(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa soybean growers is in Asia, meeting with agricultural leaders in the key trading nations of China and Japan. Iowa Soybean Association C-E-O Kirk Leeds says the visit comes at a time when trade between the U-S and China is at a near stand-still and it’s had a dramatic impact on Iowa soybean growers. The Iowans visited three cities in China in recent days. “We were there with a small group of soybean farmers to touch base with some of our customers, at least our previous customers, to remind them that we still have plenty of soybeans to sell and these are high quality soybeans,” Leeds says. “We look forward to an opportunity to resume our exports of soybeans on a significant scale in the hopefully not-to-distant future.”

Leeds says he’s hopeful something positive can come out of the upcoming talks between the U.S. and China. “Farmers in Iowa and across the country have been on a kind of yo-yo here the last several months where we think we’re making progress and may be on the verge of some kind of agreement and then things seem to fall apart,” Leeds says. “Hopefully, this is a sign we’re back at the negotiation table and that we’ll see some positive movement.” Before the trade troubles began, Iowa’s top agricultural export was soybeans and soybean products, worth more than $3.3 billion a year. Nearly one-quarter of all Iowa soybeans were shipped to China. The Iowa delegation is now in Japan, which remains one of the state’s top trading partners. “Japan is a very mature market for the United States, at least on soybeans. We’ve been there for almost 60 years,” Leeds says. “The population of Japan is falling rapidly and the economy has been stagnant for about a decade but it’s still an important market for us.”

There is promise Japan may further open its markets to take in more U-S products, including pork, poultry and beef. Leeds says the Iowa delegation will spend the next few days in Japan touring ag facilities and farms, returning to Iowa on Friday.

Cass County ISU Extension in Atlantic is offering a hands-on workshop for making and taking homemade jam. Learn how to “Preserve the Taste of Summer!” during a hands-on canning workshop presented by ISU Extension Nutrition and Wellness Specialist Barb Fuller. The workshop is based on USDA-approved food preservation recommendations, so that the food you preserve is not only delicious but safe to store for up to a year. Everyone who attends the workshop goes home with a jar of food and a complete collection of ISU Extension home preservation publications. Cost of the workshop is $35, and pre-registration is required by Thursday August 1st.

Jam Making and Dehydration, will be held from 9-a.m. until 1-p.m. Saturday, August 3rd, at the Cass County Fair Food Stand in Atlantic. Get ready to enjoy the taste of fresh fruit year round with this workshop on making and canning blueberry spice jam. This workshop will prepare you for preserving any type of fresh fruit through hot-water-bath canning or dehydration. All supplies will be provided, including jars, lids, screw rings, and berries.

Register online at http://bit.ly/ptts13409, or stop by the Cass County Extension office to sign up today! All registrations are due by August 1 to ensure supplies are available. Call 712-243-1132 for more information and to register for the class, or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass to register online.

In addition, ISU Extension offers a library of publications with recipes and instructions for preserving a wide variety of foods, from fruits and vegetables to pickles and meats. These publications are available as free downloads on the ISU Extension Store at https://store.extension.iastate.edu/, or can be picked up at your local ISU Extension Office.

The extent of impact that a cold and snowy late winter and heavy rains and flooding in April and May had on pheasant nesting success will likely be seen when the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducts its annual pheasant counts. The statewide survey takes place Aug. 1-15. The survey is conducted by Iowa DNR staff who drive 218, 30 mile routes on gravel roads at dawn on mornings with heavy dew. Hen pheasants will move their broods to the edge of the gravel road to dry off before they begin feeding, which makes them easier to count.

Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa DNR says “Conditions for the survey are important as the accuracy of the counts depend on the dew conditions when the routes are run.” What staff see when they drive the routes is anybody’s guess. Winter began mild but ended under heavy snow and bitter cold temps. Spring wasn’t much better – below normal temperature and heavy rain across much of the state. Not exactly a recipe for growing a pheasant and quail population.

Bogenschutz says “We started receiving reports of staff seeing pheasant broods in late May and hearing quail calls through the spring and summer which are both positive signs,” he said. “It will be interesting to see the survey results.” The August roadside survey has been conducted over the same routes since 1962. In addition to pheasants and quail, the survey collects data on partridge, cottontails and jackrabbits.  Results will be posted online at www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey by Sept. 10.  Iowa’s pheasant season begins Oct. 26.

