The number of pheasants taken by hunters last fall was up more than 60 percent and D-N-R Wildlife Biologist Todd Bogenschutz says other species like quail and Hungarian partridges also saw good seasons.

Hunting numbers were up by more than 30 percent. Their license isn’t specific to pheasants, and he says they will take an opportunity when they see it.

Bogenschutz says hunters took the most mourning doves since they started the season in Iowa.

Mourning dove hunters took nearly 195-thousand birds in 2023.

Today:  Partly sunny, with a high near 78. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tonight:  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.

Friday:  A slight chance of showers early. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday:  Partly sunny, with a high near 88. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday:  Sunny, with a high near 95.

Monday:  Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.

Wednesday’s high was 79 degrees and the low this morning is 58.  Last year the high was 95 and the low 75.  The record high for this date is 100 degrees set in 1914 and the record low is 41 set in 1904.  Sunrise this morning is at 6:35 am and sunset at 8:09 pm.

(Lewis, Iowa) –  The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a youth fishing derby at Cold Springs Park on September 7th 2024. The event is open to the first 50 youths age 15 and under to register for the event. Check-in will run from 8:15am to 8:45am with the derby starting at 9:00am and running till 10:30 am.

Prizes will be awarded for the highest total weight, heaviest single fish, longest single fish and shortest single fish. The Conservation board will have some live bait for use and a limited number of fishing poles for use as well.

The CCCB thanks all those who donated items for the event over the past 5 years: Weirich Welding for the trophies, and Cappel’s Ace Hardware and Scheels for prizes.

(File photo) – CCCB Youth Fishing Derby

To register or for further details please contact Micah Lee with the Cass County Conservation Board at 712-769-2372.

(Lewis, Iowa) –  The Cass County Conservation Board is holding two, “Mysterious Monarchs” Programs next month, in Atlantic and Massena.The first takes place on September 14th beginning at 1-p.m., at the Camblins Addition Shelter, located inside Atlantic’s Sunnyside Park. The second program is Sept. 14th beginning at 3-p.m., at the Massena Outdoor Educational Classroom (Follow Hwy 148 South of Massena, turn Left onto Tucson Rd for 1 ½ mile the park will be on your right).

Both programs are free. You’re invited to discover the Monarch Butterflies before they begin their journey south. Cass County Conservation staff will tag monarchs and show you how to do so, as well.

If you would like a home tagging kit you must attend and pre-register for the Kit. Call 712-769-2372 to pre-register for your kit. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program! …

(A collaborative report from Sentient/Iowa News Service) – A U-S Department of Labor investigation this spring found the number of minors employed in livestock slaughterhouses nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2022. An animal rights group says the conditions in these plants are dangerous for workers, and inhumane for the animals killed there. Iowa slaughters more pigs than any other state. Sean Thomas, with the group Animal Equality, says there have been cutbacks in the number of inspectors at pork processing plants, where more than a thousand hogs are slaughtered in an hour, meaning workers are at greater risk and the hogs face inhumane conditions.

Livestock producers say they are constantly looking for more environmentally friendly ways to keep up with consumer demand. They offer as evidence federally funded programs they use to reduce the impacts of large livestock operations. Thomas argues that increased consumer demand and the commercialization of livestock production means producers are moving the industry in the wrong direction.

Processing facilities reportedly have an effect on their communities, too. A university study has shown a correlation between domestic and sexual violence in places that are home to meatpacking facilities, a link that doesn’t exist in manufacturing sectors that don’t involve killing animals.

Male workers cutting pieces of meat with knives at the meat cutting department of the slaughterhouse

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hunters took more pheasants last fall than they have in the last 16 seasons D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says there was a 62 percent increase in birds taken.

Bogenschutz estimates more than 83-thousand hunters took to the fields — which is up 32 percent — and is probably due to surveys that showed bird numbers up.

He says hunting seems to follow cycles.

The drought that had spread across Iowa the last couple of years actually benefited pheasant numbers.

Bogenschutz says the 2024 roadside survey concluded on August 15th and the results are expected to show a pheasant population slightly lower in some areas due to spring flooding.

Four Women Managing Farmland Forums and Annie’s Project 20th Anniversary Celebrations will be offered across the state the first week of September. Cass County Extension will host the Southwest Iowa location on Sept. 3 in Atlantic. Other dates and locations include Sept. 4 in Iowa City, Sept. 5 in West Union and Sept. 6 in Storm Lake. All events are FREE to attend and feature a complimentary meal and full day of education. Pre-registration is required for meals and materials.

Targeted to any women involved in the agriculture industry, these one-day regional forums are a valuable opportunity to refresh your conservation, leasing and estate management skills while networking with other women in agriculture. Topics will include soil erosion and water management, landowner responsibilities and the economics of farmland, as well as trusts, taxes and succession planning.

Women of all ages make important decisions about land leasing, conservation practices and transition and estate plans. The forums are designed to help attendees meet their long-term farmland management goals. By combining strategies, women can create equitable farmland leasing, adoption of conservation practices and efficiencies in transitions to next generation farmers.

