CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa) — The use of a pesticide recently banned by a federal judge has already been declining for 20 years. But one researcher says chlorpyrifos (klor-PEER-uh-foss) could still have long-term health effects in Iowa. Some scientists have linked the pesticide to nervous system damage. Ralph Altmeier is with the Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health. “Over long-term it has some effect on the human nervous system. I wonder what I’ll experience in another 10 or 20 years because I used some of those same chemicals,” Altmeier said. “Some of that neurotoxin effect is cumulative and non-reversible.”
In August, a judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the pesticide. Altmeier believes his father may have developed nerve damage from chlorpyrifos. “His toes would burn, and that’s perhaps a result of chronic exposure to this,” Altmeier said. “That’s not life-threatening, but it was uncomfortable for him at times. So, there could be some long-term chronic effects that are just showing up now.”
Chlorpyrifos is used on corn, soybeans and other crops. According to federal data, its use has been dropping off since 1994. But farmers in the Upper Midwest use it more than any other region.
(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio via Radio Iowa)
Converting row crop acres back to perennial pasture may seem like a move back to an earlier time, but for Dave and Meg Schmidt of Exira, it represents the future of their grass-fed livestock farm. Dave and Meg started Troublesome Creek Cattle Co. in 2012 when they got married. In 2014, they purchased 80 acres of the Century Farm where Meg grew up, and where her parents still raise row crops. This year, the Schmidts will finish converting the row crop ground they purchased to perennial pasture. The farm operation consists of a herd of about 30 red and black Angus cows, plus a small flock of Katahdin hair sheep and a few hogs. Dave and Meg will share their experience with grass-fed beef production at a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day they are hosting on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., near Exira (2858 Quail Ave., about 6 miles east of Exira). The event – “Grass-Fed Beef: From Production to Marketing” – is free to attend and will include lunch. RSVPs are appreciated for the meal to Debra Boekholder, debra@practicalfarmer.org or (515) 232-5661, by Wednesday, Sept. 5. The field day is sponsored by Prudenterra.
Guests will learn about the Schmidts’ strategies for raising grass-fed beef, including summer and winter grazing management and grass-finishing at different times of the year. Dave and Meg will share results from an on-farm research trial analyzing meat samples for fatty acids, including omega-3 content, and discuss their approach to direct-marketing grass-fed beef – as well as their future marketing streams. The Schmidts retain their best calves for breeding or grass-finishing, and direct-market 100 percent grass-fed and finished beef and lamb to customers in Des Moines, Omaha and surrounding areas. Dave and Meg have also served as mentors for Practical Farmers’ Savings Incentive Program. Their mentee, Matthew Wiese, of Heirloom Farm near Earlham, will join them to share his experience in the program.
Directions from I-80: Take the Anita / Corning exit (Exit 70), head north on County Road F58 / Littlefield Drive and go 7 miles to 300th Street. Turn right, go about 1 mile and turn left on Quail Avenue. The farm will be on the right in 1 mile.
From IA Hwy 44 (from the north): Take Co Rd N36 south 6.4 miles to Co Rd F58 / Littlefield Drive. Go east 1.7 miles to 290th Street, turn left and go 1 mile to Quail Avenue. Turn north and go 0.5 mile; the farm will be on the right.
Practical Farmers’ 2018 field days are supported by several sustaining and major sponsors, including: Albert Lea Seed; Applegate Natural & Organic Meats; Blue River Organic Seed; Cascadian Farms; Center for Rural Affairs; Farm Credit Services of America; Gandy Cover Crop Seeders; Grain Millers, Inc.; Green Cover Seed; Green Thumb Commodities; Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance; Iowa Beef Center; Iowa State University Department of Agronomy; Iowa Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE); ISU Extension and Outreach; La Crosse Forage and Turf Seed; MOSA Organic Certification; Natural Resources Defense Council; Organic Valley / Organic Prairie;PepsiCo; Pipeline Foods; Premier 1 Supplies; Sunrise Foods International; The DeLong Company; The Fertrell Company; The Scoular Company; Unilever; University of Iowa College of Public Health (I-CASH); USDA: Natural Resources Conservation Service; Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture; and Welter Seed & Honey Co.
(Radio Iowa) — From sunsets reflecting off shimmering lakes to gleaming skyscrapers against a night sky, Iowans who love to take pictures of our state’s many stunning sights are being called to action. Entries in the 9th annual Keep Iowa Beautiful photography contest are now being accepted. Bill Jackson, a spokesman for Keep Iowa Beautiful, says the competition is open to all. “It’s an opportunity for amateur and experienced photographers to show Iowa’s rural and urban beauty,” Jackson says. “It’s a fun way to show what you, as a photographer or part-time photographer, really enjoy about Iowa.”
