Iowa is enjoying a near “normal” growing season this year and crop conditions are conducive to a bountiful crop. Before this year’s crop is even out of the field many farmland owners and tenants will be discussing next year’s rental rate and leasing agreements. 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 July 29th 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. 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.

The U-S-D-A crop report issued Monday showed drier conditions allowed farmers to get more work done in the fields last week. The report says there were four-point-two (4.2) days suitable for fieldwork — the first time since mid-June that farmers have had over three suitable days across the whole state to work in the field. Some of that field work included replanting drowned out crops, or adding nitrogen to areas that saw it washed out. Parts of northwest Iowa had more than 20 inches of rain in recent weeks. Iowa State University Agronomist, Paul Kassel, says that continues to create water problems.

“The big issue is there’s some corn that has moisture stress from having way too much moisture and our drainage systems are overtaxed,” Kassle says. He says the water doesn’t drain away and that impacts the corn. “We have some corn that just looks terrible, it’s maybe knee-high, it’s very yellow. The question is how do we manage that, what do we do about that,” Kassle says. He says in some cases farmers are trying to rescue some of their nitrogen-starved corn crop.

“Some of that corn we think is probably worth it — maybe it’s only one stage behind the kind of normal corn,” Kassell says “Some people are side-dressing extra nitrogen on that with high-clearance rigs. Some of that is going on with airplanes with aerial application.” Kassel says the worst areas in northwest Iowa are in Buena Vista, Clay, Palo Alto and Pocahontas Counties.

Overall, the crop report says 76-percent of the corn crop was reported in good to excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week. Seventy-three percent of the soybean crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from last week.

(Radio Iowa)

Some Iowa hog producers and lawmakers are raising concerns about the mandatory reporting requirement being announced by U-S-D-A on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or P-E-D virus. Iowa Pork Producers Association president Jamie Schmidt of Garner says he’s worried about the confidentiality of those reports. Schmidt says using I-D numbers instead of names in reporting can help keep producer data confidential.

“We feel fairly confident that if we can just use our premise ID numbers, that will help with the confidentiality and that would be a workable solution, but we’ve got to make sure we have something that everybody’s confident in, otherwise the reporting won’t happen like it should,” Schmidt says.

Iowa Congressman Steve King says he worries if confidentiality is breached, animal activists will use that information to hurt pork producers. The disease is widespread and Schmidt says it makes sense to keep close tabs on it, wherever it may appear. “At the present time, our best defense is biosecurity and watching where it goes,” Schmidt says. “The tracking of the disease would be helpful so we can learn how it spreads and we can have a better defense mechanism but we all have to be confident with it.”

The current submission requirements for reporting the P-E-D virus includes the herd’s premise I-D number, the date the sample was collected, the type of farm, the test method used for diagnosis and the diagnostic test results. That applies only if the herd has tested positive for the virus.

(Radio Iowa)

If you’ve always wanted to start a garden, or want to find out about new plants and ideas for your garden, a series of Home Garden Fields Days planned across the state can help you out. Iowa State University extension horticulturist, Cindy Haynes, says the field days this year are focusing on new things. “One of the themes for this year’s gardens are the purple vegetables. So we have a lot of vegetables that you wouldn’t think of as being purple,” Haynes says. “There are purple carrots, purple tomatoes, purple beans. Some of those things that add a different color to it, so kids like it, or everyone wants to try it.” The purple color can in some cases add something to the traditional vegetable. Haynes says in carrots for instance, it adds vitamins.

“It’s not the beta carotene — the orange that you have in a carrot — but there is a carrot out there called purple haze that has a purple outer skin and the orange on the inside, so you can get the advantages of both,” Haynes says. “And it tastes just like a normal carrot, so it really doesn’t taste any different, it’s just a new color to put on your plate.” They will also show off some sun-loving impatiens. “Everyone thinks about impatiens for the shade, but there are some New Guinea hybrid impatiens that will tolerate the sun. And they are resistant to downy mildew — which is a problem we are seeing in some of our shade-loving impatiens,” Haynes says.

Other items on display include compact zinnias and new annual flowers. “We’ll kind of tour them around the different gardens — the same garden at six different locations — and we’ll pull things out of the ground. I’ll pass things around, and some might want to take a few things home. We’ll sample a few things from the garden as well,” Haynes explains. Haynes says more and more people are turning to gardening to grow their own food and the field days offer help to make those efforts a success.

