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Fire danger risk continues through next week in western Iowa

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

April 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Iowa Counties: Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont-
Page
409 AM CDT Thu Apr 1 2021

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest Iowa…west central Iowa…east central Nebraska…northeast Nebraska and southeast Nebraska.

Today and Tonight: Fire danger could reach into the very high category this afternoon across portions of the area.

Friday through Wednesday: Fire danger could reach the very high category during the afternoons into early next week.

Spring’s here & it’s time to start working on our lawns

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 31st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The grass is starting to turn green and a turfgrass specialist with the Iowa State University Extension says it’s time to begin working on our lawns. I-S-U horticulture professor Adam Thoms says the first thing he does is to pick up all of those twigs, sticks and other debris that gathered during the winter so it won’t get stuck in the mower or dull its blade. “Now’s a great time to go ahead and fertilize your yard and start to get that grass up and growing for the year,” Thoms says. “We typically say to put out three-quarters of a pound of nitrogen per a thousand square feet for a rate.”

 

The stores are full of heavy fertilizer bags and they can be pricey. What ingredients should we be looking for in a fertilizer for the yard? “Really, the big thing is to try to find a slow-release nitrogen source,” Thoms says, “something that’s going to release over time so you don’t have a quick flush of growth, so that you’re not mowing-mowing-mowing like crazy in the spring because it all grew out at once.” Some Iowans may be finding large grey spots in their yards, which he says can be fixed without too much trouble. “Grey snow mold is a pretty common thing over Iowa this past winter,” Thoms says. “It’s from extended periods of snow cover which we had in the state. The best thing right now is to get out some fertilizer to recover out of it. Rake your yard to stand the grass up and let’s hope for warm weather to help it grow out of it.”

Now is also the time to hit those pesky weeds that seem to creep back every year. “One of the most common problem weeds is crabgrass,” Thoms says. “That’s going to be controlled with a pre-emergent herbicide. As long as you get that on April15th through May 1st throughout the state, that will prevent the crabgrass from coming up.” If you’re planting grass this spring, he warns do -not- use any crabgrass prevention products as they’ll keep your grass seeds from germinating.

Cass County Extension Report 3-31-2021

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

March 31st, 2021 by Jim Field

w/Kate Olson.

Play

New law impacts boat operators on federal waterways beginning April 1

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

March 30th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa DNR News) – A new federal law goes into effect on April 1, that requires the operator of a boat with an installed Engine Cut-Off Switch (ECOS) to use the ECOS link while operating on all federally navigable waterways. In Iowa, that means the four flood control reservoirs: Coralville, Rathbun, Red Rock and Saylorville; and the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The link is usually a coiled bungee cord lanyard clipped onto the operator’s person, personal floatation device or clothing and the other end attached to the cut-off switch, but there are plenty of variations on the market, including electronic wireless devices.

When an operator is wearing a link while underway, the engine will cut-off if the operator is separated from the operating area, an occurrence that can happen if the operator is ejected from the vessel or falls within the vessel.  The shutdown of the engine is essential for safety reasons. If the operator is ejected from the vessel, the shutdown may prevent the operator from impacting the vessel’s spinning propeller, and may aid the operator in safely returning to the drifting vessel.

The intent of these new laws is to improve safety for all recreational boaters by reducing the potential for propeller injuries to recreational vessel operators, other users of the nation’s waterways, and marine law enforcement officers responsible for responding to runaway boats. Boats with motors less than 3 horsepower are excluded from the law.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has authority to enforce federal law on the federal reservoirs, the U.S. Coast Guard patrol has the authority to enforce federal law on the border rivers.

Marshall County grass fires scorch 400 acres, no homes lost

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 30th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Marshall County residents noticed the smell of smoke as they awoke this (Tuesday) morning. The culprit was multiple grass fires. While the entire state was under a Red Flag Warning, it was after that warning expired that grass fires began popping up in the northwest portion of Marshall County. The blazes first reported around 9:00 Monday night and firefighters from all over the county spent over four hours quenching the fires. The grass fires, extending over roughly 400 acres, were mainly between the Marshalltown city limits to the northwest towards Albion.

No structures were burned, nor were any injuries reported. While the wind has backed off from yesterday’s 40-plus mile per hour gusts, they are still in the 15 to 25 mph range. Combined with low humidity, there remains an elevated chance of grass fires.

