OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows they’re rapidly losing confidence in the region’s farm economy. The Rural Mainstreet survey for May, released Thursday, shows the survey’s overall index dropping from 50 in April to 48.5 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, blames trade tensions and tariffs, saying they’re contributing to losses suffered by grain farmers — although livestock producers are faring better. Still, Goss says, bankers believe “the negatives far outweighed the positives.”

The survey’s confidence index, which gauges bankers’ expectations for the economy six months out, plummeted from 50 to 38.2 — its lowest level in almost two years.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

SIOUX FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Arkansas-based meat processor Tyson Foods is suing a federal agency for $2.4 million, saying it had to destroy 8,000 carcasses because a federal meat inspector lied about checking hogs at a plant in Iowa. Tyson Foods says Yolanda Thompson, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, signed certificates suggesting she checked slaughtered hogs at the Storm Lake plant in March 2018. It says video footage indicates Thompson never entered the plant and actually approved inspections while sitting in her automobile.

The Sioux City Journal reports that the meat processor filed suit Tuesday in Sioux City’s U.S. District Court alleging the agencies knew of Thompson’s inadequate inspection practices and physical difficulties walking around the plant. USDA and Tyson officials declined to comment.

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(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is issuing a warning about the dangers of an escalating trade war with China. “As I like to tell the president when he says he likes tariffs, I try to remind him that Smoot-Hawley brought about the Great Depression, brought about Adolph Hitler, brought about World War II, brought about 60 million people losing their lives as a result of it,” Grassley says.

The Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 raised tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. by 20 percent and sparked retaliatory tariffs from other countries on U.S. goods. According to Grassley, half the world lived in poverty after World War II, but reducing tariffs and promoting international trade have led nearly 50 percent of the world’s population to be classified as “middle class” today. “I like to tell the president that globalism has helped everybody, freeing up trade has helped everybody and let’s move on,” Grassley says.

Grassley, a Republican, made his remarks to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Fellow Republican Joni Ernst, Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, says Iowa farmers will suffer “permanent damage” if they lose access to the Chinese market.  “We need free trade. We need fair trade and we are not seeing that from China right now,” Ernst says. “So I would say: ‘China, quit hemming and hawing. Let’s get back to the (negotiating) table. Let’s finish this deal.’ It will be good for China. It’ll be great for Americans.”

President Trump began imposing tariffs last year and is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on another 325-billion-dollars in Chinese goods next month if there’s no deal. Trump also has promised 15 billion dollars in federal aid to farmers to compensate for trade-related losses.

WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of chickens were killed when a truck crashed in northeast Iowa. KCRG-TV reports the crashed happened early Tuesday when a truck hauling about 5,000 chickens crashed on Highway 18, about a mile west of West Union. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says the 44-year-old driver was heading west when he crashed into a ditch. He and a child passenger were treated for minor injuries.

About half the chickens were killed. The others were loaded onto another truck. The driver was cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle.

Red Oak, IA— The Montgomery County Extension Council and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach have announced the hiring of Meghan Gray as Montgomery County’s Youth Coordinator. Gray began work on May 6th. As the County Youth Coordinator, her primary duties are to strengthen youth development through research-based education and interactive learning opportunities. Gray will coordinate the planning and implementation of 4-H youth outreach and development programs. Examples of said youth outreach are 4-H summer day camps, workshops or clinics, or afterschool groups. As an integral part of the 4-H program, she will focus on positive youth development by establishing various community partnerships, not only supporting the 4-H youth- but the adult volunteers, County Youth Council, and other necessary project committees.

Gray is originally from Mills County, where she was a member of the Loess Hills Trailblazers 4-H Club. She participated in Mills County Council, Region 17 Council, and State Council. She also was a recipient of a State 4-H Leadership Project award. She is a Fall 2018 graduate of Iowa State University where she received her Bachelors of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology and Forestry-with an emphasis in Conservation and Restoration of resources. Gray is enthusiastic about the 4-H program and brings in various experiences which will help her create sustainable programs for the county and youth.

Gray will work closely with Montgomery County’s 4-H program and coworkers, Lori Mitchell, Program Coordinator and office assistant Katie Hart, as well as other Field Specialists serving Montgomery County. Please stop by the Montgomery County Extension Office and welcome Meghan to her new position! Feel free to contact her at mcgray@iastate.edu or 712-623-2592 regarding any questions you may have about Montgomery County’s 4-H program and other resources available through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Montgomery County. Extension resources are always available at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery. Be sure to “Like” Montgomery County-IA Extension on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

(Radio Iowa) — A safety expert says as Iowa boaters plan to make their first voyage on the water this season, they should check the boat’s life jackets.  Susan Stocker, the boating law administrator and education coordinator in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says “Make sure that there aren’t any rips or tears in it.”  The major concern is to ensure the life jacket fits whomever may be wearing it on the boat. “Every life jacket has a label on it that tells the weight and the size for the intended wearer,” Stocker says.

