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(Radio Iowa) – A survey finds Iowa had the highest cash rent average for cropland this year at 233-dollars an acre, three-dollars an acre higher than last year. Farmers across the country are paying an average of 141-dollars per acre to rent cropland. That’s up two-dollars from last year. Iowa State University Extension ag economist Wendong Zhang says cash rents closely follow farmland values. “Iowa has seen about 20% growth, evidenced by many of the auction prices as well as the expert opinion survey,” Zhang says. “Iowa land values have shown about 18% growth from last July to July 1st of this year.”

He says having cash rents follow farmland values is supported by their recent survey of farm managers and ag lenders. “Typically, the cash rent to land value ratio, regardless of the change over the past decade, people have all anticipated this to be around 3.1%,” Zhang says. “In general, when the land markets goes up, then land prices goes up, then the cash rent typically tracks that as well.” Zhang expects the farmland values and cash rents to remain high. “In the near future, we will likely see this level of high land value, high cash rent to stay because the interest rate is still fairly low,” Zhang says. “Even though we have seen some increase in supply, in general, it’s still limited due to COVID payments and other things.”

Of the top five states, Iowa had the highest cash rent average followed by Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and Minnesota.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 23, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment through the Continuous Signup.  The Continuous Signup remains open and CRP Grasslands Signup closed last week, so USDA expects to enroll more acres into all of CRP than the 3 million acres that are expiring.

“Despite Congress raising the enrollment target in the 2018 Farm Bill, there have been decreases in enrollment for the past two years.  The changes we made this spring have put us on the path to reverse this trend,” said Bob Wegand, Acting State Executive Director for the Iowa Farm Service Agency. “Even with the improved direction, USDA will still be about 4 million acres below the enrollment target.  The CRP benefits for producers, sportsmen, wildlife, conservation and climate are numerous and well documented. We cannot afford to let them to be left on the table.”

The 4 million-acre shortfall in CRP would have had the following impacts:

• More than 359,000 acres less annual forage under CRP Grasslands;
• A loss of 1,500,000 acres of quality wildlife and pollinator less habitat for wildlife;
• 20% fewer apiaries in major production regions meeting critical forage thresholds;
• A loss of more than 4 million upland game and other grassland birds;
• About 90 million pounds of nitrogen entering waterways;
• Over 30 million tons of soil eroded, leading to increased pollution and sedimentation in streams and rivers; and
• Foregone sequestration of more than 3 million metric tons of CO2.

Like other USDA conservation programs, CRP is a voluntary program that has a variety of options that can be tailored to the specific conservation issues of a state or region and desires of the landowner. The options run the gamut from working lands such as CRP Grasslands to partnerships with states and private entities to target a specific joint concern such as water quality or quantity.

“We are grateful to the leadership and staff at the USDA, who have worked diligently over the last several months to ensure that the Conservation Reserve Program remains a viable and effective conservation tool,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Today’s announcement demonstrates that when the CRP is administered with the needs of landowners in mind, they respond by investing their lands in conservation. This course correction is needed now more than ever, as management decisions in recent years have left program acreage at a 30-year low, with an additional 4 million acres set to expire by October 2022. We look forward to continuing to work with the USDA to improve the trajectory of the CRP and guarantee that the program benefits our natural resources, landowners, and the sporting community for years to come.”

Continuous CRP Signup

Continuous CRP allows USDA to target the most sensitive land like highly erodible land, the most environmentally beneficial land like wetlands and buffers along streams and rivers, or locally identified critical habitat like State Acres For Wildlife.  This targeted approach also reduces the whole-farm type enrollment in CRP that was more common when it first began and helps meet the conservation goals while maintaining the majority of the land in production agriculture.  FSA has accepted offers from over 37,000 producers to enroll more than 897,000 acres through the Continuous Signup. This is double the enrollment from last year and three times the enrollment from 2018 and 2019.  FSA expects this process to be completed by the end of September so contracts may start on October 1, 2021.

The growth in the targeted enrollment through Continuous Signup is due to a recommitment of USDA to incentives and partnerships that brought in nearly 1.4 million acres in 2016 and 2017.  These efforts have also included the expansion of the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rives Initiative 30-year (CLEAR30) from two regions to nationwide as well as moving State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practices from the General to the Continuous signup. This year, offers for 20,000 acres have been submitted for CLEAR30 and 296,000 acres in SAFE practices.

