With the spring season upon us, the weather here in Iowa has really begun to warm. With this change in weather, the focus in Iowa and Nebraska agriculture now turns to planting a new crop. With this focus, the events of last year's Missouri River flooding are...
I recently attended a Biomass Crop Workshop in Creston, IA. I was interested in attending for two reasons. First, our team has developed an application for biomass mapping that takes into account land stewardship and economic factors for converting land use to production of biomass energy crops....
We recently concluded a study (forthcoming in the Journal of Environmental Quality) on water quality modeling in the Raccoon River Watershed in Iowa. Intensive agricultural production is a predominant use of a significant portion of the land in the Raccoon River Watershed and is a primary driver...
I recently had a discussion with an individual about what drives the prices of commodities, which was a good discussion, but it helped remind me about why I enjoy and get frustrated with economics and correlations. It also reminded me of the importance of asking better questions,...
The United States is a large net exporter of corn seed for planting. Seed trade, including that of corn, has been expanding, but its determinants are not well understood. One of the essays of my doctoral dissertation, which was published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics,...
The current dry spell in much of the Midwest raises some challenges the fledgling bio-products industries will face now and in the future. There are still some who believe the biomass material is just "extra" material that has no other potential use. For livestock producers and dairy...
When you think of irrigation your first thoughts are probably about the circles of green you see when flying over Midwestern states. Or, if you've driven through Nebraska on Interstate 80 you have a picture in mind of the countless pivots pouring water on tall corn and...
A hot topic in Iowa news recently has been the potential gasoline price increases resulting from Magellan Midstream Partners, LP replacing 87 octane with 84 Octane to terminals in Iowa starting this fall. These changes will affect both retailers as well as consumers. The current gasoline options...
We all have different skills and interests, leading us to have various types of jobs. It takes a balance of all types of people to keep organizations running smoothly - some people are number crunchers while others are more artistic or hands-on. Decision Innovation Solutions specializes in...
Some of our recent work is about water quality in Iowa lakes. Iowa has more than 200 lakes spread over diverse geographic areas. The Clean Water Act says that each state, including Iowa, must specify appropriate designated uses to be achieved and protected. The Iowa Department of...
