(Atlantic, Iowa) – This week’s Produce In the Park Farmer’s Market in downtown Atlantic, marks the anniversary of 9/11, and is appropriately enough themed “Emergency Responders Night, ” and there’s a great lineup of local emergency responders, and much more. Event coordinator Ciara Hoegh says “This is a time to recognize the important role emergency responders play in our community.”

You can expect to find first responders including: Cass County Sheriff’s Department and their K9 dog, Chase, Atlantic Fire Department with a fire truck, Atlantic Police Department, Iowa United 1st Aid. There will also be a free bounce house, live music, lots of visiting organizations. This week’s food truck is Pim’s Thai. Vendors selling lots of fresh produce, local meats, eggs, honey, breads and baked goods, arts and crafts, and more.

Also note that the Suicide Awareness Community Walk is being held in City Park following the farmer’s market, beginning at 7:00 PM.

Produce in the Park takes place Thursday, September 11, 2025 from 4:30-until 6:30 PM, in the Atlantic City Park, at 10 W 7th Street. There is no admission fee!

Thanks to September Sponsors: Rush CPA, Gregg Young Chevrolet of Atlantic, City of Atlantic, 1st Whitney Bank, Cass Health, Cass County Tourism, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Nishna Valley Family YMCA
Event Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/share/17BAYJ3RRY/

(Report by Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley says the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is pursuing as the nation’s top health official is worrisome to some Iowa farmers. Kennedy has expressed support in the past for banning the farm chemicals glyphosate and atrazine and, in May, a report from his agency linked environmental chemicals to chronic childhood diseases. Grassley is among the senators who’ve quizzed Kennedy today (Thursday) during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

“Do you think that any comments you’ve made are consistent with what you said in January, that USDA and EPA ought to be regulating farming and that the Department of Human Services should not seek to regulate farms, the tools they use or the markets that they sell into?” Grassley asked. Kennedy told Grassley he’s been working very, very closely with the U-S secretary of agriculture and is consulting every stakeholder in the farm community.

“To make sure that the MAHA agenda is consistent with their agenda, that we are producing the best food in America, that we’re protecting our soils and our soil microbiome and we’re protecting all kinds of farmers, including those who want to transition to regenerative agriculture.” Regenerative agriculture involves practices like no-till farming that doesn’t disturb the soil and either limiting pesticide and fertilizer applications or not using farm chemicals at all. Grassley also asked Kennedy if he would use his authority to require drug companies to disclose the price of their medication on T-V ads.

“Senator, I think it would be good for us to talk about this off line,” Kennedy says. “We are working on this in our agency and I’m happy to give you the details of what we’re going.” Grassley ended his five-minute time slot in today’s (Thursday’s) hearing by telling Kennedy he expects him to take steps to bar people waiting for organ transplants from skipping ahead of others in line.

In July, Kennedy announced his agency had launched a wide ranging investigation after news reports indicating an organ procurement organization in Kentucky had removed organs from patients who still showed signs of life.

Cass County: Corn $3.77 Beans $9.70
Adair County: Corn $3.74 Beans $9.73
Adams County: Corn $3.74 Beans $9.69
Audubon County: Corn $3.76 Beans $9.72
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $3.80 Beans $9.70
Guthrie County: Corn $3.79 Beans $9.74
Montgomery County: Corn $3.79 Beans $9.72
Shelby County: Corn $3.80 Beans $9.70

Oats: $2.67 (same in all counties)

(Radio Iowa) – Harvest season hasn’t even started in Iowa yet and forecasts for bumper crops are driving prices down, as soybean farmers in particular fear the value of their commodity will be well below what it cost to produce it. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says disruptions in international trade may share part of the blame. “Record production, I think has more to do with it,” Grassley says, “but it isn’t just soybeans, it’s corn that’s losing money, too.” Even with a powerful, damaging derecho in July and near-record rains this summer, the U-S-D-A projects Iowa growers are on target for what promises to be the biggest-ever corn crop. That good news is also bad as the rules of supply and demand dictate a record crop will mean free-falling prices.

“It’s just kind of a fact of life that farmers make profits maybe two or three years out of seven or eight,” Grassley says, “and you’ve got to save money to get through the rest of the time. That’s just the way farming is.” Trump administration tariffs prompted many other nations to enact retaliatory tariffs, some of which were later reversed, however, crucial agreements with a few key trading partners have yet to be ironed out. “Since the first of the year, China hasn’t bought anything from us,” Grassley says. “I don’t have a report yet, but the Chinese ambassador was over here a week ago yesterday and today, and I think for three days, and soybeans was going to be one of the negotiations.”

Iowa is the nation’s leading corn producer, and it’s among a dozen states which the U-S-D-A projects will haul in bin-busting crops this fall. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says he’s working to find new international markets for Iowa’s top commodities, with trade trips to India, Indonesia and Vietnam all planned in the coming weeks.