General CRP Signup

FSA opened the General CRP Signup 56 in January 2021 and extended the original deadline to July 23, 2021, to enable producers to consider FSA’s new improvements to the program, which included higher rental payments and more incentivized environmental practices.

Additionally, FSA introduced a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This incentive provides a 3%, 5% or 10% incentive payment based on the predominate vegetation type for the practices enrolled – from grasses to trees to wetland restoration.

Through CRP, producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. In addition to the other well-documented benefits, lands enrolled in CRP is playing a key role in mitigating impacts from climate change.

A full list of changes to CRP, including those to the Continuous and General Signups, can be found in our “What’s New with CRP” fact sheet.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 23, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented Monday (today) on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.

“After generally dry and pleasant weather during the Iowa State Fair, beneficial rain fell across much of northern Iowa over the last few days, providing some help to the extreme drought areas,” said Secretary Naig. “As we enter the final days of August, a more active weather pattern looks to bring additional chances of rainfall as soybeans are reaching a critical stage of development.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Despite spotty precipitation, Iowa’s farmers had 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending August 22, 2021, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting hay and oats. Producers were utilizing the release of CRP land for haying and grazing.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 24% very short, 40% short, 36% adequate and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 27% very short, 42% short, 31% adequate and 0% surplus. Northwest, Central and East Central Iowa had the lowest subsoil moisture levels in the State, with more than 80% rated short to very short.

Corn in or beyond the dough stage reached 90%, six days ahead of the 5-year average. Forty-seven percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage or beyond, four days ahead of normal. There were scattered reports of corn reaching the mature stage. Some producers have begun chopping silage. Iowa’s corn condition rated 58% good to excellent. Soybeans setting pods reached 95%, eight days ahead of normal. Five percent of soybeans were coloring. There were a few reports of soybeans dropping leaves. Soybean condition was rated 61% good to excellent. Sudden death syndrome was observed in some soybean fields across the State. Oats harvested for grain reached 97%.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay reached 68% complete, three days ahead of the 5-year average. Both mites and army worms have been spotted in alfalfa and grass hay crops. Pasture condition was rated 31% good to excellent. Water for cows and calves on pasture has become an issue as some creeks and ponds dry up.

Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Above-average temperatures were observed across most of Iowa during the reporting period with a cool down from a cold frontal passage late in the week. The statewide average temperature was 72.7 degrees, 0.7 degrees above normal. Though most of the week was dry, a large-scale weather system brought widespread rainfall across Iowa with above-normal totals approaching two inches in drought-stricken northern Iowa; much of southern Iowa reported only a few tenths of an inch of rainfall.

Sunshine and southeasterly winds led to pleasant conditions on Sunday (15th) afternoon. Partly cloudy skies remained overnight into Monday (16th) morning as a dome of high pressure dominated the weather pattern over the Midwest, lending to quiet conditions. Afternoon temperatures ranged from the low to mid 80s west to upper 70s east. Starry skies and a light southerly wind held temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s into Tuesday (17th) with some clouds streaming into central Iowa. Daytime temperatures were on the rise with increasing southerly winds and humidity; mid to upper 80s were observed in western Iowa while eastern Iowa reported temperatures three to five degrees cooler. Hazy skies were observed into Wednesday (18th) as wildfire smoke filtered into the region. Daytime highs rose into the 80s with a few 90 degree readings under partly cloudy skies. Morning lows reported at 7:00 am on Thursday (19th) were unseasonably warm, generally in the mid to upper 60s, up to nine degrees above normal. Dew point temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s combined with afternoon highs in the upper 80s led to very muggy conditions into the evening hours.

