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Realtors survey shows Iowa farm land values up 26.6% since last fall

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 30th, 2021 by admin

A survey of real estate agents finds the price of tillable Iowa farm land is increasing significantly. The Iowa chapter of the Realtors Land Institute releases survey data in March and September. The latest report shows Iowa farm land values have jumped nearly 19 percent since the spring. Compared to a year ago, the average price for Iowa farm land is up 26-point-six percent. The Realtors Land Institute cites high commodity prices, a good harvest and favorable interest rates as factors driving up farm land prices. The group reports farmers are the primary buyers, but investors are very competitive at public auctions of farm land. Farm land prices are rising throughout the corn belt. According to the Chicago Federal Reserve, the dollar value of good Iowa farm land rose 18 percent between July of this year and last July.

Local 24-Hour Rainfall Totals at 7:00 am on Thursday, September 30, 2021

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

September 30th, 2021 by Jim Field

  • KJAN, Atlantic  1.17″
  • 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  1.92″
  • Elk Horn  2.27″
  • Audubon  3.18″
  • Anita  .26″
  • Oakland  1.67″
  • Manning  .96″
  • Missouri Valley  1.45″
  • Underwood  .88″
  • Red Oak  1.22″
  • Carroll  1.1″

Cass County Extension Report 9-29-2021

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

September 29th, 2021 by Jim Field

w/Kate Olson.

Play

Destructive bug finds its way to Kansas, Iowa farmers are warned to be watchful

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 27th, 2021 by admin

(Radio Iowa) Farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest are keeping a lookout for an exotic bug that was found in Kansas earlier this month. The spotted lanternfly has bright red hind wings with black spots. Robin Pruisner, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says the insect could harm nursery stock and woody plants like trees, shrubs and raspberries.

The state ag department says it beefed up public outreach since the Kansas find. Iowa State University entomologist Donald Lewis says this pest and its “piercing-sucking mouthparts” feed on sap, which will weaken lots of fruit and woody trees.

Kansas and federal officials are investigating after one of the bugs was found in a 4-H project. Native to Asia, the spotted lanternfly was first seen in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is a skilled hitchhiker. The Iowa and Nebraska ag departments have both received reports of possible sightings of the insect, but so far they’ve all been false alarms.

AHS Class of 1970 to plant a Ginko tree, Saturday

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 24th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A tree that can live as long as 3,000 years (according to ArborDay.org), will be planted by the Atlantic High School Class of 1970, Saturday afternoon, on the grounds of the High School. Dr. Tressa Wilcox, of Atlantic, say a Gingko Tree will planted at 2-p.m. Saturday by the east drive of the Atlantic High School. The “50-year plus 1” event was delayed due to the pandemic. The AHS Class of 1970 planted a Gingko Tree back in 1970, also.

The class planted their first tree on the grounds of the downtown Atlantic City Park. It can be found on the northeast side, and a little toward the central part of the park. Dr. Wilcox said that first tree “is doing very well.”

Gingko leaves in the Fall

Since they graduated, the AHS Class of 1970 has lost 35 of their classmates.

Dr. Wilcox says school officials have been very supportive of the tree planting.

The hole the tree will be located in, is deep enough for the 12-foot tall tree.

Rules approved for fund to help small meat processors

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 24th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Economic Development Board recently approved the rules for a new fund designed to help small meat processors. Iowa Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Kannan Kappleman, says the agency is charged with handing out the 750-thousand dollars.  “The fund provides financial assistance in the form matching grants to businesses for projects related to small-scale meat processing, licensed custom lockers, and mobile slaughter units,” according to Kappleman.

She says those rules lay out the requirements to receive the grants. She says the I-E-D-A website has a document on frequently asked questions and the rules. Kappleman says the shutdown of the large-scale meatpackers during the pandemic shined the light on the smaller operations. “So these smaller establishments were fulfilling the needs that were definitely in demand at that time,” she says.

The grants can be used to modernize and improve the operations. The Iowa Legislature passed and Governor Kim Reynolds signed what officially called “The Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund” into law in June of this year.