“It’s just about getting people to experience as much of what we have out there as possible,” according to Haynes. “And we talk about the things that did well at all of the gardens, and the things that didn’t do so well so they can write on their little list ‘try this new variety’ or ‘don’t try this’ because it didn’t work out.” Haynes says people are learning you don’t have to live out in the country to have a garden. You can use all different kinds of spaces. “A lot of these things you could put into a small space, you could put into containers. You could even do a square-foot garden. With myself and some of the other I-S-U staff being there, we can answer some of these questions and help you garden better,” Haynes says.

The first demonstration is July 21st at 6:30 at the Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm near Lewis in southwest Iowa. The remaining field days will be: July 23, 6 p-m at the, Horticulture Research Station three miles north of Ames on Highway 69; August 5th at 6:30 p-m at the Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm, 111 North St, Fruitland; August 6th, 6 p-m at the Northern Research and Demonstration Farm, 310 S. Main Street, Kanawha; August 9th at 4 p-m at the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm, 3321 290th St near Nashua.

For more information go to the I-S-U Extension Department website.

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — Those with an eye toward healthy living have probably noticed the words “aronia berry” in everything from juices and powdered supplements to baby food. Midwesterners probably know it as chokeberry, the name European settlers centuries ago gave the berry they found tart, astringent and more pretty than palatable.

The native North American plant is in the midst of a transformation, prized for its exceptional health benefits and easy cultivation. The almost black-purple, pea-sized berry gets its more agreeable name from its genus, Aronia melanocarpa.

Now dubbed a “superfood,” research shows the berries packing more antioxidants than blueberries, acai and goji berries. Producers are also taking notice, with thousands of the shrubs being planted by farmers — mostly in Iowa, but also in other upper Midwest states — every year.

Swine Show:
Champion Lightweight Market Pen: Blake Goshorn; Reserve Champion lightweight market pen: Weston Peters
Champion middleweight market pen: Nicole Goshorn; Reserve Champion middleweight market pen: Kelsey Schaben
Champion heavy weight market pen: James Olson; Reserve Champion Heavy weight Market Pen: Abigail Jacobsen
Overall champion market pen: Nicole Goshorn; Overall reserve champion market pen: James Olson
Senior showman: Sam McLaughlin; Reserve senior showman: Mackenzie Goshorn
Champion lightweight market barrow: Weston peters; Reserve champion lightweight market barrow: blake goshorn
Champion middleweight market barrow: Nicole go shorn; Reserve champion middleweight market barrow: Teresa Arkfeld
Champion Heavy weight market barrow: Brooke go shorn; Reserve champion heavy weight market barrow: Nicole Hanson
Overall Champion market barrow: Nicole Goshorn; Overall Reserve champion market barrow: Teresa Arkfeld
Intermediate showman: Blake Goshorn; Reserve champion intermediate showman: Alana Monson
Champion lightweight Market gilt: Blake Goshorn; Reserve champion lightweight market gilt: Nicole Hanson
Champion middleweight market gilt: Teresa Arkfeld; Reserve Champion middleweight market gilt: Abigail Jacobsen
Champion heavyweight market gilt: Teresa Arkfeld; Reserve Champion heavy weight market gilt: James Olson
Overall Champion market gilt: Teresa Arkfeld; Overall reserve champion market gilt: Teresa Arkfeld
Champion Junior Showman: Abigail Jacobsen; Reserve Junior showman: Will McLaughlin
Champion Derby Pig: Jeremy Flies; Reserve champion derby pig: Nicole Goshorn
Champion live carcass: Sam McLaughlin; Reserve Champion live Carcas: Will McLaughlin
Overall showmanship: Champion: Teresa Arkfeld; Reserve: Abigail Jacobsen

Fashion Revue
Senior Runner up: Jessica Buman; Senior champion: Chantel Schmidt
Intermediate Runner up: —Intermediate champion: Mary Carroll
Junior runner up: Shaylee Yates; Junior champion: Emily Taggs
Clothing Selection
Senior runner up: Jessica Buman; Senior champion: Chantel Schmidt
Intermediate runner up: ——;Intermediate champion: Mary Carroll
Junior runner up: Shaylee Yate; Junior champion: Mary Taggs
$15 Challenge
Senior runner up: Chantel Schmidt; Senior champion: Jessica Buman
Intermediate runner up: Amelia Juhl (polka dot, aqua dress); Intermediate champion: Amelia Juhl (grey/bright stripe outfit)
Junior runner up: Reanna Obrecht; Junior champion: Lucy Borkowski
Working Exhibits:
Top Junior: Emily Taggs; Top Intermediate: Amelia Juhl and Alana Monson; Top Senior: Chantel Schmidt and Emily Pattee

