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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa) — The three Democrats challenging Iowa’s three Republican congressmen are calling on Rod Blum, David Young and Steve King to pressure their G-O-P leadership for action on the Farm Bill. Cindy Axne is the Democrat running against Congressman Young.
“I hope they get back to work and go back out to Washington and demand that we settle this Farm Bill because it really impacts the lives of Iowans, our farmers, our rural communities and, as everyone well knows, our overall economy,” Axne says. The 2014 Farm Bill expired Sunday and there’s no replacement yet. Republican leaders do not intend to reconvene the U.S. House until after the November election. Axne says Iowa farmers are paying the price for Washington dysfunction.
“We’re already seeing banks not loaning as much. We’re seeing implement dealers not getting as many new orders for next year because of the uncertainty with the trade wars,” Axne says, “so the increased uncertainty by not having a Farm Bill go through in a timely fashion just adds to that.” Abby Finkenauer, the Democrat running against Republican Congressman Rod Blum and Democrat J.S. Scholten, Republican Congressman Steve King’s opponent, signed onto a letter with Axne on this topic.
The impasse revolves around new work requirements for food stamp recipients. President Trump and House Republicans support the move, but Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says there aren’t enough votes in the senate to stop a filibuster on the Farm Bill if that’s included. “I think it’s going to be impossible for us to go along with the House and get 60 votes in the United States Senate,” Grassley says. “Now, it happens that I favor what the House is doing, but we’ve got to have a Farm Bill and if this is holding it up, I’ve got to say that even what I think is a good idea has to go by the wayside.”
As for the timing of the Farm Bill’s passage, Grassley says for the time being, farmers should be o.k. “Immediately, I don’t see a problem,” Grassley says, “but if you get into November, December, I think there’s problems.” A campaign spokesman for third district Congressman David Young says Young “is disappointed a new bipartisan Farm Bill has not been enacted” and he says Young is monitoring the ongoing negotiations to ensure his priorities are including, like a bipartisan measure to address gaps in the mental health system for farmers and agricultural workers.
Fourth district Congressman Steve King told a crowd in Carroll this week that he would have liked to have had the Farm Bill done last month, but King predicted it will pass congress some time in early December.
WEST BRANCH, Iowa – The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust has recognized Denise O’Brien of Atlantic with its 2018 Leadership Appreciation Award. “As a SILT co-founder, Denise has been committed to our organization’s values and goals even before its very start,” said executive director Suzan Erem. “We appreciate her leadership, guidance, tremendous knowledge and commitment to sustainable agriculture more than words can say. Hers is a commitment that extends far beyond her involvement with SILT to a life’s work in support of sustainability and women in agriculture.”
O’Brien, who has served as SILT’s vice president since January, was honored at SILT’s annual Foodie Fest in Windsor Heights. The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust currently protects five farms across the state, providing land for farmers who produce healthy, locally grown food and offering solutions to families who want to protect their land from development. O’Brien and her husband, Larry Harris, operate Rolling Acres, a community supported agriculture farm that includes three acres of fruits and vegetables and six acres of apples. They also raise organic chickens and turkeys.
O’Brien, who was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000, grew up in Atlantic before attending the University of Iowa and Creighton University. She has lobbied with the Iowa Farm Unity Coalition, directed the Rural Women’s Leadership Development Project of PrairieFire Rural Action, Inc. and was president of the National Family Farm Coalition. She co-founded the Women Food and Agriculture Network in 1997, is a former W.F. Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow and a former U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. “A guiding principle in my career has been the unwavering belief that we must all do the right thing by protecting our land and water. A key part of that commitment is to help young people who want to practice sustainable and regenerative agriculture can afford to get started,” O’Brien said. “That’s why I’ve been devoted my energy to SILT and I encourage others to take up this important cause.”
Through SILT, property owners can protect their land by donating some or all of an acreage or farm, or placing a land protection agreement on their deed. Depending on location, SILT will protect parcels as few as five acres or as many as 500 or more acres. On donated farms, SILT offers long-term leases that farmers can pass on to their children and grandchildren, so long as they want to farm the land sustainably. The farmers earn equity in the house, barns and business they can cash out when selling to the next farmer for that land. On farms protected by land protection agreements, families retain ownership of their land. Future farmers have the opportunity to purchase the land at an estimated half of its value on the market, because it comes with sustainable food production requirements that SILT monitors and enforces for generations to come.
Additional information is available here: silt.org
(Radio Iowa) – The harvest remains ahead of schedule in Iowa despite rainy weather. The latest U-S-D-A crop report says with all the rain farmers only had about three days last week that were suitable for fieldwork. But the harvest that got started early is still ahead of the normal pace. The report finds 11 percent of the corn is harvested — that’s five days ahead of average. Fifteen percent of the soybean crop has been pulled from the fields — that’s one day ahead of average. Seventy-five percent of the corn condition is rated good to excellent, while 74 percent of the beans are rated in the same condition.