Well over 3,000 Iowa women have completed Annie’s Project or Annie’s Inspired multi-session farm management courses since 2004. Nearly 1,000 women participated in Women in Ag Leadership conferences since 2017. The changes these women made not only benefited their families, farms, and agribusinesses, but also contributed to a stronger Iowa agricultural system through financially stable businesses, improved conservation practices and closer community networks.

The forums are a thank-you to all those who made Annie’s Project a successful program in Iowa and a welcome to all those who haven’t yet participated. Over the noon hour, there will be a pictorial slide show celebrating and honoring the contributions and milestones of Iowa women in agriculture over the past twenty years.

Did you know …

• The number of Iowa women farmers counted in the USDA Census of Agriculture increased from 27,258 in 2002, to 50,263 in 2022?
• The percentage of women enrolled in Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences increased from 43% in Fall 2003, to 59% in Fall 2023?

Each regional forum will be slightly different. Doors for the Cass County event on September 3 open at 9:30 AM. We will start our morning with refreshments, time for networking, and resource tables for participants to visit while they connect. Over the lunch hour we will celebrate 20 years of Annie’s Project and Women in Ag programming in Iowa. Wrap up the day with fun door prize giveaways and leave refreshed with new information and new connections in ag!

Registration is free and required so that everyone has a chair and a lunch. Local agendas and online registration can be found at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/womeninag.  Sign up today and save your seat at this fun and informational event to celebrate and connect local women in ag!

This program is financially supported by a USDA NIFA Critical Agriculture Research and Education grant (2021-68008-34180) and a Farm Credit Services of America gift through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Ag program.

(Radio Iowa) – Attendance at this year’s State Fair has set a record. Over 1,182,000 (One-million 182-thousand) people attended the 2024 Iowa State Fair, which ended Sunday. In addition to the overall record, a single day record of nearly 123,000 was set on Saturday, August 10th. Daily attendance dropped below 100,000 on just two days — last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Iowa State Fair’s Grand Concourse on Aug. 16, 2024. (RI photo)

This was Iowa’s 170th State Fair. The previous attendance record was set in 2019.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Two recent graduates of the Cass County 4-H program have received scholarships through the Iowa 4-H Foundation to continue their education. One hundred and one Iowa 4-H scholarships valued at over $106,000 were awarded as a part of the Foundation’s scholarship recognition ceremony. Awards were presented Sunday, July 14th at the Gateway Hotel in Ames. Over 450 applications were submitted, and scholarships were awarded to recipients from 56 counties across the state of Iowa with a wide variety of 4-H experiences. Congratulations to local 4-H member Parker Brock and alumni Emily Plagman for receiving scholarships from the Iowa 4-H Foundation!

Parker received the Delores and Gail Nelson Cass County Endowed 4-H Scholarship. This $500 award is provided by the endowment created in honor of Delores and Gail Nelson, given to a Cass County 4-H’er who has demonstrated leadership skills while in 4-H. The student must be planning to attend any Iowa college, university or community college and will be an incoming freshman in the fall. Parker plans to attend Iowa Western Community College and major in History.

Emily received the Peyton Family Endowed 4-H Scholarship. This $1,000 scholarship is provided through the endowment created by the Peyton Family for any former Iowa or Oklahoma 4-H member who has demonstrated 4-H participation with evidence of strong community service

and leadership in 4-H and at Iowa State University or OSU. The applicant must be a sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student in the next academic year and pursuing a major in or related to agriculture with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. Emily attends Iowa State University with a major in Agriculture Studies.

Cass County 4-Hers Emily Plagman and Parker Brock were honored at the Iowa 4-H Foundation Scholarship reception in July.

“Iowa 4-H Foundation scholarships acknowledge the hard work and dedication of young people who have used their 4-H skills and experiences to ‘make the best better’ for others,” said Emily Saveraid, Executive Director of the Iowa 4-H Foundation. “We also are thankful for the many scholarship donors who fund these important opportunities for Iowa 4-H’ers.”

The Iowa 4-H Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides the private financial resources to develop and deliver quality 4-H youth programs throughout the state of Iowa. These opportunities help young people enhance their ability to use critical thinking, leadership, communication, and social skills – tools that will give them a competitive edge in their future endeavors. More information at www.iowa4hfoundation.org.

(Report from the Iowa News Service in collaboration with Sentient) – Animal rights advocates are asking large scale livestock operations in Iowa to gender test chicken eggs before the birds hatch. It’s part of an effort to reduce the practice of chick culling. Egg-laying facilities around the world cull about 6 million chickens every year – typically, male chickens that are not profitable to raise for meat. Ag operations kill those chicks after they are already born. Humane League President Vicky Bond says some European countries have banned the practice in favor of what’s known as “ovo-sexing.”

Ag operations have cited costs of adopting the technology as one reason for the delay in adopting it. Chick culling has been around since the 1920’s when livestock producers started breeding their chickens for either meat or eggs. Some 100 years later, Bond argues ag operators should be required to end it, rather than killing the male chicks that are too lean – often by grinding them up. She says it’s a fact not lost on consumers in the grocery store.

U-S egg producers had widely agree to end the practice by 2020, but so far, there’s been a lack of oversight and pressure on the industry to follow through.