DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.5 percent in September. The state’s jobless rate was 3.0 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 3.7 percent in September. “The number of working Iowans is increasing, the number of unemployed Iowans is decreasing, and our great state continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation,” said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development. The number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 41,800 in September from 42,700 in August. The current estimate is 8,200 lower than the year ago level of 50,000. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,644,400 in September. This figure was 1,900 higher than August and 18,200 higher than one year ago.

 Seasonally Adjusted Non-farm Employment  

In September, Iowa establishments shed 3,400 jobs. This month’s drop marks the second loss in the last three months for the state. Both goods-producing and service industries took a step back this month. Private industry showed little overall movement this month whereas government pared 3,500 jobs and is now down 1,200 jobs annually. Of the ten private sectors: four super sectors lost jobs, four were unchanged, and two added jobs in September. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest drop in September (-1,100). This month’s loss is the second-consecutive drop for this super sector which has seen only three monthly increases in 2018. All of the loss this month was due to reductions in accommodations and food services which generally drives the monthly movements. Manufacturing posted a decrease this month (-600) following no gain in August. All other losses were small and included information services and financial activities, both of which shed jobs in August also. Alternatively, gains this month were highest in other services (+1,500). This sector has not shown any strong hiring trend this year. The only other sector to add jobs this month was professional and business services, gaining 500 jobs this month at the administrative support and waste management sector.

Annually, total non-farm employment remains up 17,600 jobs versus last September. Goods-producing industries continue to fuel annual growth and have contributed 14,300 jobs over the past twelve months. Durable goods factories are up 6,100 jobs despite little movement this month. Professional and business services also continues to expand and is now up 2,900 jobs since last September. Private sector losses have been limited to just three sectors: other services, leisure and hospitality, and information.

(Radio Iowa) — A new report finds rural states like Iowa are still far behind in getting high-speed internet to all corners, which impacts the rate of growth and success. Johnathan Hladlik, policy director with the Center For Rural Affairs, says 31-percent of rural households lack access to broadband internet. He says that means those communities and their residents will be at an economic disadvantage. “We know as agriculture changes, as manufacturing changes, consistently we see micro-entrepreneurs and small business creation as being a key element to employment and strong economies in rural areas,” Hladik says. “Frankly, today, having broadband and high-speed internet is essential to a successful business.”

The center’s report, called “Map to Prosperity,” found of the more than 25-million households that lack access to broadband internet, 19-million of them are in rural areas. Hladik says coverage maps being used to determine how many people are covered in rural communities need to be re-written. “From 2011 to 2015, there was funding for each and every state to identify where broadband access existed,” Hladik says. “You could go in and you could know which addresses had broadband and which addresses did not have broadband. That was federal money that has since dried up.”

States that use less-effective methods to monitor coverage are bringing about large over-estimations about who’s covered. Hladik says that’s unacceptable when considering how much broadband can contribute to a state’s economy. “Increasing broadband access by 10% translates to an estimated 1% increase in gross domestic product,” he says, “and it shows that 80 new jobs are created for every additional 1,000 broadband users within a state or within a community.”

The center is pushing for legislation that will ensure better coverage for rural communities. Broadband is defined by the F-C-C as internet connections capable of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) for download and 3 Mbps for upload speeds. More on the web at www.crfa.org

(Radio Iowa) — The wet weather and delayed has created problems for livestock producers who want to apply manure to fields this fall. The D-N-R’s Ken Hessenius says the rainfall has also helped fill up manure storage areas and finding a way to draw them down hasn’t been easy. “We’ve been getting a few phone calls already stating facilities are getting full, the crops aren’t out and the ground is saturated and they are either anticipating problems or maybe already having some problems — so yeah, we’re eharing all kinds of things out there,” Hessenius says.  He says there’s one easy solution they can hope for. “One of my favorites is get down and pray for nice warm, dry weather,” Hessenius says, “and actually we’re getting some of that — so that’s gonna help.”

He says there are some other things that can be done to keep full lagoons from overflowing.”You can look at some manure transfer. Maybe transfer between pits on facilities if you have some storage. Maybe look for some alternative fields if the one you are planning to put manure on hasn’t had the crops removed. Those are just a few off the top of my head,” Hessenius says. He advises you to take a look at your options and do something before it becomes a crisis. “The last thing we want to do is see these pits running over and causing problems with a nearby stream or something like that,” he explains.

That can end up doing environmental damage and be costly for producers. Hessenius says there will be issues even if the weather allows crops to be cleared out of fields that are targeted for manure. “We’re going to have some compaction out there and compacted soil and wet soil is just a bad combination for being able to uptake manure — which is 99 percent water,” Hessenius says. “Even normal manure application rates may be a problem — especially if you have some of those higher rates from dairy or sow. There may be a necessity to put on a little less so we don’t get runoff.”

Hessenius says the D-N-R can help you figure out a solution for your individual operation. “The problem with sending out a blanket statement is it just doesn’t work for everyone. Every facility is unique, every facility may have different options. Probably the best thing to do is just give your local field office a quick call,” Hessenius says.

Hessenius says the dry days will hopefully stretch out awhile and help ease some of the problems.

(Brownfield Net/Radio Iowa) — Two cities in Iowa have submitted proposals to the U-S-D-A as the agency considers new locations for the headquarters of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. According to Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the proposals are from Council Bluffs and Ames. Ames is the home of Iowa State University, a so-called “land grant” institution founded with an agricultural mission. “That, of course, elevated from Ames and the Research Park, because that’s obviously a really strong connection with the land-grant that the application talked about,” Durham says.

Durham says Council Bluffs has strong selling points, too. “That Omaha/Council Bluffs region from a population base and from a transportation grid response,” Durham says.

The Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce has submitted a bid as well, for moving the U-S-D-A facilities to the Rock Island Arsenal. The U-S-D-A’s plan to relocate the two agencies has drawn fire from lawmakers and former agency leaders, but U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue has said the relocation will improve customer service and save taxpayer dollars. The U-S-D-A’s Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture are currently located in Washington, D.C. and employ more than 600 people. About 15 percent of federal employees — including all the top decision-makers — are based in Washington, D.C. The rest of the federal workforce is spread across the country. The U-S-D-A’s National Animal Disease Laboratory already is located in Ames. The U-S-D-A has Farm Service Agency offices around the state as well.

(Radio Iowa) — The medical marijuana company that’s making the first ever products produced solely in the state gave a preview today of what they are going to offer when sales start December 1st. MedPharm Iowa’s Lucas Nelson has been overseeing the project since the state award the company the first medical marijuana license. “This is obviously a major, major day for both MedPharm and I think really for the patients across Iowa, the legislature, the entire community that has seen this program signed into law and now really starting to become a reality,” Nelson says.

Med-pot-capsules

Nelson spoke in the facility where the company grows the marijuana, extracts the cannabis oil (CDB), and manufactures and packages the products. “We do some of our own internal testing here and then those products that you’ll see today are also sent out to the State Hygienic Lab of Iowa. So, that’s the third part of the testing that will be verifying what’s in the products that they will be safe from heavy metals and some other things that they have decided to test for,” Nelson says. “Certainly a very important aspect of this program and something that differentiates our products from some of the others out there that may be sold over the counter.”

Med-pot-cream

MedPharm will operate two of the dispensaries in Sioux City and Council Bluffs. Stephen Wilson oversees the dispensary program and says they will have three products branded with the Aliviar name — a tincture liquid, capsules and creams. They each will have different mixes of C-B-D and T-H-C. “T-H-C and C-B-D work synergistically which each other — given that they kind of kick start each other to work that much better,” according to Wilson. “One by itself is not going work as well as when you get…both of them in there.”

The products will feature four formulations called Calm, with a 20 to one C-D-B to T-H-C mix; Soothe with a two to one C-D-B to T-H-C mix; Harmony with a one to one mix and Comfort with a one-to-20 C-B-D to T-H-C mix. “These are the four formulations we have now. We totally expect to have more as the program develops and as we are able to operate,” Wilson says. “And this is why you see the sliding scale here. A two-to-one versus a three-to-one is going to have vastly different affects, which is why we like to keep things on a sliding scale. But for now these are the four formulations you are gong to see and we have several different products within these formulations.”

Wilson says everyone’s body reacts differently and benefits differently from the various products and that’s why they have several options. “Each product has its strengths and drawbacks and that’s why we encourage patients to try several different products in order to find the right one that’s going to relieve any symptoms that they are suffering from,” Wilson says.

Wilson says they will ask patients to keep notes as they use the products so they can adjust the type and dosage of the products. “Someone starting out with five milligrams say using a tincture — we’ll say okay why don’t you try ten milligrams this time and see how you feel. Take notes about that, come back to us and we can play with the dosing that way,” according to Wilson. “That’s what’s nice about of a lot of the products that we have. It really allows us to play with them and see which product works best, which specific dose is going to work best for that individual.”

Those who want to use the medical marijuana products must get certification from their doctor that they have one of the conditions that allows them to buy the products. Wilson says the decisions on dosing will be done by the staff at the dispensaries in consultation with the patients. “Once the physician certifies that they have that condition it’s going to be really up to the patient consultants to determine that treatment plan,” Wilson explains. “That’s why we are going to make sure that our patient consultants at Medpharm are very well versed in all of this. We want them to take out as much of the trial and error as possible.”

They have had concerns from some patients who have been having trouble finding a doctor to certify their condition.Wilson says this is an issue that has raised the most concern and confusion among doctors. “Doctors are never prescribing this — all they are doing is certifying that the patient has this qualifying condition. And I think that is why a lot of doctors get hung up,” Wilson says.

Wilson also gave an expected price range for the four products. The tinctures are expected to range from 50 to 150 dollars; the capsules from 30 to 130 dollars; the creams 65 to 85 dollars. They will also offer a trial pack of capsules that will range from ten to 25 dollars.

Jim Field visits with AHSTW FFA Chapter Vice President Cody Roskens about the program and the Farmer Appreciation Feed this Friday in Hancock.

