CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa/Missouri Net) – Farmers across western Iowa who planned to move their commodities by barge along the Missouri River this fall could be facing a slowdown. Colonel Bill Hannan, the Kansas City district commander for the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says barge season may be threatened as work is still underway to repair damage to the navigation channel after three years of high water and widespread flooding.
“The river levels have returned to normal,” Hannan says. “They’re not low, they’re just normal service levels that we would see, but because of all that damage to navigation structures, it’s creating shallow spots in the navigation channel on the river.” Last year’s floods damaged up to 75-percent of the seven-thousand river training structures on the lower Missouri River. Repairs could cost 200-million dollars but the Corps of Engineers only allocated 20-million.
Hannan says he understands the importance of barge traffic with harvest season already underway. “We are doing absolutely everything we can to not let the barge traffic stop,” Hannan says, “because we know the agricultural community is really dependent to move their goods in the fall harvest here.”
Hannan says crews from the Corps and from private contractors are making repairs and guiding barges away from trouble spots. He says the Corps is working hard to find more money to restore the river’s navigation channel.
(Radio Iowa) – The dry conditions in parts of Iowa this year have been a mixed blessing for wineries. Iowa Wine Growers Association, marketing director, Nicole Eilers says the drought has led to some loss in production — but it also has a positive.
The derecho on August 10th also made an impact on the grape crop in parts of the state.
Another impact of the drought has been an increase in problems with birds looking to grapes as a meal.
Eilers says the birds can eat up a crop quickly.
Eilers says the dry conditions combined with the coronavirus pandemic have hit the industry hard and she expects some wineries will not be able to survive into next year.
The Washington G.E.M. 4H Club in Cass County met on Sunday, October 4th, for their regular meeting and installation of officers. Due to COVID the club was unable to celebrate their 100th Anniversary last year so plans are again in the works to celebrate this coming year. This week also starts 4H week so members of the club decorated the window at Bonnesen’s in downtown Atlantic and also the display case at the Atlantic Public Library with memorabilia of the clubs last 100 years. 
Club members also displayed posters in the schools and at Oathoudt Farm Supply explaining what 4H is about and how to join!
A member who did their presentation on drones and the use of them in farming applications was able to take a great photo of the club celebrating 100!
Information & photos submitted by Melanie Petty.
For more information on 4H please contact the Cass County Extension Office at 243-1132.
Red Oak, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office will host fall showings of commercial pesticide trainings beginning with an Aquatic, Forest and Right-of-Way Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. All programs provided by the ISU Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) can be seen at office locations across Iowa. The local attendance site is the Montgomery County Extension Office. Due to social distancing requirements preregistration is required. Walk-ins on the day of the program will not be permitted. Space for each showing is limited, and reshows will be scheduled as needed. Participants will be required to wear masks while inside the extension office.
All courses run from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. unless otherwise scheduled. The registration fee for all courses and re-shows except Pest Control Operators will be $35 on or before December 4th, and $45 from December 7th-17th. Fees for the Pest Control Operators will be $60, or $70 after December 4th. No reshows will be scheduled after December 17th. To register or to obtain additional information about these courses, contact Katie Hart at the ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office at (712) 623-2592.
Courses can be scheduled in the Red Oak office on or after:
Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered through the PSEP Program can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP.
(Radio Iowa) – China is working to rebuild its grain stockpiles after the pandemic and Iowa farmers will be helping to fill the order. Dermot Hayes, an ag economics professor at Iowa State University says China’s demand for corn is surging well beyond the norm. “They had been running at a deficit for several years by consuming way more corn than they produced and they did that by getting into their stocks,” Hayes says. “Then COVID has convinced them to rebuild those stocks rather than to deplete them and so that has created a scarcity there and an opportunity for us.”
China is willing to buy huge quantities of American commodities, Hayes says, because Iowa corn is cheap compared to grain produced in China. “It’s good news for corn and soybean producers,” Hayes says. “Their domestic prices are about $8.50 and ours are probably closer to $3 in central Iowa, so there’s a big incentive for them to buy our corn rather than their own.” China has a storage quota of seven-point-two million tons of corn, but Hayes predicts they’ll go far beyond that figure. While last month’s derecho heavily damaged millions of acres of Iowa fields, it won’t prevent Iowa producers from making a big sale in China, since other nations are cutting back their purchases.
“We were going to have big carry-out stocks with or without the derecho, so where China’s going to get that corn is from product that we would’ve otherwise stored into next year,” Hayes says. “Hogs, corn and beans have been on a tear and it’s all China-related. So many other markets we’re having difficulty with because the world economy is slowing down. Countries are going to have to go into austerity because of the money they’re spending right now.”
The most recent data says China will now import 21-billion dollars in agricultural products from the U-S in the first year of the Phase One deal, an increase of almost three-billion from the first prediction in May.
(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa sheriff asked farmers to temporarily halt the harvest, fearing high winds would carry sparks from combines and set off fires. Several grass and field fires were reported Tuesday afternoon in Sioux County while under a ‘red flag’ warning that was issued from the National Weather Services. County resources were stretched thin fighting the fires as they spread quickly in the dry and windy conditions. As a result, county authorities issued a request, asking farmers to refrain from harvesting until conditions improved. The same is expected today as the National Weather Service has issued another red flag warning for portions of northwest Iowa from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m.
A corn field fire was reported late this (Wednesday) morning north of Massena, but dispatch reports indicated there were no structures nearby that were in danger of being consumed by the flames.
Tree stand incidents can happen to deer hunters regardless of skill level or experience and result in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, in nearly every case, these incidents were preventable. To help prevent injuries, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is encouraging hunters to practice the ABC’s of Tree Stand Safety:
“Hunters should take tree stand safety seriously, every time you hunt from, hang, or move a tree stand. By performing these three simple steps and properly using a haul line, tree stand users can virtually eliminate their risk of falling to the ground as the majority of falls occur outside the stand,” said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The Iowa DNR reports an estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway Oct. 1. For hunters in the derecho corridor, this year will not be like seasons past. According to Tyler Harms, deer program leader for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), “Scouting is always important, but if you’re hunting in the area damaged by derecho, it will be particularly important this year.” Deer are habitual animals, Harms said, but in the area impacted by the historic August storm, deer travel lanes, food sources and even some bedding areas – their habits – have likely been changed.
Hunters should spend time getting reacquainted with the new landscape and to pattern deer habits and identify the locations of any downed trees as hunters are most likely going to be walking out there in the dark. They may also need to reset or rebuild tree stands or move the tree stands to new travel corridors or to new cover. Deer movement will likely be increasing with the activity in the field, between the crop harvest underway as well as fields being chopped as part of the damaged crop removal requirement for insurance. “The current weather pattern and crop removal will make for an interesting start to the season, especially for the first weekend,” Harms said.
In a typical year, deer tend to focus on existing food sources, then turn to green browse as the harvest continues. Given the amount of waste grain in the derecho fields, bow hunters may need to rethink their strategy.
Iowa deer population down slightly: The results of Iowa’s annual spring spotlight survey indicate the population is 3 percent lower than last year, said Harms, who coordinates the project. Part of the decline could be related to last year’s outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in certain locations. “What we know is that the population can recover,” he said. “While we were in a pretty significant drought this year, we haven’t received any reports of the disease. That may change as the crops come out, but so far, so good.”
Bowhunters hunt a lot: Bowhunters wait all year for November when they cash in a large chunk of their vacation hours so they can spend time in the tree stand during the rut waiting for that hormone charged stag to come along. The rut is the deer breeding season, when deer, especially-bucks, loose their usual cautiousness and become active and aggressive during all hours of the day. Bow hunters fall on the avid range of the participation scale. Based on the annual bowhunter survey, they go out an average of 12 trips per year and spend an average of 3-1/2 hours per trip. They tend to be more selective and harvest fewer does than other regular deer seasons.
