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(Radio Iowa) — Western Iowans are divided about the merits of industrial wind projects being planned in the region. Chicago-based Invenergy wants to build almost 170 wind turbines in Sac and Ida counties in the next year, enough to power 90-thousand homes. Mason Fleenor, an Ida County farmer, says he’s worried about the noise and the view of large turbines on the horizon. “If you know anything about cattle, when it’s real windy, cattle don’t work real good in the wind. They can’t hear what’s going on around them,” Fleenor says. “I’m the same way, I don’t like to listen to these things every day.”
Invenergy developed another wind farm in the county that’s been operating for about two years. The county estimates it gains more than two-million dollars each year from industrial wind energy after taxes. Ida County Board of Supervisors Chairman Rhett Leonard says revenue from the turbine property values benefits road infrastructure projects. “The good thing about this is, we were to the point where our roads and infrastructures were deteriorating so quickly and it’s such a high priced item to replace and maintain,” Leonard says, ” we were getting to the point where we weren’t sure what we were going to do with these.”
After the first phase of Invenergy’s initial project in the area was complete, about 500 residents petitioned the county to have wind turbines be at least one mile away from a house. The county established a code saying they have to be at least 15-hundred feet away. In a statement, Invenergy said it builds projects where landowners have voluntarily signed easements or leases.
In Adair County, an amended ordinance setting a 2,000-foot setback from non-participating residences and an 800-foot setback for participating property owners associated with two Mid-American Energy wind farms, has a third its third and final reading set to take place at the next meeting of the Adair County Board of Supervisors. When complete, a total of nearly 500 turbines will be spread throughout the County. Construction began last summer, but the erection of turbines has been met with public push-back over noise, visual pollution and bird safety concerns.
(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)
John Whitaker has recently been selected to serve as the Executive Director of the Conservation Districts of Iowa. Mr. Whitaker most recently served as the State Executive Director for USDA Farm Service Agency in Iowa under President Obama.
“I am honored to be working with CDI which is dedicated to conserving our soil, natural resources and improving water quality in Iowa” said Whitaker.
In addition to serving in USDA, Mr. Whitaker served ten years as County Supervisor in Van Buren County and seven years in the Iowa House of Representative. During his legislative service, he served two years as an Assistant Minority Leader and three years as an Assistant Majority Leader. He also served three years as Vice President, and nine years as President of the Iowa Farmers Union.
“We are thrilled to have someone with John’s conservation ethic and public service background join CDI” stated Alex Schmidt, President of CDI.
John continues to be actively engaged in their family farm operations with his brother Bruce and son Gabe. They raise corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, rye, and hay by no till methods. They feed hogs for Niman Ranch in a deep bedding system and have a cow/calf herd.
John and his wife Lorrie are both graduates of ISU along with their three children Gabe, Daniel and Becca. He is active in both the Hillsboro Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Ames. John is also active in his local Masonic lodge, Order of the Eastern Star, Pheasants Forever, and serves as chair of Veterans in Agriculture (John is a non-veteran member).
The mission of CDI is to inform, educate and lead Iowans through our local soil and water conservation districts to promote conservation of our natural resources. CDI is the nonprofit umbrella organization representing the 100 local soil and water conservation commissions and the 500 locally elected commissioners who make up those local commissions.
Image credit: M.H. Shour, ISU Extension & Outreach
Red Oak, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office will host an Aquatic, Forest and Right-of-Way Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. The program provided by the ISU Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) can be seen at office locations across Iowa.
The local attendance site for the Oct. 17 CIC is the Montgomery County Extension office located at 400 Bridge Street Suite #2 in Red Oak. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by sessions from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before Oct. 10 and $45 after Oct. 10. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Katie Hart at the ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office at (712) 623-2592.
In Shelby County the local attendance site for the Oct. 17 CIC is 906 6th Street. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by sessions from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before Oct. 10 and $45 after Oct. 10. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Shelby County Extension & Outreach at 712-755-3104.
