Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided to temporarily reopen some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices today (Thursday, Jan. 17) and Friday, Jan. 18, in addition to Tuesday, Jan. 22, during normal business hours.

A list of all FSA offices now open can be found here: https://www.farmers.gov/sites/default/files/documents/OpenFSAServiceCenters.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The USDA announced that they have recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to reopen these offices that closed during the ongoing government shutdown.

(Radio Iowa, w/thanks for Karla James in Omaha) — An alternative farmer in western Iowa who tends an apple orchard and raises peacocks and bees is appealing to state leaders to enact tighter restrictions on crop dusters who he claims destroyed much of his four-acre farm. Dennis Fett, of rural Minden, says the problem with drifting chemicals has been going on for decades but last year was the worst. Fett says, “We’ve been on our property since 1987 and starting in 1992, we’ve been pretty much violated by drifting of unwanted farm pesticides, fungicides, insecticides and herbicides.”

Fett says he built a tall fence, which kept out most of the ground-sprayed chemicals, but then neighboring farmers started hiring crop dusters. In July of 2018, he says his property was oversprayed three times. “It pretty well destroyed all our fruit in our fruit orchard, it destroyed our chemical-free garden, and one of them violated the Bee Rule, spraying insecticides within a mile of a registered bee hive — which ours are,” Fett says, “and it also caused neurological problems and death of some of our baby peacocks.”

Fett says he’s appealing to Iowa’s secretary of agriculture as well as to members of the legislature to look at the rules regulating crop dusters and overspraying. Fett says, “If they look at increasing the fine structure, if they’re given a civil penalty from $500 to $1,000 or maybe even $5,000 or more, that might discourage these crop dusters who come from out of state and are here six weeks or so and leave — and leave their dangerous chemical on off-target places, such as my place.”  Fett says the state pesticide bureau has reported a 50-percent increase in overspraying cases during 2018. He says it’s baffling why more farmers aren’t raising a fuss about the problem. “The farmers are spending thousands of dollars to get their crops sprayed either for herbicides or insecticides, but when they’re drifting off target, like they have on my property, they’re not getting their money’s worth,” Fett says. “I’m proposing the farmers ask these people who overspray to give them all of their money back when they violate the law.”

Fett says he’s very concerned about the coming spring and the potential spraying around his acreage of the chemical dicamba, which may kill anything left on his farm.

(Oakland, IA)— The Loess Hills Missouri River Region is excited to share the accomplishments of 2018 with the public during a Year in Review Celebration at Uncle Buck’s Grill at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, March 8^th from 4 to 5 PM.  It has been nearly one year since Governor Reynolds, the Iowa Parks Foundation, and the Loess Hills Missouri River Region (LHMRR) Board and stakeholders gathered at the Field House in Council Bluffs to announce MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 commitment to the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, and the board has been busy with regional priority projects ever since.

The Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan was created by a group of stakeholders from Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie Counties and the Friends of Lake Manawa, who first assembled in 2014.  The Plan, in partnership with the Iowa Parks Foundation, supports collaborative, regional projects to enhance economic development and tourism; public health and social vitality; natural resources, parks and trails; and overall regional vibrancy. This initiative intends to attract and retain young people interested in an active lifestyle, which will stimulate Iowa’s economy and promote business growth.  A primary goal is to offer a fully connected 21^st Century parks system, in time for the Iowa Parks Centennial in 2020.

In 2018, the LHMRR Board officially designated its first round of priority projects for funding from the MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 challenge grant to the Parks to People Plan. $338,000 has been dedicated towards the following priority projects: Harrison County Conservation Board’s Willow Lake Nature Center and Overland Hiking Trail; Lake Manawa’s Dream Playground; Mills County Trails Board’s Glenwood Trail Project; Mills County Conservation Board’s Pony Creek Expansion; Lewis & Clark Today Route signage and the Green Hill Ranch conservation area. These projects represent over $10.6 million in planned recreational improvements to the tri-county region. To date, over $5 million of this has been secured or pledged towards implementation.

The LHMRR Board will hold its Annual Meeting and Year in Review Celebration on Friday, March 8th in Council Bluffs.  The public is invited to attend the Year in Review Celebration from 4 to 5 PM, at Uncle Buck’s Grill (2901 Bass Pro Drive).  At this celebration they will give a history of the initiative, outline the process for setting priority projects, overview progress on current priority projects and unveil the concept design for the new logo, branding and website.  Project leaders will be available to answer questions and provide information about priority projects.

