w/ Kate Olson.

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Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will be among four Republican governors who meet with the vice president on Thursday. Reynolds says they’ll discuss “the importance” of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “We’re o.k. with modernizing the language with NAFTA,” Reynolds says. “It’s a 25 year agreement. We believe in fair and free trade, but that’s our number one and two trading partners. It would have a tremendous impact if we were to withdraw from NAFTA.”

President Trump has called NAFTA “a disaster” and U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue has warned the negotiations with Mexico and Canada are a “bumpy ride.” Governor Reynolds says ending the agreement could “devastate” Iowa farmers. “With farm prices and commodity prices where they are today, we need to do everything we can…to make sure that we can maintain the existing footprint that we have for our trading partners,” Reynolds says, “and look for opportunities to expand that.”

According to federal records, Iowa has a trade surplus with both Canada and Mexico. Last year, Iowa exported three-point-three BILLION dollars worth of goods to Canada. Exports to Mexico topped two-point-three BILLION. Half of all Iowa corn exports go to Mexico.

(Radio Iowa)

The new survey by the Iowa State University Extension department shows a slight increase in the average farmland value after three straight years of declines. Iowa State University economist Wendong Zhang says a limited supply of available farmland is the main reason for the two percent increase in land values as the farm economy remains sluggish. “I would not rush into the conclusion that the market has fundamentally improved. Likely we are still in a trajectory of the stabilization in the next one or two years,” he says.

The average statewide value of an acre of farmland is estimated at seven-thousand-326 dollars ($7,326), or 143 dollars more for an acre compared to last year. Commodity prices remain low and Zhang says a full recovery of the ag economy will take some time. “The farm income likely will still stabilize, the interest rate likely will rise again. So I would interpret as the stabilization or temporary break for us to assess where we are,” Zhang says.

Scott and Decatur counties reported the highest and lowest farmland values for the fifth straight year. Decatur County reported land valued 34-hundred-80 dollars ($3,480) — while Scott County reported a value of 10-thousand-497 dollars ($10,497). Just four of Iowa’s 99 counties –Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, and Page –reported a drop in land values this year. Each of those counties reported a decline in value of three-tenths of a percent.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports  the 2017 Iowa deer harvest is running less than 1 percent ahead of the 2016 totals. So far this fall, 76,204 deer have been reported, compared to 75,909 for the same period last year. Iowa’s second shotgun season ends Dec. 17. Iowa’s deer seasons conclude with the late muzzleloader season and archery season, both of which are Dec. 18-Jan. 10, 2018.

An expected 10,000 to 15,000 Iowa hunters will turn their attention to pursuing the state’s top predator after Jan. 10. That’s when most of Iowa’s hunting seasons close, and coyote hunting begins in earnest. Although its season never closes, coyotes are hunted most often during the winter. The number of Iowa coyote hunters and harvest has been at a record level for four of the past five years, thanks in part to predator hunting shows and because coyote fur has held its value as most other pelt prices have declined.

“Coyote pelts go for anywhere from $15-$30 per pelt depending on the quality and Iowa’s pelts are considered average. Last year’s average price was $17. The top pelts come from the Dakotas, Montana, and Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada,” said Vince Evelsizer, state furbearer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Coyote fur is used as trim for hoods and coats in foreign markets. Coyote population is distributed fairly well across the state with the highest population in western Iowa. Coyotes are habitat generalists and can be found near large brushpiles, timber and grass fields, and in particular, fields with switchgrass.

Hunters prefer a fresh layer of snow for tracking and the white background makes coyotes easier to see from a long distance. Wind is critical to coyote hunters because it impacts where and how they set up for calling and pursuing coyotes as coyotes have a keen nose and are naturally wary. Wearing snow colored camo is often effective to avoid detection. Hunters can use predator calls, hunt day or night, use rifles, may hunt over bait and use groups of hunters and or hounds to round them up. There is no bag limit and coyotes can be hunted on a hunting or furharvester license.

“We receive complaints from the public about coyotes’ impact on young deer, turkeys and rabbits; harass pets, and farmers’ loss of livestock. So in that respect, hunters provide an important service by hunting coyotes,” Evelsizer said. “That being said, they’re a very wary game animal worthy of respect. We don’t allow the use of artificial light for night hunting on purpose because we encourage fair chase and it could increase the incentive to misuse the technology to poach deer and other wildlife.”

Coyote trapping is allowed, but it must be done during the trapping season.

Jim Field visits with Amanda Van Steen Wyk of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation about the “Take Root” program.

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Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigated three hunting incidents over the past week. Iowa DNR Conservation Officers are investigating a shooting involving a New Market man who was searching for an injured deer when he was shot by another hunter who had mistaken him for a deer. The shooting happened at around 9:15-a.m. Sunday, north of New Market on private property. 28-year old Justin Scroggie, of New Market, was hunting with 42-year old Brooks Lambert, of Clarinda, while both were attempting to locate an injured deer in a tall, dense CRP field. Lambert mistakenly identified Scroggie as a deer in the dense vegetation and shot him from approximately 40 to 45 yards away, striking him in the left forearm. Scroggie was airlifted to University of Nebraska Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. He was wearing a camouflaged hat. This incident remains under investigation by the DNR. The DNR reminds hunters to not shoot at any movement without always properly identifying the target.

