(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Congress will be held this week but the pandemic is forcing a series of major changes from years past. Iowa Pork Producers Association spokeswoman Dal Grooms says the first event is at 10 o’clock tomorrow (Tuesday) morning in Des Moines. “We are going to start the week off with our annual meeting but that will be the only in-person event that we have,” Grooms says. “Then we’ll have education sessions and those are all going to be one-hour virtual sessions. Of course, there’s not going to be any trade show available to producers, and we know how much they love that.”

The 2020 event, which usually brings five-thousand producers to Iowa’s capitol city, was cancelled due to COVID-19. Grooms says a host of top-notch speakers are lined up for this year’s edition. “Our keynoter is Damian Mason, an ag economist who also does some motivational and inspiring speaking,” Grooms says. “He’s going to be talking about different events that have happened in agriculture and how they’re going to impact producers in the future.”

Mason’s talk is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, while there are two educational workshops planned for Thursday. “One is going to be with Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Ag Alliance. She’s going to talk about some of the animal activists and what they’ve been doing and how producers can protect their farm and farm security,” Grooms says. “The other educational session is going to be about some of the new marketing opportunities that have been developed.”

Pre-register for most events at: iowaporkcongress.org

(Radio Iowa) – Several people have reported seeing a wandering lost moose in Plymouth County. The moose is a female and is thought to have traveled to northwest Iowa from northern North Dakota. Iowa D-N-R Wildlife Biologist Doug Chafa says it is a rare sight here. He says the last moose sighting was back in the fall and winter of 2015, so it is unusual. Chafa says there are usually two reasons for a moose to travel this far south.

Plymouth County moose

He says a young bull moose may leave the herd because it couldn’t compete for position with other older bull moose. Or he says the female moose in northwest Iowa could be sick. “Sometimes moose will have this roundworm parasite called a meningeal brain worm. It damages their brain and they will have some weird behaviors like just taking off and walking south,” according to Chafa.

Chafa says he understands the curiosity factor from people wanting to see the moose, but he warns people to keep their distance. “Moose are large dangerous animals to get in close proximity to. It would not be a good idea to try and interact with this moose in any way,” Chafa says. “When an animal starts these long-distance dispersals — if you intercede in that or interfere in that — there is a long history where that just goes, really, really poorly.”

The Iowa D-N-R Wildlife Biologist says there is no way in determining whether the moose will continue heading south, or if it has found its new home. Chafa says several years ago, a wandering moose found its way south to Interstate 80 near Walnut, Iowa. Chafa doesn’t believe the moose will do much property damage, but he says that onlookers hoping to see the moose should respect a landowner’s private property rights and not trespass.

(Radio Iowa) – If it seems like there’s an inordinate amount of Canada geese flocking around Iowa right now, you’re not imagining things. While many of the distinctive black-and-white-necked birds live here year-round, others are in the midst of a migration from Canada to parts south. Orrin Jones, a waterfowl biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says Iowa’s city-dwellers are likely noticing the gobs of geese the most. “The geese are actively seeking out the metropolitan areas,” Jones says. “That’s a very attractive place for them right now. It has a combination of open water sources, food, and relative safety.”

Hunting season on geese in central Iowa just ended last weekend. The D-N-R is tabulating figures from a recent Canada goose count that pegs the Des Moines population at around 20-thousand, though statewide numbers aren’t quite ready yet. Iowans can’t help but spot the big birds in places where they usually congregate — and elsewhere. “Right now, we have a mixing of a lot of different populations of geese and their movement patterns coincide with a lot of people’s daily commutes,” Jones says. “When the birds are very active, that’s when people are very active and it leads to this perception that there’s just a huge amount of geese in the area — and there are a lotta’ geese.”

The goose population is not too high, he assures, saying the current numbers are within the state’s objectives for the feathered creatures. While some of the geese are permanent Iowa residents, Jones notes that others are in the midst of an annual migration. “Whether they stay here or go farther south or go back north will depend upon the weather,” Jones says. “If the winter gets more severe, they’ll continue farther south. If it becomes more mild, they’ll spread out or maybe move farther north or maybe distribute across Iowa.”

If you’re tempted to toss some bread to those geese, don’t. Jones says the wild waterfowl need to be able to find food on their own. Plus, he says human food is often detrimental — and can be dangerous — for geese.

