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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa) – Opponents of proposed carbon pipelines have staged what they’re calling a public hearing in the Iowa Capitol rotunda. Shelby County Supervisor Steve Kenkle says there’s been little public input and county officials lack the authority to have any say about the projects. “I call a spade a spade and if it doesn’t make sense or people are not accountable, I ask a lot of questions and so I’ve been at meetings asking questions…I think the process is flawed,” Kenkel said to applause and cheers. “It’s flawed and that’s the reason I’m here.”
Kenkel lives on a century farm near Earling, about a mile from the proposed route for the Summit pipeline. Some of the other speakers were landowners who don’t want to sell easements on their property so the pipelines can pass through. They oppose letting the Iowa Utilities Board invoke eminent domain authority so property can be seized for the projects. Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, also addressed the crowd.
“They want to take your property through this unique power of government and hand it over to a private corporation so they that they make their profit using your land…and I say: ‘No!'” Raffensperger said, to cheers. A small group of union members attended the rally with the counter message that good-paying jobs are connected to pipeline construction.
(Radio Iowa) – Two more commercial bird flocks have been confirmed with the avian flu. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig announced today (Tuesday) that a Guthrie County layer facility with one-point-five million birds and a Hamilton County turkey facility with 28-thousand birds are infected. “We are now at nine cases total in the state of Iowa, two backyard flocks, seven commercial operations,” Naig says.
Naig says this year’s outbreak is a little different than the major one in 2015. “What’s notable about what is happening this year is there is a strong indication that the virus is being carried in the wild bird population. That what we are seeing largely across the entire country — starting on the East Coast and now moving into the Midwest — is that these are independent wild bird introductions into these operations,” according to Naig.
Naig says it does not appear there is any facility to facility spread now and they want to keep it that way. He says it remains important for producers to closely monitor the animals and report any signs of the disease immediately. Information on the disease is available at IowaAgriculture.gov. State Veterinarian Jeff Kaisand says protocol requires the birds to be destroyed within 24 hours once the bird flu has been detected.
He says they start talking with producers about what typ of depopulation method they want to use at the first signs that they may have an infection and then work with them to carry it through. Kaisan says they so far have been able to meet the 24-hour timeline. “They’re doing it on-site and we are not moving anything bird wise from an infected site,” he says. Kaisand says they are monitoring the wild bird migration as part of their efforts.
“There’s some days when there’s a lot of movement and when it gets cold there is a little bit of stall out. And some days there’s movement in different directions. We are all hopeful that it moves through quickly and we get to warmer weather. But it all depends on the weather and how quickly they move,” Kaisand says. More than seven million birds have now been impacted.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Parks and Recreation Dept. Director Bryant Rasmussen says, if you’re “Looking for an opportunity to give back to the community? There is a work day out at Sunnyside Park on Saturday April 2nd from 1-3 pm.”
Rasmussen said also, ” We are gearing up for a busy summer season and appreciate all the help we can get.” If you have any questions, please give him a call at 712-243-3542, or e-mail brasmussen@cityofatlantic.com
Flyer created by an Atlantic High School student.
(Onawa, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting at 6 p.m., March 31, at the Lewis and Clark State Park’s Visitors Center to discuss ongoing lake restoration efforts at the park, including a hydraulic dredging project slated for the 2022 open water season. Restoration activities planned for the park will be presented at the meeting, along with an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the dredging operations and potential impacts to the park throughout the construction season.
Over the past decade, members of the community have worked with DNR and other project partners to develop and implement a comprehensive lake restoration plan to improve water quality and recreational opportunities at Blue Lake. Hydraulic dredging is a significant step in the restoration process for improving water quality in the lake.
Blue Lake, Onawa, Iowa (Via Lewis-Clark.org)
The dredging project at Blue Lake wildlife area is being completed in two phases: phase one, completed in 2021, constructed a sediment containment site for holding dredge materials from the lake, and phase two will hydraulically remove approximately 434,000 cubic yards of sediment from the main basin of the lake to minimize sediment resuspension and improve water clarity. For more information about the Blue Lake Restoration project, check out the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAlqglIxTBU
Blue Lake was added to the State’s list of Impaired Waters in 2004 due to poor water transparency attributed to sediment resuspension within the water column. A water quality improvement plan (TMDL) was completed for the lake in 2009, but water quality remains poor. Restoration planning efforts began in 2011 to address sediment resuspension within the lake and better manage water levels and nutrient inputs at Blue Lake.
