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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!
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The eastern Iowa city of Cedar Rapids is preparing for its annual Urban Deer Hunt, which allows some deer hunting inside city limits.
This year’s season opens on Sept. 14 and runs through Jan. 10. Hunting is limited to those using archery equipment, and participants must complete a bow hunter’s class and attend an urban deer hunting rules and regulations class. Participants must also pass an annual proficiency test and complete a special application before being issued a permit for the urban hunt. Participants must also provide a completed land owners permission form.
The intent of the urban hunt is to thin populations of deer living within city limits and residential areas. More information can be found on the city’s website at http://bit.ly/2YBizSw .
LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Western Iowa authorities say a 58-year-old man died after becoming trapped in a grain bin. Firefighters, medics and Sac County deputies were sent to the Lake View location around 3:40 p.m. Thursday. Officials say Garry Leonard became stuck after he entered the partially filled bin to break up some corn clotting. Another worker tried to pull him free but failed. The corn was removed, and firefighters were able to get him out about 45 minutes later. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Leonard lived in Lake View.
(Radio Iowa) — The 2019 Iowa State Fair’s Big Boar tipped the scales yesterday (Thursday) at 1254 pounds. They call him Captain. Tricia Britt, of Monticello, says “We wanted to come up with a name that had authority.” It’s the first time she and her husband, Bryan, have entered one of their boars in the biggest of big state fair contests.
“We’ve never been here before and we’ve never watched the ‘Big Boar’ show, but we knew about it,” Tricia Britt says. “Brian has a cousin that has done it.” Captain, who is three-and-a-half years old, was the heaviest of six boars entered in Thursday’s State Fair competition.
Each entrant was paraded into the Swine Barn’s show ring and weighed as a crowd on bleachers watched and cheered.
DES MOINES — A second consecutive month of below normal precipitation has about 36 percent of the state rated as abnormally dry, according to the latest Water Summary Update. “It seems surprising that after the wet winter and spring that we would be thinking about drought conditions, but recent dryness has pushed parts of the state in that direction,” said Tim Hall, DNR’s coordinator of hydrology resources. “So far, streamflow and shallow groundwater are at normal levels, but we will continue to monitor those conditions.”
The data show two-thirds of Harrison County, all but the southeast corner of Pottawattamie County, the eastern half of Page County, nearly all of Taylor County, the northern half of Adair and Madison Counties, and most of Guthrie and Dallas Counties, to name a few, are abnormally dry.
July averaged 3.35 inches of rainfall around the state, which is 1.15 inches less than normal. June and July together were 2.3 inches below normal for rainfall. Despite this recent dry weather, the previous 12 months were the fourth wettest on record. Iowa temperatures averaged 75.1 degrees, or 1.5 degrees above normal, ranking this as the 51st warmest July. The month’s high temperature of 99 degrees was reported on July 19 in Little Sioux in Harrison County, which was 13 degrees above average for that date. Cresco in Howard County reported the month’s low temperature of 48 degrees on July 31, 11 degrees below average.
For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.
The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.
Celebrating its 40th year in Iowa, the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program will hold its core training sessions this fall for local individuals interested in becoming Master Gardener volunteers. The Master Gardener program in Cass County is looking for people who are passionate about volunteering and gardening. No previous garden knowledge is required. The program equips participants to grow in knowledge about gardening best practices. After the training, Master Gardeners volunteer in their community, making significant contributions such as giving vegetables to food pantries and maintaining demonstration gardens at Iowa’s county fairgrounds. 
“Master Gardeners provide volunteer service across Iowa,” said Susan DeBlieck, ISU Extension and Outreach Master Gardener coordinator. “They are excellent community resources who create partnerships in their community to enhance school gardens, provide educational opportunities, and host plant sales.”
The Cass County Extension office will hold training sessions starting on Tuesday, September 3 at the Extension Office and other locations around Cass County to allow for hands-on learning. Classes will be held each Tuesday evening in September and October from 6-8 PM, with an additional extended class scheduled for Saturday morning September 28. The Class on Campus training session will be held in Ames on October 19, bringing all Master Gardener trainees across the state together for hands-on workshops with ISU Extension and Outreach instructors.
