Factory farms in Iowa produce 109 billion pounds of waste each year, according to a new report from Food and Water Watch about concentrated livestock operations in the U.S. That’s 25 times more waste than what all Iowans combined produce, according to the report. “Factory Farm Nation” is an analysis of the 2022 U.S. Department […]
Iowa Agriculture
Posted inCommunity/News
Animals get to live life as more than livestock in the Iowa Farm Sanctuary’s pastures
Henry the one-eyed turkey stands just inside the pasture gate, proud and handsome with his white feathers fanned in display. He may look regal, but he also appreciates a rub of his gnarly red head. At 3 years old, Henry is a senior citizen: most turkeys raised in Iowa and elsewhere spend the first 20 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The new Wilson’s Orchard and Farm is growing its own farm-to-table tradition in central Iowa
Since 1980, Wilson’s Orchard, located just north of Iowa City, has been a popular “you-pick” opportunity for area families, students and couples in the late summer and fall months. After Paul Rasch and Sara Goering took ownership in 2009, the beloved orchard, pumpkin patch and bakery grew into a cidery, restaurant, wedding and reception venue, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Food Systems Coalition sees future of state’s agriculture in food diversity, not ethanol and animal feed
A new plan for Iowa agriculture seeks to increase the state’s production of food rather than ethanol and animal feed, the Iowa Food System Coalition announced at a Monday press conference. The plan, known as Setting the Table for All Iowans, outlines the coalition’s policy goals which include producing more locally grown food, getting more […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Many Iowa rivers are brimming with nitrate
Nitrate contamination of Iowa’s rivers has surged in recent weeks amid heavy, widespread rainfall, according to data collected by the Iowa Water Quality Information System. Concentrations of nitrate in several large waterways — including the Boone, Cedar, Iowa and Turkey rivers — have recently reached four-year peaks, the data show. Further, many of the affected […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry’ by Austin Frerick
Austin Frerick’s captivating and necessary book Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry (March 2024, Island Press), is a road trip through America’s heartland — but not the one depicted in Grant Wood’s paintings of rural Iowa. Where Wood depicted an early 20th century lush with rolling fields of green, Frerick’s contemporary […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cindy Smith, ICCSD’s liege of lunch, strives to put locally grown food on students’ trays
Have you ever wondered what really goes into making a school lunch? Feeding an area the size of the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) requires balancing students’ nutritional needs, dietary restrictions and preferences under a limited budget and federal regulations. I had the opportunity to speak to Cindy Smith, the purchasing and procurement director […]
Posted inStatewide
Small farmers are being the change they want to see in Iowa agriculture
It will take a lot to turn the massive ship of Big Agriculture around in Iowa, even if the benefits — from improved water quality to a more competitive food market — are many. It is important for those who reside in the city and are generations removed from farm work to understand the perils […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa state parks preserve lush corners of a landscape 98% altered by agriculture
Since the onset of Americanization during the early 1800s, Iowa’s environment has changed more than any state in the union. Over 98 percent of Iowa’s lands were altered in service of agriculture. Forever spreading fields of corn and soybeans line highway shoulders, stretching out east to west, north to south. The state ranks second to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa courts deliver two rare wins for environmental groups
This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. Iowa courts handed down two decisions on Friday that were wins for environmental groups looking to safeguard one of the state’s few pristine waterways, and trying to encourage Iowa’s biggest utility to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Senate Republicans maintain status quo spending on state parks, water quality improvements
This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. No state has less public land, such as parks or nature preserves, than Iowa, and state Senate Republicans are working to make sure it stays that way. And despite the heavy nitrate […]
Posted inStatewide
Judge says Iowa’s third ag-gag law is unconstitutional, like previous versions
For the third time in five years, a judge has struck down the Iowa Legislature’s efforts to criminalize the use of cameras in agriculture facilities and other businesses. “The United States Constitution does not allow such a singling out of the exercise of a constitutional right,” U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose ruled on Monday. She […]
