DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced layoffs and will dissolve its forestry bureau to offset a $1.2 million reduction in its budget. The agency confirmed Wednesday it’s eliminating eight positions, including state geologist and animal feeding operations coordinator. Duties will either be transferred within the department or contracted out.

The agency will also close its forestry bureau, eliminating the top bureau chief position and reorganizing others within DNR. DNR spokesman Alex Murphy says no services will be impacted by the changes, which also include the elimination of a program that helps maintain Iowa’s trails. The department is also ending its participation in the AmeriCorps program.

The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature agreed this year to reduce funding for several states agencies amid multiple budget shortfalls.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is offering hunter education classes during the months of July and August. The classes are taught by knowledgeable and certified volunteer instructors and Iowa DNR Conservation Officers. Classroom courses are typically 12 to 15 hours in length, and held over a period of two to three days. In order to receive certification, a student must attend all sessions and pass the final exam.

Iowa law requires that anyone born after Jan. 1st, 1972, must be certified in hunter education before they are eligible to purchase an Iowa hunting license.

Locally, Hunter Education classes are being offered:

July 20th in Panora, by the Guthrie County Conservation Board

August 12th in Hamburg, at Agrivision

And August 19th in Villisca, at the Villisca Community Building.

The Adair County Historical Society will hold a Tractor Ride this weekend, in Greenfield. The event takes place at the Heritage Complex on the west edge of Greenfield, beginning at 7-a.m., Saturday. The cost is $10 per tractor and includes  breakfast. Riders can register the morning of the ride. Guests are welcome and can purchase breakfast at the museum.

You’re invited to join the riders at the Adair Lion’s Club Snack Shack in the Adair City Park, at Noon. Ride highlights include the Casey Fun Days Parade, and the traditional loop through the Good Samaritan Center drive, in Fontanelle.

For more info., call Terri Queck-Matzie at 515-201-0829.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .09″
• Exira  1.25″
• Manning  .11″

State lawmakers this year deeply cut the funding to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union and chair of the Leopold Center’s board of directors, says he’ll work tirelessly to get lawmakers to reverse those funding cuts in next year’s legislative session.”It’ll be a huge priority of ours to restore funding,” Lehman says. “Farmers need these innovations more than ever. We’re dealing with a situation where farm income is dropping for the fourth year in a row and we’re dealing with a consolidated marketplace where farmers buy and sell their products.”

Lehman says Iowa’s ag producers are also facing heightened pressures to be more environmentally responsible. “We’re asking farmers to do more than ever to deal with our water quality problems,” Lehman says. “This is the time when we need to boast innovations the most. It will be a huge priority for the Leopold Center to have restored funding.”

Over the years, Lehman says the facility has helped many projects that have improved the environmental footprint of farming. “Around the country, people have looked to the Leopold Center to see how to do farmer-driven research in the right way, in a practical way and in ways that impact the practices that we put in the field,” Lehman says. “It really is a high priority for us to keep that work going.”

The Leopold Center remains basically in name only with just one-quarter of its funding remaining. The other three-quarters was transferred to the Iowa State University Nutrient Center.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans are frequently warned about the threats of mosquitoes and ticks during the summertime, but another danger could be lurking in the woods, your yard or the basement. Creighton University entomologist Theodore Burk says there are two poisonous spiders Iowans need to be familiar with, including the western black widow.

“What black widows produce is a neurotoxin so you can get a local reaction and skin death,” Burk says. “The severe complications are not that common but when they do occur, it’s a nerve poison. It’s much more dangerous to children because they’re smaller and the dose is correspondingly worse.” Its bite can cause fever, nausea, vomiting, joint stiffness and headaches. Another dangerous spider that lives in Iowa is the brown recluse, which can grow to the size of a quarter and it’s very poisonous.

“The brown recluse has a necrotic poison that destroys the tissue,” Burk says. “You get a very ugly, raw, ulcerous area around the bite. It can be nasty and get infected with staphylococcus or something.” Burk says these spiders like to hide in trees, gardens and dark secluded places.