The expanded flipped classroom model that was implemented in 2018 will continue this year. Lectures that were previously given during classroom sessions are now available to be watched at home, freeing up class time for hands-on activities and tours of local gardens. This is the first time this format has been offered for training in Cass County. Those interested in the course can apply online at https://mastergardenerhours.hort.iastate.edu/application-form.php. A link to the application form is also available on the Cass County Extension Website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass or you can call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 for assistance with registration. Training fees of $195 are due in the fall once participants are accepted into the class. Because Master Gardener volunteers work with many community partners, applicants will also be required to successfully pass a background screen before being accepted into the program.
After completing the course, Master Gardener trainees volunteer within the community, volunteering 40 hours. To maintain Master Gardener volunteer status, they volunteer 20 hours per year and build their gardening know-how by participating in ten hours of continuing education. Cass County has an active Master Gardener group that participates in many projects throughout the year, so opportunities to learn and volunteer are plentiful! Individuals not interested in becoming a Master Gardener volunteer can still receive training. The ProHort program allows individuals to gain knowledge while earning a certificate of completion. Cost for the ProHort program is $550 and does not include any volunteer requirements.
By becoming a Master Gardener, trainees will join the nearly 2,000 Master Gardeners who were active across Iowa in 2018, compiling over 113,000 volunteer hours. Master Gardeners volunteered nearly 60 hours each, significantly more than the 20 hours required. Those volunteer hours are valued at $2.7 million collectively. For more information about the Master Gardener training, or Master Gardener activities in Cass county, call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.
Region 17 Table Setting Contest: Region 17 Table Setting Contest was held Thursday, August 1 at 4:00pm the Council Bluffs Public Library in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Region 17 Table Setting Contest is an event bringing the best of the best from each county in Region 17 together to compete for the top table setting in each category and age division. Counties in Region 17 include Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, East Pottawattamie and West Pottawattamie.
During each county fair, each county holds a Table Setting Contest where youth choose a theme for either a formal or casual table setting. They plan a menu of what would be served, arrange a full single table setting with flatware, stemware, and dinnerware as needed to serve the planned meal at their dinner or party. They create a centerpiece to fit the theme. Finally, they set up the table setting, menu and centerpiece on a card table, or for informal table settings such as a picnic, arrange everything on a blanket on the floor. They youth wear clothing that goes along with the theme to strengthen the presentation. A judge then talks to the participant and judges them on their planning skills, ability to set a proper table, manners, ability to develop a theme, the menu, centerpiece and clothing choices, hospitality skills and communication throughout the judging process.
Youth are divided into age groups of juniors (grades 4-6), intermediates (grades 7-8) and seniors (grades 9-12) and then are divided again into the categories of formal or casual. At the end of each county fair, their top junior, intermediate and senior in both casual and formal are selected to participate in the Region 17 Showcase night. Youth came together, set up their tables and were judged. The top junior, intermediate and senior in both casual and formal were selected and received an award at the end of the showcase evening.
Region 17 Showcase Results:
Junior Casual Participants: Angelina Cain, Cadence Jahn, Ella Johnson, Summer Maher, London Schueman, Sophia Stroud
Junior Formal Participants: Lexie Clark, Lilly Kurth, Ailey Marburger, Evelyn Stoakes
Intermediate Casual Participants: Cale Clark, Rebecca Cody, Paige Goodspeed, Lea Hendrickson, Jaiden Jahn
Intermediate Formal Participants: Cora Killpack, Emily Newby, Allyee Pierson
Senior Casual Participants: Mariah Cain, Kandalyn Davies, Camryn Pierson, Camryn Schafer
Senior Formal Participants: Bailey Maher, Anna Newby
Healthy & Homemade: Healthy and Homemade is a series focused on strategies for using your time, money and skills wisely to save money and prepare nutritious and safe foods. Explore the benefits of using the slow cooker, food safety tips, and meal ideas. Discover how planning can reduce stress, save money, and provide your family nutritious home-cooked meals. Tour our virtual grocery store and learn how to identify and purchase the most nutritious food items. Healthy and Homemade will be held at the Guthrie County Extension Office from 6:00- 7:00 pm on November 7, 14 and 21, 2019. Register by November 4, 2019 at http://bit.ly/hh13242.