HORSE SHOW
Christensen Memorial Winner: Julie Kock
Showmanship: top junior: Julie Kock; Top Intermediate: Sara Markham; Top Senior: Rachel Nelson
Overall Showman: Whitney Redler; Reserve: Dean Robinson
Horsemanship Overall Champion: Trevor Schulz; Reserve: Nick Petersen

Officials with the Iowa DNR and Shelby County sheriff’s office responded to a report Thursday night of pesticide leaking from a sprayer near 2000th St. and Dogwood, in Earling. They found a small amount of herbicide had reached the side of the road, with an unknown smaller amount flowing to a tributary of Picayune Creek. A United Western Coop employee was spreading the mix of Roundup and Cobra when a hose became plugged and the material spilled.

Estimates vary from between 15 and 100 gallons of herbicide sludge spilled. The co-op excavated about 20 cubic yards of soil Thursday night to prevent environmental damage. The DNR checked the creek Thursday night and Friday morning and found no evidence of dead or distressed fish.

The DNR will continue to monitor the cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement.

A family-owned Dutch company that makes front-end attachments for tractors has opened its first U-S distribution center — in northeast Iowa. Zuidberg (ZUD-berg) North America has been in business since 1982 building custom-designed hitches in the Netherlands. Company president Rudolf de Jong (dee YUNG) says it will start out small in Cedar Falls but there are plans to expand.  “Our goal is to grow to between 20 and 30-percent per year,” de Jong says. “That means that after three to four years, we hope to employ up to 50 people.” According to de Jong, Zuidberg makes equipment being sold to customers in 45 countries which allows several types of implements to be attached to the front of tractors instead of the rear.

He says, “We sell directly to tractor manufacturers, farm equipment manufacturers and to tractor dealerships all around the country.” The implements allow farmers to mow with equipment on both the front and the back of their tractors. He says it’s more efficient and it also increases the farmers’ comfort because they can face forward instead of constantly turning from side to side.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld water quality regulations that business and farm groups say are costly and burdensome. The rules require anyone with new or expanded wastewater discharges into waterways to seek permits and certification from the state. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and others sued the Environmental Protection Commission which voted in December 2009 to adopt the new rules. The lawsuit attempted to disqualify two of the commissioners’ votes and get the regulations thrown out.

Carrie La Seur moved to Montana in July 2009 but remained on the commission. The lawsuit says her vote shouldn’t be counted. The lawsuit claims Commissioner Susan Heathcote, who worked for a nonprofit environmental group, had a conflict of interest.

A majority of the court found the votes were proper under Iowa law.

A family tradition was honored at the Shelby County Fair Thursday night. The family of Harriet and AnnaJean Ahrenholtz were surprised when Shelby County Fair President Kent Ganzer recognized them for the dedication and donation to the Shelby County Fair. This year, the Ahrenholtz family donated $60,000 to the board for the all new show ring. Clark Ahrenholtz, son of Harry and AnnaJean said the family wanted to honor their parents.

“Well my parents were always big promoters of the fair. My dad was president of the fair board and my brother and nephew carry on the tradition and we are happy about that. The show ring was something that was needed for a long time here. When it was put up originally, it was actually put up with used materials and we were happy with that at the time but we wanted to do something that mom and dad weren’t able to do when they were alive. We decided this would be a project that if we could kick into it and get the ball rolling. We would like to thank the Shelby County Fair Board because without them this wouldn’t be possible for us to recognize our parents”

Ahrenholtz said almost all of the family was able to come and be a part of the festivities. “I can start at the bottom that’s me. I am the last surviving child of my parents. I wasn’t raised to last but I am the last one. My sister Jane from Tuscan and her husband Rich were up. Then Annette and her husband were unable to attend due to health concerns. And then my brother Roger, who really took over from my dad as Mister Fair to make everything happen and we are getting Justin broke in on that. And then my oldest brother Harry was down from Jefferson.”

Clark said the family is fifth generation in showing cattle at the Shelby County Fair. He said the family is proud to call Shelby County home. “It takes a whole community effort. Like I said we want to remain humble about this because that’s the way our parents were. They kind of make you toot your own horn a little bit when it happens like this here. But we are just proud and very happy to be apart of this community and support the community this way.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)