“They both occur outside, in places like wood piles or under stones or in shrubs, but most people encounter them in their houses, their garages or their basements,” Burk says. “They’ve come inside and built their webs around something that’s been laying in your garage for a couple of years that you haven’t moved.”

Avoid spider bites by wearing gloves around wood piles and brush, sweep around boxes or other objects that haven’t been moved for a while in a basement or a garage. If bitten, avoid scratching the area as that could cause an infection. Seek medical help if the bite feels hot, blisters, the skin becomes discolored or there is a rash.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Farmers can learn more about keeping their soil healthy at one of dozens of field workshops this summer and fall. The Soil Health Partnership is planning about 70 field days in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The workshops will offer tips about nutrient management, tillage strategies and using cover crops.

Nick Goeser says the workshops are designed to be valuable both to novices and experienced farmers. Goeser is director of the Soil Health Partnership and works for the National Corn Growers Association.

Details about the workshops are available online at www.soilhealthpartnership.org .

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Two local wildlife refuges are hosting events this summer to teach youths about nature. The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a fishing clinic on July 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. All youths from kindergarten through age 15 are encouraged to attend. Fishing poles, tackle and bait will be provided along with instruction. Participants should meet near the South Gate Area near the fishing dock. Nebraska and Iowa residents younger than 16 can fish without a license.

The Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a guided nature hike on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. The hike will focus on ecosystems. Participants will learn about prairies and forestland and will look at important plant species for each biome.

Lower crop prices have had a heavy impact on Iowa’s farmers and many are forming their financial plans based on continued low prices.  Farmland values and rental rates are heavily influenced by farmers’ current and future revenues.  So what does the future hold for Iowa land values and rents?  Find out at the land valuation and leasing meeting being held in your area.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach works to bring unbiased information to both land owners and renters to help both parties make successful management decisions.  The land valuation and leasing meetings discuss current land values, rental rates, trends and projections of how values and rents might change in the coming years.

Other topics will include: how to calculate a rental rate based on county specific information, the variety of leasing arrangements that land owners and tenants may use, and the expected cost of crop production in the coming year.  There will be a leasing meeting held on August 2nd at 9:00 am in Harlan, Iowa, at the Shelby County Extension Office, located at 906 Sixth Street.

The cost is $20/person pre-registered, or $25/person without pre-registration. Pre-registered by July 31.  Attendees will receive a land leasing handbook with reference and resource materials.  The workshop will last approximately 2 ½ hours.  Shane Ellis, ISU farm management specialist for the west central region of the state will be presenting.  To register, please call the Shelby County Extension office at 712-755-3104.

Many Iowans will be spending this holiday break in a boat and they’re being reminded to make sure the vessel is ready for the water. Dustin Eighmy is a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “Make sure that all your fluids are full, check your oil, make sure your batteries are charged – you don’t want to get out there and then your engine won’t start,” Eighmy says. “Make sure you have enough gas. If you run out of gas out there, you could be stranded for several hours.”

Eighmy suggests boat operators, before they head out on a waterway, request a vessel safety check from a DNR officer, a U.S. Army Corps ranger, or a U.S. Coastal Guard official. “One thing we require here in Iowa on all vessels with horsepower of 10 or more is a fire extinguisher,” Eighmy said. “If you have one in the boat, make sure you get it out and check it. Shake it up every now and then. The solvent inside it can settle to the bottom and then when you do need it, it’s not going to work.”

U.S. Coast Guard statistics show 85-percent of all drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket. Most boats should be equipped with other life saving floatation devices. “If your vessel is over 16-foot in length, you need to have a type-four throwable…most people call them seat cushions. That’s not what they are – they are there to save people if they fall overboard. You can throw them that type-four throwable and get them out of the water,” Eighmy said.

Iowa boat owners are also encouraged to make sure their registration is up to date. “We’re seeing some expired registrations out there,” Eighmy said. “They run on a three-year period. The current registrations now expire in 2019, so we have a couple years left, but we are still seeing some registrations out there that are expired. You cannot be on public waters in the state of Iowa if your vessel is not up to date and registered.”

There are roughly 235,000 registered boats in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)