Lewis and Clark State Park is a very popular recreation destination with more than 40,000 visitors each year. The campground is consistently one of the busiest in Iowa. The park is a popular place for boating, camping, relaxing, hiking or walking the trails, and fishing.
(Ida Grove, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports, an investigation that began as a turkey poaching case last fall has concluded with five individuals pleading guilty to 48 wildlife charges and assessed nearly $83,000 in fines and liquidated damages. State conservation officers were executing a search warrant at the home of 26-year-old Devon Lewis, of rural Washta, Iowa, on Nov. 21, when they discovered evidence of other poaching activity. Once an additional search warrant was secured, investigators uncovered evidence of a year-round poaching network involving at least 70 deer, four turkeys, ducks, raccoons and red fox dating back to at least 2018.
State Conservation Officer Kirby Bragg said evidence from the lengthy investigation showed that these individuals would shoot wildlife out of season, over bait and from vehicles, often without the proper tags. The deer were primarily bucks with antlers.
Iowa DNR photo
The following individuals pleaded guilty in January in Ida County court.
The judge condemned five rifles, three shotguns and three bows used to commit the crimes. “Our best chance to catch poachers is when the public provides us with timely information after witnessing illegal activity take place,” said Officer Bragg. “It was apparent that this activity had been going on for quite some time.”
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was assisted by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Woodbury County Conservation Board, Ida County Sheriff’s Office and the Ida County Conservation Board.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa farmers could inadvertently find new markets for their commodities because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chad Hart, an agricultural economist with Iowa State University, explains….”If Russia and Ukraine aren’t able to export, that means the rest of the world is searching for another place to buy grain from,” Hart says, “and it tends to drive actually more sales for us here out of the U.S.”
When Russia invaded Afghanistan in 1980, then-President Jimmy Carter imposed a grain embargo on Russia. Hart doubts the effectiveness of a similar embargo today. “Global markets have changed quite a bit since then and we won’t see the same impacts with the same policy moves,” Hart says, “given how time has changed agriculture over the last 40-some years.”
Agricultural exports from Russia and Ukraine have ground to a halt and the invasion is going to have certain impact on what Ukrainian farmers can produce this year. “On the wheat side, I would say the planting is already done, so it’s impacting the crop that was planted last fall that would be growing later on this spring, they plant a lot of winter wheat,” Hart says. “The corn that they would produce would be planted here when we plant our crops coming up in the next month or two and it’s that planting that is most in jeopardy.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24th, so it’s already been a little over a month.
DES MOINES, Iowa (March 26, 2022) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Franklin County, Iowa. The virus was found in a flock of commercial pullet chickens.
Flock owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual deaths to state/federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases should also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.
Staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are currently conducting their annual nighttime spring spotlight surveys across the state, collecting information on Iowa’s deer and furbearer populations. The annual survey is conducted from mid-March to mid-April in each county, beginning an hour after sunset, preferably on nights with low wind, good visibility and high humidity. The routes cover different habitats from river bottoms, to farm fields, prairies, woodlots, pastures and timber stands.
The 50-mile routes – two per county – are driven below 20 miles per hour with staff shining spotlights out of both sides of the vehicle, recording the number of deer and furbearers seen along with the habitat type, at different points along the way. Staff are careful to avoid shining homes and livestock while on the survey and contact the county sheriff ahead of time in case they receive any calls.
“This survey produces really valuable information on our deer and furbearer populations, both locally and at the state level, allowing us to see population trends over time,” said Jace Elliott, deer research specialist with the Iowa DNR. The survey began in the late 1970s as a way to collect information on the raccoon population, but was expanded to include deer and other furbearers. “It’s an important index that is combined with other data and surveys we use that gives us the most complete picture for these species and guides our management decisions to benefit the resource,” Elliott said.