Light showers formed in western Iowa early on Friday (20th) before dissipating during the late morning hours. Southwesterly winds picked up through the afternoon as a cold front approached the state front from the west. Muggy conditions continued, which helped fire stronger thunderstorms in northwestern Iowa as the boundary entered the state. Some storms turned severe with a brief tornado reported near Sibley (Osceola County), causing some damage to trees and outbuildings. As the front swept across the state, measurable rainfall was observed at a majority of stations with general totals of a few tenths of inch over the state’s northern half. Numerous stations in north-central Iowa reported above 0.50 inch with nearly 30 stations measuring an inch or more. Pocahontas (Pocahontas County) reported 2.15 inches while Webster City (Hamilton County) observed 2.92 inches. Behind the front, cooler and more pleasant conditions were experienced on Saturday (21st) with sunny skies and a light northerly wind. Temperatures remained in the mid 70s to low 80s during the daytime hours and dropped into the 50s overnight into Sunday (22nd) morning.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at several southern Iowa stations to 3.26 inches at Webster City (Hamilton County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.57 inch while the normal is 0.95 inch. Multiple stations observed the week’s high temperature of 92 degrees on the 20th, on average nine degrees above normal. Elkader (Clayton County) reported the week’s low temperature of 46 degrees on the 16th, 12 degrees below normal.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Environmental Protection Agency is revoking all use of a pesticide called chlorpyrifos, which was used on corn, soybeans and other row crops. The chemical is linked to intellectual disabilities in children and farm workers. Iowa Soybean Association President Jeff Jorgenson says anytime producers lose a tool that helps with pest management, it’s a concern. “There’s a lot of work that we have to do in making sure that we’re raising the crop that we want to and having lots of opportunity to use some products,” Jorgenson says. “It’s concerning to farmers and it’s going to be concerning in policy because we have to keep those tools as best we can and manage them the correct way to make sure we can produce a crop that we want to raise.”

Jorgenson says any decisions made by the EPA or other government agencies regarding chemicals and what can be used must be based on sound science. Jorgenson says there are other treatment options growers can consider using, now that chlorpyrifos is out of the picture. “I hope that by the time we have those discussions with either our chemical providers or our agronomists, what is going to work and what’s been showing to work the best,” Jorgenson says. “Those things are going to come up, there’s no question about that. We’re going to be talking about that soon and that’s for next year’s crop already. There’s a lot of management we’re doing right now as to what we’re going to do for 2022.”

Researchers say the pesticide can permanently damage brains, causing a reduced I-Q, loss of working memory and attention deficit disorders.

SHELBY – After a year off, Iowa farm history will again be showcased September 11th & 12th at Carstens Farm, during the 39th Annual Carstens Farm Days.  Threshing, sawmill operations, crafters and vendors, a quilt show and of course, tractors.  The Farm Days show has something for everyone throughout the weekend. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause disruption.  Please do not attend Farm Days if you are ill or feverish.  There are many ways that you can proactively keep yourself and others safe and we honor your individual choices when it comes to masks.  Face coverings will not be required while at Carstens 1880 Farmstead; however, we support each visitor’s individual choice with regard to this matter.

Horse, steam and gas power: Come see steam engines powering antique threshing machines, antique machinery, a parade, crafts, and entertainment.  Over two hundred restored antique tractors will be on display.  The original Carstens farm buildings will be open for tours.  The buildings will be alive with demonstrations that will bring back memories for older visitors and teach valuable history lessons to young people.

Food for all: A Friday evening pulled pork sandwich dinner will be hosted by the Friends of the Shelby Stone Arch Trail Committee.  Proceeds of the Friday evening dinner will go to the trail committee.  The dinner will be served from 5:00 – 7:30 pm.  All good days begin with a good breakfast and to start Farm Days off right, a great breakfast is planned at 6:30 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday.  Snacks and lunch options provided by the Minden Meat Market will also be available.  Various non-profit local groups will be offering refreshments and delicious desserts all weekend.  Homemade ice cream will be in plentiful supply during Farm Days.  Serving B & K Ice Cream will be Carstens board member Ben Ausdemore and his wife Katie.  This is a treat visitors won’t want to miss! On Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. enjoy Staley’s Chicken for a delicious dinner at the farm.  Proceeds from the dinner will go toward on-going maintenance at Carstens 1880 Farmstead.

