(Statewide) – Abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions, high winds and dry vegetation that can quickly burst into flames have resulted in 15 counties in Iowa having instituted a Burn Ban. As of March 14th, the following southwest Iowa counties are included in the ban on open burning:

• Adair
• Adams
• Audubon
• Guthrie
• Mills
• Montgomery
• Page

Two counties in southern Iowa and six in eastern/southeast Iowa have Burn Bans in-place. The Code of Iowa states “The State Fire Marshal, during periods of extremely dry conditions or under other conditions when the state fire marshal finds open burning constitutes a danger to life or property, may prohibit open burning in an area of the state at the request of the chief of a local fire department, a city council or a board of supervisors and when an investigation supports the need for the prohibition.”

A burn ban does not prohibit the following:  supervised, controlled burn for which a permit has been issued by the fire chief of the fire district where the burn will take place, the use of outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills, properly supervised landfills, or the burning of trash in incinerators or trash burners made of metal, concrete, masonry, or heavy one-inch wire mesh, with no openings greater than one square inch.

For specific questions about open burning in your community, please contact your local Fire Department or Emergency Management office.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Soybean Association held its annual farmer roundtable in Sioux City Thursday.  Association president Brent Swart of Spencer says tariffs are the key topic of discussion.

He says they learned from the last time the tariffs were put on China in 2018.

He says trade wars with Canada and Mexico are also a concern, as is the impact of bird flu.

Swart says they also have concerns about getting a new farm bill passed in Congress.

DES MOINES— Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Friday) authorized a disaster proclamation for Buena Vista County, Iowa effective immediately through April 13, 2025. The USDA has confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial pullets.

This proclamation allows state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection. The proclamation also waives regulatory provisions related to commercial vehicles responding to affected sites.

The recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern, and it remains safe to eat poultry products. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on an Iowa House Subcommittee have voted to require that Deere and Company return half of the lucrative state tax credit it received for research activities in 2024 — due to what the bill describes as “mass layoffs.” President Trump threatened to slap tariffs on John Deere products if the company move more production to Mexico and Republican Representative Derek Wulf of Hudson suggests the bill fits with Trump’s agenda. “In my opinion, this bill is the definition of ‘America First’ and more importantly ‘Iowa First,'” Wulf said. About 17-hundred workers at Deere plants in Iowa were laid off in 2024. Stacey Pellet, a lobbyist for Deere and Company, says layoffs are a last resort and not uncommon during market downturns.

“The message that this bill sends to the industries, to companies and also to people looking to invest in Iowa is very concerning,” Pellet said. She told lawmakers Deere doesn’t earn the credit until the company has spent the money on research and development in Iowa. “Deere invests roughly $2.5 million a day in research and development and half of that is done in Iowa,” Pellet said. “…We invest more in R&D here than in anywhere else in the world and we’re pretty proud of that.” The bill wouldn’t just penalize Deere. The bill says ANY company that received the state Research Activities tax credit and laid off workers in 2024 would have to repay at least six percent of the credit. The repayment requirement, with escalates based on the number of layoffs, also would be imposed in future years on companies that cut payrolls.

The Iowa Capitol in Des Moines

Iowa Taxpayers Association Nate Ristow says coming after businesses facing economic headwinds is the wrong approach. “If they’re doing the research here in Iowa and they earned the credit, we think that should be honored and not reduced,” Ristow said.

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry also opposes the bill.

DECORAH – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a fish kill at Dry Run Creek near Decorah in Winneshiek County. On March 11, the DNR Field Office in Manchester was notified of a possible manure release and fish kill in an unnamed tributary of Dry Run Creek, southwest of Decorah.   DNR staff from the Manchester Field Office and Decorah Fish Hatchery responded to the incident. Upon arrival, staff observed dead fish and very murky conditions in the tributary.