Officials said also, that on December 5th, 65-year old John Fish, of Villisca, was hunting five miles southeast of Nodaway when he was struck in the foot by a slug from another hunter in his hunting party. Fish and a 15-year-old boy were approximately 95 yards on opposite sides of the road (110th Street, east of Denver Ave.) when a doe ran between them. The 15 year old fired a shot, missing the doe and striking Fish in the left foot. Fish was sitting in a fence row of dense vegetation and brush. Fish was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and has undergone surgery. His injuries were non-life-threatening. The incident remains under investigation by the DNR.

An 11-year-old boy was injured in a hunting incident Sunday. It happened on private property near the intersection of 320th Street Northeast and Prairie Du Chen Road Northeast in Johnson County. Both minors (11 and 13) were brothers from Iowa City and were deer hunting with their grandfather. The brothers were standing along a fencerow between a stretch of timber and a field approximately 160 yards apart. Meanwhile, their grandfather was walking through the timber, pushing any deer out in the field towards the brothers. A doe came in from the opposite direction of the timber and both brothers took a shot at the deer standing in the field.  The deer then ran between the boys when the older brother continued to shoot striking his younger brother in the hip.  The victim was transported to University of Iowa Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The incident remains under investigation by the DNR. The DNR reminds hunters to always be cognizant of the whereabouts of other hunters, at all times.  Avoid target fixation and always ensure there is a safe backstop before taking a shot.

The annual report on greenhouse gases in Iowa shows the emissions of those gases has fallen for the second year in a row. D-N-R senior environmental specialist, Marnie (Mar-nee) Stein, says statewide emissions decreased by two percent from 2015 levels. She says emission levels have decreased as Iowa’s power source has changed. “Power plant emissions have decreased 40 percent from their peak in 2010, and the amount of wind generation of electricity in Iowa has increased from four percent in 2005 to up to 37 percent in 2016,” Stein explains, “while the amount of electricity generated in Iowa from coal has decreased from 78 percent to 47 percent.” The power plant emissions decreased by 14 percent in the last year.  “It’s a combination of some units switching from coal to natural gas and then some units not being run because there is enough wind in the state to provide electricity on some days,” Stein says.

The emissions from power plants were the only greenhouse gas source in the state to see a decline in this year’s report, and they offset the increases in other areas, which were about five percent. “The largest source of greenhouse emissions in Iowa are actually in agriculture –they are about 31 percent — and then power plants emit about 20 percent. And then fossil fuels used by homes, businesses and industries is about 25 percent, and then transportation is about 15 percent,” according to Stein. There are a couple of sources of emissions from agriculture. “The majority of emissions from agriculture are from crop production, from fertilizer which goes through the nitrification process which emits N-two-oh (N20)– which is a greenhouse gas,” Stein says. “And the other half of emissions are from animals — from things like cows — and then manure.”

Stein says the agriculture emissions are estimated using formulas based on the amount of acres farmed and the number of animals. Overall the report says the state let loose 128 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2016. “That’s the same amount of greenhouse gases that would come if you sent six million tons of garbage to the landfill instead of recycling it,” Stein says. “And another way to view it is it would take 151 million acres of trees to store the amount of carbon that was emitted last year.”

This is the 11th greenhouse gas inventory report that is mandated by the Iowa Legislature to document emissions trends and track progress in reducing emissions.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Several days of strong winds in late October arrived at the wrong time for many farmers who saw their crops shrink as ears of corn fell to the ground in Nebraska and western Iowa.

The damage varied, but in the hardest hit parts of central Nebraska some farmers reported yields dropping from an estimated 250 bushels an acre before the wind to 190 bushels afterward.

Overall, the Nebraska corn crop is still estimated to be a good one with 1.66 billion bushels, but the Agriculture Department’s prediction is down from September’s 1.72 billion bushel forecast. But the wind damage will make it harder for many Nebraska farmers to break even because commodity prices were already low.

Jim field visits with Iowa Soybean Association President Bill Shipley of Nodaway as he attends the United Soybean Board and American Soybean Association meetings in St. Louis.

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The biodiesel tax incentive was left out of the latest Congressional tax reform bills, but senators are working separate legislation to extend the credit. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Thune of South Dakota are leading the effort. Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, says he hopes they’ll offer the bill before 2018 arrives.

“Senators were given assurances there would be tax extenders added to some of the end-of-the-year budget bills that have to go through by the end of the year or the early part of next year,” Kimberley says. “That’s what we’re working on and hopefully that will happen.”

He says it’s disappointing Congress keeps waiting until the end of the year to make decisions on much-needed tax incentives like the biodiesel credit. “We’ve had a lot of growth and we’ve had success but it’s been difficult because there have been years where the credit is on again, off again,” Kimberley says. “It’s been six out of the last nine years we’ve had it expire and then be reinstated. It’s hard to make business investments when you have this on again, off again incentive.”

Kimberley says the measure the senators are putting together would make the biodiesel incentive a credit for producers rather than blenders. “The reason being is that we’ve seen significant volumes of imported biodiesel coming into the country,” he says. “It just makes good policy sense to make sure these kinds of credits really go toward domestic production.”

Kimberley says the senators believe trying to move the biodiesel tax incentive in a separate measure is better than holding it up in amendments that could have been stripped from the overall tax reform legislation.

(Radio Iowa)