The survey report will be posted later this summer to the Iowa DNR’s website at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Population-Harvest-Trends
(Iowa DNR News) – It happens each spring – Iowa’s timber echo with the sounds of male turkeys gobbling and preparing to do battle in an attempt to establish their territories in anticipation of the breeding season. With each passing day, the competition gets fiercer, and hunters, more excited. Jim Coffey, forest wildlife research biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says “Turkey hunting is a passion with our hunters who enjoy it for its intimacy and for its setting,” said . “It’s a great time of year to be out experiencing the timber’s springtime awakening.”
Turkey hunting participation has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and for the hunters heading to the timber each spring, success is measured by the pursuit of the birds, hearing them gobble and the opportunity to see them come in. Only around 20 to 22 percent of the tags are filled each year, which equates to a harvest of around 11,500 birds. Coffey says “Turkey hunting is an intimate sport done at close range. Research indicates that shots of less than 30 yards are the most successful.” 
Because it is so intimate, it’s important for hunters to give each other space. If a hunter sees another hunter close to them they should say in a loud, clear voice ‘Hey – turkey hunter over here,’ Coffey said. “Don’t wave at them to get their attention, don’t create movement. The person should then turn and walk directly away,” he said. “This is turkey hunter courtesy and we all just want to enjoy the woods.” Other safety tips include not wearing red, white or blue (colors on a male turkey head area), avoiding tunnel vision, and properly identifying the target and what’s behind it. Hunters should also write out their hunting plan that identifies the hunt location, who’s on the hunt and outlines their role, describes how the hunt will unfold and when the hunters are expected to return home. Hunters are encouraged to leave a copy of the plan with someone or somewhere easy to find, in the event of an emergency.
Iowa’s turkey population is fairly stable, with a successful 2021 reproduction year led by the southeast part of the state, followed by the north-central and northeast regions. “The two-year-old birds are the most likely to gobble and the most likely to move and make up the bulk of the hunter harvest,” he said. This time of year, turkeys focus on food sources like waste grain, fresh greens (grasses, clover, new green tips on shrubs) and insects and it’s why most are seen scratching in old leaf litter.
Iowa allows for male or bearded turkeys to be harvested during the spring season. Hunters who bag a turkey are required to report their harvest on the DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov, by phone on the toll-free number listed on the tag, through a license vendor, by texting the registration number to 1-800-771-4692 or through the Go Iowa Outdoors app, then write the confirmation number on harvest report tag that is attached to the leg of the turkey. Harvest must be reported by midnight on the day after it is tagged, or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist, or before processing it for consumption.
“Reporting the harvest is important because it provides information on our bird population, and where and when these birds are being harvested,” Coffey said. Hunters may purchase up to two tags for Iowa’s four spring turkey seasons as long as at least one of the tags is for the fourth season. Each year it all begins with the youth only season. The purpose of the youth season is for adults to mentor the youth without any pressure or competition from other hunting adults. “Adults serve as a guide, make suggestions and keep the youth focused on the hunt,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to pass along some woodsmanship skills as the youth build knowledge of the outdoors.”
Youth turkey licenses purchased before the youth season closes and are not filled during the youth season may be used in any of the subsequent seasons until filled or the season ends.
2022 Iowa Spring Turkey Seasons (Gun/Bow)
Licenses and Fees needed (not including landowners/tenants)
Need a place to hunt?
Check out the Iowa DNR’s Public Hunting Atlas online at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Places-to-Hunt-Shoot
(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is seeking people who enjoy the outdoors, camping and meeting new people, to consider becoming volunteer campground hosts for the upcoming recreation season. Volunteer campground hosts live in state parks from one to five months assisting DNR staff with light maintenance duties, checking in campers, and being a resource for visitors enjoying state parks and forests. Campground hosts are provided a free campsite while they are actively hosting during the camping season. Hosts volunteer 20 – 40 hours per week, including weekends and holidays, while living on site in their own camper.
Host positions are available at:
Information about campgrounds and state parks is available online at www.iowadnr.gov/stateparks. To discuss the host position, contact the state park directly, or call 515-443-2533.
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