Silent Auction Donations: Guthrie County 4-H’ers are asking for your donation to the 4-H Silent Auction taking place during the 2019 Guthrie County Fair. Last year’s auction was a big success & we are hoping to raise even more funds this year to offset the rising cost of 4-H enrollment fees. If you would like to donate or have any questions, please contact the Extension Office at 641-747-2276.
Cy-Hawk Tailgate: Guthrie County Extension is partnering with Guthrie County Corn Growers Association to host the 8th Annual Cy-Hawk Tailgate Party on Friday, September 13th from 11:00 am- 1:00pm! Help us celebrate Iowa’s biggest game of the year and team rivalry! Whether you’re a Cyclone fan or Hawkeye fan, come and enjoy free grilled hot dogs, chips, cookies and bottled water. We have added tailgate games this year! Register for a chance to win an ISU tailgate package!
(Radio Iowa) — The iconic “butter cow” has been a part of the annual Iowa State Fair since 1911 and Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines sculpted this year’s dairy cow — as she’s done each of the past 18 years. “Really any kind of butter works, although if I have access to it, low moisture butter — so butter that’s been churned for a longer period of time — works better,” Pratt says. “I typically used recycled butter, so it in effect does the same thing. As I use it year-to-year-to-year, it reduces the moisture and becomes more like clay.”
Pratt carves a butter cow for the Illinois State Fair and does a butter sculpture for the Kansas State Fair as well. “Here at the Iowa State Fair we have a lovely, very long stretch of cooler, so I can put inside the cooler a cow and also a themed-sculpture,” Pratt says. Pratt marked the 100th anniversary of John Deere during the 2018 Iowa State Fair and sculpted — out of butter — a replica of the “Waterloo Boy” tractor. “It was extremely difficult in the sence of trying to get the scale just right and all the details,” Pratt says, “…all of the intricacies of doing it.”
This year, fair-goers who pass through the Agriculture Building may see the figures Pratt has made to celebrate a long-running children’s television program. “We are very excited to be honoring the 50th anniversary of ‘Sesame Street’ which I grew up watching and also the 50th anniversary of Iowa Public Television, which is the channel I watched ‘Sesame Street’ on, so they kind of go hand-in-hand,” Pratt says. “It’s really going to be a family-friendly sculpture this year.”
Pratt uses about 12-hundred POUNDS of butter for her Iowa State Fair carvings.
(Radio Iowa) — A farm in the Loess Hills of southwest Iowa where corn, soybeans and cattle were once raised is now home to acres of wildflowers and lavender. Mary Hamer and her husband, Tim, run the Loess Hills Lavender Farm near the Harrison County town of Missouri Valley. The peak months are July through September for the undulating ocean of delicate purple flowers. “People are allowed to go and cut a small bouquet,” Mary Hamer says. “Right now, we’re a little short because the first cuttings have been pretty much cut, but then we rebloom until it freezes again. By the end of August and September, we’ll have a nice stand of lavender again.”
The farm hosts events like teas, luncheons and weddings while the gift shop is filled with items like lavender-infused lemonade, lavender cookies and even lavender fudge. “We make all of our own products, lotions, balms and spritzes,” Hamer says. “In researching lavender, it’s an amazing herb that you can cook with, clean with, and heal with. It’s got a lot of great properties in it. Our lotions and balms are good on bug bites.”
The Hamers, originally from the Pisgah and Little Sioux areas, bought the farm ten years ago after spending a few years researching lavender. They were struck by the idea when on the West Coast to visit their son, who was in the Navy. “We were waiting for his submarine to come in and my daughter-in-law said there was a lavender festival in Sequim, Washington, and that’s where I wanted to go,” Hamer says. “We went up and I walked in the field and my very first thought was, ‘I’ve gotta’ do this is Iowa.'”
The aroma of lavender can be intoxicating and when there are acres of the purple plants, Hamer says many people find it’s the perfect place for snapping selfies — or forgetting about technology entirely. Hamer says, “The hills are beautiful and people can come out and just relax and enjoy themselves and maybe find a little inner peace here.”
(On the web at http://www.loesshillslavender.com/ )
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