(Lewis, Iowa) – The annual summer field day at Iowa State University’s Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm in Lewis will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 26. The field day will feature experts from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and other partner organizations, who will speak on a variety of current crop and soil health practices in agriculture.

Wes Everman, extension weed management specialist at Iowa State, will begin the program by providing insights on integrated weed management strategies. Then, James Holz, Iowa farmer and co-owner of Iowa Cover Crop, will discuss financial considerations for cover crops.

The Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service team will begin the afternoon session with a presentation on assessing soil function. Rick Cruse, professor of agronomy at Iowa State and director of the Iowa Water Center, will discuss water resource management and climate resilience. Daren Mueller, extension plant pathologist at Iowa State, will wrap up the day by sharing tips for corn and soybean disease management to maximize profitability. Please visit the following website for more information:

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/armstrong-research-and-demonstration-farm-field-day-june-26

(Radio Iowa) – Better weather this spring could bring pheasant numbers back up this year after a dip brought on by last year’s flooding. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says spring weather determines how many of the new birds survive. “Overall, the spring has kind of seemed like it’s going to come in around average. So I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to have a good hatch,” he says. Bogenschutz says early June is generally the main time for the hatch, and anything earlier is a good sign. “I actually had four broods reported to me before the Memorial Day weekend, and usually it’s the last week of May that I get the first report of broods,” he says. “So to get four reports of broods prior to the last week of May, you know that kind of tells me that winter was good, that spring has been good,” Bogenschutz says. He says it’s usually a 50-50 proposition on how many chicks survive the hatch.

“Usually, first nests are in the neighborhood of about 11 to 12 eggs on average, the first nest that the hen produces, and about half the nest hatch, and on average, about half the chicks survive,” he says. “So, if it’s a little bit better spring weather wise then we might do a little bit better than that.” He says hens are determined nesters and if they lose a nest, they will continue to re-nest into July, but the data shows that each attempt has fewer eggs than the previous nests. Bogenschutz says a slight improvement in the hatch can make a big difference in the number of birds. “We get to 60 percent of nests hatch and 60 percent of chicks survive, that’s a huge difference over the 50 and 50. So, you don’t have to move the needle a lot to make a big change in the fall,” he says.

Bogenschutz says his gut feeling right now is the hatch will be good, but they won’t be able to confirm that until they run their August roadside survey.

ATLANTIC, IA (June 1, 2025) – Produce in the Park’s Summer 2025 Farmers Market Opening Day is Thursday, June 5 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM at the Atlantic City Park. Market Manager Ciara Hoegh says this year promises to be bigger and better than ever. The highlight of the day is live music by the Prairie Gators—a band known for their infectious zydeco, bluegrass, vintage country, and gospel sound. The band has been performing for over 20 years at events including Junkstock and Omaha Mardi Gras. Featuring instruments like accordion, washboard, and bass guitar, their unique style is fun, upbeat, and perfect for an evening in the park.

The opening day farmers market also features 27 vendors–including 19 vendors selling food products. Shoppers will find early summer produce, farm-fresh eggs, locally raised meats (beef, pork, chicken, lamb), honey, sourdough breads, nut and trail mixes, fresh-squeezed lemonade, lots of desserts and other baked goods, as well as an array of crafts. Zipp’s Pizzaria food truck will be selling hot slices on-site.

The Priarie Gators Band jams at Portchfest. The Prairie Gators will be at Produce in the Park June 5.

The June 5 market theme is “Dinosaur Time”—a playful nod to a TikTok trend encouraging everyone to eat greens like plant-eating dinosaurs (no forks required!). Market visitors of all ages are invited to join in the fun and gobble up free tastes of fresh greens (lettuce, spinach, kale). The YMCA will provide a free bounce house, and dinosaur-themed face painting will be
available for purchase.

June 5 Vendor Lineup:
● Food truck: Zipp’s Pizzaria
● Bridgewater – Lettuce, kale, arugula, chard, broccoli, and more produce
● Brun Ko Farm – Greens, radishes, snap peas, green onions, eggs, chicken, lamb, honey
● Bubba’s Freeze Dried Foods – Freeze-dried candies, fruits, vegetables
● Deliciously Dunn – Cookies
● Dodi’s Rock & Crystal Shop – Crystal jewelry, resin crafts, tumbled stones
● Ehrman Family Farm – Sourdough breads, rustic rolls, handmade crafts
● Fire and Flour – Sourdough, yeast breads, cupcakes, cake pops, brownies, donuts, mini
flavored loaves
● Frosting, Inc. – Gourmet cupcakes and cookies
● Hansen Family Homestead LLC – Chicken and duck eggs, chicken, pork, sourdough
breads
● Hoopy Hallow Ranch – Beef, lamb, free-range eggs
● Imagine – Garden crafts and planters from vintage and repurposed items
● It Makes Total Scents – Car air fresheners
● Juj’n Juj’n – Art and handmade goods
● Kringle Man – Danish kringle, pastries, rye bread
● Little Lark’s Mercantile – Baby clothes, baked goods, eggs, custom crafts
● MinDee’s Nuts LLC – Flavored nuts and trail mixes
● Mystic Dawn Creations – 3D printed toys, games, fidgets
● Noble Provisions – Meats and eggs
● Oak Hill Honey – Honey
● Paige’s Pieces – Keychains, signs, bookmarks, jewelry
● Piper’s Brae Farm – Aronia berries and products
● Renander Farms – Eggs, cookies, cinnamon rolls, breads, fruit crisps
● Squeezing Lemons – Fresh squeezed lemonade
● Stork Treasures – Handmade pens, badge reels
● Ter-Bear Honey – Honey
● TJ’s Kitchen – Wine bread