(A report by the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa farmers are gearing up for harvest season, as the latest crop progress and condition report notes 9% of corn acres across the state have reached maturity and farmers have scattered reports of soybeans dropping leaves. The crops continue to develop, with 63% of corn acres across the state now dented and 19% of soybeans coloring, for the reporting period of Aug. 25 through Aug. 31.  Corn condition was rated at 84% good to excellent, the same as last week, while soybean condition at 77% good to excellent declined slightly from the week prior. The report, written by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, reported that the oat harvest in Iowa was “virtually complete” and farmers were nearly complete with their third cutting of alfalfa hay, with just 13% remaining.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said farmers will be busy this month bailing hay, chopping silage and “beginning to gear up for harvest.” “Now is also a great time to plan for seeding cover crops and adding other conservation practices to fields after harvest,” Naig said in a statement.  Naig also noted the cool, dry conditions across the state that led to a “gorgeous holiday weekend.”  According to State Climatologist Justin Glisan, the state average temperature for the reporting period was 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which was more than 6 degrees below normal temperatures for the period.  Several areas reported temperatures as low as 40 degrees during the period.

Corn is beginning to reach maturity in Iowa. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

While some eastern areas of the state had a couple inches of rain, the state average for the week was less than two-tenths of an inch, while the normal is 0.88 inch.  Despite the less-than-an-inch of rain the past several reporting periods, soil moisture conditions remain adequate to surplus. Across the state, topsoil moisture conditions were 78% adequate and 12% surplus. Subsoil moisture conditions were similar with 79% adequate and 13% surplus.  Soil conditions were driest in the southwest and southeast regions of the state. In those regions, around 30% of topsoil moisture was short, according to the report.

According to the seven-day precipitation forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the majority of the state is forecast to receive less than half an inch of rain this week.

(Iowa DNR News) – Iowa’s statewide pheasant population is at a 20-year high, and state wildlife experts are forecasting a banner year for hunters. “The mild winter really put us over the top this year,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Our adult hen survival was excellent; our adult rooster survival was excellent. That really drove the population increase.”

Bogenschutz coordinates the annual August roadside survey of small game populations, covering 225 30-mile routes. The 2025 survey counted more pheasants, quail, cottontail rabbits and partridge than last year. The survey results are available online by clicking the 100 Years of Pheasant Hunting graphic at www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey. “Chick survival wasn’t as good as last year, but we had so many more nests that it offset the drop in the number of chicks per hen,” he said. Statewide, staff reported 1,038 pheasant broods, which is 338 more than last year.

“We had an early hatch which is good because the nesting season got wet later and that may have impacted chick survival or re-nesting efforts,” Bogenschutz said. The statewide average of 28 birds per route is the highest since 2005. Regionally, the northwest region was the highest since 2005; northeast region was the highest since 1998; west central similar to last year; east central highest sense 2007; south central highest since 2017; and southeast, highest since 2020.

Bogenschutz said if hunter participation is similar to 2023, the pheasant harvest could be in the 600,000-700,000 range. “Last year was a decent year for pheasant hunting. 2023 was a good year for pheasant hunting. This year could be excellent,” he said.

The Iowa DNR and Pheasants Forever are celebrating 100 years of pheasant hunting in the Hawkeye State. The first season was held Oct. 20-22, 1925, when 13 counties in north central Iowa were opened to pheasant hunting. Hunters were allowed a three-rooster limit, for a half-day of hunting. An estimated 75,000 hunters participated.

Hunters can commemorate the 100^th anniversary by purchasing a hard card featuring Iowa Pheasants Forever Print of the Year. Pheasants Forever is offering commemorative apparel featuring both the 100 Years of Pheasant Hunting graphic and PF logo through an online, pop-up store. The store will be accepting apparel orders as the pheasant season approaches.

Pheasant season

Oct. 25 – Jan. 10, 2026

Youth only pheasant season – Iowa residents only, age 15 or younger

Oct. 18-19

(Radio Iowa) – University of Iowa researchers are recruiting farmers with dementia and their caregivers to participate in an educational series tailored to their specific needs. U-I associate professor of public health, Kanika Arora says most dementia safety programs are focused on residential settings.  “If you look at the standard dementia safety recommendations that are used in residential settings, like removing power tools or removing tractors or seizing work completely, that can be impractical, at least in sort of the early stages of dementia, which can feel — this can feel intrusive, and this might not even work,” she says.

The Farm Families Coping with Dementia series consists of four weekly sessions that covers the entire scope of agricultural hazards.  “Like livestock or heavy equipment, firearms, even residing in an agricultural sort of like a farmstead or being farm adjacent, like you know, you still have concerns related to wandering in a cornfield, for instance, which can be extremely dangerous,” Arora says.

The next training starts in October. State data shows more than 66 thousand Iowans who are 65 and older have Alzheimer’s Disease.

Cass County: Corn $3.76 Beans $9.76
Adair County: Corn $3.73 Beans $9.79
Adams County: Corn $3.73 Beans $9.75
Audubon County: Corn $3.75 Beans $9.78
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $3.79 Beans $9.76
Guthrie County: Corn $3.78 Beans $9.80
Montgomery County: Corn $3.78 Beans $9.78
Shelby County: Corn $3.79 Beans $9.76

Oats: $2.66 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)