MURRAY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man from northern Iowa died in an accident involving a tractor in eastern Nebraska. The accident occurred Tuesday evening, about 3 miles southeast of Murray. The Cass County (NE) Sheriff’s Office says the man became pinned between a tractor tire and a machine he was trying to attach to the tractor. The sheriff’s office says the man already was dead when deputies and medics arrived. He’s been identified as 61-year-old Richard Kruse. He lived in McIntire, Iowa.

w/Beth Kujala.

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(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa farmers is in Washington D-C for the National Farmers Union Fly-In, underway through tomorrow (Friday). Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman (LAY-mun) says getting a new Farm Bill through Congress is their first major goal. “We want to see a Farm Bill taken care of here in the dwindling days of the session,” Lehman says. “We need a strong safety net in place. We need some certainty for our farmers. Negotiations are ongoing but we need to see that work pushed through to a good conclusion.”

He says trade disputes on multiple fronts are costing agricultural producers billions. “Our folks are extremely concerned about the trade situation,” Lehman says. “They want to talk to both administration officials and to members of Congress and let them know how dire the situation is an how we need a long-term solution that’s going to bring some real results to the marketplace.” Lehman says they’ll also be talking to our elected leaders about issues like market concentration in the agribusiness industry. “And we’ll also be talking with folks about our concerns as a lot of farmers in Iowa are impacted by pesticide drift,” Lehman says. “We want to be sure that’s going to be handled in the right way as well.”

Lehman says the best lobbyists for rural America are farmers themselves and that’s why this Fly-In is so important.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new survey report says the Iowa farmland average values have dropped 1.7 percent in the past six months. The report from the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute says the decline over the past six months left the values at a little over $6,800 an acre. But the report issued Tuesday also says the values climbed 1.2 percent higher over the past 12 months.
Values went up in the past six months only in northeast Iowa, rising 0.7 percent. The report blamed the state decline in part on tariffs that affected crop prices and on rising interest rates.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State agricultural officials say an insect that’s killed millions of ash trees has been found in central Iowa’s Grundy County. Officials said in a news release Wednesday that emerald ash borer samples were found in a city-owned tree in Dike. The confirmation brings the state infestation total to 65 counties.

Adult Emerald Ash Borer

People are urged to report any suspected infestation. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says tracking the whereabouts of emerald ash borers across the state helps in formulating treatment recommendations.

Infected trees usually lose leaves at the top of the canopy and the die-off spreads downward. The trees usually die within four years. The bugs are native to Asia and were first reported in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002 and in Iowa in 2010.

EAB larva stage

(Radio Iowa) — A boater in northern Iowa got a little more lake than he bargained for yesterday (Tuesday) morning in Rudd. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office says a truck sank to the bottom of the lake at Rudd Park shortly before 11:30-a.m., Tuesday. The incident happened when a 2015 Dodge Ram, along with a boat on a trailer, lost traction while being backed down a boat ramp, causing both the truck and boat to start floating. The driver, James Lines of Marble Rock, was able to get out of the truck before it sank to the bottom of the lake.

No injuries were reported. Damage to the truck is estimated at $20,000.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recognized thirteen students from Iowa at the State Fair for providing the artwork that appears in the “From the Farm to You” calendar.  Included among those who received recognition, was Treynor 5th grade student Monica Osborn, whose work was featured for the month of October. The calendar was distributed to fairgoers by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. (You can see an electronic version of the calendar here: https://www.iowaagriculture.gov/press/pdfs/2018/From%20the%20Farm%20to%20You%202018-2019%20Calendar.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery )

Monica Osborn receives her certificate of recognition from IA AG Sec. Mike Naig.

Naig said “The ‘From the Farm to You’ calendar emphasizes the connection between the production of our state’s farmers and everyday products enjoyed by Iowans. The art by these students helps showcase Iowa agriculture in a way that can be enjoyed throughout the year.” He presented the students with a certificate during the State Fair recognizing their selection. Students can submit drawings to be considered for inclusion in the calendar next year. Pictures should be drawn using only black lines on plain white paper, 8 ½ by 11 inches. The pictures should not be colored. They can be submitted to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Calendar Kids, 502 E. 9th St., Des Moines, IA 50319.

DES MOINES, IA, Sept. 12, 2018 – Iowa farmers interested in reducing soil erosion, improving soil health and water quality, creating or protecting wildlife habitat, and treating other resource concerns on their land have until Oct. 19 to be considered for priority funding through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for fiscal year 2019. Through EQIP, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides conservation planning and financial assistance for conservation practices such as no-till, cover crops, nutrient management, terraces, grassed waterways, manure management facilities, and pasture management.

EQIP, one of USDA’s most popular conservation programs, is offered through a continuous signup, but NRCS periodically makes application selections as funding allows. In fiscal year 2018, NRCS provided a record $31 million in EQIP financial assistance to Iowa farmers. Paul Goldsmith, EQIP coordinator for Iowa NRCS, says his agency provides EQIP assistance for non-traditional conservation practices through statewide initiatives, too, including habitat for pollinators such as bees and monarch butterflies, high tunnels, on-farm energy, and organics.

Iowa NRCS also sets aside 10 percent of the Iowa EQIP financial assistance program for the historically underserved, which include beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, limited resource producers, Tribal farmers and veterans. Goldsmith says conservation plans through NRCS must be developed for the area included in an EQIP contract. “It is important for farmers to get applications completed early to speed up the practice implementation process, and to apply conservation more strategically,” he said.

If a farmer applied for EQIP funds last year, but was not selected, Goldsmith recommends those applicants contact their local NRCS office if they wish to continue with the application. The Oct. 19 application cutoff deadline includes EQIP funding through Iowa’s Regional Conservation Partnership Projects (RCPP). Visit your local NRCS office today for more information about conservation planning and financial assistance to implement more conservation on your farm or go to www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Ag News) — Two of the Trump Administration’s top trade officials attended this week’s Midwest U.S. – Japan Association Conference in Omaha. Gregg Doud is the chief ag negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. Doud says trade talks with Canada will hopefully wrap up soon, but Doud says it’s important to get the deal right.

“Both countries are working very hard,” Doud says. “You know, still obviously things to talk about and get sorted out.” Ted McKinney is undersecretary for trade in the U-S-D-A. He acknowledges Trump’s trade policies are making farm country nervous.

“For sure they’re nervous, there’s no doubt. I’m nervous, for goodness sake,” McKinney says. “If we can move through this, I call it ‘right sizing,’ then I think the pathway on the other side is more smooth. It’s not as bumpy. There’s less turbulence. It’s a brighter, sunshiny day perhaps, but we cannot vacate this now, otherwise we will have lost everything we’ve gained.”

McKinney says the NAFTA re-negotiation “seems like it’s very close” to being completed. McKinney will meet today (Wednesday) in Washington with the vice minister of agriculture from China. McKinney, though, cautions that a “free, fair and reciprocal” trade deal with China will take a while to achieve.

(Reporting by Ken Anderson of Brownfield Ag News)