Subcommittee meetings coming up- need YOU!!!

[Sligh1]

Hey all, thanks a million to those of you that have shown up for the meetings this year. & those that emailed in. THAT is why we won & how we will win the battles ahead. Is there a chance we’ll lose one? Sure, but if stay full steam…. We can keep this 100% batting average.
We need folks on 2 big ones coming up…
1) bill that gives NR buck tags to those that identify as family members. It’s a disaster & I’ll fill in all the details why, what they really want & when subcommittee meeting is. Easy to explain & easy to bring facts to stop it.
2) getting rid of forest reserve. Same thing- I’ll fire off when sub meeting happens. & again, bill is bad news on for about 10+ big reasons that will hurt iowa, hunters, access, finances & resource. There’s common sense compromises if we want to do it right without hurting the state.

Just a heads up…. For those that can act & want to do more “talk, care, wish & hope”. This ACTION will be what be what wins on these issues. Lack of action is what would cause us to lose. Bottom line: 30 mins at capital. 30-60 seconds of speaking some bullet points, incredibly easy. To those that can make it, heads up - I’ll post the second I know. Lately, they spring them on 1-2 days notice so I’ll fire up the second I can. For those that live far away, have conflicts (or are just repulsive human beings like myself ) ….. please be ready to email in & then have some folks you know do the same. This is the RECIPE for bad bill destruction.
Heads up…. Watch for a thread & the recipe will be so simple it’s mind boggling. If you wanna message me - I can get u details as well. Super easy stuff that is massive for WINNING. & our state, resource, average guy/new hunter, environment & future need these wins. Thanks in advance!

 

[newfarmer]

I will keep an eye open. I am traveling all over the state the next couple weeks for work so it will be hit or miss on being able to attend, but for sure will drop emails and join zoom, whatever I can do. Thanks! And seriously- Thanks for all you do!

 

[Sligh1]

Zoom is also an option for guys further away. Thanks for reminder on that!!!!!

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

Get me time and date

 

[seven twenty]

I’ll post 2 pics here. The first was 16mos ago and the ground was in IHAP. The second is now. Not a single tree left. It was sold, cleared last winter, planted and is up for auction. Overall hunting while in IHAP was excellent. Deer, turkey, birds, etc… You could find them all there. Something needs to be done to get rid of the “clear it all” attitude. This here was just a money grab.

 

[tall@wide]

Will this more than likely be next week?

 

[Sligh1]

I’ll post 2 pics here. The first was 16mos ago and the ground was in IHAP. The second is now. Not a single tree left. It was sold, cleared last winter, planted and is up for auction. Overall hunting while in IHAP was excellent. Deer, turkey, birds, etc… You could find them all there. Something needs to be done to get rid of the “clear it all” attitude. This here was just a money grab.
View attachment 129259

Will this more than likely be next week?

Not sure when. I’ll post second I know.

That photo… wow!! Illustrates whats going on to a T!!! That photo needs to be brought to subcommittee meeting!!! See…. That’s happening EVERYWHERE across our state. U can’t drive 5 miles in any direction without finding a farm that’s been dozed in the last <10 years. All over. I drive by a lot of same farms every day. How many piles of trees piled & burnt, crazy. In one month I travel to probably 15 counties across state on average. It’s happening all over or already has.

It’s a combination of: greed & 2 high grain spikes. It has a lot of ignorance & short sighted gains blended into it…. Like the dudes I see dozing out 100 year old white oaks to farm 20 csr ground that’s now just rocks & clay. Is there some folks who say “I’m cleaning up, keeping production high & utilizing wasted space for my livelihood”? Sure. & I don’t blame those folks. & sometimes it’s needed when “junk” takes over our best soils & needs a reset.

Here’s the examples that I think about…. High property tax prices + high input costs + 2 big grain price spikes in last 12 years have caused people to make foolish choices or “forced” into some bad choices. Farm Property taxes in my county have about doubled in last 3-4 years. In a poor county. That’s who has most their land in FR as well… poorest of our counties & there’s pressures constantly to rip the forest out. We have been losing forest statewide for last 3 years now. Areas vulnerable to erosion & farms dozed & farm TO THE CREEKS are becoming more common.

1) the forest reserve program helps retain tiny slice of forest we have left. Just over 7% & we have lost countless thousands of acres in last 3 years.
2) the economics of forest loss in iowa cannot be properly accounted for but it’s in the millions…. Pollution, soil erosion (we lose probably in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in top soil in iowa), loss of hunting/game/hunters (millions of dollars).
3) increasing taxes will raise costs for the most fragile communities & poorest counties in iowa. Causing farmers to sell, doze, make up $ through leasing land out or other methods to make up costs. On top of the tax increases they recently had to take. Theres NEVER enough taxation for government. They just doubled mine & they would double it again if they could.
4) we live in the most transformed state in the country. Period. We need the tiny incentive to keep the little slice of forest we have left.
5) you can’t make this up…. Because our oak regen & forest have taken such a beating- REAP (state funded $) pays about $600/acre to plant trees!! So, we spend $600 to plant them but we want to eliminate about $10-15/acre in taxes to save established forests? Or, pay someone $150-300/acre per year in Tree planting CRP. Riparian buffers protecting our creeks pay even more!! You can’t make this up!!!
6) there’s other common sense solutions!!!…
A) close the loop hole for developers to enroll so they get out of taxes. The point of FR is to save forest. We can fix that by saying “if you develop or doze the land within 15 years of being in FR- you have to pay those taxes back” or something like that. Or make it a 20 acre minimum.
B) make the rate $2-3 an acre so folks are paying something but have a little relief
C) acknowledge the fact that our state is actually flush with cash & we don’t need revenue to the tune of a few million dollars. A few million will do NOTHING & it will COST US more than that in all the other negatives of cleared timber. Acknowledge & point out that this isn’t about $ (it’s not people, this will cost us more if we eliminate this) & it’s simply about Farm Bureau lobbying so more trees & wildlife are gone. They want every drop of land to be corn & soybeans, PERIOD! That’s all this is about - Farm Bureaus lobbying. “Pay your fair share” they say. Ummmm… I’m a farmer & last I checked, we don’t pay any sales tax as farmers. Maybe we should change that so we pay our fair share!!!! This is a short sighted $ grab to incentivize the removal of forest for corn & soybeans backed by FB & the counties that want more $. Period. There’s no argument here that when flushed out makes any sense at eliminating this. Greed & ignorance is all this is. & we owe it to our state, kids, environment & financial well being of the whole economy to stop this.
Ok, sorry on the novel & rant. We will bring the facts & let’s win this.

 

[Hair&Scales]

I don't like the acre minimum point but I do love the if you develop/clear the land in x amount of years you pay it all back. Closes the loophole as long as someone is checking up on them periodically that is.

All the rest of the points I can stand behind and are logical points, good job!

 

[booneriverbucks]

I don't like the acre minimum point but I do love the if you develop/clear the land in x amount of years you pay it all back. Closes the loophole as long as someone is checking up on them periodically that is.

All the rest of the points I can stand behind and are logical points, good job!

I agree!! (Have my own totally selfish reasons why of course). It’s a moving target.. the bigger you are the more likely you are to think someone needs to be to your size/xyz before receiving the tag. I get it but someone who absolutely wants to destroy the deer population and rip out habitat could qualify in many scenarios while others who spent money they probably shouldn’t have in order to benefit the deer get left out.. main thing is it could be a moving target forever. Right now i have to own x to quailfy and when more complain I have to own more and more and more. It could never end. Eventually we’ll be stuck with guys that only own whatever are qualifying and then the argument goes back down the other direction. It never really ends

 

[Gus]

I m heading to the capital shortly to meet with legislators for the Iowa Association of Realtors Capital Conference today. I fully plan on addressing these two topics with legislators I meet with.


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