DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group that opposes a proposed oil pipeline across Iowa says it’s asking a federal agency’s regional office to be more stringent in permitting a private company access to waterways in the path of the project. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement says it wants the Army Corps of Engineers’ district office in Rock Island, Illinois, to change how it is reviewing permit applications from Dakota Access LLC for parts of a pipeline that will also run through North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois.

The Army Corps of Engineers helps oversee the country’s waterways. A district office spokeswoman says it is following the policies in place for reviewing the applications. The two sides plan to meet soon. The Iowa Utilities Board is reviewing a separate permit application for the pipeline.

You won’t have much trouble traveling most of Iowa’s waterways this fall. Tim Hall with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources keeps an eye on water levels. He says the U-S Geological Survey looks at around 100 gauges across the state to get a composite stream flow. “We’ve been running just slightly on the wet side or normal for the year — so stream flow is a little big higher than it would be normally this time of year — which is a pretty good place to be,” Hall says. He says the water in the streams and creeks is important.

“Stream flow contributes to a lot of things, it provides for habitat for fish and aquatic species, for migratory birds, its’ an ecosystem indicator. So, we kind of like to see stream flow at normal,” according to Hall. Stream flows often drop down in the winter time. “Being a little big higher than normal is great going into the winter….it’s going to replenish farm ponds, it’s gonna keep low-lying areas with some water in them, so that there’s plenty of moisture out there when spring rolls around,” Hall says.

The statewide average precipitation was a little more than four inches in September, and ranked it as the 50th wettest September in 143 years of records.

(Radio Iowa)

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says the grassland/field fire danger level will remain “HIGH” through this weekend. Continued drying conditions, make the potential for grassland and standing corn fires higher than normal. Caution should be observed when burning and, notices provided to your local Fire Chief .

The next local update will be Monday October 19th.

The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources said Thursday (Oct. 15th), a collision that occurred between two manure tankers owned by Schon Manure Hauling about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 9th, led to a 9,500-gallon manure spill near Coon Rapids in Carroll County. No one was hurt. A DNR investigation Oct. 10th verified manure did not reach a water source or a tile
intake. The manure applicators cleaned up the spill, spreading manure in the crop
field and incorporated it.

Of three employees involved in the incident, only one, Brady Brehmer, was certified
as a commercial manure applicator. Chris Edwards and Jamie Hansen were not
certified, although they finished annual training in February. The business and
employees completed certification Oct. 13 by paying the required fees.

Alison Manx, DNR environmental specialist, says “Producers should make sure they are hiring certified manure applicators. Even businesses who are hiring from
another business should check to make sure the person they are hiring is certified.”

The first and easiest way to check is to ask to see their 2015 manure applicator
certificate and business certificate, and check the expiration date. Other options to check commercial certification status include:

• Look at currently certified businesses on the Iowa State University Extension
  and Outreach website at www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/maccma.html
• Call the local Extension office
• Call Colleen Conroy at 515-725-8268 at the DNR.
• Call the regional DNR field office.

The DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action for not having current
certification as manure applicators. Manure applicators who need to renew their certificates can schedule an appointment with their local Extension office to complete video training or with their DNR field office to take a test. Certification is not complete until paperwork is filed with DNR and fees have been paid.

Winter hardy cover crops can now be seeded until Nov. 1 in northern Iowa and November 15 in southern Iowa for farmers participating in cost share programs

DES MOINES –Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Acting State Conservationist Richard Ellsmore with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today said that planting deadline for cover crops for farmers participating in state cost share programs and most federal financial assistance programs has been extended.

“We have seen significant growth in the number of farmers using cover crops and number of acres that they are used on. There are an estimated 236,000 acres of cover crops supported by just state cost share programs. Some crops were delayed by wet weather this spring and this extension will help farmers still be able to use this important water quality practice even if their harvest is delayed,” Northey said.

Farmers intending to plant wintery hardy cover crops that are North of Highway 20 now have until November 1, 2015 to get the cover crops planted. Farmers south of Highway 20 now have until November 15 to plant and still qualify for assistance.

The following applies to cover crops planted during the extension period (Oct. 16 – Nov. 1 North of Highway 20 and Oct 16 -November 15 South of Highway 20):

· Cover crops will be seeded as soon as possible after harvest of the principal crop.

· The cover crop to be seeded must be winter hardy (i.e. cereal rye, winter wheat, triticale).

· The cover crop will be no-till drilled in crop residue.

· Allow cover crop to add growth as long as possible in the spring prior to termination to maximize benefits. Must be allowed to grow until at least 6 inches for those participating in federal programs.

· The extension does not apply for all federal programs. Contact your NRCS office if you have questions.

Farmers approved for cost-share assistance who are still unable to plant cover crops should contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office.

For questions on the extension of the seeding date for State funded programs such as Iowa Financial Incentive Program (IFIP) or Water Quality Incentive (WQI) Program contact the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5851. For questions on the extension of the seeding date for Federal funded programs such as Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) or Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contact Barbara Stewart, State Agronomist, NRCS at (515) 323-2260.

The Natural Resource Commission for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has approved three Resource Enhancement and Protection Public Private Cost-share grant requests from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation at its October meeting. The projects were awarded more than $440,000. Public private grants are used for land acquisition with 75 percent of the acquisition costs come from REAP and the remaining 25 percent coming from private contributions.

Among those Receiving a REAP Private Public Grant, was Guthrie County, for the Springbrook Wildlife Management Area, Doyle addition. The project received $112,725 for the acquisition of 48 acres of property, the Doyle Addition, in Guthrie County, adjacent to the 779 acre Springbrook State Park and 586 acre Springbrook Wildlife Management Area. Protection will expand the complex to over 1,413 total acres, providing additional permanent wildlife habitat in the area and a significant block of contiguous woodland.

