The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Monday, confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic
H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) at a commercial laying facility in Osceola County, Iowa.
The facility has 5.3 million hens and is the second confirmed case in the state.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Iowa Department of Public Health considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have ever been detected.

The flock experienced increased mortality and as a result samples were sent to the
South Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for preliminary
testing. The APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, confirmed the findings. NVSL is the only internationally recognized Avian Influenza
reference laboratory in the United States.

USDA APHIS is working closely with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land
Stewardship (IDALS) on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the
premise and birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread
of the disease.

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard flock owners, should
continue to practice good bio-security, prevent contact between their birds and wild
birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state/federal officials,
either through their state veterinarian at 515-281-5321 or through USDA’s toll-free
number at 1-866-536-7593.

The Iowa Dept. of Natural resources reports a citywide power outage in Audubon caused an estimated 200,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater to discharge to Bluegrass Creek south of Audubon, Sunday night. The city lost power about 5:30-p.m. Sunday and a backup generator at the wastewater treatment plant failed to start. Although city crews restored power about 10-p.m., the discharge continued until an electrician made repairs at the treatment plant Monday morning.

Officials say residents should keep children and pets away from Bluegrass Creek for the next 48 hours. The DNR is working with the plant operator to determine why the backup generator failed and will continue to monitor the situation.

Strong winds early this week across western Iowa have prompted the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency to ask participating businesses and fire departments in the County, to move their Fire Danger placards into the “Moderate” danger category, through Thursday. The winds are expected to be problematic for those who may have been considering burning brush or fields. Exercise extreme caution.

Officials say if you have a large burn, please notify your Fire Chief, prior to ignition. Call the Emergency Mgmt. Agency at 712-755-2124 for assistance, if needed.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) is spreading across Iowa and scam artists are likely to follow. The destructive beetle, which kills ash trees, has been confirmed in 21 Iowa counties. Donald Lewis, an entomologist at Iowa State University, is advising property owners who’d like to try and save their ash trees to only do business with certified arborists who are properly insured. “So, a beat-up truck coming down your street offering a cheap treatment may not be your best option,” Lewis said. “So, as you’re approached with possibilities…it will pay to shop around, it will pay to contact reputable companies and it will pay to get their references.”

There are about three million urban ash trees in Iowa and an estimated 52 million ash trees in the state’s forests. Ash trees can be protected with insecticide treatments, but the treatments are most effective when the ash tree is still healthy. “If it’s half dead, if it’s half broken, if it’s got dead branches at the top already, if it’s got loose bark in the trunk, it’s probably not a good candidate for treatment,” Lewis said.

The best time to make preventive applications for EAB is during the spring, according to Lewis. More information about emerald ash borer can been found online through Iowa State University Extension or the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

(Radio Iowa)

WATERLOO, Iowa – As Iowa continues to look for ways to improve water quality and reduce erosion with some 30 million acres of farmland in the state, one growing challenge is the number of absentee landowners. Clark Porter, who manages Porter Family Farms in Waterloo, says more than half of farmland in Iowa is now farmed by someone other than the owner, and owners need to better connect with their tenant farmers on conservation practices.

“Whether it’s for healthy soil and conservation of soil and clean water and various other environmental goals,” he states. “So I think that’s the challenge or the opportunity – really, it’s the same thing – is to develop this partnership between the landowner and the farmer.” Clark points out more than 16 million acres of Iowa farmland is rented out and a significant number of those landowners have either never farmed, live out of state or rarely visit their land.

Clark says while the landowners must be more actively engaged, the tenant farmers also must be vocal in wanting to establish sustainable farming practices such as waterways and cover crops, which when planted can help reduce nitrate loss by as much as 60 percent. Clark notes that the conversation can be tricky, because of any possible associated costs and must be handled with diplomacy.

“A tenant farmer may not be in the best position to bring it up because they’re already financially at risk when they’re renting the land,” he points out. “There’s a heavy amount of competition to rent and hold land among tenant farmers and a thin margin on which they’re operating. And to bring up anything that might be potentially uncomfortable or whatever with a landowner, it could be a delicate situation.”

Porter says for tenant farmers and landowners who want to begin the conversation on lease agreements that support sustainable practices, there are helpful resources available from organizations such as the Drake Law School, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

(Iowa News Service)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report a man from Guthrie Center was injured while turkey hunting Saturday morning in rural Guthrie County. Authorities say 51-year old Richard Groom suffered a wound to his upper torso after being hit by shot fired from another hunter he was hunting with approximately 10 miles west of Panora. The incident happened at around 7:30 a.m., Saturday.

