Officials with the City of Atlantic announced Saturday, that the Compost site west of the Schildberg Recreation Area, is once again open for yard and garden waste. The City had announced Thursday afternoon, that the site would be closed until further notice due to the burn ban, wind and extremely dry conditions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Crop loss estimates from a rare wind storm that slammed Iowa in August have increased by more than 50%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that the number of crop acres that Iowa farmers are unable to harvest has grown to 850,000 from estimates last month that 550,000 acres were lost because of the storm, known as a derecho.

FILE – In this Aug. 20, 2020 file photo, a cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month is seen on the Rod Pierce farm near Woodward, Iowa. Crop loss estimates from a rare wind storm that slammed Iowa in August have increased by more than 50%, a new report shows. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday, Oct. 10 that the number of crop acres that Iowa farmers are unable to harvest has grown to 850,000 from estimates last month that 550,000 acres were lost because of the storm, known as a derecho. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

The Des Moines Register reports that the damage caused by winds of up to 140 mph was compounded in late summer with a drought that, at its peak, encompassed much of the state. The drought is again expanding after some September rainfall.

If you’re looking to spend time outdoors enjoying fall weather, you might want to check out the new Cass County trails map found at www.AtlanticIowa.com. Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says printed copies of the Cass County trails map can be picked up at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and will be distributed throughout the county this fall and next spring. Nishna Valley Trails sponsored the map, which was created in partnership with Healthy Cass County. The map, designed by Hotch Studios, highlights 12 different trail locations across county.

Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning says “People ask about trails in Cass County, but we haven’t been able to give them a simple reference until now. This map does that. It tells you where the trails are, how long they are, if they are accessible, and if they are dirt, grass, gravel or paved. Additionally, we know the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is lower outdoors, so now is a fantastic time to spend more time on our trails.”

Nishna Valley Trails and Healthy Cass County, in cooperation with other area organizations, are developing a trail-needs survey that will be made available this fall with the goal of gaining input and feedback about how the Cass County Trail System can be improved. In the meantime, ideas for trail improvements may be submitted to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

If your business or organization would like printed copies of the map, please contact Brigham Hoegh. For more information on local wellness events or resources, follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Drought Monitor out today (Thursday) shows around 47 percent of the state in moderate drought — and more than two-thirds of the state is still abnormally dry. Iowa D-N-R hydrologist, Tim Hall, says there’s also a surplus of moisture in parts of the state. “It’s kind of a mixed bag in the state. Northeast Iowa has a surplus of water and west-central and southwest Iowa has a deficit of water. On average it’s not too bad. But you really can’t look at averages this year,” Hall says.

He says central Iowa is doing okay for water — but things change as you move west. “In Audubon, Guthrie, Carroll, Greene, and Shelby counties — driest April to September on record for that part of the state. So those folks in some of those places they are more than 15 inches behind where they should be on rainfall for that time period,” according to Hall. The end of September brought the end of the growing season and concern about the crops having enough water. Hall says the focus now shifts to other water needs.

“We’re looking ahead towards the next growing season certainly, and we are also looking ahead to the point where the ground freezes up and we have less ability to move water into the soil,” Hall says. “And any water that gets into the soil and eventually into the groundwater typically will end up not just being a source of water for plants, but a lot of communities pump groundwater out and use that for their drinking water supplies,” Hall says rainfall usually slows down this time of year — but any rainfall in the dry areas can help.

“We come out of a dry summer, if we go into a dry fall and the ground freezes up and sort of cuts off the ability of moisture to get down into the soil — folks is those parts of the state who have been really suffering this summer from dryness are going to find themselves in the same dryness hole next spring and it’s going to be hard to get out of,” Halls says. The counties now in extreme drought include Palo Alto, Clay, Dickinson, Osceola, O’Brien, Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, and Cherokee.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the U-S-D-A has awarded over nine-MILLION dollars in grants to increase ethanol and biodiesel sales in the state of Iowa. The money may be used to install new storage tanks or new fuel pumps for biodiesel or higher blends of ethanol. “A consumer will have the ultimate choice. That’s what we want to do,” Perdue said. “…I’m confident that our wise consumers when they see a cleaner product, higher octane, lower price, that benefits their neighbors — I think they’re going to choose that.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue talk with reporters.

Perdue made an appearance in Mason City today (Thursday) to announce the opening round of grants from a 100-million dollar federal grant program he unveiled in May. The 22 million dollars awarded today (Thursday) goes to retailers in Iowa and 13 other states.  “Many stations had hidden that E15 pump out in the back. It was kind of like putting tobacco in a cage, where you had to go find it or ask for it,” Perdue says. “Now, we’re taking those skulls and crossbones off those pumps, putting them out there with a single blended type of pump.”