The 2019 Cass County Fair Livestock shows culminated with the Grand Champion Beef Selection at the outdoor show ring Monday night. Hannah Carlson took the Overall Supreme Market Animal honor.

Carlson is a member of the Pymosa 4-H Club and her Grand Champion 4-H Market Steer weighed in at 1,373 pounds. With the Overall championship she will advance to the Best of the West District Show in Denison.

Hannah is the daughter of Mike and Pat Carlson.

Jace Thomsen showed the Overall Reserve Supreme Market Animal with his market steer. He will also advance to the Best of the West District Show.

Thomsen is the son of Jeff and Rana Thomsen.

The 2019 Governor’s Charity Steer Show will mark the 37th consecutive year the beef industry has raised funds to help families who utilize the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. This year, the show ring competition takes place Saturday, Aug. 10, at 4:00 p.m., in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fair. Celebrities will lead 25 steers around the ring, vying for the championship designation, showmanship honors, and the People’s Choice award. Immediately following the competition, the steers will be sold at auction with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Iowa. Both the show ring event and the auction are open to the general public.

Since the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association began the Governor’s Charity Steer Show in 1983, the effort has raised more than $3.5 million for the Des Moines, Iowa City and Sioux City Ronald McDonald House Charities. The houses provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children being treated in area hospitals and have served nearly 47,000 families.

Each of the 25 steers are owned by Iowa youth who have cared for the animals and participated in other shows with them. The youth prepare the animals for the show and assist a celebrity in the show ring. Sponsors reimburse the youth for the cost of the animal and choose the celebrity. Youth participating in the 2019 Governor’s Charity Steer Show will also learn additional information about the beef industry on Thursday, and volunteer some time with the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Des Moines on Friday, Aug. 9th.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is looking for help with its annual turkey population estimates in July and August.  Participation is easy – just note the date and county in which the turkey was seen, if it was an adult female or adult male – males have beards on their breast – and whether there were young poults (baby turkeys). There is a link to an online survey and survey card at http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Turkey-Hunting for those willing to help.

The DNR has mailed survey cards to select turkey hunters who are asked to provide the date and county in which the turkey was seen. If you did not receive a survey card, you are still encouraged to report turkey sightings using the Iowa DNR webpage link. An excellent video of hen turkeys with poults can be viewed on the Iowa DNR’s Facebook page.

Annual population surveys conducted by the DNR are an important component of the species management plans, which includes providing hunting opportunities. All participation is appreciated.

(Radio Iowa) — Farmers who are being financially hurt by international trade disputes will be able to apply for a second round of payments from the federal government starting Monday. Unlike last year, row-crop farmers will get payments based on their county, not the specific crop they planted. Former Iowa ag secretary, now an undersecretary with the U-S-D-A, Bill Northey says checks will start going out next month. “Payments we expect to start mid- to late-August and will be made to three groups of folks,” Northey says. “We have the non-specialty crops, that county payment rate, specialty crops, and then to our dairy and hog producers.”

County rates reflect how much money the U-S-D-A calculated an area lost due to reduced exports and range from 15 to 150 dollars per acre. U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the payments are meant to help, but won’t make anyone whole.  Perdue says, “President Trump understands that these are the people who are producing and they are the disproportionate bearers of the trade disruption.”

Pork and dairy farmers, and producers of specialty crops like fruits and nuts, will be paid separately. The U-S-D-A raised the amount a farmer can get from the payouts to 500-thousand dollars, if they’re eligible for payments in two or three categories. Perdue says it’s all in keeping with President Trump’s promise.”His administration’s not going to stand by while our productive farmers are treated unfairly by countries acting in bad faith,” Perdue says. “These are the men and women, year after year, who put their equity on the line, assume the financial risk, and every time, they plant a new crop and keep going.”

Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the change from the 2018 payment program will eliminate complaints that soybeans got a much bigger payout than corn. “It’s still targeted by crop even though the crop does not directly factor into the mix of how big your payment is,” Hart says. Overall, the government plans to distribute more than 14-billion dollars in aid to farmers and ranchers through the Market Facilitation Program, or M-F-P. Sign-ups will be taken through December 6th.

More at farmers.gov/mfp
(Thanks to Amy Mayer at Iowa Public Radio, and Gina Cerrentano, KICD, Spencer)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An agricultural economist says the Trump administration’s decision to base new handouts to farmers hit by the trade war with China on how many acres they’ve planted might be a fairer way to distribute the cash than the previous per bushel payments.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Thursday that it will pay another $16 billion in aid to farmers affected by the president’s trade war with China. It comes after an $11 billion bailout Trump gave farmers last year.

The new aid shifts from paying farmers a per-bushel rate for affected crops to paying them by how many acres they’ve planted and their location.

Scott Irwin, a University of Illinois agricultural economist says the previous program heavily weighted toward payments to soybean growers and based on bushels, “didn’t make any sense.”

Front row: Little Miss Cassidy Kennedy and Little Mister Grayson Smith. Back row left to right: 2019 Princess Shelby Stephenson, 2019 Queen Haley Becker, 2019 King Nathan Behrends, 2019 Prince Mitchell Williamson.

The 2019 Cass County Fair King and Queen Contest was held on Thursday night at the Atlantic Middle School Auditorium. The festivities were moved indoors due to some lingering rainfall Thursday night but a large crowd still packed in to the auditorium for the event.

The night started with the Little Miss and Little Mister contest were area youngsters got a chance to be interviewed on stage and a winner for each title was drawn out of a bowl. The 2019 Little Miss is Cassidy Kennedy and the 2019 Little Mister is Grayson Smith.

The King and Queen candidates were then brought out along with past royalty for interviews and final questions. Four finalists were brought up for King and Queen for those final judging questions. The four finalists for Queen were Haley Becker, Jocelyn Amos, Carli Henderson, and Shelby Stephenson. The four King finalists were Mitchell Williamson, Tate Den Beste, Nathan Behrends, and Teaguen Sothman. Following those final questions the judges left to make their final decisions.

The 2019 Cass County 4-H Hall of Fame Inductee was Duane Weirich. Duane was thanked for his numerous projects to benefit the Cass County Fairgrounds and for working with area 4-H’ers on their welding projects and starting the Bucket of Junk Contest in Cass County.

The 4-H Banner Club of the Year was Grant Guys and Gals. They were awarded the big banner on stage for the year and the club will get priority seating at the bull ride on Friday night.

Senior recognition was next on the schedule as a large number of Senior 4-H members were honored for their dedication and work with 4-H. The 2018 Iowa State Fair Queen Hailey Swan was also in attendance for the night and talked about her experience with the crowd.

Then it was time to crown the Cass County Fair Royalty. The 2019 Mr. Congenialty award went to Garrett Reynolds, the son of Bob and Nancy Reynolds. The 2019 Cass County Fair Prince is Mitchell Williamson, the son of Dave and Julie Williamson. The 2019 Cass County Fair King went to Nathan Behrends, the son of Curt and Michelle Behrends. Miss Congeniality was awarded to Katie York, the daughter of Dave and Kristy York. 2019 Cass County Fair Princess is Shelby Stephenson, the daughter of Corey and Tammy Stephenson. The 2019 Cass County Fair Queen is Haley Becker, the daughter of Chad and Melissa Becker.

Haley Becker will move on to represent Cass County at the Iowa State Fair Queen Contest. The 2019 Iowa State Fair Queen Coronation will be held on Saturday, August 10th at 7:00pm on the Anne and Bill Riley Stage on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa State University is studying ways to use soybean oil instead of petroleum-based oil as a bonding agent in asphalt for making roads. Rolland Schnell, a soybean farmer from Newton, says it’s a tremendous opportunity for Iowa growers, who already lead the nation in soybean production. “If this is commercialized, and it is going to be, about 1.6-billion pounds of petroleum oil is used as a binder product now in asphalt, and that’s a lot of oil,” Schnell says. “There’s no reason to believe that, as this is accepted, a large portion of that could be soybean oil.”

Schnell says the studies are finding soybean oil beats the petroleum-based oil on multiple levels when it’s used to build roads.  “Using the soybean oil, you have a superior product and a cheaper product,” Schnell says. “When I say a superior product, the asphalt that is made with this is much more flexible, it’s much more temperature-tolerant as far as it’s application, and it’s much more environmentally friendly.”

Schnell says using soybean oil in asphalt domestically and internationally would be a huge win, especially in this time of a trade war with China, as the need for more export markets is growing.