(Radio Iowa) — The near-trillion-dollar Farm Bill is headed to a conference committee where differences between the House and Senate versions will be ironed out. Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman  says he’s encouraged the new five-year piece of legislation will pass before the current Farm Bill expires at the end of September.  “We are still hopeful that we can see some signs that serious compromises need to be made in order to move a good product ahead,” Lehman says. “It’s a good sign but we know there’s quite a bit yet to be done to get us to where we need to be in the end.”

Lehman says members of the conference committee have plenty of work ahead. House Republicans proposed sweeping changes to the food stamp program or SNAP, including a work requirement. Senators didn’t include any major changes in food stamps in the 956-billion dollar Farm Bill. “The window is getting tight to get the work done and that is certainly the issue that we anticipate is going to be front and center between the two versions,” Lehman says, “but I’ve got to tell you, there’s a lot of other issues that are so important that the two versions are very different.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley added an amendment to the Farm Bill which aims to close the loophole he says enables Wall Street bankers to get federal farm dollars, even if they’ve never had dirt under their fingernails. Grassley says, “Allowing these types of nonfarmers to milk the farm safety net for millions of dollars in subsidies each year is ridiculous.” Lehman hopes members of the conference committee will include Grassley’s proposal in the final package. “It’s so important to direct our dollars in the right way to family-sized operations as much as possible,” Lehman says. “We’ve got a limited pool of money that we can work with in the farm bill and we’ve always felt that we haven’t dedicated the resources we need to in order to help farmers.”

He adds he’s hopeful Grassley’s proposal will “win the day.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many farmers remain critical of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets but were appreciative Tuesday that he offered to provide some cash to help offset their losses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion three-part plan that would borrow money from the U.S. Treasury to pay producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs.

The USDA also will buy the surplus of commodities that would otherwise have been exported and distribute them to food banks and other nutrition programs. That will cover fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork and milk. The third prong of the plan is to help farm groups develop new export markets.

The money comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation, a USDA agency founded in 1933. It has authority to borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury at any one time to “stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices.” Farmers said they would rather have Trump settle the trade disputes with China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union and get free trade flowing again.

“A Band-Aid doesn’t cure an illness, but it might make it temporarily better,” said Dave Struthers who grows corn, soybeans and hay on a 1,100-acre Iowa farm near Collins, about 30 miles northeast of Des Moines. He also sells about 6,000 pigs a year.
Reaction from trade partners to Trump’s tariff policies have pushed soybean prices about 18 percent lower and corn and pork prices down 15 percent from the time Trump began discussing tariffs this spring.

China is the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans and one of the largest importers of U.S. pork. U.S. farmers are expected to grow 14.2 billion bushels of corn this year and 4.3 billion bushels of soybeans, down some from last year but still huge crops. There were 73.5 million pigs on farms as of June 1, the highest number on that date since records began in 1964.

Some farmers were more skeptical of the administration’s actions, believing the midterm elections in November had more to do with the announcement than concern for farmers. Some farmers expressed concern that few details have been released. The USDA said it planned to roll out some of those details around Labor Day and the program would begin to make payouts after the fall harvest.

(Radio Iowa) — The Trump Administration is announcing direct payments to farmers who’ve taken a financial hit due to international trade disputes. The U-S-D-A also plans to buy dairy products, pork and other commodities like fruits and nuts for distribution to food banks. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke with reporters this (Tuesday) afternoon by telephone.

“This, obviously, is a short-term solution that will give President Trump time to work on a long-term trade policy and deal to benefit agriculture as well all sectors of the American economy,” Perdue said. Perdue said up to 12 billion dollars is available for the effort and it does NOT require congressional approval. Rob Johannson is the chief economist in the U-S-D-A.

“This program is intended to off-set the trade damage that we’ve seen facing our farmers in a number of commodities,” Johanssen said. Direct payments will be made to dairy and pork producers as well as farmers who grow soybeans, sorghum, wheat and cotton. Greg Ibach is the U-S-D-A undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.

“What this will do is provide some hope to farmers and ranchers that the president and the secretary do have their back,” Ibach said. U-S-D-A officials say more details about this plan, including how farmers are to be paid, will be released in the coming days.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, says farmers need a long-term trade strategy, not a short term fix. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley calls the proposal “encouraging for the short-term,” but Grassley says farmers ultimately want access to markets rather than “government hand-outs.” Several other Republicans in the U.S. Senate have issued sharper critiques.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul says this is “welfare for farmers.” Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse says Trump’s tariffs have cut the legs out from under farmers and these federal payments amount to “golden crutches.” Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson says farmers want trade, not aid and he suggested the Trump Administration was steering the country’s free market economy toward a “Soviet-style” system where “commissars” decide how to sprinkle out benefits.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration readied a plan Tuesday to send billions in emergency aid to farmers who have been caught in the crossfire of President Donald Trump’s trade disputes with China and other U.S. trading partners. The Agriculture Department was expected to announce the proposal that would include direct assistance and other temporary relief for farmers, according to two people briefed on the plan, who were not authorized to speak on the record. The plan comes as President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City in the heart of the nation’s farm country.

Trump declared earlier Tuesday that “Tariffs are the greatest!” and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepared for negotiations with European officials at the White House.
The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing’s high-tech industrial policies. China has retaliated with duties on soybeans and pork, affecting Midwest farmers in a region of the country that supported the president in his 2016 campaign. Trump has threatened to place tariffs on up to $500 billion in products imported from China, a move that would dramatically ratchet up the stakes in the trade dispute involving the globe’s biggest economies.

