The Iowa DNR said Wednesday that a Union County maintenance crew accidentally nicked a hose used to transport manure Tuesday afternoon, while they were mowing. The incident happened in a right-of-way about one-mile north of Thayer. Officials said while the hose was not in use, about 800 to 900 gallons of residual manure leaked from a small hole. An unknown amount of manure reached an unnamed tributary of Four Mile Creek.

Iowa Select representatives reported the spill as they responded, quickly placing small dams in the unnamed creek to collect manure and pumping it out to land apply it. DNR staff checked the unnamed creek Tuesday. Field tests showed low ammonia levels. They found no dead fish.

Wednesday morning, DNR was on site and concluded most of the released manure probably remained in the right of way or on the shoulders of the gravel road. Iowa Select continues to clean up, scraping and gathering manure along the road edges. The DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action.

Expansion in the country’s beef cattle herd is bringing cheaper meat prices to the grocery store. Lower costs for feed and other incentives over the past three years sparked the nation’s beef producers to bring more cattle to market. Iowa State University economist Lee Schulz says lower retail prices arrived a bit quicker than expected.

Schulz says, “What many of us thought would be a much longer, prolonged process to get to this new price level, really occurred in the last 3 months of 2015.” Schulz says a new report from the U-S Department of Agriculture shows ground beef is about 30 cents a pound cheaper now than it was a year ago.

Schulz says, “We’ve seen increases in beef production really started in late 2015 and into 2016, so from the year-over-year standpoint, that increase in production will lead to lower prices.” As the approaching summer heats up, he says other meats that are popular on the grill, like steaks and ribs, should also have lower prices than last year.

(Radio Iowa)

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Although rain has slowed progress in some regions of the country, farmers planting corn remain ahead of schedule. Nationally, 94 percent of the crop is planted, two percentage points ahead of the five-year average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday virtually all the corn is planted in Iowa and 90 percent of the plants have emerged from the dirt, about five days ahead of average.

Iowa’s soybean planting is 10 percentage points ahead of normal with 88 percent planted. Nebraska’s corn crop is at 96 percent, near the five-year average and soybean planting is at 73 percent, behind the average of 82 percent.

Rain is presenting challenges in areas of both states and water is reported standing in some fields from the frequent showers and thunderstorms in recent days.

Atlantic, Iowa – The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program is again offering a summer webinar series in 2016. The series is free, and open to anyone interested in attending to learn more about the benefits of shade in landscape, tree problems and native garden insects. In addition, Master Gardeners who attend will gain educational hours for attending. The Cass County Extension office in Atlantic will be one of the host sites for these two-hour webinars in June, July and August of 2016.

Details for the summer webinars at the Cass County location:

• Tuesday, June 14 at 6:30 PM – Got Shade? ISU Extension and Outreach horticulturist Denny Schrock will teach participants how to utilize shade plants in the landscape while focusing on plants native to Iowa.
• Tuesday, July 12 at 6:30 PM – Getting to the Bottom of Tree Problems with Lina Rodriguez-Salamanca, ISU Extension and Outreach plant pathologist and diagnostician with the ISU Plant and Insect Clinic. Participants will become familiar with some of the common symptoms of tree problems and learn what to keep an eye out for.
• Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 PM – What’s all the Buzz About? Nathan Brockman is the curator of the butterfly wing of Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University. Attendees will learn about insects native to Iowa and what to do to increase the enjoyment of these six-legged garden visitors.

To register, contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu. The webinars are free of charge and open to anyone who may be interested.

(Press Release from Cass County Extension)

Iowa ranks in the top ten states in all things beef.  On Thursday, June 16th, join Women, Land & Legacy of Southwest Iowa in learning details about different kinds of cattle operations and where your beef products come from. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a supper served by the Mills-Montgomery County Cattlemen.  The meal will be held at the Will & Deb Frazee Century Farm at 1080 230^th St., Emerson.  Following supper, The Frazee family will present information about their cow-calf operation.

As a group, they will then caravan to Gregory Feedlots, located on J-18 between Randolph and Tabor.  David Trowbridge will give a presentation and a tour of the feedlot operation beginning around 7:45 p.m.  The event is expected to conclude at approximately 8:30.

Not only will this be a wonderful learning opportunity for women interested in learning more about varying aspects of ag production, it will provide excellent information to youth who might be contemplating a career in beef production, or 4-H and FFA members enrolled in either market or breeding beef projects.

This event is open to anyone, with pre-registration required by Monday, June 13^th.  To register, call Iowa State University Extension & Outreach-Mills County at (712) 527-3316, Fremont County at (712) 374-2351, or Montgomery County at (712) 623-2592.  Special accommodations may be requested by contacting these offices.  The cost is $5 per person, including the meal, payable at the door.  Proceeds will be used to offset the cost of the program.  Participants should dress casually and appropriately for the outdoors, and wear close-toed shoes.

This event is sponsored through a partnership of Fremont, Mills and Montgomery counties Farm Service Agency, Soil and Water Conservation District, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, and Women, Land & Legacy of Southwest Iowa.  Women, Land & Legacy is committed to offering learning opportunities for rural women in areas such as business, management, agriculture and family.

(Press Release from Montgomery County Extension)

Iowa is the nation’s top pork producer and the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has killed more than six-million piglets nationwide since 2013. The virus likely originated in China, but no one has determined how it got to the U-S. A new study simulates the trip pig feed ingredients make on the way from production in China to an American hog farm. Lead author Scott Dee says the P-E-D virus survived on one-third of the tested ingredients after a 37-day experimental journey.

“It’s not the container that these things are traveling in,” Dee says. “It’s potentially the ingredient or the contents of the container that allows the virus to survive.” An earlier study from the U-S Department of Agriculture suggested fabric shipping totes were inadvertently offering the virus a free ride. Dee says he’s shown imported ingredients may have brought the virus here from China.

Dee says, “Contaminated feed ingredients, if they’re the right ones, could have certainly supported virus survival throughout this entire 37-day trip.” Dee’s research also showed two treatments successfully killed P-E-D in contaminated ingredients. He says he hopes the findings will lead to more research on animal diseases that have not yet arrived here from other continents. Dee is director of research at Pipestone Veterinary Services in Pipestone, Minnesota.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s third largest recreational area has a host of family-friendly events planned for this Memorial Day weekend. Conrad Kramer, executive director of the Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, says a Slow Sunday Drive is planned for tomorrow. Folks can bring an A-T-V or utility vehicle for a 13-mile guided tour through the forest, pastures and prairieland.

“We thought it would be great if people could just bring their vehicles and drive our new main loop trail,” Kramer says. “It circles our entire 5,000 acre landscape. It’s a double track and we lead you through with a pilot Gator. It’s a nice, slow 3-hour roll through some absolutely beautiful landscape, through the prairies, through the savannah, with some great scenic overlooks.”

It’s a particular treat as Whiterock is usually closed to private motorized vehicles. On Monday, events will include a fishing derby at the Garst Home Farm. The derby will be held at the old Garst family pond which has some seven decades of history. A few years back, the pond was cleaned completely out and restocked.

“It’s got all kinds of great fish in it, some great panfish, bass, catfish, and this particular pond even has some nice little surprises,” Kramer says. “It has walleye and even some northern pike in it.” Each participant will receive a dozen worms and there will be prizes with experts on-hand to guide angling novices. For more information on the weekend’s events, visit: www.whiterockconservancy.org

(Radio Iowa)