(Radio Iowa) — President Trump says he’s coming to Iowa soon to make an announcement. Sources tell Radio Iowa Trump will be in Council Bluffs on October 9th and he’s likely to announce the E-P-A will allow year-round sale of gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol blend. Trump mentioned his upcoming trip to Iowa as he announced some details of the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement.
He says the deal is “a very big deal” for farmers — and exports of wheat, poultry, eggs and dairy products — including ice cream — should increase to both neighboring countries. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was among those who gathered today (Monday) in the White House Rose Garden for the president’s news conference and Trump mentioned Ernst twice during his remarks.
(Radio Iowa) — A ceremony will be held at the Iowa Capitol early this (Monday) afternoon to formalize Taiwan’s purchase of nearly four million metric tons of soybeans from Iowa and Minnesota. The trade delegation from Taiwan signed documents in Washington, D.C. Thursday and made stops in Iowa this weekend. On Sunday, they visited a farm in northwest Iowa, east of Hinton. Republican Congressman Steve King arranged for tours of farms near Nevada and Fort Dodge, too. “I wanted them to see, just take the ride across the landscape because I’ve learned this from our foreign visitors in the past that I’ve brought here in the past that they come from places where it’s just hard to conceive of the idea of horizon-to-horizon row crop production, really, without a break,” King says. “….Let ’em know you can buy all the grain you can buy and we’re not going to run out here in Iowa.”
King says he and his staff have traveled to Taiwan several times to tout trade and he predicts even more U.S. soybeans will be shipped to Taiwan in the future. “That pipe of exports to China — and I’ll just use it as a pipe size — that’s been shrunken considerably because of the trade protectionism that China has slapped on especially our beans and our pork, but also other products,” King says. “…To replace one big pipe to China we have to replace it with a lot of smaller pipes to places like Taiwan and other countries.” According to King, the U.S. is now providing nearly 80 percent of Taiwan’s soybean supply. The move is likely part of Taiwan’s effort to strengthen ties to the U.S. as China increases pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as part of Chinese territory.
The stronger our relationships are with Taiwan — the business relationships, the friendship relationships, the trade that goes back and forth, the young people that come to the United States to be educated here and our Americans that go there to study — all of those things build stronger bonds,” King says, “and those stronger bonds are a component of the national defense for Taiwan.”
King spoke at last Thursday’s signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. He is not among the dignitaries scheduled to speak at the ceremony this (Monday) afternoon in Washington, D.C. A trade delegation from Minnesota was in Taiwan in August to tout the pending deal.
Tree stand accidents can happen to deer hunters regardless of skill level or experience and result in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, in nearly every case, these incidents were preventable. To help prevent injuries, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with Tree Stand Safety Awareness, is encouraging hunters to practice the ABC’s of Tree Stand Safety:
“Hunters should take tree stand safety seriously, every time you hunt from, hang, or move a tree stand. By performing these three simple steps, tree stand users can virtually eliminate their risk of falling to the ground as the majority of falls occur outside the stand,” said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Nationally, the estimated number of falls from tree stands requiring emergency room visits decreased by 28 percent in 2017. In Iowa last year, there were four tree stand incidents and all resulted in injury. “That’s a significant, positive move on the tree stand injury prevention front but we still have room for improvement,” Wisecup said.
An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway today (Oct. 1st). Forest wildlife research biologist Jim Coffey with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said hunters who spend time on preseason scouting should improve their chance for success later this fall. “Deer are habitual animals – their traditional trails now will be traditional trails later this fall and with all the rain over much of the state hunters have the opportunity to see the deer trails in the mud,” he said. “Even though food is plentiful now, hunters should still pattern the food sources and bedding areas.”
One food source deer will likely key on is acorns from white oak trees and Coffey said the white oaks in southern Iowa had an excellent crop this year. “Once you identify hunting areas, take advantage of the leaves being on the trees, knowing that once the leaves fall it will look a lot different to both hunters and the deer. It’s that time in the stand observing nature, seeing what makes the squirrels start barking or what it means when blue jays are calling that improves your skills as a hunter,” Coffey said. “Check your shooting lanes from both the ground and from the tree stand because it will look a lot different depending your angle.”
Coffey also advised hunters to inspect their tree stand and safety harness before heading out. “Make sure to check the straps and tighten the bolts on the tree stand and try on the safety harness to make sure it still fits. If it’s worn out or no longer fits, get it replaced. No one wants their hunt to end because they fell out of a tree stand,” he said. Part of preseason scouting includes preparing for a successful harvest. If planning to hunt in early October, or anytime the temperature is warm, hunters should bring large chunks of ice to put in the deer cavity to cool the meat. Freezing gallon milk jugs with water is a method often used by hunters. Then, get it to the locker as soon as possible.
Bow hunters harvested an estimated 23,000 deer in 2017. Iowa’s archery deer season is Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 and Dec. 17 to Jan. 10, 2019. Hunters who harvest a deer are required by law to report it by midnight of the day after the deer is recovered. Harvest may be reported online at www.iowadnr.gov, by phone at the toll-free number printed on the harvest report tag or through a license vendor during their regular business hours.
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