Allow me to introduce you to the new E85 – It is a farmer-bikers dream ride!

The Teutels  of  Orange County Choppers are at it again.  This is the first Chopper of its kind.  It is America’s First Renewable Energy Chopper recently released at the Iowa Speedway.  Not only does it run on 85% Ethanol, but the boys at Orange County topped it off with other cool details to spread the word about Iowa’s prominence in renewable resources that benefit folks locally and  nationwide.  Featuring spokes designed after wind turbines, a Corn Head “Scoop”, Cowhide seat and exhaust designed to mimic an Ethanol Plant, the E85 puts a new twist on an old tradition.  The paint job even features corn and soybean foliage to remind users of biodiesel. 

This bike was designed for the Iowa Farm Bureau to promote the use of Ethanol within the state and beyond.  Iowa is one of the world’s leaders in renewable energy production.  They produce more ethanol than any other state as well as about a quarter of the nation’s supply of ethanol, which is blended with 40% of the gas supply in the United States. 

The campaign also emphasizes biomass, wind energy, biodiesel and carbon credits.  The conglomeration of these methods of renewable energy will revolutionize the way energy in the United States is used and produced.  All of these areas of agriculture reduce greenhouse gases produced using traditional energy methods.  They also reduce American dependence on foreign fuel.  In the mean time, the campaign goes to aid the rural community. 

To find out more about the campaign, visit the website at www.jointherideiowa.com.  Not only will it provide you with the most recent news regarding the campaign, the site also provides an Alternative Energy Locator allowing you to find the most convenient E85 and Biodiesel pumps in Iowa.  Check it out, take the Food vs. Fuel Challenge and Join the Ride! 

It’s an idle fantasy for most homeowners – what if I took this side yard (the one where I just can’t get the bluegrass to fill in the dead patches) and turned it into a miniature farm? If a homeowner moves past the idle fantasy stage, they usually stop short at the realization of how much work farming is – particularly the non-mechanized variety that you have room to do on a typical home’s quarter-acre.

One entrepreneurial young man decided to exploit homeowner’s reluctance to become part-time yeomen by doing it for them. Kipp Nash of Boulder, Colorado has contracts with a dozen or so homeowners in his neighborhood – they provide the land, he does the work, and everyone shares in the resulting vegetable harvest. Kipp also runs a more conventional consumer-farmer partnership where a group of vegetable lovers club together to pre-purchase a share of the farm’s output – the farmer gets a guaranteed market and is prepaid for his time and effort, the buyers get a great price on fresh fruit and veggies.

Kipp’s motivations are partly ecological, and partly vocational – he’s always wanted to farm, but doesn’t have the land or the capital. By partnering with his neighbors, everybody wins; he gets to do what he wants for a living (although he’s not quite there yet in terms of earning a livable wage) and his neighbors get to blow off a large chunk of their lawn care expenses. No lawn equals no mowing time on Saturday, after all. Kipp is attempting to build community-based agriculture into a populist movement – I doubt that he’s going to be able to dislodge the commercial farm as our primary source of food, but local efforts like his could be a great contributor to things like dietary diversity. It makes economic sense to have our corn and wheat be farmed in large commercial operations; it might make just as much sense to have things like organic vegetables be grown locally.

Our farming friends in the Midwest need your help.  I would highly encourage you to take a moment of your time to donate to the Farm Aid “Family Farm Disaster Fund.”

The Farm Aid “Family Farm Disaster Fund” was established by Farm Aid to help farm families survive weather-related disasters. Right now they are working with farmers across the country that have been hurt by the devastating flooding and severe weather in Iowa, Wisconsin and seven other mid-western states.

To donate to the Farm Aid Family Disaster Fund please Click Here

If you are a farmer dealing with this flood disaster, and would like to receive assistance please Click Here

My grandmother use to tell me that ‘if I didn’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.’  Keeping that in mind, I’ve held off on commenting on the floods in the Midwest for long enough.  I kept thinking that things would get better and I could focus on the positive.  (no such luck)

So since I don’t have a single good thing to say about the flooding situation today, I started wondering how this flood compared to the Great Flood of 1993.  I did a little research and here is what I found.

When looking back on the last big one, it’s hard (at this point) to draw an exact parallel.  The 1993 flood affected 9 states, lasted almost 2 months, and caused roughly $15 to $20 Billion in damage.  There were almost 500 counties that were declared disaster areas, including all 99 in Iowa.  The conditions were ripe for massive destruction. In early spring 1993 a rapid melt of higher than average winter snows combined with heavy spring and summer rainfall to set up a catastrophic situation. In fact, the flooding persisted through late August 1993 across most key corn production areas.  

This year we have a smaller flood impacted area (so far), and reports indicate that the rain would have to continue through July in order to mimic 1993 conditions. 

So there it is; the most positive thing I could come up with for this post.  “It’s not as bad today as it was then.”  –That’s little consolation to our farming friends who have lost their homes, businesses, livestock, crops, community, and equipment.  For those of you under water right now, my heart goes out to you.  For those of you who are dry, please take a moment to say a prayer for our friends.