A company hoping to build a five-state pipeline found progress in one state as it pushes for it in another state. A farmland investment firm has chosen a new leader who is optimistic about one state’s industry that has suffered recently. And some industries may have changed their minds about whether they want dairy herds immunized against the bird flu.
Pipeline Permit – It has been a multi-state obstacle for an Iowa-based company to build a carbon sequestration pipeline with environmentalists, property owners, regulators, and politicians providing opposition at times. But Summit Carbon Solutions has received a construction permit from the Iowa Utilities Commission for its proposed hazardous liquid pipeline across the state.
The pipeline would travel through Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota and empty emissions from ethanol plants into an underground storage facility in North Dakota.
The commission already approved the permit in June. So, this latest ruling wasn’t unexpected. Some pipeline opponents had requested members to reconsider that original decision, which necessitated the follow up ruling.
The IUC maintained its previous requirements for Summit to have a $100 million insurance policy and to compensate landowners in the pipeline’s path for any damage related to construction.
The commission also kept its previous ruling that grants Summit authority to use eminent domain that forces landowners to allow access to their property for the project.
The issue of eminent domain is the source of the strongest opposition as Iowa’s Republican-led House of Representatives previously discussed banning the use of eminent domain for the project or making it more difficult to use. But the Republican-led Iowa Senate blocked those efforts.
Summit Carbon still faces challenges in other states, including South Dakota. American Farmland Owner reported earlier this month on a court ruling in South Dakota that stated that Summit didn’t have authority to perform surveys on landowners’ property without permission.
Vaccine’s Future – The USDA approved what could be significant help to the dairy industry to lessen the spread of the bird flu through its herds and sickening workers. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced during the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, that his department had approved the first field safety trial of a vaccine.
There have been concerns about various industry groups that some foreign countries would not accept immunized animals. But those concerns may have lessened as the virus has spread across the U.S. and created further harm.
Agriculture Dive looks into the new vaccine, the change in industry groups’ focus on the vaccine, and the biggest hurdle for a dairy or poultry vaccine. Read that here.
New CEO – Farmland across the United States could be in for another new phase with interest rates expected to drop next month, along with the generational transitions from aging farmers.
FarmTogether, an investing firm that specializes in farmland in the United States, has named its next CEO.
David Gould formerly served as the company’s managing director of capital formation. Gould takes over at a time that the firm surpassed a new milestone; it has reached $200 in AUM, Assets Under Management.
Global AgInvesting talked with Gould about the company’s recent growth, and why Gould sees potential in California’s tree nuts. Read that interview here.
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