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(Radio Iowa) — A farm organization based in North Dakota is offering help to the many farmers and ranchers who were hit by the recent flooding. Farm Rescue plans to activate “Operation Hay Lift” for the second time — the first time was during a drought. Farm Rescue is a non-profit organization that provides planting, haying, harvesting and livestock feeding assistance free of charge to farm and ranch families who have experienced a major illness, injury, or natural disaster. Communications Director Dan Erdmann says farmers and ranchers have their cattle herds stranded because of the flooding.
“We’re still feeling things out, and seeing what the reaction is going to be and what the need is going to be. We’re going to be hauling hay down to those ranchers, so, the big thing right now is we’re looking for hay donations to be able to haul that down to the ranchers affected by the…by the flood waters,” Erdmann says. He says they could use some drivers too.
“We’re also looking for C-D-L volunteers to be able to haul that. We’re hoping to have a couple of trucks on the road in the coming weeks here to basically to haul continuously. That need is there, and it is a very immediate need. And also we’re looking for monetary donations to help support that cause.” Erdmann says Farm Rescue hopes to establish several drop off locations. He says applications are now being accepted from farmers and ranchers in need of the donated hay. Erdmann says for farmers and ranchers, or livestock yards wanting to make donations of hay need to contact Farm Rescue.
“If you’re looking to join on as a volunteer, provide donations, or actually apply for assistance, you can go to our website, its just Farm Rescue-dot-org. Everything you need is right there. But, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Again, 701- 252-2017,” he says. Farm Rescue’s first hay lift came in 2017 for those farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and North Dakota suffering from a drought. He says the organization had a successful event, hauling 275 semi trailer loads of hay to more than 154 farmers and ranchers. Erdmann says Farm Rescue hopes to have similar success with this hay lift.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows bankers are losing confidence in the future of the region’s farm economy in the wake of falling farm income and rising floodwaters. The Rural Mainstreet survey for March shows the survey’s confidence index dropping to 45.7 from February’s 48.5. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says March floods, tariffs, trade tensions and anemic farm income “negatively influenced the economic outlook of bank CEOs.” The survey shows more than half of supply managers reported negative economic impacts from flooding. The overall index expanded to 52.9 from 50.2 in February.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
Recent floodwaters have significantly affected two Pottawattamie County Conservation Board (PCCB) parks. The Board reports Narrows River Park in Council Bluffs was affected by Missouri River floodwaters and Botna Bend Park was affected by West Nishnabotna River floodwaters. Other PCCB parks were largely unaffected.
As a result of flooding, Narrows River Park in Council Bluffs was entirely inundated with floodwater and will remain so until Missouri River levels sufficiently recede. As the park is still inundated, damage assessments are pending but the park is not expected to open for the season until cleanup efforts have been completed, likely in late-April or early-May. Snow pack in the Missouri River watershed is still high in some areas and may result in additional high-water events in the coming months requiring the park to stay closed beyond the early-May timeframe. Accordingly, and in the interest of public safety and uninhibited restoration efforts, Narrows River Park will remain closed to the public until restoration efforts are completed and water levels allow for safe visitation by the public. Park staff appreciates your understanding & support. For more information please check www.pottcoconservation.com or find Narrows River Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/narrowsriverpark.
Although floodwaters have receded in Botna Bend Park at this time, flooding at the park was extensive. Park staff acted quickly and prior to flooding in the park, the park’s bison and elk herds were moved to higher ground within their pens. However, the floodwater’s swift velocity downed portions of the fences containing the herds and animals were able to leave park boundaries. At this time, all bison are accounted for and park staff is able to account for all but two members of the elk herd. Unfortunately, two bison are known to be deceased and the condition of the two unaccounted for elk is unknown. All penned animals are safe and healthy, and are currently being held in temporary pens until permanent fencing in the park can be repaired. Damage to park structures and roadways was also sustained. Accordingly, and in the interest of public safety and uninhibited restoration efforts, Botna Bend Park will remain closed to the public until restoration efforts allow for safe visitation by the public. Park staff appreciates your understanding & support. For more information please check www.pottcoconservation.com or find Botna Bend Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/botnabend.
How Can You Help? At Narrows River Park: Volunteers may be needed to assist with cleanup efforts once the risk of flooding subsides and damages can be assessed. Once damages are evaluated we may be in need of volunteer help with cleanup and repairs. Watch the Narrows River Park Facebook page and the PCCB website for details & volunteer information.
At Botna Bend Park: During the flooding, much of the animals’ stored hay was washed away or damaged by floodwaters; as a result hay for feeding is desperately needed. If you have an interest in donating or selling hay, or donating funds to purchase hay, please contact Botna Bend Park Ranger Jon Fenner (402-504-0471) or message the park directly through Facebook. Additionally, volunteers may be needed to assist with cleanup efforts once damage and safety is assessed. Watch the Botna Bend Park Facebook page and the PCCB website for details & volunteer information. Visit
(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would prohibit the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation from borrowing money from a state fund to purchase land for water quality projects. Senator Tim Kapucian, a farmer from Keystone, is among the 31 Republican senators who voted for the bill. “This bill is simply putting in place the intent of the original law and that is none of these dollars are to be spent for land acquisition and that’s all we ask here,” he said. “We want to continue to do water quality projects, use this money for what it was intended for.”
