The first state crop and weather report that came out Monday shows a much different start to the planting season compared to last year. Farmers spent little or no time in the field last week preparing the ground for planting. Iowa Agriculture Secretary, Bill Northey, says farmers are “getting antsy” as they remember last year at this time when the temperatures were in the 70’s and preparations were farther along. “And they remember at this time on the calendar they were looking at when to plant corn, and they had their planters ready to go,” Northey says. “They had probably a lot of the field work done, certainly likely all the fertilizer applied and in some cases some of the herbicide applied out there as well. So they were ready to plant at this time.”

There were some farmers who decided it was worth the risk and already had some corn in the ground by this time last year. But Northey says the early birds have been sidelined now by the cool weather. “We had a good Fall, so some work — some of the fertilizer application and other things that could get done was done — but so far this Spring almost no fieldwork has been done or at least very little fieldwork done across the state,” according to Northey.

He says in April 2012, 75-percent of the state’s oat crop was in the ground. This year just over 10-percent has been planted. Northey says farmers are willing to wait another week or two to plant –especially if soil moisture levels are being recharged. He adds that dry conditions last week were good for livestock producers who often deal with muddy pastures and feedlots this time of year.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Kate Olson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are monitoring the weather’s impact on pheasant numbers in the state. The state Department of Natural Resources says spring nesting season is a critical time for pheasants. Their counts in the state could decrease if temperatures in April and May are below normal and rainfall is above normal. The opposite outcome in weather would lead to an increase.

The northwest region of the state, which had below normal snowfall amounts this winter, could have an increase in populations with a good spring. The state Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says March was the coldest winter on record in Iowa since 1975, and it was the snowiest since 1998.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports a Sioux City man has been arrested on several counts resulting from the alleged illegal shooting of a wild turkey north of Pisgah, in Monona County. 47-year old Phuoc Nguyen pleaded guilty to not having a valid turkey tag, illegal method of harvesting a turkey by using a rifle, shooting a turkey out of season, abandonment of dead or injured wildlife and shooting a rifle on or over a roadway. He faces fines totaling more than $700 and liquidated damages for the turkey of $200. The turkey and a Marlin .22-caliber rifle with scope were seized.

The investigation began after Chase Durfee, a technician for the DNR Forestry Bureau, was contacted by a citizen on March 19th.  Durfee identified Nguyen’s vehicle and followed it, observing Nguyen stopping at one point and moving an uncased rifle from the front to the rear of the vehicle. Jeff Poen, park ranger for Lewis and Clark State Park, stopped Nguyen’s vehicle on I-29 where an uncased gun was observed. Durfee and Poen located and recovered the turkey that had been shot on state forest land near the Boy Scout Camp, north of Pisgah. Nguyen was later charged by DNR Conservation Officer Steve Griebel.

Nguyen still faces a charge of having an uncased gun in the vehicle in Harrison County. DNR Conservation Officer Dave Tierney said this is another case that underscores the importance of citizens providing eye-witness information when they see illegal activity taking place. A good option for providing the information is through the Turn In Poachers hotline, 1-800-532-2020.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency said today (Monday), the Fire Danger Index in the county will remain in the “Moderate” category, through Thursday. Officials say they hope the rain that’s forecast over the next few days, will contribute to the “greening up” of the grassy areas. Persons planning to burn brush or grassy areas should be aware of the frontal activity in the area and the shifting of winds associated with frontal passing.

The EMA says it can assist individual farmers and businesses with the development of burns plans, to assess the safety of any particular burn. Those plans will be developed jointly with the Fire Chief of the Jurisdiction, and the property owners.

Leaders of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers will hold public meetings this week to cover water management plans for the Missouri River basin this spring and beyond. Jody Farhat, head of the Water Management Division for the Corps in Omaha, says it’s a chance to continue the dialogue with the public over how the river is being run during the drought. “The purpose of the April meetings is to let stakeholders in the basin know about the current hydrologic conditions, what the soil moisture and the snow pack looks like,” Farhat says, “and what we expect to do with regard to our operation of the reservoir system through the remainder of this calendar year.”

Farhat says they continue to see river reservoirs slowly dropping. So far, they’re down about eight-and-a-half million acre feet, or around 22-percent of the total storage available. “We are implementing drought conservation measures,” Farhat says. “We had low winter releases as a measure to conserve water and as we start the navigation season here in April, we’re providing what we call minimum service flows for navigation.”

Farhat says the Corps is in position to continue “near normal” operations for quite a while, several years, in fact. “Storage in the reservoirs is designed to serve the authorized purposes during a 12-year drought like that of the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s and early 1940s,” Farhat says. “As we get deeper and deeper into the drought, we conserve more and more water by providing reduced service to navigation and other uses.”

The region is just entering the second year of drought and she says, given the 12-year drought plan, they should be “good for another decade.” The meetings are being held this week in: Nebraska City, Nebraska; Fort Peck, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota and Smithville, Missouri.

(Radio Iowa)

Emergency Management officials in Mills County report a countywide ban on open burning will go into effect on Monday, April 8th, beginning at 4-p.m.  According Mills County Emergency Management Director Larry Hurst, the ban will prohibit open burning in all cities within Mills County until further notice, under Chapter 100 of the Iowa Code.

The decision to institute a Burn Ban on Monday came after Emergency Management officials polled the local fire department Chiefs in the county. The chiefs agreed to the plan, which was submitted to and approved by, the State Fire Marshall’s Office in Des Moines. Under a Burn Ban, residents of Mills County must discontinue the burning of yard waste, piled tree debris or other items. Small recreational camp fires will be permitted, but only if they are built in a fire place of brick, metal or heavy one inch wire mesh.

An application from your local Fire District Chief can be obtained and submitted to allow a permit for open burning if your local fire official believes it’s safe to do so. After approval of permit, several county entities are informed to lessen the danger of false alarms. Violation of a burn ban is punishable by a simple citation, or, an arrest for reckless use of fire or disobeying a burn ban.

For more information on burn bans and the law contact the State Fire Marshall’s Office at 515 725-6145

After weeks of voting, Viking Lake State Park near Stanton, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, have made it to the DNR’s Park Madness championship on Facebook. As a result, Iowans will be able to enter a drawing for a chance to win a free weekend of camping at the championship park. The final round of voting begins at 7:30 p.m. April 7 at www.facebook.com/iowadnr.

People can vote for their park of choice by commenting on the Park Madness post. Be sure to “like” the DNR’s page while you’re there to see future Park Madness posts. The winning park will be announced Monday, April 8th at noon on Facebook, along with contest information. People can enter to win two camping coupons for the winning park. Details about contest entry and rules will be available, beginning April 8th, at www.iowadnr.gov/Destinations/ParkMadness.aspx.

Park Madness kicked off March 19, with two parks from each region of the state facing off. Lacey-Keosauqua defeated Lake Ahquabi in the southeast regional and then Backbone to represent eastern Iowa. Viking Lake won over Waubonsie in the southwest regional and then Ledges in the western semifinal.

For more pictures of parks in the running, visit the DNR on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/iowadnr and check the “Iowa State Parks” board. Follow the DNR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iowadnr for updates and more information.