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Energy

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State and feds offer crop insurance discount to farmers who plant cover crops

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency will provide farmers a $5-per-acre discount on crop insurance if they plant cover crops, a method to reduce …

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Big harvest wraps up, but farm economy still struggling

Iowa Public Radio: Now that Iowa farmers have most of their corn and soybeans out of the field and into the bins, the numbers suggest another great year for production … and another down year for …

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IEDA approves assistance for five expansion projects

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board on Friday awarded direct financial assistance of $2.5 million along with tax benefits to five Iowa companies for their expansion projects. Combined, the projects will result in more than …

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Brazilians making ethanol from soybeans

Brazil’s Caramuru company is making ethanol out of soybeans as tensions between Brazil and the United States grow over duties to be charged for ethanol, Successful Farming reported. The ethanol, to be made with surplus …

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FCC rules will enable phone companies to block robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules Thursday to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls, allowing phone companies to proactively block calls that are likely to be fraudulent because they come from certain types of phone numbers. Iowa …

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Atypical rise in demand for gasoline pushes up pump prices in Iowa

Radio Iowa: Gasoline prices at Iowa service stations have risen by as much as a dime a gallon in recent weeks. Mark Peterson at AAA-Iowa says that’s bucking the norm as prices are usually stable or …

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DNR seeks comment on greenhouse gas report

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will accept comments on its 2016 greenhouse gas inventory through 4:30 p.m Dec. 4. The proposed inventory is the 11th produced. The document assesses a range of sectors, including agriculture, fossil …

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Perdue, in Urbandale, warns NAFTA talks could get ‘bumpy’

Cedar Rapids Gazette: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Iowa farmers today to expect a “bumpy ride” as the Trump administration works to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement — but to look for good …

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UI scientist Thorne booted from EPA panel

A longtime environmental health professor, Peter Thorne, told an Iowa Public Radio audience earlier this week that he learned from media reports he would be losing his key slot on a panel that advises the …

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Congress rarely in a rush to harvest a farm bill on time

Successful Farming reports that agriculture leaders in Congress are assembling the 2018 farm bill in private and have spoken more about the timeline for the legislation than about its contents or how they will resolve expensive …