CWD sampling: While chronic wasting disease sample collection is often associated with the shotgun seasons, the Iowa DNR does collect deer tissue samples during bow season as part of its statewide annual effort to monitor for the fatal disease. “Those adult bucks harvested early in the fall by bow hunters are the best samples for us when looking for the disease in new areas,” Harms said. The DNR has a goal of collecting a minimum of 15 samples from each county, with higher quotas assigned to counties where the disease has been found in wild deer or have high risk of the disease due to adjacent counties with positive animals. Hunters willing to provide a sample are encouraged to contact their local wildlife biologist to arrange for the collection.
In the event that the county quota has been filled, or if the hunter is interested in testing a fawn or other nonpriority deer, hunters may choose to pay for their own test through a new partnership with the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Hunters will need to contact their local wildlife staff and ask how they can get their deer tested through the new hunter submitted option. The DNR will collect and submit the sample on their behalf. There is a $25 fee for the laboratory to run the test. Results should be available within 2-3 weeks.
Changes to deer seasons
Deer donation program: The Iowa DNR, the Food Bank of Iowa and 39 meat lockers are participating in the Help Us Stop Hunger program for 2020. Hunters are encouraged to contact a participating locker before they harvest a deer to see if the locker has any additional drop off instructions. Hunters may also sign up as a deer donor with the Iowa Deer Exchange at www.iowadnr.gov/deer then scroll down to Iowa’s Deer Exchange Program link. There, donors can provide their information on what they are willing to donate. The database creates a map and table with information deer donors and deer recipients can use to get connected. There is no cost to participate. It is illegal to sell wild fish and game in Iowa.
Text to harvest: Hunters who harvest a deer are required to report their harvest by midnight on the day after it is tagged or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist. The hunter whose name is on the transportation tag is responsible for making the report. If no deer is harvested, no report is necessary. New this year is the option to report the harvest via text message. Simply text the registration number to 1-800-771-4692 and follow the prompts. Hunters are still able to report their harvest online, by phone, or using the Go Outdoors Iowa app.
Don’t Veer for Deer: The combination of cool fall weather and tractors and combines removing crops in fields across Iowa will likely get deer moving early this year. With the peak of the deer breeding activity still more than a month away, drivers need to remain vigilant with their defensive driving skills. “Try to minimize distractions, like cellphones or eating while driving, and, if possible, avoid driving during dawn and dusk which are when deer are most active,” said Harms. “Slow your speed, look fencerow to fencerow and for the reflection of their eyes. If a deer jumps on to the roadway, don’t veer or try to avoid it, but use a controlled braking technique.” Drivers passing through the storm damaged part of the state need to be aware that deer may not be traveling through the usual corridors, Harms said.
(Radio Iowa) – Shoppers looking for their favorite cuts of meat should soon see plenty of them. Beef and pork production are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels after disruptions this spring when outbreaks of COVID-19 sent workers home and meat plants cut production. Farmers and feedlots had to leave animals on site longer than expected, but livestock economist Derrell Peel says now very few beef cattle remain backed-up. “It’s taken the rest of the summer and here into the fall to sort of catch up,” Peel says. “I think we are largely caught up at this point, the indications are that we have largely addressed the backlog.”
Most backlogged pigs have also made it to market. Despite estimates claiming millions of market-weight hogs might be euthanized and not reach the food supply, the actual numbers were much lower. Farmer Mike Paustian of Walcott, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, didn’t lose any of his hogs. “There were some big numbers getting thrown around about what potentially, how many pigs might have to be euthanized,” Paustian says, “and when it was all said and done, that ended up being far, far fewer pigs than what a lot of people were expecting.”
Paustian says he bought extra barns so he could house big pigs longer. He and others also changed the animals’ diets so they could eat without gaining weight. About 65-thousand market-weight pigs were killed on farms in Iowa. Reports say two-thirds of those belonged to one company.
(Reporting by Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)
MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park will be renamed to honor a Keskwaki activist, removing a derogatory term that has long been part of the park’s name. The Linn County Conservation Board on Monday said the name of Squaw Creek Park will change to Wanatee Park. The park in Marion was originally named in 1964.
The conservation board says in a news release that because the word “squaw” is offensive, it decided to remove its use in public buildings and spaces. The new name honors Jean Adeline Morgan Wanatee, who died in 1996. She was was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS