Celebrate Iowa’s Air Quality Improvements

DES MOINES — Iowans have much to celebrate as Air Quality Awareness Week, May 2 to 6, wraps up.

Iowa’s air quality has significantly improved since 1990, with sulfur dioxide emissions down by 60 percent and nitrogen oxides decreasing by 43 percent. All this while the number of emission sources, the population and the number of industries have increased.

Looking back to the mid-1970s, 13 Iowa counties contained areas that could not meet national standards. Today, only two counties are in nonattainment status. Industries in those two counties have worked with DNR to control emissions, reduce dust from roads, modify equipment and change operations. As a result of those changes, the DNR is expecting the downward trend in emissions to continue.

Find more on Iowa’s air quality trends at www.iowadnr.gov/airmonitoring.

Good air quality protects people’s health and the environment. Working towards better air is also good for the economy, allowing existing facilities to expand and making room for new industry in Iowa.

Check the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s www3.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrends.html for national trends.

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We're Proud to be part of Iowa's Air Quality Solution

In 1979, our manure application business started out servicing small, local hog barns.  Common practice throughout the state was to broadcast liquid manure, but today we're proud to offer the tools and technology to help protect Iowa's air and water quality.  

At Puck Custom Enterprises, we focus on handling manure as a valuable nutrient.  This means sub-surface, direct-injection into the soil, and sub-surface agitation methods.  The less contact liquid manure has with the air, the less odor we have, but also, the less nutrients we lose.  It's a win-win.  

Pumping manure through hose minimizes traffic on our roads as well, greatly cutting down on road dust.

Clean air is a key part of our quality of life in Iowa, and we thank everyone in our industry for making huge steps for improvement.  We're proud to say that all Iowa counties hosting animal agriculture are in full compliance with national standards!