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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!
The president of the Iowa Soybean Association says, like many other farmers, he has mixed feelings about the U.S. trade dispute with China. Bill Shipley says there are many long-running trade issues with China that needed to be addressed. “I agree that we need to take on the inequality of trade we have with China, and I think most farmers do,” Shipley says. “We just want a free and open, level market – and they don’t want to do that. They want everything in their favor.”
But, that resolve to fix trade issues starts to waiver as soybean prices continue to decline. Shipley, who farms nears the southwest Iowa town of Nodaway, says his local cash price for soybeans – assuming average yields – is more than a dollar under his cost of production. “That doesn’t bode well for what my banker thinks, or anybody else,” Shipley says. “I’m going to have to eat into equity to stay alive – to stay in farming.”
Shipley is hopeful the two countries can find a resolution to the trade dispute before additional tariffs go into effect July 6. China is a critical market for Iowa soybean growers. The country buys about 60-percent of all the soybeans traded in the world.
(Radio Iowa)
A destructive pest of ash trees has now been confirmed in Buchanan, Hamilton, Hardin and Pottawattamie counties. The Emerald ash borer (EAB), an exotic pest from Asia, was first found in Iowa in 2010 and has now been detected in 61 Iowa counties. Insect samples were collected from ash trees in Winthrop (Buchanan County), a rural area east of Randall (Hamilton County), Eldora (Hardin County), and Council Bluffs (Pottawattamie County). The samples were submitted to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which confirmed them positive for EAB. Buchanan and Hardin Counties involved ash trees on private property, whereas Hamilton and Pottawattamie County findings occurred in the right-of-way along I-35 and I-80, respectively.
Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB and gypsy moth coordinator, says “June is typically the time of year we receive a surge in phone calls about poorly looking ash trees. We urge people to continue to report suspicious symptoms in counties that are not yet known to be infested. People can really help minimize the spread of this pest by not giving it a ride in infested firewood between counties or from home to campsite.”
Since the dispersal of this beetle by natural flight is limited to only short distances, people serve as the mode of transportation involving longer distances. Beneath the bark in the larval stage EAB can unknowingly be transported in firewood. Numerous other insects and diseases can also hitchhike in firewood. Iowans are encouraged to use locally sourced firewood, burning it in the same county where it was purchased. Adult beetles begin to emerge from May to June and can be found throughout the summer months. The metallic-green beetle is slender and approximately 1/2 inch long. After emerging from a tree the beetle leaves behind a telltale D-shaped exit hole approximately 1/8 inch in diameter.
EAB-infested ash trees can include branch dieback in the upper crown, water sprouts along the trunk and main branches, vertical bark splits, D-shaped emergence holes, S-shaped tunneling under loose bark, as well as woodpecker damage. EAB larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Starved trees usually die within 2-4 years.
The State of Iowa continues to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. Citizens who suspect an EAB infestation in ash trees in their area are encouraged to contact one of the following:
· Iowa Dept. of Agriculture & Land Stewardship, State Entomologist Office: 515-725-1470
· Iowa Department of Natural Resources: 515-725-8453
· Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Entomology: 515-294-1101
At this calendar date, the treatment window for soil-applied preventive treatment measures (soil injection, soil drench, or granular application) and basal bark sprays has ended. Trunk injections can be done now through the end of August if a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation. Good ground moisture is essential for systemic insecticide movement in a tree. Full details are available in Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publication PM2084: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/13114. To find a certified applicator in your area, download PM3074 and follow the steps: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/Finding-a-Certified-Pesticide-Applicator-for-Emerald-Ash-Borer-Treatment
Iowa streams are swollen and swift with consistent rainfall the past several days. Some rivers are already dangerously high, and more rivers could rise fast with chances of rain forecast through next week. “We encourage all paddlers, especially new and inexperienced paddlers, to stay on lakes and flat-water while the rivers are high due to heavy rain”, said Todd Robertson, paddling instructor and Outreach Coordinator for Rivers Programs at the Iowa DNR.
The Iowa DNR has received reports of inexperienced paddlers on the Des Moines River who tipped over their boats in the strong current and were rescued by other boaters . “We’ve rescued five paddlers since May 1st on the Des Moines River during high water conditions”, said Terry Nittler of the Des Moines Power Boat Club. Nittler estimates that about 90% of the paddlers he sees on high water have little to no experience and many are not wearing life jackets.
