Monday, April 16, 2007 LTEs Culver can prove himself with support for HF 873 Regarding House File 873 Factory Farm Accountability Bill: Factory-farm interests are trying to kill this bill despite repeated statements of "being good stewards of the land." This bill will strengthen the permitting process, decrease the permit threshold to 1,250 hogs, increase separation distances and give all counties the right to challenge construction permits. Gov. Chet Culver has failed to follow through with his promises of protecting the environment. He fired Jeff Vonk and three strong environmental advocates on the Environmental Protection Commission for protecting the environment. Some of us knew the writing on the wall when he chose Patty Judge as his running mate that "being good stewards of the land" in his book has nothing to do with protecting our environment. However, Culver can still do something to protect our environment. He can support HF 873 without amendments to weaken it. Iowans sent a loud message to legislators in the election. We want protection of our environment from the pollution of industrial-sized farm operations. - Susan West, Fairbank. ----- Livestock bill regulates the wrong farmers To answer the critics of the Farm Bureau and supporters of House File 873, [a bill that would increase separation distances between large-scale hog confinements and residences and public places], I say that yes, Farm Bureau should have a voice in agribusiness and agriculture. Lawmakers legislate, but farmers provide the guidance through the grass-roots process that is Farm Bureau. HF 873 puts unrealistic restrictions on the livestock industry that makes it impossible for family farmers to afford livestock. You would have to own enough ground to provide a buffer, an amount only large-scale corporate farms could afford. Is that what Iowa is begging for? Farmers are willing to take action to maintain water quality, but we must make sure we are using the right tools in the right situations. With 150 new regulations placed on livestock farmers in the past five years, Farm Bureau is trying to prevent the American farmer from being regulated out of business. - David Van Rheenen, president, Marion County Farm Bureau, Pleasantville. - I consider myself an everyday voter. I am also a Farm Bureau member. My vote joins 156,000 others from everyday voting Iowans who have the chance to set Farm Bureau policy each year from the grass-roots level. We have worked hard on developing sound, logical policy that will allow farmers to function efficiently in an ever-changing global business climate. With 850 sows, I am by no means one of the large farms that so many of your activist letter-writers complain about. However, House File 873 could possibly put me out of business. I am currently in the process of taking over the family farm that my father started, and I want my children to have the same opportunity to farm if they want it. We voluntarily take steps to protect our environment and also abide by the many regulations already in effect. But sometimes the current regulations are so difficult to understand that we get different answers to our questions depending on the state employee we ask. Why would we want to add to the confusion and be anti-small business by adding more regulations to the agriculture industry in our state? Oppose HF 873 - the anti-small-business, anti-young-farmer bill. - Mike Ver Steeg, Inwood. - If water quality is the issue, let's stick to the issue of water quality! If House File 873 is implemented, independent livestock farmers will no longer be able to stay competitive. The only livestock business that will thrive will be the large, mobile entities who can place their farm anywhere. As an independent family farmer, I am tied to my community and only have my land on which to grow my operation. I am asking you not to take the punitive approach in achieving water quality. In the past five years, farmers have seen 150 new rules and regulations with respect to livestock. These regulations have already driven many of the small independent producers out of the business. - Gary Zhorne, Havelock. ---------- Grow prairie for biofuel April 16, 2007 In all the ballyhoo about biofuels, why just the focus on corn, switchgrass and wood chips? What I propose is using an intact, biodiverse stand of tallgrass prairie; an actual restoration of the many and various plots of the Conservation Reserve Program that have been proposed for elimination to grow more corn. A prairie that is diverse provides many ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration and flood control, and draws wildlife such as pheasant and deer. It needs no fertilizer input, making it much less expensive to maintain and harvest than corn. It can be mowed once a year and the biomass collected used for biofuel, the same for a switchgrass monoculture. Some of the prairies could be used by hunters and hikers. Instead of eliminating the CRP, expand it. This could be a win-win solution for everyone. - Stephen R. Johnson, Pella. Sunday, April 15 Doak: Reconnect with rivers, our great, untapped asset By RICHARD DOAK<mailto:[log in to unmask]: Reconnect with rivers, our great, untapped asset> SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER Iowans are rediscovering their rivers. It might be one of the best things to happen here in a long time. The flowing waters of this state are an extraordinary resource that has been too long overlooked. Now, growing numbers of Iowans are taking up canoeing and kayaking and joining groups that help clean trash from stretches of river. Other Iowans are signing up as volunteer water monitors, meticulously providing the data that will be the first step in mitigating pollution. Watershed by watershed, associations are being formed to work for better water quality. http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/OPINION01/704150316/1035/archive<http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/OPINION01/704150316/1035/archive> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp