Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Department of Agriculture official has announced in Iowa today a new policy designed to allow farmers to take land out of a conservation program early if the land is to be transferred to the next generation of farmers. Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam says beginning Jan. 9, the USDA will offer an early termination opportunity for certain Conservation Reserve Program contracts.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of Iowa’s agriculture department says the state is recovering from the loss of millions of laying hens caused by the 2015 bird flu outbreak. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says Iowa’s egg production in October was roughly 1.30 billion eggs, up more than 70 percent from the same time last year. The average number of laying hens on hand in October was roughly 53 million, up 55 percent from last year.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An inmate from Iowa with a history of violence toward guards and one daring escape has died in a Wisconsin prison one month after he was transferred there. Authorities said Thursday that 26-year-old Justin Kestner was found unresponsive in his cell Dec. 21 at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun. A medical examiner says autopsy results haven’t been completed.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of involvement in a traffic accident who pepper-sprayed an Urbandale officer who stopped him. The accident was reported early Thursday. Police say the officer pulled over a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle reportedly involved. Police say that after the officer started talking to the driver, 25-year old Brandon Bordinat, the man sprayed the officer and fled the scene.The Urbandale Police Department told KCCI late Thursday afternoon that had been arrested and charged with assault on a police officer with a weapon, interference with official acts resulting in injury and interference with official acts while using a weapon.