(Radio Iowa) –  Iowa farmers who are still working to recover from losses caused by the derecho last August would likely see benefits in a bill being introduced by Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra. The Republican from Hull says the legislation would bring derecho relief through an existing federal program that targets farmers and ranchers who were hit by -other- natural disasters last year. “The program is out there already through the USDA called the WHIP Plus program, it’s a wildfire and hurricane indemnity fund,” Feenstra says. “What that fund is, it’s strictly for wildfires and hurricanes, so what the bill is simply doing is adding derechos and just for 2020 disasters.”

Feenstra tried to attach a derecho relief package to the 1.9-trillion dollar reconciliation bill last year, but failed. He says Democrats have pledged to help support the measure now that it’s a free-standing bill. “They sort of promised, saying, ‘Hey, we can’t take your amendment because we’re not taking any amendments, but if you do something else, we’re going to help,'” Feenstra says. “So now we’re pretty excited that we’ve got a stand-alone bill, working with the Ag Committee, working with everybody, hoping to get this one over the finish line.” Feenstra says derecho assistance is still direly needed and could make the difference of some producers staying in business or going belly up.

“It’s very significant for all of the farming community in central Iowa and so forth,” Feenstra says. “I’ve had a lot of producers talk to me saying, ‘Boy, I’m on the verge of not making it.’ We can only hope we can get this thing passed and get some help and subsidies to those who lost everything in the derecho.” The August 10th derecho was the most destructive thunderstorm in United States’ history, causing more than 13-billion dollars damage, most of it in Iowa. It packed peak winds of 140 miles-an-hour, the equivalent of an E-F-3 tornado or a category-four hurricane.

Cass County: Corn $6.66 Beans $14.69
Adair County: Corn $6.63 Beans $14.72
Adams County: Corn $6.63 Beans $14.72
Audubon County: Corn $6.65 Beans $14.71
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $6.69 Beans $14.69
Guthrie County: Corn $6.68 Beans $14.73
Montgomery County: Corn $6.68 Beans $14.69
Shelby County: Corn $6.69 Beans $14.69

Oats $2.97 (always the same in all counties)

(Radio Iowa) – A lush, green lawn is a source of pride for many Iowans and this prolonged drought is forcing many of us to quit worrying about having the best lawn on the block — and let the grass go dormant. Adam Thoms, a horticulture professor at Iowa State University and a turfgrass extension specialist, says it’s stressful for grass to shake up the watering schedule, so he’s telling Iowans if their lawns are already turning brown, just let them go. “Putting them in and out of dormancy by watering and stopping and then restarting is really hard on the turf,” Toams says. “It’s okay to go into dormancy. The grass can last for 30 to 60 days with that straw brown color and it won’t hurt it at all. It’ll come back out in the fall.”

Des Moines Water Works, which serves more than 500-thousand customers in 18 central Iowa communities, is asking residents to voluntarily conserve and cut back on watering by 25-percent. Last Friday, demand for the utility hit 90-percent of production capacity. Toams predicts many folks in the Des Moines metro -will- cut back, as requested. “There’s some research out there that shows when they ask for those voluntary commitments that people do step up and follow those,” Toams says. “We always suggest that you don’t water every day anyway. It’s better to do a deep and infrequent watering. That forces the turf roots to go deeper to chase that water deep in the soil, so, that’s an okay thing.”

Some people turn on the sprinklers for hours at a time and let them saturate the grass, but Toams says most lawns don’t need more than an inch of water in a week’s time. “If you can break that down over two or three times a week — that one inch — that’s fine,” Toams says. “If we get a week like next week’s coming up that they’re saying it’s going to be a little cooler, you can dial that back to eight-tenths of an inch or something like that. And of course, if we get any kind of rain, count that against your inch.” If you’ve laid sod within the past year or are trying to grow new grass from seeds, you’re in for what could be an expensive, frustrating challenge.

“Those are the ones that are going to get hurt by this drought. They’re the ones that need regular watering just because they don’t have a deep root system,” Toams says. “We do need to make sure that those get regular waterings. If you’re thinking about overseeding or adding seed to your yard, just wait. Right now is not the time. It’s too hot and it’s obviously too dry.”

