Hunting licenses for deer went on sale for the first time Wednesday and a D-N-R spokesman says the number of “deer tags” available is dropping in some areas. Deer research biologist Tom Litchfield, says efforts to reduce the deer herd by increasing the number of female or antlerless deer taken have been successful. “Back in 2003 the availability of antlerless licenses was greatly increased in Iowa, and now in 2012 approximately two-thirds of the counties in Iowa are at the target levels, which was to return deer populations back to the mid to late 1990 levels,” Litchfield explained. Litchfield says the drop in deer numbers will be reflected in the available licenses.

“There’s going to be approximately 13-thousand fewer antlerless only licenses available, and these reductions all occurred in eastern Iowa counties — 20 eastern counties — so there will be fewer antlerless licenses available in those counties,” Litchfield says. He says the cutback is a direct result of the success of the plan to harvest more does to help bring down the overall deer population. “It’s do to our deer herd declining in numbers and being at goal throughout most of the state,” Litchfield says. There will also be a change in the combination of licenses available.

“Starting this year we’re starting to go back to the way regulations were prior to 2006, so for 2012, a hunter who purchases an early muzzleloader license will not be able to purchase an antlerless only license in either of the two shotgun seasons,” according to Litchfield. Not all counties are down to their goals for deer numbers, so Litchfield says the hunting numbers will vary based on regions.”Hunters in the northwestern and the north-central portions of the state will see deer numbers similar to what they saw last year, possibly a few more since we had such a nice mild winter,” Litchfield says. “Throughout the remainder of the state — eastern Iowa, southern Iowa, central Iowa — by and large, what hunters will see are fewer deer than last year because the herd is still declining.”

The D-N-R is also eliminating the Thanksgiving weekend antlerless season and cutting the late January season by one week. You can find out more about the deer hunting seasons and where to buy a license on the D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

While we’ve seen a few breaks from the hot, dry weather, the worst drought in decades is stressing some of us out and calls to the Iowa Concern Hotline are rising. The service offers information referral, a friendly ear and legal advice, if necessary. Hotline director Margaret VanGinkle says questions lately are about how to handle household finances as prices rise due to the drought. “What happens if we have to pay more for milk and groceries and then the price of gas has gone up, too,” VanGinkle says. “Where am I going to find funds to pay for that when my budget is already pretty tight now?”

Forecasters don’t expect a break from the current weather pattern until October, but some fear the drought could continue well beyond this fall and into next year. Van Ginkle says callers are worried about the potential for a prolonged drought. She says, “If there is a shortage of rural water and they’re being asked to cut back on water with their livestock, how does that effect the operation especially on those really hot days, just a concern that might happen.”

Once known as the Rural Concern Hotline, the service was launched by the Iowa State University extension in 1985 to offer advice to struggling farmers during the Farm Crisis. As the name now implies, VanGinkle says the Iowa Concern Hotline is not exclusive to the agriculture community. The number is 800-447-1985. Phone calls are free and confidential.

(Radio Iowa)

The man at the State Fair who handed President Obama a pork chop says he asked the president to boost the amount of protein required in school lunches. Current U-S-D-A guidelines call for school lunches to account for one-third of the recommended daily intake of protein and Greg Lear of Spencer, the president-elect of the Iowa Pork Producers, says kids need more than that. “Because 1.5 ounces is not enough protein for grade school kids when, for 30-40 percent of these kids, it is their major meal of the day,” Lear says. Lear calls protein “brain food” and he says students need bigger portions of it in their school lunch.

“If he’s going to eliminate something, eliminate carbs or other processed sugars,” Lear says. “And I told him the future of our kids are at stake.” Lear was volunteering at the Iowa Pork Producers stand on the fairgrounds Monday evening when President Obama visited the Fair. Obama took one of the chops Lear offered him, then Lear got to talk to the president. “First thing I brought up I thanked him for the $100 million purchase of pork to use in school lunch programs and this kind of stuff,” Lear says. “…But also told him it was a drop in the bucket for the losses that appear to be coming at the independent hog producers in Iowa and the United States and that we needed more help.”

Lear also asked the president to support a temporary suspension of the Renewable Fuels Standard that requires a certain level of ethanol production. Lear says that would help pork producers struggling with high feed costs by freeing up some of the corn supply for livestock rather than ethanol.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Kansas City, KS, office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday, that EPA Region 7 representatives will meet with livestock producers on Thursday, August 30, at the American Legion Hall (210 W. Head St.), in the Carroll County community of Arcadia. During the meeting, which runs from 6:30-to 8:30-pm.,  the EPA’s inspection program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), winter feeding areas, aerial overflights, medium-sized CAFOs, nutrient management plans and manure stockpiles will be discussed.

EPA staff will also review the selection of CAFOs for inspection, flyover practices and details about CAFO on-the-ground inspections.  In addition, there will be an opportunity for attendees to interact with EPA officials during a question-and-answer session led by Shawn Shouse, of Iowa State University Extension. The EPA says it is working with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, Iowa State University Extension, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to encourage livestock producers’ attendance.

The Cass County Conservation Board says they will be holding a “Mysterious Monarchs” program at the Main Campground at Lake Anita State Park in Anita, on August 31^st. The free, public program begins at4:00 pm, and offers you a chance to discover the Monarch Butterflies before their journey south.

Conservation staff will tag monarchs, and show you how you can do the same. If you would like a home tagging kit, you must attend and pre-register for the Kit. Call 712-769-2372 to pre-register for your kit. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program.

w/ Denny Heflin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Iowa State Executive Director for USDA Farm Service Agency, John R Whitaker today (Wednesday), announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated eleven Iowa counties as part of a Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation.  Farm operators who have suffered major production and/or physical losses caused by drought beginning July 31, 2012 and continuing may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

A Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation has been issued for four Iowa counties as the primary disaster area.  These primary counties are:  Lyon, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury.   Seven Iowa counties are contiguous to this designated disaster area, making these producers also potentially eligible for program based on this designation.  The contiguous counties are:  Cherokee, Crawford, Ida, Monona, O’Brien, and Osceola.  Harrison County is contiguous to a primary county in Nebraska.

The Farm Service Agency may make Emergency Loans to eligible family farmers which will enable them to return to their normal operations if they sustained qualifying losses resulting from natural disaster.  Physical loss loans may be made to eligible farmers to enable them to repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property, including livestock losses, essential to the success of the farming operation.  Examples of property commonly affected include; essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and harvested or stored crops.  For production loss loans, the disaster yield must be at least 30 percent below the normal production yield of the crop, on a crop or crops that make up a basic part of the total farming operation.

Applicant must be unable to obtain credit from other usual sources to qualify for the Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Program assistance.  The interest rate for emergency loans is 2.25%.  Each applicant applying for credit will be given equal consideration without regard to race, creed, color, marital status, or national origin.

w/ Kate Olson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS