DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say several factors will determine if hunters have a successful early duck season. The state Department of Natural Resources says seasonal wetlands are largely dry, and there may not be enough to support a boat for hunters.

Officials say it’s unclear whether blue-winged teal will stick around, though they do favor shallow water. Hunters can use a wetland habitat condition report to prepare for marsh conditions or to change their hunting location.

The early duck season runs from Saturday through Wednesday. The second duck season begins on different dates in October depending on zones. Nearly 30,000 hunters are expected to hunt waterfowl in Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says DNR Conservation Officer Dan Pauley reported a fish kill in a creek near Westside in Crawford County to the DNR Environmental Services Field Office in Atlantic on Thursday, Sept. 19th.

Holly Vandemark responded Thursday afternoon and observed dead chubs and minnows and a few larger fish in the East Boyer River for a mile downstream, possibly originating between the FAC Farmers Co-op Elevator and the city wastewater lagoon. The fish appeared to have been dead for some time.

Water samples from the kill area and downstream revealed only the slightest elevation in ammonia, nitrate and dissolved oxygen. Live fish and aquatic wildlife were observed in the sampling areas. There may be several contributing factors to the fish kill and the DNR will continue to investigate.

Report fish kills and spills to the state’s 24-hour spill line at 515-281-8694.

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of people are expected to gather at a farm in Iowa’s Loess Hills to celebrate a berry touted for its health benefits. The free North American Aronia Berry Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday at Sawmill Hollow Family Farm north of Missouri Valley.

The festival will include vendors, craftsmen and activities involving aronia berries, which are prized by some for their high levels of antioxidants. On Sunday, the Hy-Vee Healthy You Wellness Tour Bus will be at the festival to offer flu shots. More information is available at www.sawmillhollow.com.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The brother of Gov. Terry Branstad will pay a fine and spend $26,000 to install a wetland area after his cattle farm failed to comply with requirements of his clean water permit.  The Environmental Protection Agency says Branstad Farms near Forest City did not maintain adequate records for the application of manure onto farm land and did not sample the manure and soil as required.

EPA documents show Monroe Branstad, the governor’s brother, operates the farm. The EPA says the farm will pay a $5,100 civil penalty and spend the additional money to install a wetlands restoration area, the first agreement of its type in the EPA region covering Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.  The governor’s spokesman says he will not comment.

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks talk about the latest happenings at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

From the Cass and Audubon County FSA and NRCS offices w/ Max Dirks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

A U-S-D-A survey finds the value of Iowa farmland and farm buildings rose dramatically in the past year. According to the U-S-D-A, Iowa farmland sold for an average price of 84-hundred dollars an acre in August — a 20 percent increase from the same month a year ago. No other Midwestern state is recording farm land values that high. The average price of farmland in Illinois in August was 78-hundred an acre; in Minnesota it was 47-hundred-50; in Wisconsin it was 44-hundred. Nebraska and Missouri farmland was selling for an average of about three-thousand an acre in August. In the Dakotas, it ranged from 17- to 18-hundred an acre. Economists say Iowa’s farm land price boom has been directly tied to farm income gains.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Kate Olson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Iowa State University researchers have developed a new tool to help fight a virus sweeping across U-S hog farms that has the potential to kill entire litters of piglets. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus has been confirmed in 17 states including Iowa since its first appearance last spring. Iowa State University’s John Johnson says they’ve developed a test that identifies the animal’s immune response to exposure to help determine when it’s safe to move the hogs.

“If we say, well, the P-C-R is negative but they are antibody positive, then the producer and their veterinarian have to assess the amount of risk they’re willing to assume on moving those animals,” Johnson says. But, Johnson says, if both tests are negative, producers can be confident their pigs won’t infect a new herd. Johnson says researchers are still trying to understand this virus. “There’s just a whole lot we don’t know yet about PED as far as the whole epidemiology of the disease,” according to Johnson.

P-E-D-V is particularly devastating for piglets and entire litters can be wiped out — which poses serious economic impacts for producers. P-E-D-V has been confirmed on almost 600 farms, but is not dangerous to humans.

(Radio Iowa)