Plus, given the weather patterns, he says more water restrictions are likely looming. If the dry weather lasts through summer and grass has been dormant up to six weeks, apply an inch or so of water in a single application. The grass won’t green up, but it’ll keep the roots alive. If the drought continues, water in that fashion every two weeks, but not enough to bring it out of dormancy. Toams suggests Iowans give their lawns a good dose of fertilizer this fall to help them recharge and ideally, come back strong next spring.

Officials with Guthrie County/ISU Extension and Outreach report the US Sunbeams 4-H Club was the winner of a “Random Acts of Kindness” drawing. The club won $257.50 from one of the members aunt’s workplace.  The club in-turn used the money to “Pay It Forward” with the 15 Summer Activity Bags.

Meredith Arganbright presenting 15 Summer Activity Bags to Rhonda Huggins of New Opportunities Family Development Center in Guthrie Center. (Photo & information submitted)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University Extension crop specialist, Joel DeJong, says northwest Iowa crops are showing signs of stress from the dry conditions. He says they need around 25 inches of moisture during the crop development stage. “We still need to have about 12 to 15 inches of rainfall during this season. You know, if we have slightly about average we’re probably going to reach that — otherwise, we are going to put some stress on our yield potential through the year,” DeJong says.

DeJong says stress is already showing up in the corn leaves.”If you take a look at the cornfields recently, you’ll see that almost every day we have a lot of cornfields rolling,” according to DeJong. “And it is an indicator that the root systems of those corn plants — even if there is water in that soil — the root systems right now aren’t deep enough to keep up with daily demand with low humidity and high temperature.” He says the rolling has been evident the last week in the afternoons and some mornings during the mid-90 degree days. DeJong says the humidity that we try to avoid is a good thing out in the field.

“It’s kind of unique to have 20 to 25 percent humidity and 90-some degree temperatures. That makes it seem a little more cooler for humans — but that is the opposite of what we want to see for a crop,” Dejong explains. “We want to see high humidity to go with those temperatures if they are going to be that high, because high humidity means less water demand in those plants.” The crops specialist says if the issue continues, farmers may see a drastic yield loss. The corn ear now is starting to fill in rows. “All this stress is probably reducing some of the rows we are going to have in some of those ears — might only be a few rows less, maybe it’s a few more. We still have the potential to continue to form the length of that ear all the way to the length of that corn. We’re still in that process,” he says.

DeJong says the next thirty days will be critical to the corn development as the corn begins to pollinate. He says soybeans are also showing some signs of stress, but soybeans have a way to delay the need for moisture until later in the year.

The Cass County Conservation Board held a youth fishing derby at Cold Springs Park on Saturday, June 12, 2021. Prizes were awarded for the most overall weight:

• 1st – Tobin Juhl
• 2nd – Morrison Sandbothe
• 3rd – Traven Thomas

Derby 21 winners, left to right:
Tobin Juhl; Morrison Sandbothe; Dayton Thomas; Traven Thomas; Christian Bullington.

Awards also given for:

• Heaviest single fish: Dayton Thomas
• Longest single fish: Morrison Sandbothe
• Shortest single fish: Christian Bullington.

The Cass County Conservation Board thanks all those that donated items for the event: Weirich Welding for the trophies, Cappel’s Ace Hardware, Scheels, and Bass Pro Shops, for prizes.

(Radio Iowa) – The World Pork Expo  wrapped up its three-day run at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Friday afternoon, and organizers say there was much political discussion among producers at this year’s event. Jen Sorenson of Ankeny, president of the National Pork Producers Council, says they’re lobbying the Biden Administration to appeal the court ruling that will slow down line speeds at pork processing plants beginning July 1st.

“While overall U.S. pork harvest capacity will drop 2.5% because of this decision, capacity at six plants running NSIS (New Swine Slaughter Inspection System) line speeds will decline by as much as 25%,” Sorenson says. “Hog farmers are expected to lose more than $80-million this year alone because of this decision.”

The council wants the U-S to sign on to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership agreement but Sorenson doesn’t expect it to happen this year with the focus on economic and pandemic recovery. Sorenson says expanding international markets is another priority.

“NPPC has been pressing both the U.S. and Philippines government to lower pork import tariffs as African swine fever outbreaks began in the Philippines,” Sorenson says. “NPPC is also encouraging expansion to Vietnam, another major pork-consuming nation dealing with African swine fever.”

Sorenson says the pork producers are joining the American Farm Bureau in legal action to get California to remove its Proposition 12, which dictates housing measures to pork and poultry producers.