Allis-Chalmers Tractors and Equipment Will Be Featured: Allis-Chalmers equipment of all types will be featured during Farm Days. Allis-Chalmers produced a full line of tractors, engines and farm implements from the late 1800 to 1999.   Allis-Chalmers tractor and implement owners are invited to bring their exhibits to display throughout the weekend. Horsepower-testing, sawmill operations and field demonstrations will occupy tractor exhibitors all day.  Over 250 pieces of vintage equipment were on display during the 2019 Farm Days show.  Visitors will enjoy watching most of the restored tractors as they go through the parade each afternoon at 2 p.m.

Photo courtesy Terry Torneten | Region 13
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Quilt Show: A colorful display of quilts, wall hangings, wearable art and other types of quilting projects will be featured in the special event building at the farm.  Many talented quilters from around the area will allow their works of art to be displayed for all to enjoy.  Even if you have never displayed a quilt before, consider joining the fun and bringing a quilt to display.  Exhibitors are asked to deliver their quilts on Friday, September 10.   For details about the quilt show or to inquire about adding your quilt to the collection, please call Jan Hursey at 712-544-2662. Raffle tickets for the beautiful hand-stitched quilt, which will be raffled during Farm Days will be available during the quilt show.

Crafts, plants and treats galore: In case visitors run out of vintage tractors and other pieces of equipment to look at, there will be over fifty crafters and vendors on hand.  A wide array of crafts, plants, vintage and antique items will be available.  From unique wooden creations to home raised honey, there will be something for everyone.  A very healthy crop of farm-grown potatoes will also be available for purchase.  Proceeds from the sale of potatoes will help make improvements to the farmstead.

Sunday Worship: On Sunday morning a non-denominational worship service will take place at 9:00 a.m. on the lawn in front of the Carstens home.  Worship will be led by Trinity Lutheran Church, Avoca.  Everyone is welcome to join in the worship service.

Admission: Admission is $5 per day for everyone nine years and older.

Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc., a non-profit group of local volunteers, oversees an 80-acre working farm museum exhibit located between Minden and Shelby, Iowa in Pottawattamie County.  The farmstead is the home of Carstens Farm Days, which is held the first weekend after Labor Day each September.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  For more information visit the web site: www.carstensfarm.com

The Southwest Iowa Fishing Team (SWIFT) has announced their planned tournament schedule for the 2022 season. Coach and President Bob Harris said they are moving some events to larger bodies of water to accommodate the number of boats due to continued growth for the program. The schedule is subject to change and reliant on permits being issued for each event.

Boat Series 2021/2022 Season
Saturday, September 18th, 2021 at Prairie Rose- Harlan, Iowa
Saturday, October 16th, 2021 at 3 Mile- Afton, Iowa
Saturday, April 14th, 2022 at 12 Mile- Afton, Iowa
Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at Lake Anita, Anita
Saturday, May 14th, 2022- at 3 Mile- Afton, Iowa this will be the Iowa State Championships.

Duke Rental Kayak Series 2021/2022 Season
The kayaks have been ordered and the first tournament will be determined by the arrival of the kayaks. The schedule is tentative.
Sunday October 3rd, 2021 at Greenfield Lake, Greenfield, Iowa
Sunday October 24th, 2021 at Mormon Trail, Bridgewater, Iowa
Saturday, May 22nd , 2022 at TBA
Saturday, June 12th, 2022 at TBA
Sunday, July 17th, 2022- at Prairie Rose, Iowa this will be the Iowa State Championships.

Virtual Series-
These will be monthly online tournaments within an overall series.
Winter Series will begin at the end of January and February
Spring/Summer Series- there will be multi fish species tournaments.
Summer/Fall Series- there will be multi fish species tournaments.

All schedules are tentative and are subject to change based on permits.

Atlantic’s Joaquin Wailes and Corning’s Joe Oathoudt have earned a trip to compete in Bass Cat Big Bass Zone Junior Championship, presented by Bassmasters, a national fishing competition in Branson, MO on Lake Taneycomo. Both anglers won a state title to advance, Wailes a freshman at Atlantic High School will represent the state of Iowa and Oathoudt a senior at Southwest Valley will represent Nebraska during the national tournament held Saturday, Oct 30th. The event features 52 anglers from across the country one from every state plus a few top second-place finishers. and competitors will be paired up two to a boat, though it’s still a solo competition. While he’ll be fishing uncharted waters, Oathoudt said he’s going into it with a positive attitude.

