Energy

Little surprise here, but it’s costing more to be a U.S. farmer, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, Successful Farming reported. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated 2017 expenses at $359.8 billion, up 3.7 percent from …

The state’s three-year effort to map six major conservation practices is complete, setting a base line to help track progress, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig reported. 

The laser-based mapping using LiDAR technology found that the conservation already …

The drop in cost for natural gas and wind energy to produce electricity was a key factor in the decision to close Iowa’s only nuclear power plant in 2020, five years earlier than projected, Radio Iowa …

NextEra Energy Resources, owner of Iowa’s only nuclear power plant, will close the Palo facility in late 2020, eliminating about 500 positions, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. NextEra reached an agreement with Alliant Energy to …

The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) has elected Will Fett as president of its board for 2018-2019. Fett is executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation in Des Moines. NAITCO, a nonprofit membership organization, …

The Iowa Farm Bureau’s tailored health insurance plans might be harmful to the state’s insurance market and to the farmers the plans are meant to cover, according to a national analysis on “skinny” health insurance, …