Hancock County Farm Bureau held its annual Ag Day Breakfast this morning at Duncan Community Hall to recognize national Ag Day and the irreplaceable value of Iowa’s agriculture sector. Along with a free omelet breakfast, the public heard a presentation by market advisor and ISU Alum ‘Joe Kerns’ of Partners for Production Agriculture. Kerns hour-long pitch touched on the future of Iowa’s agriculture with what he calls a ‘capital A’.
Audio below of Joe Kerns
Kerns explains two reasons why he believes Iowa’s farmers will prosper in the years ahead.
Audio below of Joe Kerns
Currently, there are 3 private carbon capture pipeline companies seeking to build in Iowa – the closest one being Summit Carbon Solutions (SCS). Concerns against the CO2 pipelines have ranged from eminent domain, taxpayer burden, future degradation of drainage district tiles, as well as public health & safety. California temporarily banned its use and construction of its CO2 pipelines because of safety concerns. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Carbon dioxide does not only cause asphyxiation by hypoxia but also acts as a toxicant. At high concentrations, it has been showed to cause unconsciousness almost instantaneously and respiratory arrest within 1 minute.” A chemical spill recently devastated East Palestine, Ohio, and after only 2 years, a CO2 pipeline ruptured in Mississippi, immobilizing, sickening and almost killing an entire town. Despite these concerns, the CO2 pipelines are not required to provide the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) with any hazardous risk assessments or safety data with their petitions for permit. If the permits are granted, two of the CO2 pipeline companies plan to seek eminent domain to force their private projects onto landowners.
According to Kerns, he is skeptical of carbon capture pipelines, which carry asphyxiant level 4 hazardous materials, but he still believes fighting eminent domain is a losing battle.
Audio below of Joe Kerns
Despite Kerns’ opinion of eminent domain, a recent Iowa poll conducted by the Des Moines Register & Mediacom showed a strong majority of Iowans oppose using eminent domain for private carbon-capture pipeline companies – 78 percent of Iowans oppose it, while only 15 percent are in favor and 7 percent are unsure.
Landowners against the force of eminent domain by private companies can call and voice their opinions with Governor Kim Reynolds at 515-281-5211 or Iowa Senator Waylon Brown at 515-281-3371.
