they passed a law regarding electrical inspections of commercial businesses, but the Iowa Board of Electrical Examiners over-reached and made it apply to farmers, too.

“You’ve got a board that is circumventing the law,” Branstad says, “and that is what we find egregious and inappropriate.”

By filing the objection this morning, Branstad shifts the burden of proof if a group of farmers file a lawsuit on the matter and the governor says that means the state board will have to prove it had the authority to act despite the way the law was written.

“As I was campaigning across the state of Iowa and talking to farmers I heard a lot of horror stories about this,” Branstad says, “and I asked my staff what we could do.”

The state inspection costs $500. Wapello County farmer Colin Johnson of Batavia says that’s on top of what farmers spend hiring an electrical contractor to do the work — and there’s usually a waiting period before the state inspector can get to the farm.

“Certainly very unnecessary and financially burdensome,” Johnson says.

But Johnson and the governor admit a farmer could perform the electrical work on his own, without electrical training and without a follow-up inspection, if a lawsuit challenging the rule is successful.

“Agriculture and our farming operations are very different than a very public, commercial retail business and I think the law specified that very clearly that is was (to apply) to commercial (operations),” Johnson says. “How many times is my farming operation open to the public: my barns, my grain bins, my facilities?”

Branstad signs document to file objection to electric rules.

Johnson raises grain and cattle in the Ottumwa area.  Johnson and Branstad made their comments this morning during the governor’s weekly news conference at the statehouse.

AUDIO of 33-minute news conference. 

A spokesmen for the Iowa Board of Electrical Examiners has not responded to a request for comment on Branstad’s action.

 Fiberight purchased the facility in 2009. “We decided not to really start the project until it was fully funded,” Stuart-Paul said. “One of the things you don’t want to do is get a building and run out of money half way through, so we needed a substantial loan such as this to really pull off a good quality project that ourselves and the state can be proud of.”

Stuart-Paul believes the Blairstown plant will be the first in the nation to convert residential waste into cellulosic ethanol. The plant will collect solid waste from the Benton County Landfill and from area businesses.

“We have worked in the past with International Paper Company in Cedar Rapids and we’re also working with some of the food companies in Cedar Rapids,” Stuart-Paul said. “We can convert waste, which is currently being incinerated, into valuable biofuel and biogas.”

The new plant could be operational as soon as this year or possibly early next year. Stuart-Paul said 16 people are currently employed at the plant and he estimates the project will create 38 more jobs.

When operational, the facility is expected to produce approximately 3.6 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year.

“So about 80% of the antibiotics are given to food animals, and a lot of that is just for growth promotion, or to prevent diseases but not to treat diseases. So we’re trying to look at other ways to be better stewards of our antibiotics,” Hansen says. That’s where Kaj Munck comes in.

Munck stopped using antibiotics to promote growth and prevent diseases in his hog operation in 1992. Munck says there were a few adjustments at first, but now his operation runs with few problems. He says producers will have to get used to some adjustments.

Munck says on paper it will cost you more, but he says that is offset by results as the hogs produce bigger piglets and there are more live-born pigs. “Instead of 12 per liter, now we get 16 per liter, because the sow is better prepared to be pregnant again,” Munck says.

Hansen says the F.D.A. has recently taken action to restrict some of the antibiotic use in animals. She says they are hoping Munck’s example will allow producers to see it can be successfully done.

“When I was a kid, we talked about dirt poor. Dirt’s not poor anymore. In fact farmland is the new gold,” Goss says. “These growth rates are unsustainable. There is air in the bubble, the question is when air comes out. I expect some of it to come out in 2012, but not much.”

According to Goss, the problem during the Farm Crisis was people had been buying farmland on credit — and interest rates were sky-high back then.

“Agland purchases now are a lot to do with cash. This is not over-leveraged farmers who are borrowing from the bank to buy the land which is based on a significant growth rate. That’s not what we’re seeing,” Goss says. “That said, I still expect some of the air to come out of the bubble because of potentially higher interest rates and lower agricultural commodity prices.”

Goss also expects overseas demand for ag commodities from European customers to decline due to the recession, causing a “slight” hit on prices for corn and soybeans. Goss made his comments on the “Iowa Press” program which will air Sunday at noon on Iowa Public Television.

“The inflationary pressures that have driven prices up through 2011 have mostly been incorporated into retail food prices,” Volpe says. “Looking ahead to 2012, we are looking forward to a more normal year in terms of what we’ve come to expect in year-over-year inflations.”

Last year, overall food prices for consumers rose 5%. For the year ahead, the U.S.D.A. is projecting an increase of %3.5. Due to conditions that may still arise, Volpe says we may see prices on certain products fall.

Volpe says, “If we have great weather, if we have higher-than-expected supplies, if our exports cool off a little bit, then we may very well see some deflations in some food categories but on the whole, we have no reason to expect that right now.” Volpe says barring any of those conditions, food likely will cost consumers more in the year ahead.