Admission to Produce in the Park is always free. Community organizations will be on site sharing local resources. The market accepts SNAP EBT and Double Up Food Bucks for all qualifying food items. Vendor and sponsor applications remain open for the summer season. Interested sellers of handmade or homegrown products—including local foods, crafts, art, and plants—can apply online at www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com or pick up paper copies at the Atlantic Area
Chamber of Commerce (102 Chestnut St., Atlantic).

Opening Day is proudly sponsored by Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, City of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust, Gregg Young Chevrolet of Atlantic, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, and United Church of Christ of Atlantic. For the latest market updates, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark and Instagram at www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/

LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa — A new addition is coming to the Loess Hills State Forest in western Iowa after Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) transferred the former Little Sioux Scout Ranch to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The 1,776-acre property sits on the western slope of the Loess Hills in Monona County, about halfway between Sioux City and Council Bluffs. The site offers numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking, birdwatching, wilderness camping, fishing and hunting. The property has dozens of miles of established trails that will link to the surrounding state forest and a 20-acre lake with excellent fishing.

The property will be open to the public after boundary signs are installed in late June. A public celebration is tentatively planned for Friday, Sept. 26.

The site is mostly old-growth oak woodland and remnant prairie on the western bluffs of the Loess Hills, a globally unique area consisting of ridges formed by wind-blown soil. It is in a state-designated Bird Conservation Area, making it a haven for birdwatching, one of North America’s fastest growing outdoor activities. It is also in a National Park Service-designated Special Landscape Area and lies along the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.

“To be able to protect a piece of this size, and what that means for wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said INHF Loess Hills Land Stewardship Director Kody Wohlers.

INHF photo

Little Sioux Scout Ranch had been used as a scout camp for more than 50 years by troops from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The site is well-known for a tragic event. On June 11, 2008, a deadly EF3 tornado struck the camp, injuring 48 and killing four young scouts. A memorial and open-air chapel were erected in their honor.

In 2021, the Gilwell Foundation, which owns all the properties used by the Mid-America Council of Scouting America, came to the difficult decision to sell the camp to INHF due to declining attendance.

In working on the sale with the council, INHF has agreed to do three things: Open the property to the public; maintain the memorial to four boys that died in a 2008 tornado on the property; and honor and share the history of LSSR as a scout camp.

INHF privately raised $2 million from more than 500 donors — including lead gifts from the Iowa West Foundation, Polina and Bob Schlott, the Gilchrist Foundation, and the MidAmerican Energy Foundation — to help protect the property. Additional funding came from the Forest Legacy Program administered by the U.S. Forest Service and Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Program.

“We’re grateful to all the donors and partners that made the protection of this special place possible,” said Joe McGovern, INHF president. “This was one of the largest protection projects INHF has ever done. Donors have told us they want to see this place protected — staying in one piece and not being developed — but they’re also excited to see it opened to the public.”

In an effort to re-wild the property to benefit nature and align with the rest of the state forest, most of the camp infrastructure has been removed. More than $250,000 in buildings and materials were salvaged to be used by other scout camps, nonprofits and county conservation boards. The memorial and chapel on the site will be maintained.

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit conservation group that works with private landowners and public partners to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 200,000 acres of Iowa’s natural resources. Learn more at www.inhf.org.

(UPDATED/Radio Iowa) – Opponents of a proposed carbon pipeline urged Governor Kim Reynolds again today (Friday) to sign a bill into law to limit the use of eminent domain by pipeline developers. Mary Powell of Shelby County recalled that Reynolds mentioned Iowa’s state motto-“our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain”-during a nationally televised speech a few years ago.

Page County landowner Marty Maher says the bill won’t stop any pipelines, but it will make the process more fair.

Supporters of the carbon capture pipelines are asking Reynolds to veto the bill, saying it would kill those projects and hurt Iowa’s ethanol industry. Reynolds has said she’s meeting with groups on both sides of the issue to help her make a decision. She has to sign or veto bills passed in the legislative session by June 14th.