Groom was airlifted to Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. The incident is still under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The discovery of bird flu on an Iowa turkey farm has raised serious concerns that the poultry-killing virus could find its way into chicken barns in the nation’s top egg-producing state and decimate flocks. Iowa is home to roughly 50 million chickens that lay nearly one in every five eggs consumed in the U.S.

The highly contagious H5N2 virus has not been detected in any Iowa chicken barns, but it was confirmed Tuesday on a northwest Iowa turkey farm. Iowa Poultry Association executive Randy Olson says farmers are on heightened alert, focusing on biosecurity measures to keep the virus away from chickens.

Procedures previously implemented to guard against salmonella help keep bird flu out, such as bird-proofed chicken houses to keep wild birds out and strict clothing-sanitation protocols.

An Aerial Applicator Continuing Instructional Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators is now available from Iowa State University Extension. The program will be shown at locations across Iowa through the Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

The course will provide continuing instructional credit for commercial pesticide applicators certified in category 11 and 10. Some of the topics to be covered include worker protection standards update, application technology for agricultural aircraft, fungicide, insecticide, and herbicide update, and handling pesticide containers.

To obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Jodie Smith at the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Montgomery County at 712-623-2592. The registration fee is $35. Additional information for this and other courses offered by the PSEP program can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP/ComAp.html.

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he cannot comment on the lawsuit alleging boards of supervisors in three northwest Iowa counties failure to manage ag drainage districts has contaminated central Iowa’s drinking water supply. “But it is appropriate for me to talk about conservation and the role of USDA in all of this and I think what might surprise…many Iowans is how much conservation is actually taking place today in Iowa,” Vilsack says.

Since January of 2011, the U-S-D-A has awarded over two-point-two BILLION dollars to Iowa farmers to help finance conservation projects to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus run-off into rivers and streams. “The reality is that this is a very complicated situation,” Vilsack says. “It’s going to take time, but I am absolutely convinced that people are committed to better soil health and better water quality.”

Vilsack suggests the federal government is doing its part to stimulate conservation measures on Iowa farmland, but the state government could and should be “more aggressive” in its support of water quality initiatives. Vilsack sugests something similar to the “Vision Iowa” program he iniatated 15 years ago when he was governor .

“Let me just make a suggestion to our friends in the legislature and the governor: we did a great thing with Vision Iowa. We took gaming revenues and we put them on the table and we said to communities across the state: ‘What would you do if you had this money available to spur economic opportunity, tourism attractions, whatever?’ And people responded and we saw the landscape of this state change,” Vilsack says.
“I think it’s time that we do that with water. There’s no reason why we can’t do something similar and then that could leverage significantly greater sums from the federal government.”

Vilsack points to the Republican governor of Michigan, who has committed 45 million dollars in state money for a single water conservation project. Vilsack made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)

Spring in Iowa is a time for new beginnings as trees, plants and yards awaken from the cold of winter. Spring is also a time when many Iowans make plans to begin a new chapter in their lives by purchasing a home. USDA Rural Development currently has $10 million available for loans for Iowans to purchase or refinance homes in rural Iowa through its Direct Home Loan Program. The program offers 100 percent financing, a 33-year loan term and payment assistance for eligible applicants. This funding will remain on a first come first served basis through September 30, 2015.

“Each year USDA Rural Development invests more than $200 million in loans and grants that provide rural Iowa residents with decent, safe and sanitary housing,” said Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa. “It’s through housing
programs like this one that we work to ensure that as many rural Iowans as possible
have access to adequate housing.”

Recently a rural Iowa family of seven was living in a rental property that was not
suitable for occupancy. They made an offer on a home that was move-in ready. USDA
Rural Development received their purchase agreement on March 19. Their loan closed
and the family moved into their new home just 19 days later on April 7. The family
is ecstatic with their improved living conditions, and their house payment is $80
less than what they were paying for rent.

To learn more about USDA Rural Development’s housing programs please call (515)
284-4444, email DirectIA@ia.usda.gov or visit www.rd.usda.gov/ia.

USDA Rural Development also has a loan and grant program to help eligible homeowners make essential repairs such as a new furnace, roof, siding, or accessibility improvements, Homes repaired with these funds must be located in communities of less than 20,000 people or in rural areas.

USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.7 million Iowans living in rural areas and communities. Office locations include a State
Office in Des Moines, along locally, with an Area Offices in Atlantic.