Iowa House panel to consider ethanol incentives

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 29th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says a House committee is likely to debate a bill this week that’s designed to boost the use of ethanol in Iowa. Grassley says both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations have not always been the best friends of the ethanol industry. “We need to stand up and send a message to the country that we’re going to do what we have to do in the state of Iowa to also promote the product,” Grassley says.

Grassley describes the core of the bill as providing incentives to retailers to install new gas pumps that can dispense ethanol-blended fuels. “We’re not making those complete investments, but being a partner in that, to make sure that we can continue to promote it,” Grassley says.

Earlier this year, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds suggested a proposed renewable fuels standard for Iowa to require all retailers to offer at least a 10 percent ethanol blend — and require any new pumps installed be designed to dispense fuel that includes ethanol. Iowa’s convenience stores and gas stations have lobbied against that mandate.

Governor tours Hamilton County shrimp farm

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 27th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds visited the NaturalShrimp facilities in Blairsburg and Webster City, Friday. The Dallas, Texas-based company this week began the process of stocking the shrimp at the two Hamilton County locations. “For them to come in bring the technology that really eliminates the wastewater that the previous facility was dealing with, it is exciting,” Reynolds says.

Gov. Reynolds tours shrimp farm

NaturalShrimp purchased the former Vero Blue Farms building in Webster City last January. Reynolds says one site services as the incubator for the shrimp and the other will grow them to a size where they can be sold to restaurants.

Tips to attract more birds to your back yard this spring

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Aside from the common sparrows, blue jays and cardinals, experts say there are 429 species of birds in Iowa. If you’d like to attract more of them to your back yard this spring, conservation biologist Ryan Brady suggests making your feeder more attractive to your feathered friends. Brady says the best bird seed you can put out is black sunflower seeds.  “It’s fairly inexpensive, it works for a lot of different species and it has a high fat content,” Brady says, “so it’s good for the birds.”

Brady says you should also be sure to plant some cover for the birds that’s close to the feeder so they can hide from predators.  “Shrubbery that’s going to have a lot of thick branches, provide some cover from the elements,” Brady says. “Evergreens or conifers are excellent, so maybe plant a spruce or a fir.” If it’s impractical to place a shrub near your bird feeder, consider creating other cover nearby, like a brush pile.  “Maybe branches or other clippings that you have cut around your yard to spruce things up, instead of discarding them, make a pile of them off in the corner of your yard or property, maybe near the feeding station,” Brady says.

Iowans who have a traditional birdbath might consider adding a dripper, mister or bubbler to create motion in the water. Birds can see and hear that motion from a great distance and many curious species will fly in to investigate.

Ex-Sioux City ag co-op officer gets prison for fraud scheme

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 25th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A second former officer at a northwest Iowa agriculture cooperative has been sentenced to federal prison for a grain-blending fraud scheme. The Sioux City Journal reports that Kenneth Ehrp was sentenced Wednesday to three months in prison after pleading guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government. Prosecutors say Ehrp and another officer, Calvin Diehl, ordered Farmers Cooperative Society workers to layer soybeans over lower-value oats in bins and trucks while claiming the entire load was soybeans.

Prosecutors say the scheme to overvalue the co-op’s grain inventory was conducted to influence a lender’s action on a loan. Diehl was also sentenced to three months in February on the same charge.

 

Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration is now accepting pre-orders.

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 25th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

ATLANTIC, IA (March 25, 2021) – Celebrate Spring and Easter with Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration Farmers Market! A reminder: Spring Celebration Market is being held the day before Easter, and is accepting pre-orders now. Spring Celebration Market is pre-order drive-through pick-up only (there will be no in-person shopping). Pre-orders are being accepted now through Thursday, Thursday, April 1 (10 PM) on www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com. Purchases can be picked up on Saturday, April 3 at the Cass County Community Center between 12:00 – 2:00 PM.

Spring Celebration Market offers fresh greens, local food meal kits, farm-fresh eggs, spring-scented candles and soaps, and plants for summer gardens, in addition to a huge variety of
sweet treats and desserts from take-and-frost Easter-themed cookies to gourmet pies, and pastel-colored angel food cake to Danish pastries and Kringle. The market is being held the day
before Easter, so customers can pick up treats for Easter Baskets and local foods for Easter meals.

For more information on vendors and products, and to place pre-orders visit Produce in the Park’s website www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com or Produce in the Park’s Facebook page
www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark. Spring Celebration Market is sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, First Whitney Bank and Trust, and Cass County Tourism, and supported by the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.