A year ago, the Trump Administration moved to allow year-round sales of E-15 nationwide, but most stations that offer an ethanol blend offer E-10. In September, President Trump announced he had directed the E-P-A to let stations use current E-10 pumps to sell E-15. These U-S-D-A grants are for NEW tanks and pumps that dispense E-15 or higher blends. “This is the beginning of getting this kind of situation and availability across the country and if you go from 10 to 15, I’m not a math major, but that looks like that’s a 50% increase,” Perdue said, laughing.

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Mark Smith held a virtual news conference to critique Perdue’s announcement. “This is an election year ploy,” Smith said. Former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, a Democrat who also served two terms as the state’s ag secretary, says President Trump’s trade and biofuels policies have crushed the rural economy. “Now he thinks he can buy us off,” Judge says. “…What we’re seeing today is too little and it’s too late.”

Perdue says the program was announced in May and it takes a while in the federal government to get grants awarded. “It sounds like this may be sour grapes because they didn’t think of it,” Perdue said.

Ankeny-based Casey’s is getting a nearly five-million dollar grant to replace 346 dispensers at 70 fueling stations across the Midwest. West Des Moines-based Kum and Go will use a one-and-a-half million grant to install 128 dispensers at 17 fueling stations in six states, including Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – A farmer was killed in a grain bin accident Wednesday afternoon in Hardin County near Eldora. Upon arrival, it was determined that a man was buried under a significant amount of corn which was spilling from a grain bin. The individual was located and recovered from the corn. The victim is identified as 79-year-old Kennerly Reece of rural Eldora. Reece’s body was recovered by several law enforcement, fire and rescue departments and multiple area farmers.

(Radio Iowa) – Due to recent good weather, harvest activity in Iowa is progressing at a pace that’s a few weeks ahead of normal. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says despite all the obstacles of the pandemic, this has turned out to be a good growing season for most Iowa farmers.  “We’re ahead of schedule on harvest and, you know, we’re hearing some OK yields, all things considered,” Naig says. “Certainly western Iowa got started first and now you are seeing it really work across into eastern Iowa.”

Naig says the exception to the positive harvest news would be areas impacted by the August 10th’ derecho that flattened many fields in the central third of the state.  “It’s bad,” Naig says. “There’s millions of acres that were significantly damaged and folks are having to go out and it’s hard work to get that crop picked up. A lot of those acres were declared a total loss and they’ve settled with crop insurance. A challenging year no doubt, one that a lot of us want to put in the rear view mirror from the harvest standpoint.”

Naig says a USDA risk management agency administrator will be in Iowa today (Thursday) to take an up-close look at the derecho-damaged areas. The U-S-D-A’s weekly crop report issued Monday showed one quarter of Iowa’s corn crop had been harvested. That’s more than three weeks ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of the five-year average. The report found 55 percent of soybeans have been harvested — only the second time in the last 15 years that at least half of the Iowa soybean crop was harvested by the first Monday of October.

w/Kate Olson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – The archery deer season is underway and D-N-R deer program leader Tyler Harms says while there are not as many deer taken — they still are looking for samples to help track a disease that is deadly to the animals. “ChronicWasting Disease or C-W-D is what it is referred to — is something that we’re continuing to test for on an annual basis. And we certainly do that statewide during the archery season,” Harms says.

He says hunters can play a key role in the monitoring program. “If they are willing to help us out with that effort in tracking where the disease is in the state, just submit a sample. And they can do that by contacting their local wildlife biologist,” Harms says.

There have been a total of 89 positive C-W-D tests in the wild deer population since testing began in 2013. A majority of the cases have been found in the northeast corner of the state.

(Radio Iowa)  – The number of complaints from Iowa farmers about a powerful herbicide floating from one field to another and causing damage has reached record levels this year. Agronomists across the state report 329 pesticide misuse complaints involving so-called dicamba drift. Iowa State University Extension weed specialist Bob Hartzler says a variety of factors are involved. “Some of it is the volatility that with the use in soybeans, you’re applying it later in the year and so you have warmer temperatures,” Hartzler says. “This year, we saw a lot more movement out of corn fields than typical, so the dicamba use in corn has increased with the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds.”

He says lowering the volatility might be the best course of action. “For other dicamba products that are used in row crops, I think we ought to look at requiring all of those products to be lower volatility,” he says, “because it’s not just volatility out of soybeans that’s causing problems.” Farmers are doing their best to follow directions when applying dicamba, but drifting continues to cause damage. “It’s frustrating when they do everything right and they still have issues,” Hartzler says. “The number-one criteria to preventing problems is to evaluate individual fields to determine the risk of off-target movement.”

Some states, including Missouri and Minnesota, imposed restrictions on dicamba applications, while Iowa launched special training sessions on the use of the herbicide in 2018.