(Radio Iowa) – A non-profit group that’s raising concerns about water quality in Iowa is hosting a series of events to call attention to pollution in state owned lakes. Jim Larew is legal counsel for the Driftless Water Defenders. “The group is dedicated to the proposition that access to clean water should be a constitutionally protected right, a fundamental right,” Larew says, “and to achieve that end we’re engaging in activities that help to instruct the public, educate the public and get the public talking about things.” The group’s “48 Lakes initiative” is focused on state-owned lakes where unhealthy amounts of pollution have prompted officials to issue “Do Not Swim” warnings over the past five years.

“We think in the last year or two there’s been a significant change in public opinion in Iowa and concern about the quality of our water,” Larew said, “…and it’s time to change course.” The group is inviting Iowans to visit one of the 48 state lakes on its list and record what they see. “Tell us about the experiences they’ve had over a period of year, what observations they’ve made and maybe just their observations that day at the lake,” Larew said. “And whether they have a text message or an email or a photograph or a video, send it to us so that other people can observe it through social media.”

The Driftless Water Defenders started posting these messages on the group’s Facebook, Instagram and X accounts this past weekend. Members of the group and associated organizations are hosting other events this summer to show people how to test Iowa lakes and rivers for nitrates and assess whether fish, plants and other organisms are thriving in the water.

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports Bluegills are biting in small ponds and lakes across the State. In late May and early June, male bluegill build nests that female bluegill lay eggs in. Bluegill nests are circular depressions, 1 to 2 feet in diameter. Built in clusters called beds, they appear to look like the surface of a golf ball or elephant tracks. Male bluegills are easy to catch when they are guarding the nests in shallow water. Cast from a distance instead of getting close if the water is clear. Fish will be less finicky if they don’t see you.

Bluegill have small mouths. The DNR suggests you keep your hooks, bobbers and bait small and your line light (2 or 4 pound-test). Weighted bobbers will help you cast further. Worms are a great bait option. You can also tip your jig with a small piece of artificial worm.

Male bluegills build nests (also called beds) for female bluegills to lay eggs in. These spawning beds were built on reefs at Prairie Rose Lake, near Harlan. Photo courtesy of Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Look for bluegill on any type of structure in the water. Check out the Iowa DNR’s mobile-friendly fishing atlas to see where habitat features are in your chosen lake. Many near-shore spawning structures and off shore reefs have been added to Iowa waters. Bluegills can be found in almost every lake across Iowa. Check the weekly fishing report to find out where bluegills are biting.

DES MOINES, Iowa (May 29, 2025) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Thursday, announced 33 schools or school districts have received grants to participate in the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program for Schools. The one-year pilot program connects Iowa schools with Choose Iowa members to encourage school food service programs to purchase and serve more ingredients and products sourced from local farmers and small businesses.  The pilot program was authorized during the 2024 legislative session and is an initiative of Choose Iowa, the state’s branding and marketing program that identifies and promotes Iowa grown, made, and raised food, beverages and ag products.

Among the area community school districts (CSD) which received grants for the Choose Iowa program, was:

• The Griswold School District
• The Clarinda CSD
• The Council Bluffs CSD
• The Missouri Valley School District, and
• The Diagonal CSD

The school pilot program has a total budget of $70,000, and each school was eligible to apply for up to $1,000 per school building. Both public and private schools were encouraged to apply. Selected schools are required to provide a minimum one-to-one (1:1) financial match. For example, a school receiving $1,000 must provide at least $1,000 from other sources for a total of $2,000 spent on local foods through the pilot program. Choose Iowa received applications from 61 schools or school districts totaling $158,249, an overall request far exceeding available funding.

Secretary Naig said “This Choose Iowa pilot program is yet another way we’re connecting Iowa farmers and small businesses with schools to provide fresh, local, and nutritious food to our students. This one-year pilot program saw strong demand from interested schools that far exceeded the available program budget. As Choose Iowa continues to expand, we will work to open even more opportunities to connect local producers and school food programs. Choose Iowa’s membership is growing quickly and is already demonstrating how it can be a powerful tool for strengthening and growing our rural communities.”

Eligible products that can be purchased include meat and poultry, dairy products (other than milk), eggs, honey and produce. Funding for milk is available through a different federal program. To be eligible for funding through the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Pilot Program, schools must purchase food from a Choose Iowa member. If selected schools wish to purchase from specific Iowa farmers, they should encourage those farmers or businesses to apply to become a Choose Iowa member. Food hubs that are Choose Iowa members are also eligible for food purchases within the program. Products purchased through food hubs must come from Iowa producers.

Find the complete list of school districts that were awarded Choose Iowa grants, HERE.

Additional details on the school pilot program can be found on the Choose Iowa website. The school program accompanies the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Choose Iowa’s Food Purchasing Pilot Program for Food Banks, which launched last summer to connect food banks with Choose Iowa members to help alleviate hunger within our communities.