WATERLOO, Iowa (January 21, 2021) – Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 13th Annual Capture the Heart of America Photo Contest. “Best of Show” was awarded to Greg Punelli of Ankeny for his photo, “Battle in the Blizzard” in the Partner Site category. Taken in Prairie City at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, the photo was chosen by the public in an online voting campaign in early December.

Harvest Tailgating for Lunch, Sandy McCurdy of Bridgewater

Awards were also given to the top photos in each of six categories, voted on by panel of judges. People’s Choice “Most Liked on Facebook” was awarded to Joyce Meyer of Calmar for her photo, “Over the Rainbow” in the Iowa Farmscapes category. The “Visitor Guide Photo Feature,” selected by Silos & Smokestacks staff from the Partner Site category for a special feature in the 2021-22 Visitor Guide, was awarded to Brian Abeling of West Des Moines with “Mines of Spain Recreation Area.”

Category winners include:
Life on the Iowan Farm
FIRST PLACE: Ready For Work, Bee Klemzak of Waterloo
SECOND PLACE: Harvest Tailgating for Lunch, Sandy McCurdy of Bridgewater
THIRD PLACE: Summer Sunrise, Diane Michaud Lowry of Ames
HONORABLE MENTION: Puddle Jumper, Ann Clinton of Waukee

East Place Harvest, Linda Buxton of Creston

Modern Agriculture
FIRST PLACE: Hancock Harvest, Brian Abeling of West Des Moines
SECOND PLACE: Fly & Apply, Beau Brown of Iowa City
THIRD PLACE: East Place Harvest, Linda Buxton of Creston
HONORABLE MENTION: Chad Heggen, Deere in the Beans of Joice

While the Heritage Area covers a 37-county region in Northeast Iowa, the contest allows Silos & Smokestacks to share America’s agricultural story across the entire United States. A complete list of winners and their photos can viewed at www.silosandsmokestacks.org/photo-contest.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Jan. 21, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has extended the deadline for farmers who planted fall cover crops to sign up for a $5 per acre reduction on their 2021 crop insurance premiums. Farmers and landowners now have through January 27 to sign up online at apply.cleanwateriowa.org. Fall 2020 cover crop acres enrolled in other state or federal cover crop cost-share programs are not eligible. Farmers who received prevent plant payments in 2020 are still eligible for the discounted insurance premiums.

The insurance premium reductions will be available for fall-planted cover crops with a spring-planted cash crop. Some insurance policies may be excluded, like Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, or those covered through written agreements. Participants must follow all existing farming practices required by their policy and work with their insurance agents to maintain eligibility. For questions regarding the application process, call 515-281-5851 or email covercropdemo@iowaagriculture.gov.

This is the fourth year the crop insurance discount program is being administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA). Interest in the program continues to grow and new farmers and fields join each year. To date, about 1,700 farmers have enrolled nearly 500,000 acres of cover crops in the program. Farmers are encouraged to visit their local USDA service center offices to learn more about other cost-share funding available to support the implementation of conservation practices.

w/Brandon Scheuring.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – On the last night of the Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency granted three waivers to oil refiners, exempting them from the obligation to blend corn-based ethanol into fuel. Leaders in the biofuels industry say the last minute waivers flout federal law and recent court rulings. Two of the waivers are for ethanol blending requirements in 2019 and one is for 2018. The Reuters wire service is reporting 45 waiver applications are still on file for review by the Biden Administration.

The president of the Renewable Fuels Association says the industry is hopeful that Biden’s E-P-A will clarify that “this nonsense with giving out these small refinery exemptions is done.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An owner of a large pork production company that disproportionately benefited from an Iowa coronavirus aid program donated $25,000 to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ campaign last month. Mary Ann Christensen is a board member of Christensen Farms, one of the nation’s largest family-owned pork producers. The $25,000 campaign donation she gave Reynolds was among the largest that Reynolds received in 2020 and far more than the $1,000 that Christensen gave the governor in 2017.

Christensen Farms received $1.86 million in 2020 through the Iowa Disposal Assistance Program, which was 72% of the pandemic aid awarded in its first rounds. The program reimbursed farmers who euthanized their hogs after COVID-19 disrupted their supply chain.

w/Kate Olson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS