LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Nebraska’s hemp plan, so the state will begin taking license applications on Monday. The Nebraska plan lays out the regulations and calls for the state to collect license fees to administer the program for 270 cultivator licenses, 30 processor-handler licenses and 15 broker licenses. It allows for 400 cultivation sites. The Nebraska Agriculture Department would sample or require USDA-approved contractors to test plants within 15 days of the anticipated harvest date to ensure the THC level isn’t too high. THC is the cannabis compound that gives marijuana its high.

(Radio Iowa) — A federal court decision last week may reduce the number of small refinery waivers the Environmental Protection Agency issues for blending ethanol. The 10th circuit court of appeals found the agency over-stepped its reach in the case of three refineries. American Coalition for Ethanol C-E-O Brian Jennings calls the ruling a victory. “So this should limit E-P-A’s activity or abuse of this part of the Renewable Fuel Standard in the future,” Jennings says.

He says it is a small step that will help. “We have struggled financially as an industry for some time. This case isn’t going to turn things around overnight, but it is a bit of good news that we need,” Jennings says.  Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson says the ethanol industry has contributed to its own woes. “Ten percent of the industry’s problems have to do with E-P-A indifference to, perhaps, EPA regulations as they were originally written,” Swenson says.

The other 90 percent, Swenson says, is over-production with not enough domestic demand to absorb the ample supply.

(Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

The Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District reports applications are currently being accepted from producers who are interested in converting their row crop acres back to Pasture or Hay land. The Iowa Financial Incentive Program will pay up to 50% of the eligible or estimated cost, whichever is less, to help install the conversion practice. Proposed acres must have been row cropped in three out the last five-years, in order to be eligible for the signup.

Interested producers must make an application to the Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District by March 10th. Applications will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. For more information, call the District Office at 712-243-3180, Extension #3, or stop by 503 W. 7th Street, in Atlantic.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An animal welfare group that gained access to an Iowa lawmaker’s hog farm has posted a video and photos online that show pigs suffering and even dying in what appear to be inhumane conditions. Members of California-based Direct Action Everywhere entered a hog farm owned by Iowa Sen. Ken Rozenboom last April through an unlocked door.

Rozenboom says the farm was managed then by others who didn’t follow proper animal care protocols. He says his family is overseeing operations and properly caring for animals.

Rozenboom managed a law passed last year that heightens trespass penalties for undercover operations on farms.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Environmental groups and community activists rallied at the Iowa Capitol to push lawmakers to consider halting the growth of hog farms in the state. Food and Water Watch and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement sponsored the Thursday event. They have sued the state, claiming it has violated its obligation to protect the Raccoon River from hog farm pollution.

Activists at the rally called on lawmakers to consider a House bill introduced last year that would impose a moratorium on hog farm expansion. The bill sponsored by a group of Democrats was not assigned by Republican leaders to a subcommittee for discussion.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship report an insect that kills ash trees has been confirmed for the first time, in Audubon and Guthrie Counties. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) larvae were collected from infested trees in rural Exira and Casey. The invasive, tree-killing pest has been found in 71 Iowa counties since 2010. EAB is a small, metallic-green beetle that attacks and kills ash tree species. In its larval stage, EAB bores beneath the bark disrupting the movement of water and nutrients within the tree.  Infested trees typically die within two to four years.

Ash trees infested with EAB might include canopy thinning, woodpecker damage, water sprouts from the trunk or main branches, serpentine (“S”-shaped)  galleries under the bark, vertical bark splitting and 1/8-inch D-shaped exit holes. Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB coordinator, says “Woodpeckers like to eat EAB larvae beneath the bark of ash trees. Despite it being winter, woodpecker damage is an indicator EAB may be lurking in a tree.” The adult beetle can spread naturally by flying short distances to area host trees; however, the more threatening long-distance spread is by human-assisted movement. Beneath the bark, larvae can unknowingly be transported in infested wood products such as firewood. People are encouraged to use locally-sourced firewood where they are going to burn it.

The entire state of Iowa is under quarantine for EAB. A federal quarantine, enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prohibits the movement of regulated articles such as living and dead material from ash trees and all hardwood firewood out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states. At this calendar date, the window for all preventive treatments is closed. If a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, he or she should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids this winter and begin treating in spring 2020 (early April to mid-May).

To learn more about EAB and to view known locations in Iowa, please visit http://www.iowatreepests.com.

(Radio Iowa) — The forecast calls for plenty of snow to fly over the next few days, but thousands of Iowans will be thinking of sunny, summer days ahead as they attend one of the biggest one-day bicycling shows in the  “You’re going to see bikes, gear, destinations and events,” Wyatt says. “Really, people come there shopping for their summer. If you want to check out what the latest trail is, if you want to check out what the bike shops have as far as new gear to offer, this is the event for you.”

If you’re shopping for a new bike, whether it’s a traditional two-wheel road bike, recumbent, tandem or electric, Wyatt says there will easily be hundreds of options. “There’s a bike demo area,” Wyatt says. “We’ve got four or five vendors who will let you take a bike over and give it a short ride, right in front of the events center on the floor, so that’ll be pretty cool.”

There will be educational seminars to help riders get in touch with bike advocacy, a legal workshop, and new product launches at the event. While Iowa has hundreds of miles of paved trails, the expo features representatives from a host of “destination” bike rides in other states, including Minnesota and Kentucky. “There’s a lot of interest in the Iowa bicycling community,” Wyatt says. “Certainly, they see it as economic development that they can import to their states. We know that we’ve got to continue to develop that economic impact on bicycling here in Iowa.”

The Iowa Bike Expo is free and runs Saturday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
More info. at https://iowabikeexpo.com/

Jim Field visits with Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning about the March 30-31 trip to Nebraska to see the Sandhill Crane migration.  An informational meeting will be held at the meeting room at the Atlantic Depot on Saturday, February 1 at 1:00 pm.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (26.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/Max Dirks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

ATLANTIC, Iowa – A short course that combines both classroom learning and hands-on instruction will be offered by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach on Monday, January 27th, in Atlantic. The course will instruct cattlemen in areas specific to beef calving management, cow nutrition, and financial management. The program will be held at the at the Cass Co. Community Center at 805 W. 10th St. in Atlantic. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. with the program running from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Registration for the course is $10 and includes materials and supplies. Lunch will also be provided thanks to sponsorship from Merck Animal Health. Registration is requested by January 24 by calling the Cass Co. Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or emailing ellundy@iastate.edu.

Erika Lundy, extension beef specialist, says “The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for cattlemen and women to enhance their management skills going into the 2020 calving season. The program will feature a hands-on dystocia demonstration session utilizing a life-size calving simulator as well as other sessions focused on planning for newborn calf health management and processing and calving season first aid tips.”

Other short course topics include a discussion focused on beef cow economics, record keeping and benchmarking tips, and the importance of beef cow nutrition during lactation leading up to breeding season. Speakers for the workshop include:

• Dr. Tyler Dohlman, professor of vet diagnostic and production animal science at Iowa State
• Dr. Nate Hansen, local veterinarian from Anita Veterinary Clinic
• Beth Reynolds, ISU Extension Beef Specialist
• Erika Lundy, ISU Extension Beef Specialist

For further questions about the course, please contact the extension office or view the program flyer on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.