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports that on Sunday (Oct. 14th), the DNR was notified of a single-person hunting incident on Barringer Slough in Clay County, Iowa.  A 22-year-old man from Spencer was waterfowl hunting and suffered minor injuries to his hand from his firearm.  The man was later treated at a local medical facility and released.  The incident remains under investigation.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Tuesday, highlighted $2 million in funding available over the next year from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that will support eight Iowa Water Quality Initiative (WQI) projects. The funding is through the USDA’s Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative (MRBI) and will support practices that help improve water quality.

Among the Watershed projects selected for the funding is the Walnut Creek WQI (Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Page, Fremont Counties). In addition, Slocum Creek Watershed in Pottawattamie County is an existing MRBI project that will be funded again this year.

The funding will support conservation practices that reduce nutrient loss and improve wildlife habitat while maintaining agricultural productivity. Eligible practices include cover crops, bioreactors, grassed waterways, terraces and prescribed grazing. Each watershed project will have specific practices that are eligible.

Farmers interested in participating should contact their local USDA office by March 15, 2019.

PERSIA, Iowa – A few weeks ago, Terry Plummer noticed that just around sunset, the trees in his yard were filling with monarchs that had stopped for the night on their 2,000 mile annual migration to central Mexico. Plummer, who spent his life farming in Harrison County, didn’t recall that happening before. Plummer, from rural Persia, has been noticing more unusual things recently, thanks, in part, to the nearly 400 acres of prairie he installed on two of his farm fields in 2017, when he signed up for the Iowa Habitat and Access Program.

More than 4,900 acres of private land on 26 sites was opened to hunters in Harrison County since 2016 and pheasant numbers have increased 200 percent around these sites from 7 in 2016 to 21 this year. Photo courtesy of the Iowa DNR.

The two year old prairie has been a discussion topic with his neighbors, as has the increased sightings of pheasants along the road. And it’s not just the neighbors who’ve noticed, hunters have as well. “It’s turned out better than I’ve imagined, so far,” Plummer said.

Acre after acre, field after field, mile after mile, young prairies in Harrison County are coming in to their own. These prairies, seeded with a mix of native plants to benefit pollinators, wetland and upland species, have grown out of difficult to farm fields that are enrolled in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Four years ago, funding became available through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, which is part of the federal Farm Bill, to improve habitat on private land in exchange for allowing hunting access and in a short time, more than 4,900 acres of private land on 26 sites was opened to hunters.

“The landowners made the decision to enroll in CRP. We approached them and said the program will help fund the habitat improvements and we will do all the maintenance from mowing to tree removal to burning. All you need to do is allow hunter access,” said Brian Hickman, private lands program coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Needless to say, it was well received.”

A number of fields adjoin each other, creating miles of connected habitat that benefits wildlife and can support lots of hunters. Habitat work began with winter-seeding in 2016 and 2017. These fields are starting to mature and on this gray October day, their value to wildlife and hunters was evident.

Two northern harriers were flying low over the prairie looking for a meal as they migrate south. Pheasants, shaking off the morning mist, fled the roadside to the safety of taller vegetation along a prairie edge. Ducks dodged early morning hunters and deer were loafing at the opposite end of a field.

The Iowa DNR has been monitoring these IHAP areas for pheasants collecting anecdotal information on the local population since the project began. Based on the survey, pheasant numbers have increased 200 percent, from 7 in 2016, to 13 in last year, to 21 this year.

“I expect good pheasant hunting on these areas,” Hickman said. “I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.”

Partnerships key to success

Staff with USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service worked with Hickman to identify and make contact with landowners interested in the program.

Hickman, who at the time was working at the local private lands biologist for the Iowa DNR in western Iowa, met with the landowners and signed agreements to manage their land for 9 or 10 years, which is the maximum length of the contract. The land remains privately owned and hunters are allowed access for the length of the contract. There was more demand for the program than funding available.

Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP)

Iowa was selected as a pilot state in 2011 and from its inception the Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) has drawn strong landowner interest securing all available funding and providing hunter access to more than 25,700 acres of private land.

The program is also popular with hunters who have focused much of their efforts on these orange-signed areas. Each site has a survey box to collect comments from hunters.

Based on survey responses, hunters are traveling 76 miles and spending an average of $70 per trip to hunt IHAP sites. And most of them enjoyed it – 76 percent had a positive experience and 99 percent said they would hunt an IHAP site again. Pheasants were the most hunted species.

These areas are regularly patrolled by Iowa DNR conservation officers and are treated like public hunting ground, with the noted exception that it is private property, and trapping and fishing on the area is not allowed.

“This program is only available because landowners were willing to participate in it. Hunters should respect private property, stay on the land enrolled in the program and pick up after themselves,” Hickman said.

Site maps are available at www.iowadnr.gov/ihap showing boundaries, which species would be most likely attracted to the habitat and the location of a checkout box where hunters are asked to leave their comments on the program.

Walk-in public hunting through IHAP is available between September 1 and May 31. The IHAP is supported with money from Federal Farm Bill and Habitat Stamp.