Officials identified overland runoff from an animal feeding operation near the headwaters of the unnamed tributary as the source of the release. The amount of manure released is unknown at this time. Dead fish have been observed for several miles in the creek. Cleanup efforts have begun. The responsible party has been notified of the investigation and has started working to control the manure runoff.  Downstream water users should avoid using water from Dry Run Creek.

If you see dead or stressed fish at a lake or river, call the DNR’s 24-hour spill line at 515-725-8694 as soon as possible. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of a fish kill and potentially stop a fish kill in progress.

Cass County: Corn $4.26 Beans $9.49
Adair County: Corn $4.23 Beans $9.52
Adams County: Corn $4.23 Beans $9.48
Audubon County: Corn $4.25 Beans $9.51
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.29 Beans $9.49
Guthrie County: Corn $4.28 Beans $9.53
Montgomery County: Corn $4.28 Beans $9.51
Shelby County: Corn $4.29 Beans $9.49

Oats: $3.13 (same in all counties)

(Ames, Iowa)  — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced 15 Iowa dairies Wednesday that were awarded a combined $750,000 in grants to expand production and save labor.  Naig made the announcement at the Iowa State University Creamery, which was one of the grant recipients and also the first member of the Choose Iowa network.  Choose Iowa is a state program, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, that promotes and markets local producers. Naig said membership has been gaining “about one member a day” since the start of the year.  “It shows a tremendous interest in local foods, of course, and also we love the fact that we get a chance to tell stories about Iowa’s agriculture and connect consumers to farm families across the state,” Naig said.

The dairy innovation grants required a cost share on behalf of the dairy operations and the 15 projects represent a total investment of more than $4 million, according to IDALS. Eligible dairies have fewer than 50 employees and create products that are completely made in Iowa. Dairies were awarded up to $100,000 in funding for equipment that increased on-farm processing, like the creamery at ISU that will increase its cheese and ice cream production with a larger batch pasteurization vat, or for technology upgrades to reduce labor. Labor-reducing technology that grant recipients will be introducing, or expanding, include milking robots, rotary parlors, feed pushers and manure collectors. Naig said labor has always been a “huge challenge” for dairy producers.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig enjoys ice cream from the Iowa State University Creamery. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Robert Horst, the Iowa State Dairy Association president, said some of these innovations will cut the personnel needs by 50%. Horst said the other grant that was awarded for a processing upgrade, $11,688 for a semi-automatic bottle filler and capper in Plainfield, is the type of project that not only grows a dairy operation, but brings people to town.  Sarah Canova, ISU creamery’s business manager, said the new vat purchased with the help of around $25,000 from the Choose Iowa grant, will allow the creamery to nearly triple its current production, which frequently sells out during the fall and summer months. The creamery trains 25 undergraduate students a semester, which Horst said is where “a lot of the future begins” for Iowa dairy farmers. Horst called the grants “seed money” for several dairies that he said will use the upgrades to facilitate a “transition to the next generation.”

Choose Iowa also allocated $750,000 in small dairy innovation grants last year, with 20 recipients.  Naig said there is a “tremendous amount of interest” in the Choose Iowa program, which makes him excited for the future. Earlier this week IDALS informed partners that federal funding for programs supported local food purchases for schools, food banks and other institutions, which would have allocated an estimated $11.3 million to the state, had been terminated.  Naig said there was “no guarantee” the extended funding, authorized by USDA in October 2024, was going to remain through the change in administration. Naig said the programs brought forward a lot of good connections between producers and communities and he hopes there can be a permanent place for the programs, or something similar, in the upcoming farm bill.

IDALS announced Monday a pilot program with $70,000 to allocate to school districts to purchase Choose Iowa products for school meals. Recipients for the program will be announced in April.

(Radio Iowa) – A new population report on monarch butterflies finds conservation efforts in Iowa and elsewhere are starting to show promising results. Mykayla Hagaman, a program specialist at the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, says researchers track the progress of the vital orange-and-black insect by measuring how much land the pollinators take up when overwintering in Mexico. “They occupied 4.4 acres, which is nearly double last year’s size of about 2.2 acres,” Hagaman says, “so, this is really encouraging to see this increase.” The annual survey from the World Wildlife Fund-Telcel Foundation Alliance demonstrates a sizeable boost in monarch numbers, but it’s still a long way from where the experts say the population needs to be.

“It does highlight the need for continued voluntary conservation efforts,” Hagaman says. “Scientists recommend to maintain a sustainable population of monarchs, we need, on average, about 15 acres of overwintering habitat, but we haven’t really seen those numbers since about 2018.” About 40-percent of all monarchs that overwinter in Mexico are estimated to come from Iowa and neighboring Midwestern states. In recent years, many thousands of Iowans have carved out portions of their properties to offer a haven for the butterflies, but Hagaman says additional help is needed.

“We can do so through establishing more monarch habitat,” Hagaman says. “Monarch butterflies really rely on people planting native milkweed, such as common milkweed or butterfly milkweed, and there’s other species that are native to Iowa as well. So people can go online and search up what milkweed are native to their areas.” She says plantings should include a variety of native species that bloom from early spring to late fall, to help provide nectar resources for monarchs during their migration.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in December of 2024.

(Iowa DNR News) – Breeding Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) disappeared from Iowa in the mid-20th Century. Peregrine Falcons historically nested on cliff ledges, but have also adapted to nest on human-made structures like tall buildings and bridges.

Adult Peregrine Falcon and nestlings sit in a shallow “scrape” that serves as a nest. Photo by Randy Cook.

Iowa DNR began a Peregrine Falcon restoration program in 1989 with 23 birds released in Cedar Rapids followed by another 19 released in Des Moines in 1991. Between 1989 and 2003, a total of 169 birds were released in Iowa feeding into a regional restoration effort that saw 875 birds released across the Midwest. In 1999, the first pair of birds nested on their historic nesting grounds along the Mississippi River bluffs. As of 2024, most of the Peregrine Falcon nesting occurs in the eastern half of the state in three main environments: Urban, Mississippi River bluff faces, and energy plant towers.

Monitoring of nest sites is accomplished by a network of volunteer and professional surveyors. The Raptor Resource Project monitors and bands a number of Peregrine nest sites in the northeastern corner of the state. Several of the nest sites are on power plants which have restricted access so we rely on employees who not only monitor the nest sites but are often wonderful stewards for the birds. Surveyors collect data on the nest’s activity and whether the pair are successful in producing fledglings. Some opportunistic reports of nesting activity are also accepted if no formal data are available.

There were a total of 17 nests monitored in 2024 with no new nests reported. Of these 17 nests, 15 were active and 2 were inactive. Of the 15 active nests, 11 were reported as successful, 2 were reported as failed, and 2 had no outcome reported. The average number of young produced per nest with a known outcome was 2.77, a notable increase from last year (1.92).

Compared to recent years, 2024 was an above average year for Peregrine reproduction, with a higher percentage of successful nests (73.3%) than the previous four years. A minimum total of 36 young fledged from the 11 successful nests, notably higher than 2023 (25 young fledged), and the average of 2.77 young produced per nest is the highest since 2016.

Though Peregrine Falcon nest success increased in 2024, continued monitoring is warranted with ongoing disease threats such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N12.3.4.4). Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) predominantly affects wild waterfowl and shorebirds but can also be spread to species that eat waterfowl and shorebird prey, such a Peregrine Falcons and Eagles. In 2022, the Iowa DNR documented the loss of one nesting Peregrine to HPAI and in 2023 documented the loss of one Peregrine that wasn’t a nesting individual. Overall, Iowa’s nesting population of Peregrine Falcons appears to be stable, with birds generally returning to historic nesting sites each year, but this recovering population continues to warrant annual monitoring.

The DNR will continue to monitor nest sites with the partnership of volunteers and others who care about falcons in Iowa. Falcon nest sites can be very challenging to monitor because of their location and the territoriality of the birds so any data received are much appreciated. Please contact the Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program coordinator if you are interested in helping with monitoring in the future; vwmp@dnr.iowa.gov.