The course will provide continuing instruction credits for commercial and public pesticide applicators certified in categories 2 (Forest Pest Control), 5 (Aquatic Pest Control), 6 (Right-of-Way Pest Control), and 10 (Research and Demonstration). Topics to be covered are: equipment calibration; phytotoxicity; pesticide drift reduction; principles of limited area application; aquatic invasive species update; control of tree of heaven and red cedar; white oak mortality; and Phragmites control. Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered through the PSEP Program can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP.
Shelby County Extension & Outreach will host a Seed Treatment Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators, Wednesday, October 10, 2018. The program will be shown through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).
The local attendance site is 906 6th St., Harlan. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course runs from 9 to 11 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before October 10. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Shelby County Extension & Outreach by phoning 712-755-3104.
The course will provide continuing instruction credit for commercial pesticide applicators certified in categories 4 and 10. Topics to be covered include equipment calibration and safe application techniques; pests, pest management and pesticides; and issues concerning treated seed, including disposal of unused treated seed.
Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered. Interested participants should bring their CCA number to the program.
Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered by the PSEP team can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP/.
(Radio Iowa) — The latest U-S-D-A report on Iowa crops shows at least five percent of the corn and eight percent of the state’s soybeans were harvested by Sunday night. Harvest progress has been slow, though, because of above average rainfall in much of the state last week.
In August, the U-S-D-A predicted U.S. corn yields would average an all-time record of 178 bushels per acre. The prediction for Iowa was the same as last year — just over 200 bushels per acre.
The latest U-S-D-A report for Iowa indicates nearly three-quarters of Iowa corn is rated in good to excellent condition, with maturity about a week ahead of average.
(Radio Iowa) — The ping-pong nature of the weather so far this year could impact the type of quality of the fall leaf colors. Iowa D-N-R state forester Jeff Goerndt says things were trending toward an early pop of color. “Look for possibly an early fall leaf change because of some of the drier weather, but that could change with some of the cooler temperatures in the forecast,” Goerndt says. He admits there’s no easy way to tell exactly when the leaves will change.
“Fall color is really a hard thing to predict, there’s just so many different factors that are involved in how leaves turn color,” according to Goerndt. “Generally hot or dry weather is not a bad thing for fall color. It’s usually produce some brighter colors — especially some of the brighter red colors — as long as it doesn’t get too hot or too dry.” Goerndt says the trees may be like most people as the weather patterns switch back and forth.
“This year it was hotter and drier earlier and then it’s sort of gotten wet in some areas, and so you’ve got some of that back and forth. So, the trees are probably wondering what to do,” Goerndt says. There are some conditions that usually always lead to a colorful leaf display. “Generally for fall color, brighter sunny days and cool nights are usually a good thing for fall color,” Goerndt says. “If we get some wet weather from here on out — that could kind of make for some duller, slower changing trees.”
Goerndt says weather that is too hot and dry causes trees to drop their leaves early, or causes them to turn brown.
(Radio Iowa) — It’s the first week of fall and many Iowa farmers are already starting the harvest. Even weather experts admit it’s been an unusual growing season. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says 2018 is turning out to be a year of extremes, to be sure.
“The northern part of the corn belt, we had snows in April, we had wet conditions, we were slowed down from planting well into May in some places,” Todey says. “The southern part of the corn belt had some delays but not too badly.” After the late start due to the cold, wet conditions, the heat wave rolled in.
“We’ve had pretty regular heat throughout the summer, very warm conditions back in May and June,” Todey says. “Over Memorial Day, we had 90s which is really pretty high for that time of year. We had a lot of heat early on, then, kind of mellowed after that.” Despite the ups and downs, it ended up being a decent season for most growers.
“Crops matured pretty quickly so that’s moved us along,” Todey says. “We went from being behind to caught up now. We’re getting into a situation where we’re seeing corn maturing along with soybeans or even ahead of soybeans in some places.” Updated computer models show cooler-than-normal temperatures across the region through the end of this month and into October, which may bring the first frost.
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