(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Master Gardener group says they are excited to host a tour of four private gardens in the Atlantic area, on Sunday afternoon June 25, 2023. The tour will feature both town and country garden spaces for participants to explore at their leisure and gain inspiration for their own garden spaces while enjoying a variety of garden styles and designs. Gardens will be open for touring between 2-and 6-p.m., and may be visited in any order. Tickets should be presented at each location for admission, and for each garden visited participants will earn an entry to win a planter by Imagine Gifts and Greenhouse.

Highlights from featured gardens included wooded and shade gardens, landscaped garden paths, garden ponds and streams, fairy and gnome garden décor, customized berms, themed garden areas, gazebos and seating areas, pollinator gardens, perennial beds and more! Follow the Cass County Master Gardeners on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CassCoMG for sneak peeks of featured garden spaces leading up to the day of the tour.

The tour is coordinated by the Cass County Master Gardeners, but is open to everyone interested in touring and learning about gardening. Tickets for the tour are $10 each, with all proceeds going to support master gardener projects and scholarships. Tickets are available now for purchase at the Cass County Extension office, and a registration form can also be found on the Cass County Extension website at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. A map of the tour locations and description of each garden is on each ticket purchased. Additional tickets may be purchased at any of the four locations on the day of the event.

Other upcoming events from the Cass County Master Gardeners include educational activities at the Produce in the Park Market and other summer events, and their annual Fall Plant Sale on Saturday September 9th. For more information about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/master-gardener-program, call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic FFA Adviser Eric Miller reports the Atlantic FFA Chapter placed 11th after competing in the annual Iowa FFA Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event. The competition was held June 8th at Iowa State University, in Ames. Members of the place team included: DJ Shepperd, Alex Keiser, Wyatt Simons and Charli Goff.

FFA teams including 119 individuals from 34 chapters participated in this year’s Career Development Event designed to provide the student an opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of Agricultural Mechanics & Technology. Activities included demonstration of skills, problem solving, and knowledge application in agricultural machinery equipment, metals and welding, structures, environmental and natural resources, and electrical systems.

During the Ag Mechanics welding division the members of Atlantic placed 2nd. Individually Shepperd placed 25th, Keiser placed 40th, Simons placed 45th and Goff placed 69th. Shepperd commented “It was sad that this was one of my last experiences in FFA, but definitely one of my favorites. Yet another reason to join FFA.”

The Iowa FFA Agricultural Mechanics & Technology Career Development Event was made possible with support from Titan Machinery through the Iowa FFA Foundation. The Agricultural Mechanics & Technology Career Development Event was hosted by the Iowa State University Ag 450 Farm and was coordinated and conducted by Mr. Jon Davis and the Agricultural Education & Studies Department at Iowa State University in Ames. The Association of General Contractors of Iowa provided lunch for all participants and staff.

(Grimes, Iowa) – An official with the Iowa FFA Association says each year, the Southwest district and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest district. Association Executive Director Scott Johnson, says Atlantic welcomed 169 members from 28 FFA chapters attended from all over the Southwest district on June 5th.

While in Atlantic, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops for FFA Chapter leaders, many of which are officers, for the annual COLT Conference. The workshops facilitated were local FFA Chapter program focused in the areas of advocating for the agriculture industry, connecting with stakeholders, recruiting for the local chapter, and working as a cohesive team. FFA leaders also received training relative to their specific officer duties within the local chapter. Atlantic Chapter Vice President Lola Comes said “Every activity in FFA is preparing me for the future; even a few hours at COLT training has been beneficial. Networking in agriculture is important and this opportunity helped me interact with others and grow as a leader.”

Iowa FFA President, Holly Schmitt, said “COLT conference provides a chance for FFA members to learn more about their responsibility as a local leader and is a conference for members to meet and connect with state, district and other chapter officers.”

Back row, Left-to-right: Colton Rudy, Roth DenBeste, Wyatt Simons & Lily Johnson; Front row, L-to-R: Claire Pellett, Charli Goof & Lola Comes. (Photo courtesy Scott Johnson)

COLT conference programming is designed as a two-year rotation of local leaders training. The focus areas of next year’s program include agriculture literacy, time management, professionalism, and self-confidence. The goal is to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond.

COLT conference is made possible with support from Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance of Iowa through the Iowa FFA Foundation

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa biodiesel plant is shutting down. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports managers of the W-2 Fuel biodiesel plant in Crawfordsville have notified the state that the plant is closing. The biodiesel refinery shut down back in 2019, but production resumed in mid-2021. The federal tax credit for biodiesel production is worth a dollar per gallon, but the debt deal congress and the president just agreed to will end the credit on December 31st of next year.

W-2 Fuel needed to buy new equipment to test for carbon emissions from its southeast Iowa plant, but company executives say the investment probably wouldn’t pay off if congress lets the biodiesel credit end. There are 10 other plants in Iowa producing biodiesel

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2023 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced earlier this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting more than 1 million acres in this year’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup. This is one of several signups that USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is holding for the program. The results for CRP General signup reflect the continued importance of CRP as a tool to help producers invest in the long-term health, sustainability, and profitability of their land and resources. The signup’s results include nearly 18,000 acres in Iowa.

“This year’s General CRP signup demonstrates the value and continued strength of this voluntary conservation program, which plays an important role in helping mitigate climate change and conserve our natural resources,” said Matt Russell, State Executive Director in Iowa. “This week’s announcement is one of many enrollment and partnership opportunities within CRP, including opportunities through our working lands Grassland CRP, Continuous CRP, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). USDA will continue working to ensure producers and landowners have the information they need to take advantage of the options that work best for their operations.”

Offers for new land in this General CRP signup totaled about 295,000 acres nationwide. Producers submitted re-enrollment offers for 891,000 expiring acres, reflecting the successes of participating in CRP longer term. The total number of CRP acres will continue to climb in the coming weeks once FSA accepts acres from the Grassland CRP signup, which closed May 26. Additionally, so far this year, FSA has received 761,000 offered acres for the Continuous CRP signup, for which FSA accepts applications year-round.

The number of accepted acres that are enrolled in General CRP will be confirmed later this year. Participating producers and landowners should also remember that submitting and accepting a CRP offer is the first step, and producers still need to develop a conservation plan before contracts become effective on October 1, 2023. Each year, during the window between offer acceptance and land enrollment, some producers ultimately decide not to enroll some accepted acres, without penalty.

The General CRP Signup 60 ran from February 27 through April 7, 2023. To learn more about FSA programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also prepare maps for acreage reporting as well as manage farm loans and view other farm records data and customer information by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don’t have an account, sign up today.

(Onawa, Iowa) – Blue Lake, located within Lewis and Clark State Park, continues to experience abnormally low water levels that may impact recreation opportunities. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says launching boats is not recommended with the current low water levels. Their report last week said water levels in oxbow lakes adjacent to the Missouri River, including Blue Lake, are lower than normal due to dry conditions in western Iowa and historic low flows in the Missouri River.

The current drought period in Western Iowa began in 2020.  Climate conditions over the last three years are some of the driest three-year periods in the 128-year record for the region.  In the past two years, annual runoff was at least 25 percent below normal levels. Local average annual precipitation is also below normal for the area, contributing to the low water conditions at Blue Lake.

Blue Lake, like many other oxbow lakes, is characterized by a small watershed drainage area relative to the size of the lake and a localized water recharge area. Oxbow lakes form when a curve (or meander) in a river finds a shorter path, effectively isolating the old curve to form an oxbow lake in a low-lying plain near the side of the river. Water levels in these lakes are highly influenced by nearby river and groundwater levels.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) owns and maintains an auxiliary groundwater supply well, located approximately 1.25 miles northwest of Blue Lake. This well has been used in the past to maintain the water levels and maximize the recreational opportunities for the lake’s visitors during normal water years.

During drought conditions, the well is unable to provide sufficient water to maintain or increase water levels in the lake with the surrounding low water table and Missouri River water levels. Any water pumped into the lake would immediately be lost to the low groundwater table

DNR continues to monitor drought conditions and water levels at Blue Lake.

(Afton, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting from 5:30-7 p.m., Thursday, June 15, at Three-Mile Lake Lodge, 1577 Creamery Road, to discuss in-lake improvements planned for Three-Mile Lake starting this fall.

Three-Mile Lake, an 880-acre multi-purpose reservoir located in rural southern Iowa, offers many recreational opportunities including sailing, powerboating, water skiing, and no-wake areas for fishing. The lake is a public water supply source.

A restoration project began in 2016 to improve the lake’s water quality and fishery. Restoration activities planned as part of this phase of the project include increasing the storage capacity of the sediment/nutrient basin, installing in-lake forebays for sediment/nutrient retention, deepening and armoring the shoreline and adding fish habitat structures to improve fishing.

Any person with special requirements such as those related to mobility or hearing impairments who wishes to participate in the public meeting should promptly contact the DNR or ADA Coordinator at 515-725-8200, Relay Iowa TTY Service 800-735-7942, or Webmaster@dnr.iowa.gov to advise of specific needs.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Changes are coming soon to the way Iowans can hunt and trap raccoons, and how farmers can deal with raccoon depredation issues. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, raccoons were the focus of a bill approved during the 2023 Iowa legislative session, allowing landowners or tenants to dispatch raccoons causing damage to their agricultural property, outside of the city limits. Landowners may shoot or trap raccoons using cage or dog-proof traps. A license is not required and landowners do not need to notify the DNR before shooting or trapping. That bill was signed into law by Governor Reynolds and becomes effective on July 1st.

The other related change relaxes the rules for hunting and trapping raccoons for everyone. The new rules, developed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and approved by the Natural Resource Commission of the Iowa DNR, allows for year-round hunting and trapping of raccoons on private land.

While the raccoon season will be continuously open, during the time of year outside of the furharvester season, only firearms, cage traps or dog-proof traps are legal methods of take. During the furharvester season, trappers may use other lawful traps normally allowed during the trapping season. Hunters or trappers pursuing raccoons on private land they do not own are required to have a valid furharvester license.

The new raccoon rules are currently in effect.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – This week’s Iowa Crop and Weather report from the U-S-D-A rates 60 percent of Iowa topsoil either short or very short of moisture. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says abnormally dry conditions have expanded in the past two weeks. “In those more pervasive and dry areas, we’ve seen precipitation deficits really stack up,” Glisan says. “This is reflected in lower stream flows, but also diminishment in soil moisture.”

By last Thursday, 99 percent of the state reached some stage of drought or has been abnormally dry for 30 to 60 days according to the U-S-D-A’s Iowa Drought Monitor. Glisan says it appears surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean are rising — and that means a change in the weather pattern for thunderstorms that form over the ocean and later sweep into Iowa.

“I think there is good news on the horizon,” Glisan says. Weather models indicate the swing into the wetter pattern could arrive in Iowa by July, according to Glisan, just when corn and soybeans hit a major stage in development.  “We need timely rainfalls throughout the teeth of the growing season,” Glisan says, “so seeing this potential shift into El Nino, which we are in now, and the potential for the weather patterns that set up, I am pretty confident that we are not going to see any yield loss because of early planting.”

Glisan made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. According to the U-S-D-A, the development of Iowa’s soybean crop is nine days ahead of normal and the corn crop is a week ahead of last year.