They will compete against 52-state championships caliber anglers in the competition for the biggest bass, with the top prize being a Bass Cat boat and scholarships.

The state and national bass fishing competitions are organized differently. For the state competition, the brothers fished on their own, and then submitted proof of their catch to an online Fishing Chaos app with measurements of the fish’s length, width, and girth. Based on that, the organizers calculated the fish’s weight, and Wailes and Oathoudt were declared the winner.

Wailes attempted to qualify for the tournament last year but missed qualifying by a quarter of pound. ‘I was motivated this year to make the tournament, because I love fishing, and this is an amazing opportunity for me to compete at the national level for the first time,” Wailes said. ‘Plus, there’s so much more to the Big Bass Zone tournament, I am a better angler by studying water conditions, learning different fishing techniques, reading contour maps, understanding fish habitats and now getting sponsors and learning business relationships.”

For the national competition, Wailes and Oathoudt will be paired up two competitors to a boat, though it’s still a solo competition. While he’ll be fishing unchartered waters, Oathoudt said he’s going into it with a positive attitude. The competitors will spend the day fishing, and they take turns deciding where the boat goes, with one competitor steering it in the morning, and the other angler steering it in the afternoon. They will be laying it all out there for a chance to win over $300,000 in prizes and scholarships including a new Basscat bass boat.

““It will be a great experience and I feel honored to go and represent Nebraska at this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Oathoudt said. “I found my passion, and fish as often as I can with my brothers, cousins and his buddies from school. I want to thank Bill Siemantel with the BBZ, my grandpa for finding this opportunity and all of the sponsors that helped to support the tournament.”

Both anglers are members of the newly formed Southwest Iowa Fishing Team where they fished with other area student anglers. “I am so excited for the boys they definitely put in the work and time to earn their spot in the BBZJC,” Bob Harris the coach of SWIFT said. In our first year as a fishing team, we have had great success with a two SWFT high school teams placing 20th at the TBF/SAF World Championships and 50th in the National Championships, and our junior fishing 4th at the Junior World Championships. We have some great student anglers in Iowa, and I would also like to congratulate Jake Oathoudt and Owen Hoover who also competed hard in the BBZJC tournament but didn’t qualify.”

“It’s quite a thrill,” explained Wailes. “This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever qualified for and it’s a lot different than the local tournaments I’ve been in. It’s a new experience and I will do everything he can to make Iowa, his sponsors, and his parents proud. I’m going to be nervous, but it’s a great opportunity.”

Over the next month Wailes and Oathoudt will be studying contour maps, connecting with area adult anglers who may have fished on Lake Taneycomo and making a special trip in September to pre-fish the lake, so that when they arrive on the water, he already knows where to go. The boys will be searching for sponsors to help offset travel expenses and fishing supplies as the focus on competing hard for the Bass Cat Big Bass Zone Junior Championship, presented by Bassmasters. The boys are ready and excited to take on this challenge competing against teams from across the US.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2021 – Organic producers and handlers can now apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds to assist with the cost of receiving or maintaining organic certification. Applications for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) are due Nov. 1, 2021.

“USDA is here to help all producers, including those who grow our nation’s organic food and fiber. Many farmers have told us that cost was a barrier to their ability to get an organic certification,” said Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “By assisting with the costs, this program can help organic farmers get their certification along with the benefits that come with it.”

OCCSP provides cost-share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products for the costs of obtaining or maintaining organic certification under the USDA’s National Organic Program. Eligible producers include any certified producers or handlers who have paid organic certification fees to a USDA-accredited certifying agent during the 2021 and any subsequent program year. Producers can be reimbursed for expenses made between Oct. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021 including application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement and arrangement requirements, travel expenses for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage.

For 2021, OCCSP will reimburse 50% of a certified operation’s allowable certification costs, up to a maximum of $500 for each of the following categories (or “scopes”):

• crops
• wild crops
• livestock
• processing/handling
• State organic program fees

Organic farmers and ranchers may apply through an FSA county office or a participating state agency.

This funding will be complemented by an additional $20 million for organic and transitioning producers through the Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. More information on that funding will be available in the coming weeks.

w/Kate Olson.

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