There are more than 230-thousand registered boats in Iowa. Stocker says all boaters should use the buddy system — and give a “float plan” to someone who is NOT out on the water. “Where you’re going to go, when you’re going to be back and potentially even what ramp you’re going to be putting in at,” Stocker says. “With any high water, we may have some snags or debris that’s in the rivers and streams and being able that if you don’t show up back at home at 6:30 in the evening, that somebody starts looking for you.”

Flood conditions in some areas of the state may make boating impossible. Stocker says boaters must realize in high water, submerged trees and other objects can wreck the boat. “The other thing is when you are in a paddle-craft, whether it’s a canoe or a kayak, you’d better expect to be dumped and put in the water because that’s just the nature of those,” Stocker says, “and unfortunately I can say that we just had our third boating accident and it was a paddler.”

It happened within the last few days in southeast Iowa. Stocker says the paddler tipped over and “almost died from hypothermia.”

(Radio Iowa) — The governor’s signing of the bill that makes industrial hemp production legal has put the process in motion to create the rules for producers. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig (Like egg) says the 2018 federal farm bill opened the way, and the state now has to follow through. “We will apply to the U-S-D-A and seek approval from them to have a state program,” Naig explains. “So, there is quite a bit of work yet to do here before we actually have a program to implement here in the state.”

He says that means there won’t be any hemp grown on Iowa farms until 2020. That gives producers time to research hemp as a possible crop. “We’re encouraging folks to take the time. We’ve got a year now to look at everything from the agronomic things that you need to look at — from a seed selection and tillage and land and all those types of things — all the way across to what are the markets for the product. Are you growing industrial hemp for for C-B-D production or for fiber of for grain and oil production.”

He says it is the same process you should use for any new crop. “We really encourage folks to take the time and understand and learn and then be ready to take the field in 2020 is that is viable for them,” Naig says. Naig says there could be some crossover in the equipment used for traditional crops and the planting of industrial hemp. “From a seeding standpoint we understand, and I think some the traditional planting equipment probably works,” according to Naig. “And then really on the harvest side, it so much depends on what the end use is.”

He says you might need different equipment to harvest the hemp for oil than you do for harvesting it for fiber. Those who pushed for legalizing industrial hemp say it has a variety of uses from fabric to oils, paper and rope that could benefit farmers. Naig says you have to research if growing hemp is viable for your operation. “I’ve said many times I am confident that we can grow industrial hemp in the state of Iowa. We used to and we’re good at growing nearly anything,” Naig says. “It’s really a question in my mind of whether or not folks have a viable market for that product. And that’s really what we should be looking at from an economic standpoint.”

Naig says industrial hemp has the potential to be grown anywhere in Iowa. “The legislature did cap the amount of acres that a producer can grow to 40 acres — so we’re not talking about whole sections of farmland here that would be going into farm production,” Naig explains. “Forty-acre tracts or smaller tracts of land — I think we’ve seen that in some other states like Kentucky where they’ve really been ahead here on industrial hemp production. I think it can be applied anywhere — but again — economics will really drive that.”

Farmers cannot legally grow hemp in Iowa until the U-S-D-A approves the proposed regulatory plan Naig’s department is working up. The law l does not legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and requires the hemp plants to have T-H-C levels of point three (0.3) percent or less. Plants with T-H-C levels above that percentage are still considered controlled substances in the state and must be destroyed.

(Radio Iowa) — Entries for this year’s Iowa Century and Iowa Heritage Farms are due soon. Becky Lorenz (lore-ENZ) coordinates the program at the Iowa Department of Agriculture, which singles out the state’s long-time family farms. “A Heritage Farm has 150 years of continuous ownership in the same family, while a Century Farm has 100 years of continuous ownership,” Lorenz says. “You need to have at least 40 acres of your original piece of property to qualify.”

There are more than 19-thousand Century Farms in Iowa and just over 12-hundred Heritage Farms. A ceremony is held each year during the Iowa State Fair that recognizes each of the farms as they reach the landmark — and the 2018 event was unusual. “We had 359 Century Farm award winners and 148 Heritage Farms,” Lorenz says. “This will be my 9th show this year and last year was the most combined numbers that we’d ever had.”

The deadline to enter is June 1st. The Heritage Farm program was started in 1976 while the Century Farm program began in 2006. Learn more about the program and find an application here:
https://www.iowaagriculture.gov/century/centuryApplicationProcess.asp

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s conducting a national search to find a new director for the Department of Natural Resources. On May 1st of last year, Chuck Gipp retired after seven years as the agency’s leader. Bruce Trautman has been the department’s acting director for the past 12 months. “Bruce has been the deputy for quite some time,” Reynolds says. “He’s doing a good job over there and instead of working on someone else’s timeline, I want to make sure we get the right person.”

The governor says it’s a big agency with a wide variety of responsibilities and that has complicated the process of finding a new director. “We have a great story to tell. This is a beautiful state. We have a lot of opportunities and need to really be able to address both ag concerns, business concerns and environmental concerns as well.”

There’s been an acting director leading the state’s prison system since the previous director retired December 27th. Reynolds says after a national search, she’ll be interviewing prospects for that job in the next few weeks.