Before departing for Kansas City, Trump tweeted that U.S. trade partners need to either negotiate a “fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It’s as simple as that.” The president has engaged in hard-line trading negotiations with China, Canada and European nations, seeking to renegotiate trade agreements he says have undermined the nation’s manufacturing base and led to a wave of job losses in recent decades.
The imposition of punishing tariffs on imported goods has been a favored tactic by Trump, but it has prompted U.S. trading partners to retaliate, creating risks for the economy.

Trump has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that allies such as the European Union and Canada reject. He has also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion. During a Monday event at the White House featuring American-made goods, Trump displayed a green hat that read, “Make Our Farmers Great Again.”

“We’re stopping the barriers to other countries. They send them in and take advantage of us,” Trump said. “This is the way it’s going to go — make our farmers great again.” The president is meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president’s tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The corn and soybean crops in Iowa and Nebraska are significantly ahead of schedule and looking very good for a plentiful harvest this fall. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its weekly crop progress report Monday says Nebraska corn is rated 87 percent good to excellent and in Iowa its 79 percent. Soybeans are 85 percent good to excellent in Nebraska. In Iowa it’s 76 percent. The crops are significantly ahead in development in both states.

Corn silking is more than a week ahead of schedule in Iowa with 88 percent silked. It’s 82 percent in Nebraska. Soybean blooming in Nebraska is at 78 percent compared with 71 percent of the five-year average and in Iowa 81 percent of the crop is blooming ahead of the 66 percent average.

GREELEY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are investigating reports that dead fish have been found along nearly 20 miles of a creek in eastern Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says carcasses were found in and along Plum Creek from Greeley to Earlville. They included those of smallmouth and rock bass.

Chief investigator Brian Jergenson says the fish likely died during and after a July 13 rainstorm. He also says it’s difficult to pin down a specific source several days after a pollutant washes into a stream.

WHITING, Iowa – A mysterious clay tile line that was discharging into the McCandles – Cleghorn ditch and reported to the DNR on Friday, July 13 has since been identified.

After dye testing, using a camera in the unknown line, and dirt work, it was determined that a 10-inch clay tile line had collapsed under the city of Whiting’s wetland.  The tile was likely installed in the mid 1900’s and had been abandoned.  The tile was exposed and then removed.  At the end of the exposed tile, a 10-inch air bladder was installed to cap off the line.  Clay was then added to fill in the area near the capped tile line.

Now that the discharge has been stopped, the City of Whiting is working to restore the wetland to the originally designed standards.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today reminded Iowa farmers that funds are available to help install practices focused on protecting water quality.  Practices eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fertilizer.

The cost share rate for first-time users of cover crops is $25 per acre, no-till or strip till are eligible for $10 per acre and farmers using a nitrapyrin nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer can receive $3 per acre. Farmers are eligible for cost share on up to 160 acres.

First-time users that apply by July 27 will be the first applications funded.  First-time users that apply after July 27 will still receive priority consideration, but funds will also be made available to farmers that have used cover crops in the past for cost share assistance at $15 per acre.

“We already have $1.3 million in applications from more than 600 new farmers interested in trying a practice for the first time to better protect water quality. We encourage farmers that are interested to contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District office as soon as possible to learn more about the assistance that is available,” Naig said.

The 100 Soil and Water Conservation District offices located in each county across the state have information about this program and other opportunities for cost share funding.

Background on Iowa Water Quality Initiative

The Iowa Water Quality Initiative was established in 2013 to help implement the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which is a science and technology based approach to achieving a 45 percent reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus losses to our waters.  The strategy brings together both point sources, such as municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban stormwater runoff, to address these issues.

The Initiative seeks to harness the collective ability of both private and public resources and organizations to deliver a clear and consistent message to stakeholders to reduce nutrient loss and improve water quality.

The initiative is seeing some exciting results. Last fall, 2,600 farmers invested an estimated $8.7 million in funding to match $4.8 million in state cost share funds to adopt cover crops, no-till or strip till, or use a nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer. Participants include 1,000 farmers using a practice for the first time and more than 1,600 past users who are trying cover crops again and are receiving a reduced rate of cost share.

A total of 65 demonstration projects are currently located across the state to help implement and demonstrate water quality practices. This includes 14 targeted watershed projects, 7 projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices and 44 urban water quality demonstration projects.   More than 250 organizations are participating in these projects. These partners will provide $37.7 million to go with the $23.4 million in state funding going to these projects.

More than $420 million in funding has been documented for efforts in support of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy last year. This represents a $32 million increase of funding in support of Iowa water quality programs and conservation efforts over the previous year.

More information about the initiative can be found at www.CleanWaterIowa.org.

w/Kate Olson.

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Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms (ISU Armstrong Research Farm) along with the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development would like to invite you to attend our annual Demonstration Garden Field Day at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. If you are a beginning gardener or an experienced gardener, we have demonstrations you will enjoy.

This year’s garden planting theme is planting the rainbow. Vegetables produced will be donated to local food pantries.

Other topics to be presented include planting flowers for bees, including Tithonian, part of the sunflower family and borage.  Iowa State entomologists will participate in the field days to share information about planting nectar plants and host plants for bees and other pollinators.

After your trip through the gardens, join us in our air conditioned classrooms for a tradition of ice cream and strawberries. The facilities are handicap accessible.

The Armstrong Research Farm is located 12 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and a half mile east on Hitchcock Avenue, or 13 miles east of Oakland on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and half a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue. The field day is open to the public at no cost.

Please plan on attending this event at the Learning Center.