HeyJaredThe Swine Republic
Writing about confluence of agriculture and environment from the heart of the big ag beast here in Iowa
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
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- Sep 23, 2026
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- Jul 20, 2026
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The Intrepids (opens the original)
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A few days ago I plugged 20 Iowa Democratic legislative candidates I’ve met while campaigning the past 9 months for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. These folks are challengers for Republican-held seats, many in deep-red districts running fearless campaigns out of a sense of duty to their neighbors and our state.Subscribe nowI have not kept notes or a journal of any sort while campaigning, and so I was certain I would forget somebody. Indeed I did. Several, in fact. But this is perhaps fortuitous,
I’m Not Giving Up on an Iowa Democratic Majority (opens the original)
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Yes I know it is 2026 and I have not just awakened from a coma. The Iowa senate is comprised of 32 Republicans, 17 Democrats, and 1 vacant seat. That means in the upcoming election, Democrats need to capture 8 seats for a 25-25 tie which could stand for a majority with a Democratic governor.In the Iowa House of Representatives, Republicans have a 67-33 majority, meaning the Democrats need to capture 17 seats (without any losses) to forge a 50-50 tie. I have been campaigning around the state for
It’s the Regulation, Stupid (opens the original)
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During the course of my career, I’ve had access to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to water quality data. For example, when I worked at Des Moines Water Works (DMWW), I came upon a closet of old data logs dating back to 1916 in the musty basement of the Fleur Drive filter plant. This data included turbidity (clarity) measurements of the Raccoon River, meticulously recorded on a near daily basis initially by a guy named Dale Maffitt and by numerous others afterward.<a class="image-link i
Home is a Name (opens the original)
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Note: I’ve been saving this one for a special occasion. That occasion? When I just didn’t have the time and/or inspiration to get something else written. It may not have taken all that long to have written this, but it took many years and many thousands of miles of driving to compile the information that lies herein. <a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ODNs!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazona
How much corn is enough (opens the original)
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Democrats and Republicans alike have been preaching from lecterns in Washington DC about a new biofuels report, Fueling agriculture: biofuels as the catalyst. The report was prepared by the Energy group of the publicly-traded corporation <a href="https://www.spg
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