(Radio Iowa) – This is the time of year when a destructive insect called the Asian longhorned beetle emerges from inside the trees where it burrows. Iowans are being urged to give their trees a close look for signs of infestation so they can take action, if needed. Rhonda Santos, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says the troublesome bug usually appears now, in late summer. “Now is the best time to look for and reports signs of the Asian longhorned beetle in your backyard and in your neighborhood,” Santos says. “This wood-boring beetle attacks many types of trees, and is a threat to our shade trees, recreational areas, and our forests.”

The pest typically attacks hardwood trees, including maples, elms, birches, and willows, and once a tree is infested, it usually can’t recover. Santos says the distinctive-looking creature is about one-and-a-half inches long and leaves clear signs if it’s in your trees. “The beetle is easy to recognize with their black and white antennae, shiny black body, and six legs,” Santos says. “Beetles create round holes and scars in the bark, sawdust-like material around the tree, and can cause branches to fall.”

Asian Longhorned Beetle (USDA photo)

The beetle is not native to the U.S. and has few-to-no natural predators. Santos encourages Iowans to take five minutes and give your trees a close inspection for those round holes or sawdust. “If you see any of these signs, take photos and even capture the suspicious insects to help the USDA with identification,” she says.

Iowans are frequently warned not to move firewood, because in this instance, they might be unknowingly spreading Asian longhorned beetles, since the insects can hide inside wood. If you spot one, report it to the U.S.D.A. online at Asianlonghornedbeetle.com or call the agency’s hotline: 866-702-9938. The beetle was first spotted in the U.S. in New York in 1996 and spread quickly. It’s one of a group of invasive pests and plant diseases that costs the nation some 40-billion dollars each year in losses to trees, plants, and crops.

(Radio Iowa) -A new report on global climate change is being released with help from researchers at Iowa State University. The study from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had more than 200 authors from a dozen chapters around the globe. William Gutowski, an I-S-U professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, says the report was three years in the making. He calls it sharp and authoritative. “We have to review all of the scientific literature that’s out there that’s relevant to our chapter and we have to discuss it, decide what we learned from it, what we think is good information and what we think maybe is not so important,” Gutowski says, “and then we get reviewed by people on the outside. I think my chapter had to respond collectively to over 5,000 review comments.”

I-S-U’s chapter covered central North America, where weather extremes in the past year ranged from brutal cold in Texas last February to the drought in Iowa and across the Midwest. Gutowski expects continued weather extremes. “When we look at the future scenarios, there’s different options that we consider,” Gutowski says. “One would be, just keep letting things go along as they have been. Other scenarios we consider are ways that we might control the rise in greenhouse gases, maybe even start to have the level of greenhouse gases go down.”

It all comes down to what actions humans may take, he says, as to how quickly the changing climate may be impacted. “Trying to change things, it’s a long, slow process. It’s like trying to turn a ship around. You don’t just do it overnight,” Gutowski says. “Nonetheless, we can do things now that set the stage for a much better future for our children and their children down the road with actions that we start to take right now.”

Gutowski says the report is a wake-up call to do something and it has to involve countries around the world. Iowans can help to stave off climate change, he says, by doing things like conserving electricity and gasoline, and promoting wind and solar power.

(Atlantic, Iowa – by FFA Reporter Aspen Niklasen) – The Atlantic FFA Chapter placed 8th and won a Gold Medal in the annual Iowa FFA Ag Mechanics Career Development Event held at Iowa State on June 10, 2021. The Atlantic FFA Chapter team included: Cooper Jipsen, Logan Eilts and Wyatt Redinbaugh. Their Agriculture education instructor and FFA advisor is Mr. Eric Miller. Jipsen led the team this year placing 5th overall in the individual contest. Jipsen said “It was a great experience, with a lot of learning activities that came along with it. I am really excited to use the new skill I learned in the future.”

Team Photo
Cooper Jipsen, Wyatt Redinbaugh, Logan Eilts (photo submitted)

88 individuals from 24 FFA chapters participated in this year’s Career Development Event designed to provide the student an opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of Agricultural Mechanics & Technology. Activities included demonstration of skills, problem solving, and knowledge application in agricultural machinery equipment, metals and welding, structures, environmental and natural resources, and electrical systems. The Iowa FFA Agricultural Mechanics & Technology Career Development Event was made possible with support from Titan Machinery through the Iowa FFA Foundation. The Agricultural Mechanics & Technology Career Development Event was hosted by the Iowa State University Ag 450 Farm and was coordinated and conducted by Mr. Kevin Sanders and the Agricultural Education & Studies Department at Iowa State University in Ames.

