SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 19, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 5/22/25
In this edition:
*Welcome S’nova Sue!
*Memorial Day
*Memorial Day Origins
*A Shameful Memorial Day Fact
*Mid-May in American History
*Solon Fire Breakfast
*Graduations
*Animal Vs. People Stats
*Rethinking Agriculture
*Did You Know?
*Welcome S‘nova Sue!
I am a grandfather again! My daughter Rachel gave birth on Sunday, May 18 to a healthy baby girl named S’nova Sue! Mom, daughter, and big sister Zuri are all doing well!
This caught us a bit by surprise, as the baby was not due until June 1st. She is a bit on the small side, but doing well. I am also pleased by her middle name – Sue is my mother, and my kids’ only living grandparent.
*Memorial Day
Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and I hope you spend at least a part of it remembering those who have died while serving our Country. Happy Memorial Day to all!
*Memorial Day Origins
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning- draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
*A Shameful Memorial Day Fact
I really don’t know what to say about this. It is 2025, and this pisses me off: Nine states officially set aside a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War: Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.
“Hey, y’all! Let’s celebrate traitors who attempted to overthrow the US Government because they wanted to keep black people as property!” Can’t we do better?
*Mid-May in American History
From Heather Cox Richardson:
“This weekend there are two major anniversaries for the history of civil rights in the United States. Seventy-one years ago, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. That landmark decision declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.”
“It overturned the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision handed down 129 years ago. On that day, May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court declared that the Fourteenth Amendment allowed segregation within states so long as accommodations were “equal.”
*Solon Fire Breakfast
The annual Solon Firefighter’s breakfast is Sunday, May 25, 2025 at the firehouse, 400 Windflower Lane. They will be serving all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs, sausage and ham from 6:30 am-12:30 pm. There will also be raffle items and kids activities.
*Graduations
Memorial Day Weekend means graduations. Congratulations to all our graduating seniors! Commencement has already taken place at the UI and Kirkwood, and the local high schools are graduating soon.
I know that Melissa (and others) accuse me of being overly sentimental when it comes to these types of things. That may be true. But graduation really is a milestone. Honestly, Pomp and Circumstance often brings a tear to my eye!
Certainly, what graduates do in the future is much more important than what they have done to date. But the fact is, they have accomplished something important. Let’s reflect upon it, and celebrate it! Congrats again to all the graduates!
*Animal Vs. People Stats
There are 9 states with more cows than people: Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
Similarly, there are only 9 states that have more chickens than people – Iowa leads that group by far with over 60 million chickens; Ohio is second at about 45 million.
Only two states have more hogs than people – Nebraska has 3.6 million hogs and 2 million people, while Iowa has 27 million hogs and 3 million people.
*Rethinking Agriculture
From two years ago:
I recently saw retired UI Professor Chris Jones read from his book, “Swine Republic” at Prairie Lights. It reminded me of something I put in Salvos on 12/21/21. Here is that article. Meanwhile, please buy Jones’ book, available at Ice Cube Press.
It is not a popular position to hold in Iowa, but I think we need to reimagine the way we do agriculture. And there are opportunities to act now that would be to the benefit of us all.
For starters, look at the ongoing droughts in the American west. Why divert millions of gallons of water to agriculture in the west when most of those crops could be grown right here? That would allow westerners to respond to the drought, while we use our great soil to produce more actual food.
According to experts at Iowa State, all of the following vegetables thrive in Iowa and could do so at scale: kale, spinach, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, beets, green onions, lettuce, arugula, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, beans, and radishes! We can grow just about everything!
My guess is that farmers in the west would hate the idea of ending production. But how much are we willing to spend to keep them in business? They are being heavily subsidized either way. So why use up all the water? It would be cheaper and better for the planet to pay them NOT to grow anything.
Farmers in the Midwest would hate it, too. Why? 1) People dislike change. 2) Farmers would need some new equipment. 3) Growing the crops would be more labor intensive. 4) It would be viewed as Communist.
But, Midwest farmers may NEED to consider something different soon. Because we are quickly moving to electric vehicles. What does that mean for farmers in the Midwest? Well, 33% of all corn goes toward ethanol. That ethanol will not be needed in electric vehicles. The market for a third of our corn could disappear. Shifting that cropland to food production makes a lot of sense.
Or, farmers can get on the solar train! Consider the following stats from Bill Nussey:
If you compare the energy utility of an acre of solar panels to an acre of corn, the acre of solar wins by a landslide.
Each year, one acre of corn produces 551 gallons of ethanol, which is the equivalent of 386 gallons of gas. Using the average miles per gallon of a US automobile, this equates to 9691 miles driven per acre of corn per year.
In Iowa, an acre of solar panels produces 198,870 kilowatt hours each year. A typical EV drives approximately 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour. So, each year, an acre of solar panels produces enough energy for an EV to drive 710,250 miles. This is over 70 times the distance the same acre producing corn could provide.
Unlike ethanol, an acre of solar can power anything attached to the grid. The same Iowa acre, for instance, could also be used to provide 18 average US homes with electricity for the year.
The financial utility of replacing corn with solar also promises huge gains for farmers. For example, it is not uncommon for a farmer to make two to three times more money per acre leasing to solar rather than planting corn. Solar also guarantees a steady stream of revenue, unlike corn which stands the risk of crop failure and price volatility.
Nussey doesn’t even talk about the environmental benefits of less nitrogen and phosphate in the water supply, and more of our precious soil remaining in place. And the red herrings that are constantly brought up about taking up farmland? What if we simply exchange the amount of land dedicated to ethanol for land dedicated to vegetables and solar? Plus solar panels are easy to remove. What a huge win!
It is well past time that we consider doing some things differently when it comes to agriculture. Let’s get ahead of the curve and put our land to work in a better way!
*DID YOU KNOW? 84% of Iowa’s land is used for agriculture.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:58 PM
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