King files amendment to block Pigford II funds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) filed an amendment June 15 to House Resolution 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012, that would prevent any funds appropriated under the act from being used to settle claims associated with what he calls “the controversial and fraud-plagued” Pigford II program.
Black farmers who faced discrimination
by the USDA in farm loans are being notified they may qualify for a part of a $1.25 billion settlement, or Pigford II. King has criticized the decision; his proposed amendment states “none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to make payments (or to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel of the Department of Agriculture to make payments) under section 201 of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 … or section 14012 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.”

“In the 2008 farm bill, Congress limited taxpayers’ exposure to the Pigford II settlement program at $100 million, a figure that was deemed sufficient to resolve the racial discrimination claims leveled against the United States Department of Agriculture by black farmers,” said King in a statement. “Since that time, a lame-duck Democratic Congress agreed to President Obama’s request to pump an additional $1.15 billion into the Pigford II settlement program, doing so even though the program is rife with credible allegations of massive fraud that have not been fully investigated.”

Crews fix leak in levee protecting Hamburg
HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a leak in a levee protecting the southwestern Iowa town of Hamburg from the flooding Missouri River has been fixed.
The seepage began Thursday evening in an area around a farm drainage pipe. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district construction chief Robert Michaels said the leak has been fixed and crews were reinforcing the sandy ground on the levee’s northern edge.

Michaels said the Corps will build a 50-foot long berm along the levee’s edge to reinforce it against any water pushing under the levee. Corps spokeswoman Sarah Gross said work on the levee was substantially done Friday morning.

Study: Ohio’s farmland overloaded with phosphorous
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — New research shows that a third of Ohio’s farmland is loaded with too much phosphorus that’s found in farm fertilizers and livestock manure.

Phosphorous is known to feed algae that have become a growing problem in Lake Erie and Ohio’s inland lakes. The Ohio State University researchers tested a million soil samples from across the state and found that about a third had excessive amounts of algae.

Officials say the research released last week will help them figure out how to reduce the amount of pollutants washing into the state’s waterways. Ohio’s agriculture director told The Blade newspaper in Toledo that his department will be working more closely with farmers on how to better apply fertilizer to their fields.

Pork producer pays $12,000 in environmental fines

UNION CITY, Ind. (AP) — A pork producer has paid $12,000 to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to settle a complaint that hog manure killed nearly 50,000 fish in 2008.

The Star Press of Muncie reported Rick Kremer and State Line Agri of Ansonia, Ohio, paid the civil penalty June 10. An IDEM inspection two months ago found that Kremer had not completed three environment projects that he agreed in 2009 to complete to avoid civil penalties.

IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed said Kremer and State Line Agri opted to pay the balance instead of completing the projects. The Star Press reported Kremer had land-applied manure when soil and weather conditions were unsuitable.

Johnson County wants to change greenhouse rules

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Johnson County officials are considering changing rules for greenhouses to help Amish farmers. County supervisors say they want to exempt greenhouses from building codes.

Farms in Johnson County are exempt from building codes, but a farm is defined as a property more than 40 acres. Mervin Ropp, an Amish farmer in Johnson County, said Amish farms are traditionally more than 40 acres but with increasing land prices, more are getting smaller.

The Gazette in Cedar Rapids said Amish farmers want to use greenhouses to grow plants and vegetables to sell, but some have been denied building permits. Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said the county wants to encourage Amish farmers to take advantage of economic development opportunities.