“Swollen rivers are super powerful and have unpredictable current along with tons of wood debris coming downstream to form deadly “strainers”, said Robertson. He said that even experienced paddlers should stay off of rain swollen rivers. “If you get into a situation where you are struggling and fighting the current, the river will win”, said Robertson.
Always know your rivers conditions before you go paddling. For the latest river conditions, visit the USGS site at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ia/nwis/current/?type=flow or contact your local county conservation board for updates.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economy should continue growing slowly in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states, but the most recent survey of bankers in the area doesn’t reflect all the recent tough trade talk.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says farmers are concerned that new tariffs could hurt exports at a time when their profits appeared lean, at best. The overall index for rural parts of the region slipped to 56.1 in June from May’s 56.3, but it remained in positive territory over 50.
Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Here’s another sign that summer is arriving in Iowa — reports of swimmer’s itch have been increasing. D-N-R fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins says swimmer’s itch is a common issue on Iowa lakes. “Some years are better than others. This year looks like it could be a good year for swimmer’s itch — or bad — given your perspective,” Hawkins says. He says the itchiness is caused by the microscopic parasitic flatworm. “The flatworm has a pretty interesting life cycle. It goes from a bird through bird droppings into the water and from there a snail ingest the eggs. The eggs develop in the snail and the larvae emerge from there and try to go back to the bird. So, kind of an interesting organism, kind of a complex life cycle,” Hawkins explains.
The larvae end up trying to get under the skin of swimmers if birds are not available. Hawkins says the human body fights off the larvae, but it ends up being an itchy situation. Water that’s dirty or full of pollutants is usually what you want to avoid when swimming — but in this case — Hawkins says the cleaner lakes are the ones where you’ll find swimmer’s itch. “Typically our best lakes in Iowa and across the Midwest have healthy snail populations. So, clear water, lots of aquatic plants, those are the lakes that we’ll typically see more swimmer’s itch in,” according to Hawkins. “So, in a way, swimmer’s itch is an indication of good water quality in some of our lakes.”
He says swimmer’s itch usually is the biggest problem between Father’s Day and the Fourth of July. There are some things swimmers can do to avoid the problem. “You probably should stay away from the areas where the waves have been pounding in for a day or two or more. That tends to accumulate debris, but also that larvae that is in the water,” Hawkins says. “So avoiding those areas is probably the best thing you can do. Swimming in deeper water, open water, is better than wading at the shore.” He says be sure to take some precautions when are done swimming. “Toweling off and rinsing off when you get out of the water is important to try and get the water off of your skin. The swimmer’s itch tends to concentrate in those little water droplets in the skin and that’s where they’ll try to make entry,” Hawkins says.
He says it’s a problem that can happen all across the state, but they are seeing many reports now in the Iowa’s Great Lakes and surrounding northwest and north central Iowa lakes.
(Radio Iowa)
Midwestern farmers are seeing soybean prices fall as the U-S and China remain at odds over trade and tariff issues. Kirk Leeds, chief executive officer for the Iowa Soybean Association, says soybeans are one of Iowa’s top crops and this continued spiral in prices is disheartening.”China is very, very important for Iowa farmers,” Leeds says. “From soybean farmers in particular, they buy about 60% of all the soybeans traded in the world. Anything that causes a potential disruption in our ability to sell high-quality soybeans to a customer like China is very, very concerning.”
The initial cause came when the Trump Administration threatened to put high tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from China and China responded with threats of raising tariffs on a list of American goods, including soybeans. “None of these tariffs are yet in place but just simply the threat of tariffs and counter-tariffs has been enough to drive soybean prices down,” Leeds says. “As you all know, at a time when farmers are already struggling to make ends meet, to have this kind of potential disruption in trade is very, very concerning.”
Leeds says he and other members of the Iowa Soybean Association are in contact with the Iowa delegation in the U-S House and Senate. “The administration has promised that they will take a look at some way to compensate farmers for the loss of income,” Leeds says. “I’m kind of skeptical that we’re going to find anything that they’ll actually follow through on and anything that’s WTO-compliant. So, it’s really troubled times and uncertain times.”
Leeds says they’ve gotten tremendous support from both Iowa U-S Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst as well as from the U-S Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, a former Iowa governor. Leeds says he’s taken around 25 trips to China over past 35 years, working to develop the trade relationship.
(Radio Iowa)
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