Jackson says Iowans can submit their photos now showcasing the land between two rivers. He says the judges tend to see a lot of entry’s depicting rural landscapes.”We like to have urban experiences,” Jackson says. “I know in past years we’ve had some river scenes going through communities, we’ve had pictures of the state capitol. It’s whatever you in your area enjoy most about Iowa.”
The first prize winner gets $50, second prize wins $40 and the third-place finisher gets $30. “And also, each one of those will win a one-year subscription to ‘Our Iowa’ magazine,” Jackson says. “It’s written by Iowans for Iowans and has a lot of great photography and great, fun stories about Iowa.”
Each photographer can enter up to 10 photos at a cost of $5 per entry. The entry deadline is December 14th. Learn more at www.keepiowabeautiful.com.
(Radio Iowa) –Propane prices are creeping slightly higher in Iowa as farmers prepare for the harvest and drying their grain. Paul Ovrum, an ag marketing specialist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says the corn harvest will likely begin earlier in parts of southern Iowa this fall due to continued drought. He says those early birds could impact propane prices for the good. “As they start harvesting earlier, that may relieve some of the pressure that happens typically later in the fall when everybody’s harvesting at once,” Ovrum says. “If it’s spread out a little more, that may lessen demand on supplies in Iowa.”
Lesser demand typically means lower prices. Still, foreign markets are helping to drive up propane costs, according to Ovrum. “We have seen, since late 2016, a steady increase in demand for propane overseas from U.S. supplies,” Ovrum says. “So, as the U.S. manufactures propane, a lot of that, more and more, is going overseas and that has increased prices here.” Propane is averaging $1.26 a gallon in Iowa, up about 13-cents a gallon from a year ago. It’s estimated 67-percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15-percent use electricity and 14-percent use liquid propane.
ROCKWELL, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a Mason City man died has died after falling into a grain bin at Five Star Co-op in Rockwell. The Globe Gazette reports that the incident happened Friday morning. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man as 56-year-old Jeffrey Alan Sprague.
Investigators say employees discovered Sprague was missing sometime after 7:30 a.m. Friday. Authorities searched the property. Official say the grain was removed from the bin, uncovering Sprague’s body.
Officials say the investigation will continue through the state Medical Examiner’s Office.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study predicts that a warmer world likely means more and hungrier insects chomping on crops and less food on dinner plates. Insects now consume about 10 percent of the globe’s food, but the researchers say that will increase to 15 to 20 percent by the end of the century if climate change isn’t stopped. The study looked at the damage bugs could do as temperatures rise. It found that many of them will increase in number at key times for crops. The hotter weather will also speed up their metabolism so they’ll eat more. The study is in Thursday’s journal Science.
(Radio Iowa) — A rural sociologist with Iowa State University is studying the potential impact the new Prestage Farms pork processing plant will have on the nearby town of Eagle Grove when it opens in a few months. I-S-U’s David Peters did surveys in the Wright County community and the surrounding area as the massive 240-million dollar facility is nearing completion. “Demographically speaking, obviously, it’s going to increase the population,” Peters says. “The town of Eagle Grove is likely to become a minority-majority community where roughly half of the population will be Hispanic or of a non-white race, and there will be a lot more children.”
The plant is expected to open, at least in a limited form, before the end of the year or in early 2019. Plans call for hiring nearly one-thousand workers initially, with the potential for a second shift to be added later, which could mean hiring 500 more people. “It will be an economic plus for the community,” Peters says. “It’ll particularly help the poorer residents in Eagle Grove, provide more job opportunities. It’ll increase housing values and increase housing occupancy.” There are ups and downs in every situation but overall, Peters says, the quality of life in Eagle Grove won’t change when the plant opens. “There’s going to be much better quality jobs in Eagle Grove,” Peters says. “Local government services will improve and child care services will improve. On the other hand, local schools will probably become a little bit worse compared to what they (are) now.”
Peters recently presented his report to Eagle Grove residents. He says he heard a lot of comments and concerns from those who attended the meeting, worries about things like population growth and crime. “The majority of questions from the community were really looking at, proactively, what they can do to capitalize on this employment jump and to help newcomers feel more integrated into the community,” he says. Initially, the plant will slaughter 10,000 hogs per day, with half of those hogs coming from Prestage’s own barns.
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