And, the Atlantic FFA Chapter placed 11th and won a Silver Medal in the annual Iowa FFA Horse Career Development Event held at Kirkwood Community College on June 8, 2021. The Atlantic FFA Chapter team included: Taylor Mccreedy, Aspen Niklasen and Colton Becker. Their agriculture education instructor and FFA advisor is Mr. Eric Miller. Niklasen led the team this year placing 10th overall in the individual contest. Niklasen, who improved from her 21st placing the prior year said” I had a lot of fun and really learned a lot about horses.”

26 FFA chapters participated in this year’s Career Development Event designed to provide the student an opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of Equine Science. The 87 individual contestants evaluated halter and performance classes. They also answered questions over the classes and gave oral reasons to explain their placings. A written examination was included along with a team problem solving competition. The Iowa FFA Horse Career Development Event was made possible with support through the Iowa FFA Foundation. The Horse Evaluation Career Development Event was coordinated and held at the Iowa Equestrian Center in Cedar Rapids. The official judge was Heather Angle-Gardner of Ottumwa, Iowa.

Team Photo
Aspen Niklasen, Colton Becker, Taylor McCreedy (Photo submitted)

(Radio Iowa) – The former Iowa governor who now heads the U-S-D-A says the young farmers of today will be the key to innovation that will sustain the industry. U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the next generation of farmers will be the ones in the spotlight and help to feed the planet. “It’s an exciting new world, you just have to continue to have hope, okay?” Vilsack says, “and it’s going to make young people want to get into this business.”

Vilsack encourages young people to be open to inspiration, urging them to follow their dreams and branch out into the ag sector. While recognizing current difficulties in the ag industry, Vilsack says the opportunity for innovation and change in farming makes this an exciting moment in history. “Our challenge is to make sure we provide you the technical assistance to make sure you understand how to get into the business, the credit that allows you to get in business, and then markets that allow you to stay in business,” Vilsack says.

One of the U-S-D-A’s goals, he says, is to make sure young people who want to farm have the resources necessary to enter the industry. Vilsack made his comments before the opening of the Minnesota State Fair, which started its 12-day run Thursday.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers Association is exploring its legal options after a judge dismissed its attempt to block rules that likely will prevent most Iowa-raised pork from being sold in California. The federal judge wrote there isn’t proof California voters intended to harm Iowa pork producers when they passed what’s called Proposition 12. Once regulations to into effect next year, California businesses won’t be able to sell pork that comes from pigs confined in less than 24 square feet of space.

Eldon McAfee, an attorney for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says it’ll be tough for producers to give each breeding pig more space than that. “We alleged in the lawsuit that it would be very difficult — you never want to use the word impossible; it can be done, but it would be very difficult, extremely difficult on a commercial basis,” he says.

McAfee says to comply with the size requirements, producers would have to get rid of individual crafts and shift to housing sows in groups and the conversion would be expensive.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katie Peikes)

(Radio Iowa) – A challenge to California’s looming law on animal confinement is being thrown out by a federal judge in Iowa. What’s known as Proposition 12 will go into effect in January. It bans California businesses from selling pork from pigs that were confined in what it calls “a cruel manner,” or pens with less than 24 square feet of space for each breeding hog. Iowa pork producers argued compliance would sharply boost costs, but Judge C-J Williams ruled there was no proof California intended to harm Iowa producers when voters passed Prop 12. He sided with the motion from California officials and dismissed the case.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .1″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .02″
• Massena  .24″
• Elk Horn  .03″
• Anita  .03″
• Manning  .03″
• Bridgewater  .3″
• Audubon  .02″
• Corning  .85″
• Villisca  1.3″
• Red Oak  .61″
• Lenox  .9″
• Clarinda  .88″

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – A survey finds Iowa had the highest cash rent average for cropland this year at 233-dollars an acre, three-dollars an acre higher than last year. Farmers across the country are paying an average of 141-dollars per acre to rent cropland. That’s up two-dollars from last year. Iowa State University Extension ag economist Wendong Zhang says cash rents closely follow farmland values. “Iowa has seen about 20% growth, evidenced by many of the auction prices as well as the expert opinion survey,” Zhang says. “Iowa land values have shown about 18% growth from last July to July 1st of this year.”

He says having cash rents follow farmland values is supported by their recent survey of farm managers and ag lenders. “Typically, the cash rent to land value ratio, regardless of the change over the past decade, people have all anticipated this to be around 3.1%,” Zhang says. “In general, when the land markets goes up, then land prices goes up, then the cash rent typically tracks that as well.” Zhang expects the farmland values and cash rents to remain high. “In the near future, we will likely see this level of high land value, high cash rent to stay because the interest rate is still fairly low,” Zhang says. “Even though we have seen some increase in supply, in general, it’s still limited due to COVID payments and other things.”

Of the top five states, Iowa had the highest cash rent average followed by Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and Minnesota.