Don’t give them *all* to neighbors, freeze those garden-fresh veggies

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 23rd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans are now harvesting vegetables from their gardens and while our moms or grandmothers may have used pressure cookers to can them in jars, today, preserving the bounty is much easier. Food safety specialist Barbara Ingham says chopping and stewing your tomatoes before freezing them is the quickest and simplest way to store your harvest. “They come out of the crockpot kind of looking like what I would find in the grocery store in those nice 15-ounce cans,” Ingham says, “and then I freeze them in freezer bags once they’re cooled in those roughly two cup, 15-ounce quantities.”

Ingham says if you blanch and then freeze your corn, squash, and tomatoes before popping them in the freezer, they’ll last you for a good long while. “In the freezer, they’re safe indefinitely but we generally say about a year,” Ingham says. “This time of year, we’re looking to refill our freezer, so we hope that what was placed in the freezer last year is out of there.” Ingham says when it comes to corn, you’ll just need a sharp knife.  “It’s actually going to be a lot quicker if you can take the corn off the cob,” she says, “and just take those kernels and cook them, blanch them relatively quickly a couple of minutes in boiling water.”

Don’t stack up freshly blanched food in the freezer. Instead, she says to spread the packages around on the freezer racks so the food can freeze quickly to lock in the flavors.

https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/spendsmart/2015/08/24/7857/

26th biannual Halloween Hike in Cass County on Oct. 30th

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Conservation is looking for volunteers for their 26th biannual Halloween Hike! We are looking for Actors, Hike Leaders, and Treat Makers. The 26th biannual Halloween Hike, will be held on Saturday, October 30th, as you follow a trail where meet the Lorax, his friends like Brown Barbaloots, Humming Fish and Truffula Trees.

Starting at 7:00 p.m. small groups will depart from the Camblin Addition of Sunnyside Park every ten minutes. Please call 712-769-2372 to sign up as a volunteer.

It is not the intent of Cass County Conservation to scare or frighten anyone, but to educate and entertain people of all ages. The hike is sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board.

Investigation continues into man’s accidental death at hog site near Algona

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – More details have been released as the investigation of the accidental death of a Kossuth County man near a hog facility continues. According to the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation has determined that M&M Pumping LLC of West Bend was using the open concrete tank on the property south of Algona for the storage of peptones and soybean wash water. On September 4, the contents of the tank began to foam over for an unknown reason. At that time, 33-year-old Randy Meyer of Whittemore was attempting to agitate or stir the contents of the tank with a tractor and auger when he was overcome by the odor of gasses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency performed air quality screening assessments around the facility on September 16 and 17, testing for a limited number of pollutants. The Iowa DNR is working with the EPA to collect additional air samples so they can more comprehensively identify and characterize the odors being emitted from the storage tank. The DNR is working with the responsible parties, as well as state and federal officials, to address the environmental concerns during the removal and proper disposal of the waste material.

Field fires during harvest much greater risk due to drought

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

September 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – This is Farm Safety Week as harvest season gets rolling, and all farm hands are warned to stay especially vigilant for field fires during the drought. Iowa State University Extension ag engineer Kris Kohl says after a series of rural fires in 2012, a study was conducted that focused on variables like temperature, humidity and wind.  “We didn’t get any correlation to super high temperatures or really low humidity,” Kohl says, “but when you hit wind, if the wind was over 20 miles an hour in dry conditions, things can take off and burn really bad, really fast.”

Combine/Field fire east of Earling (File photo)

Kohl suggests farmers use a leaf blower to blast the dust and debris off their hot machinery, especially when the weather is perfect for a wildfire. “When we get to those kinds of conditions where we’ve got wind speeds predicted over 20 miles an hour, those are the days you’ve got to really watch out and make sure the combines are clean,” Kohl says. “Probably clean them off every couple of hours to make sure we don’t get a field fire taking off.”

Kohl recommends producers have a disc attached to a large tractor rather than trying to use water to battle any potential fire out in the fields.