The Natural Resource Commission of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has approved Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grants to 24 cities for use in parks and open spaces during its October meeting. The projects were awarded nearly $2.4 million. The REAP City Parks and Open Space competitive grants help cities establish natural areas, encouraging outdoor recreation and resource management. Cities were separated into three categories: population under 2,000, population 2,000 – 25,000 and population over 25,000.

For cities with a population of under 2000:

The City of Avoca received $71,078 for the Old Nishnabotna Riverbed Wetland Preservation and Trail Project, which involves construction of a 1,900 Linear Foot trail, wetland and wildlife habitat conservation and installation of interpretive aids for public education. The project has a positive relationship to and compliments, the Nishnabotna River Trail. It also satisfies local and statewide goals for outdoor recreation by providing a wellness opportunity (trail), restoring and protecting a wetland area and habitat that is threatened and providing public educational opportunities.

And, the City of Manning received $45,811 for the Manning Hospital/Parks Connector Trail Bridge. Officials say this is the final phase in the City’s portion of the Hospital-Parks Connector Trail. Previous phases paved trail from the hospital to the West Nishnabotna River on the west and from the downtown and City Park to the river on the east. The project will build the bridge and the bridge approaches between the two dead-end trails. It will literally bridge the gap between the heart of the community, the hospital and the county park.

In the cities larger than 25,000 category:

Council Bluffs’ Fairmount Park Woodland Restoration Phase Two, received $200,000. The project includes land restoration, trail development, neighborhood connection and directional signage. Invasive plant species will be removed, chipped for trail surfacing and placed on the trails. The trails developed will be 5400 feet in length. Signs will be installed to direct park users to the trails and destination points in the park.

Special Weather statement for the following KJAN listening area counties: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD
338 AM CDT THU OCT 15 2015

…STRONG WINDS AND DRY CONDITIONS LEAD TO HIGH FIRE DANGER…

NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY TODAY BECOMING VERY GUSTY BY THE AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL ALSO FALL TO VERY LOW VALUES IN THE 20S THIS AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT, CONDITIONS
WILL BE HAZARDOUS FOR BURNING OR ANY FIRES THAT START AS THEY MAY BE ABLE TO SPREAD QUICKLY…ESPECIALLY IN FIELDS OR AREAS WHERE SURFACE VEGETATION HAS CURED.

ANY BURNING IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED, AND THOSE ENGAGING IN HARVESTING ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE INCREASED FIRE THREAT.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today (Wednesday) announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be awarding grants to twelve Iowa projects to help enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in Iowa. The Department received slightly more than $296,720 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to support the program.

Included among the grant recipients is Prairie Moonwort Hops Farm, LLC. The business will receive a $9,100 grant to determine the viability of hops plants, within the small plot (less than 10 acre) field common in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa, and to prove the marketability of “locally grown” hops to the emerging craft beer industry.

Iowa agricultural non-profit organizations, cooperatives, specialty crop industry associations or organizations, and producer groups were eligible to apply for funding. The maximum grant award from the Department to sub-grantees is $24,000 and administrative and indirect costs were not allowed.

Grant funds will be used for projects that benefit and enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops industry as a whole, and cannot be for projects that directly benefit a particular product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual.

“Specialty Crops” are eligible under the program include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. The funds not passed through will be used by the Department to administer the grant.

The rest of the grant recipients are as follows:

• Iowa Department of Public Health – WIC – $24,000 to increase the sales of fruit and vegetables at Iowa farmers markets and the consumption of various specialty crops resulting from an advertising campaign promoting the usage of the farmers market checks distributed to WIC participants.
• Iowa Lakes Community College – $20,000 to educate community youth, adults with disabilities, college students, and community patrons on specialty crop gardening, the nutritional benefits of locally-grown food, the physical benefits of gardening, and the economic resourcefulness of local produce programs.
• Practical Farmers of Iowa – $24,000 to enhance collaborative on-farm research and farmer to farmer knowledge sharing for successful specialty crops in Iowa.
• Iowa Food Hub dba Allamakee New Beginnings – $10,500 to enhance the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)/Good Handling Practices (GHP) cost share program for Iowa fruit and vegetable producers.
• Iowa Honey Producers Association – $8,581 to establish an online searchable bee law website for general public use.
• Lutheran Services of Iowa – $24,000 to help refugees in Iowa improve their production of specialty crops and increase the availability of their produce to the public and to begin to transition their specialty crop businesses to independent operations.
• Iowa City Parks and Rec – $23,990 to create and teach within edible classrooms in order to promote specialty crops in Iowa City for community involvement at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center.
• New Hope Community, Inc. – $22,643 to establish and create the Mahaska County season extension demonstration project for specialty crop production.
• Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Farm to School Program – $14,900 to teach students through hands-on lessons about all aspects of gardening and healthy environmental alternatives to composting in a specialty crop environment.
• Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – $46,693 to conduct the Iowa commercial horticulture food crops survey and economic impact study.
• The Iowa Wine Trail – $24,000 to increase awareness of specialty grape crops in Iowa through a marketing campaign.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A federal agency has awarded contracts to two companies to manufacture a bird flu vaccine. But officials haven’t decided whether to give the doses to poultry to protect against a disease that led to the destruction of 48 million chickens and turkeys this spring. The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it had awarded contracts to Harrisvaccines of Ames, Iowa, and Ceva, a company based in France. The USDA didn’t release the cost of the contracts.

As part of the agreement, the companies agreed to manufacture an unspecified number of doses, store them for up to five years and deliver them throughout the U.S. within 10 days. The USDA says it would need to decide whether the treatment would be effective and weigh potential trade effects before using any vaccine.