The LHMRR is coordinated by Golden Hills RC&D, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to develop and promote sustainable cultural and conservation projects that enhance the quality of life and preserve the assets of rural western Iowa.”  More information about the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, Annual Meeting and Year in Review Celebration, visit goldenhillsrcd.org/lhmrr or facebook.com/loesshillsmissouririverregion.

The 2019 America’s Farmers campaign has kicked off with the Grow Rural Education program launch, which provides Iowa farmers with the opportunity to nominate local rural public schools for $10,000 and $25,000 grants designed to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculums. Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer, will award more than $2.3 million to local rural school districts in 2019 – giving farmers the opportunity to make a difference in their community and contribute to local students’ success. Farmers can nominate their school district by visiting www.Americasfarmers.com or by calling 1-877-267-3332 toll-free.

Farmers can nominate their local public school district from January 1 to April 1, 2019. After the school district receives a nomination, the Monsanto Fund will notify the district and encourage administrators and teachers to design a grant that enhances STEM education for their students. Nominated school districts have until April 15, 2019 to submit a grant application describing their project. A panel of qualified teachers reviews the applications and narrows it down to the finalists. The program’s Farmer Advisory Council, consisting of approximately 30 farmer leaders from across the country, then select the winning school districts.

Later this year, the America’s Farmers programs continue with the Grow Communities program where farmers can enroll for the chance to direct a $2,500 donation to a local eligible nonprofit organization; and the Grow Ag Leaders program will begin accepting applications for $1,500 scholarships for students pursuing an education in agriculture-related fields.

Since Grow Rural Education began in 2011, it has awarded more than $16 million to more than 900 school districts in rural communities across the United States.

(Washington, D.C., January 16, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21.

In almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline. “Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers,” Perdue said.  “We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans.  Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown.”

Staff members will be available at certain FSA offices to help producers with specific services, including: Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018; Continuing expiring financing statements; Opening mail to identify priority items.

Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county office by producers.

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding Cabin Fever Escape program this weekend. Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning says the  program/open house will be held at the Outdoor Educational Classroom outside Massena, this Saturday, January 19^th from 1-until 4-pm. You’re free to come and go as you please during those hours. Kanning says there are snow shoes available, sledding, and a chance for you to partake in other outdoor fun.

Bring your mugs, sleds, and dress for the weather. There are other activities available as well, such as geocaching. In the shelter, they’ll be showing the movie “Polar Express,” and serving warm and tasty drinks.  There’s also a heater and furnace in the shelter, to keep you warm. To get to the event, take Hwy 148 south of Massena, Turn Left on Tucson Rd, Follow it East for about two miles, and then a right hand turn into the parking lot. 

w/Kate Olson.

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COUNCIL BLUFFS – Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources report the trout stocking and family trout fishing event scheduled for this Saturday, Jan. 19, at Big Lake in Council Bluffs, has been postponed due to unsafe ice conditions. The stocking will be rescheduled as soon as there is safe ice or open water this spring.

(Radio Iowa) — Cattle producers from across Iowa will be attending today’s (Tuesday) Feedlot Forum in Sioux Center. Beth Doran, the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Beef Specialist for Northwest Iowa, says the event will address some of the many changes being seen within the cattle industry. “We know that consumer trends have changed, both at retail in terms of supermarkets but also in restaurants,” Doran says, “We also know that there’s been trade tariffs and those are still going on and wondering how those are going to effect our ag commodities, and we have record meat supplies.”

The program will include speakers and an industry trade show featuring a range of topics from animal health and nutrition, to buildings, financial services and record keeping. Doran says the keynote speaker is Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association. “She has an interesting topic that we need to listen to,” Doran says. “She’ll talk about restaurant and culinary trends and will explain to us how patron palates and tastes are evolving and our menus need to follow suit, so it will effect the kind of beef products we’re going to be marketing.”

Doran says ag economists from I-S-U recently completed a study on the impact of trade tariffs and how they’re affecting Iowa commodities and there will be a discussion on that. The Feedlot Forum is being held at the Terrace View Event Center in Sioux Center.

BOYDEN—Monday morning, DNR investigators traced a blue-colored sheen in a northwest Iowa creek running through Boyden, to the local coop. About 10 a.m. Jan. 14, someone reported an oily sheen on the creek, saying it extended downstream into the West Branch of the Floyd River.

DNR staff traced the sheen to a tanker truck at the Farmers Co-op Society. The coop manager estimates about 1,100 gallons of white mineral oil has leaked from the tank sometime over the last two weeks. The oil has traveled about 6 miles downstream. DNR staff have seen no dead fish in the water.

The coop will scrape up contaminated soil, and place booms and absorbent pads across the river about 5 miles southwest of town to collect as much remaining oil as possible. DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action and monitor the cleanup.