From County extension to conservation to grain prices, we provide lots of information every day on KJAN. Here is some of that information on the web too! We hope you find it useful.
From County extension to conservation to grain prices, we provide lots of information every day on KJAN. Here is some of that information on the web too! We hope you find it useful.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Agriculture Department has lowered its predictions for the drought-stunted corn crops in Iowa and Nebraska. The USDA says that, based on Nov. 1 conditions, it expects a Nebraska crop of 1.27 billion bushels. That’s down more than 2 percent from the October forecast and 17 percent below last year. In Iowa, a corn crop of 1.90 billion bushels is expected, which is more than 1 percent less than October and down 19 percent from last year.
The Nebraska soybean crop is forecast at 203 million bushels, the same figure as October and 22 percent below 2011. In Iowa, a soybean crop of 409 million bushels is expected, more than 2.5 percent higher than the October figure but still 14 percent under last year.
The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, Thursday (Nov. 8th), reduced the grassland and field Fire Danger Index to “Low.” The threat of rapidly spreading fires due to outdoor burning of timber and other materials will remain low, due in-part to precipitation that’s expected across the area over the weekend.
The Missouri River Recovery Program is launching a new interactive online tool designed to provide insight to the river’s natural environment and efforts being made to preserve it. Steve Fischer, the program’s senior manager, says the tool is called the Missouri River Basin Explorer. It lets computer users explore the waterway’s different regions, from the Rocky Mountain foothills, along Iowa’s western border to the lowlands of Missouri. “You can take a look at each one of those different regions on the river,” Fischer says. “You can click on different tabs on the website and it’ll show links based on whatever topic you might have selected. It’s helping to show folks how things are interacting together.”
He says the tool was developed with plenty of input from stakeholders all along the Missouri River Basin. Fischer says the tool can help the public to better understand what takes place on the river. “As we engage with the stakeholders in a variety of different venues up and down the river, for example our Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee, our 70-member stakeholder group that we work with,” he says. “It’s a tool for them to go back and share with their constituents as well as for us to share with other basin stakeholders.”
The river serves many interests, including: agriculture, commerce, energy, natural resources, navigation, recreation and water supply. Overuse of the river, the group claims, has led to problems with the ecosystem — 51 of 67 native fish species now rare, uncommon or decreasing; reproduction has largely ceased for cottonwoods, historically the dominant floodplain tree; and aquatic insects, a key link in the food chain, have been reduced by 70-percent. The group says three-million acres of natural river habitat have been altered. Learn more at the website: www.MoRiverRecovery.org
(Radio Iowa)
Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say Green Valley State Park near Creston, will be closed to the general public Nov. 17-18, for the ninth annual special park deer hunt. The hunt will allow 25 hunters to harvest up to 50 antlerless deer using only muzzleloaders. Hunters have already registered and will receive two antlerless tags each redeemable only during the special hunt at the designated areas and specified dates. Additional DNR staff will be on hand to patrol the park boundaries. Green Valley will re-open to the public on Nov. 19.
Alan Carr, park ranger for Green Valley State Park says “The hunt helps keep the deer population in the park under control. Hunters must attend a special safety meeting before the hunt where we explain the reason for the hunt, discuss the rules and show them the park boundaries. We hope to harvest as close to 50 female deer as we can and do it in a safe and efficient manner.” Carr said the hunt has been a great deer management tool for state parks.
“People want to see deer when they come to park, but we need to maintain a balance in the deer herd,” Carr said. “Research shows that if you stop these hunts completely, the deer population tends to go back up rather quickly so the hunt will probably remain an annual event. The depredation biologist sets number of deer targeted for removal each year that is based on the population survey.”
The average harvest for the two day hunt has been just over 40 deer each year.
The Fire Danger Index in Shelby County will remain in the “Moderate” category through this Thursday, November 8th. Emergency Management officials say sunshine and drying conditions expected for the balance of this week will create a moderate risk of grassland and field fires, when opening burning is conducted.
A report from the U-S Department of Agriculture says Iowa had nearly 61-million dollars in sales from organic farms in 2001. Iowa Ag Secretary, Bill Northey, says organic farms add to the diversification of the farm economy. “We have about 467 organic farms in Iowa, that 60-million dollars of sales not only helps those farms, but also helps anybody that is maybe buying those products. Maybe they are buying corn and also raising some cattle and processing the meet from organic production,” Northey says. The state certifies one-third to one-half of the organic farms, with the rest being certified privately.
“People generally have to pay a premium to buy organic products, and so to do that they want to know that animals are taken care of in a certain way, that they are fed organic crops, or if they are buying organic grain, the they are produced without fertilizer or without herbicides,” Northey says. “So they want to make sure that the folks are getting a premium for their products really are raising them the way the buyers want to have them raised.” Northey says organic farms increased steadily the last 10 years, but have leveled off recently due in part to the economy, as people had less income to spend on the products.
“But the other piece is that the producers used to be producing organics in a very low-price commodity market. so, we maybe had two-dollar corn and then and extra two or three dollars for organics on top of that,” Northey explains. “So now we have seven-dollar corn and maybe an extra four or five or more dollars on top of that. So it’s still worth a premium, but the commodity market values are enough better that some of those folks who were looking for a premium have decided to stay in the commodity markets.” Organics are a small part of the 25 to 30-BILLION dollars of agriculture production in Iowa, but he says it has a place.
“There’s lot of reasons why folks buy organics. Some people believe that there is a difference, and some studies have said that there isn’t,” Northey says. “Some believe that they like the way things are produced. And some just believe that they are more boutique products and they are premium products, and therefore because they are priced higher that they must be better. I think we operate in a great economic system that offers choices by consumers and that means they can pay extra for organics if they believe that it is worth the extra value.”
Sales of organic crops in Iowa accounted for 29-point-six-million dollars, livestock and poultry sales accounted for six-point-three million dollars, and livestock and poultry products accounted for 24-point-eight million dollars. Sales of organic vegetables were just over one million dollars, organic fruit sales were 23-thosuand-849-dollars, and sales of organic berries were 30-thousand-777 dollars.
(Radio Iowa)
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