Farmers in the senate said too much Iowa farmland has been taken out of production for conservation projects, making it difficult for beginning farmers to buy land. Democrats like Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids say the bill will undermine efforts to create wetland areas upstream that will reduce downstream flooding. “This is a practical tool that Iowa has had to help fight future flood damage and we’ve got a bill here to take that away.” Hogg said. “That is one of the cruelest, meanest things you can do, especially while half the state of Iowa is underwater.”
The bill passed on a mostly party-line vote. One Republican voted against it and one Democrat voted for it.
Officials with ISU Extension and Outreach acknowledge this past winter and early spring have been challenging to crop producers and those in the Ag Industry. The Extension has, therefore, published several crop news articles that are timely to producers. The latest articles include: Equipment Considerations for Anhydrous Ammonia Application; Effects of Unharvested, Shattered, or Hailed-out Soybean Fields on Nutrient Supply for Corn; and, Spring Burndown Treatments for Winter Annual Weeds.
Click on this link to read those articles and more, as you prepare for the planting season: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmer Jeff Jorgenson looks out over 750 acres of cropland submerged beneath the swollen Missouri River, and he knows he probably won’t plant this year. But that’s not his biggest worry. He and other farmers have worked until midnight for days to move grain, equipment and fuel barrels away from the floodwaters fed by heavy rain and snowmelt.
The rising water that has damaged hundreds of homes and been blamed for three deaths has also taken a heavy toll on agriculture, inundating thousands of acres, threatening stockpiled grain and killing livestock.
In Fremont County alone, Jorgenson estimates that more than a million bushels of corn and nearly half a million bushels of soybeans have been lost after water overwhelmed grain bins before they could be emptied of last year’s crop. His calculation using local grain prices puts the financial loss at more than $7 million in grain alone. That’s for about 28 farmers in his immediate area, he said.
Once it’s deposited in bins, grain is not insured, so it’s just lost money. This year farmers have stored much more grain than normal because of a large crop last year and fewer markets in which to sell soybeans because of a trade dispute with China.
“The economy in agriculture is not very good right now. It will end some of these folks farming, family legacies, family farms,” he said. “There will be farmers that will be dealing with so much of a negative they won’t be able to tolerate it.”
Jorgenson, 43, who has farmed since 1998, reached out to friends Saturday, and they helped him move his grain out of bins to an elevator. Had they not acted, he would have lost $135,000.
The flooding is expected to continue throughout the week in several states as high water flows down the Missouri River. Swollen rivers have already breached more than a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The flooding, which started after a massive late-winter storm last week, has also put some hog farms in southwest Iowa underwater. The dead animals inside must be disposed of, Reynolds said.
The water rose so quickly that farmers in many areas had no time to get animals out, said Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University. “Places that haven’t seen animal loss have seen a lot of animal stress. That means they’re not gaining weight and won’t be marketed in as timely a manner, which results in additional cost,” he said.
(Radio Iowa) — The wet conditions in the State have caused issues with the handling of human and animal waste. D-N-R Environmental Specialist, Doyle McKeever, says they got an anonymous report last week of manure runoff reaching Storm Lake. “We went down and investigated and we found runoff running to the lake on the south side. And it appeared it was coming from a field application to the south of the lake that was flowing towards Storm Lake,” McKeever says.
McKeever says they traced runoff to manure application on fields at Don Jackson’s Pike Farms cattle feedlot. He says Pike had been spreading manure for three days. “They’re going to stop applying and we did field tests to determine if there was ammonia present or not,” McKeever says. “…and we have to send in lab samples in to verify the field testing that was done.” McKeever says Pike is going to stockpile the manure until the conditions are better for applying it to the land. Ice covering the lake prevented them from knowing if there were any dead fish. He says producers have had issues with finding the right time to apply manure without it getting into waterways. “It’s kind of been a whole cycle since last year. With wet, rainy conditions, it’s hard to get out there and land apply,” he says.
McKeever says they are asking livestock producers to be aware of the conditions. “Look at the forecast and see what’s coming. If it’s going to rain or warm up quickly — obviously you are going to have runoff. You want to deter from land applying at that point,” McKeever says. McKeever says the rain has filled up some holding lagoons and the large amount of snow has added to the issue of trying to find dry ground to apply manure. “It creates a difficult situation for everybody,” McKeever says.
The D-N-R also had to address high levels of water in two earthen manure storage basins located about 20 miles east of Council Bluffs. D-N-R staff observed diluted manure-laden water into two different unnamed streams from Cyclone Cattle owned by Russell Keast. The D-N-R required Keast to stop both discharges. The investigation is ongoing and no dead fish were found. McKeever says livestock producers should contact their local D-N-R field office if they have questions about manure spreading.
The Iowa D-N-R reported earlier in the week that there were “several” wastewater discharges from city treatment plants. A spokesman in the Des Moines field office says rapid snow melt and rainfall overwhelmed city treatment plants causing several communities in northwest, western and southern Iowa to report wastewater discharges.
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