Flooded drive-thru in Manchester, Iowa. July 23, 2010.
The weather is a big deal for every producer. There’s no secret there. But how about 6-10 inches in a 12-hour period.
That was the case in northeast Iowa where areas along the Maquoketa and Wapsipinicon Rivers are still dealing with large amounts of water.
A 83-year-old dam making Lake Delhi broke last week. What will be the impact on the farm land around the break? Significant — 8,000 acres were damaged in two counties alone.
How have you been impacted by water this season?
We’re also looking at President Obama’s environment plan and statements made this week on climate change. What will this mean for carbon credits and other programs like it?
Plus we’ll hear more about the renewable fuel tax credits that are in danger of expiring in December. What will happen if those credits don’t live on into 2011?
An Iowa State University professors who also is the director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development has completed a ‘what if’ study on how the ethanol industry could survive without a subsidy or import tariff. Bruce Babcock makes a bold statement about the future of the industry. Hear it on this week’s program.
A little note for you, two of our producers were on the road this week. One to New Orleans and the gulf region to see what’s happening in the dead zone following the oil spill.
We also had a producer in New York City this week to talk about urban farmers.
Look for those stories in the coming weeks on Market to Market.
I think is fantastic to have a piece on urban farms. It’s a wonderful way to promote the production of food in urban areas. We appreciate farms of all sizes. Small scale farming also gives urban people a better understanding of what a hard job and the consistency needed in this industry. I also puts a smile in their face when they have something positive to fill their lives.