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| (Washington, D.C., August 21, 2017) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced Tony Tooke will serve as the new Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Tooke has worked for the Forest Service since age 18 and currently is the Regional Forester for the Southern Region. Following the announcement, Secretary Perdue issued this statement:
“The Forest Service will be in good hands with the U.S. Forest Service’s own Tony Tooke whose knowledge of forestry is unmatched. Tony has been preparing for this role for his whole professional life, and at a time when we face active and growing fires, his transition into leadership will be seamless. He will oversee efforts to get our forests working again, to make them more productive, and to create more jobs. His focus will be on ensuring we are good neighbors and are managing our forests effectively, efficiently, and responsibly, as well as working with states and local governments to ensure the utmost collaboration. No doubt, the stewardship of our forests is an awesome and sacred responsibility, and no one knows that better than Tony who has dedicated his career to this noble cause,” said Secretary Perdue. Tony Tooke Biography: Tony Tooke is the Regional Forester for the Southern Region of the USDA Forest Service. Tooke has worked for the Forest Service since age 18, including many assignments in Region 8 and the Washington Office (WO). He is responsible for 3,100 employees, an annual budget exceeding $400 million, 14 national forests, and two managed areas, which encompass more than 13.3 million acres in 13 states and Puerto Rico. His previous position in Washington, DC was Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System; with oversight of Lands and Realty, Minerals and Geology, Ecosystem Management Coordination, Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers, the National Partnership Office, and Business Administration and Support Services. As Associate Deputy Chief, Tooke was the Forest Service Executive Lead for Environmental Justice; Farm Bill implementation; and implementation of the Inventory, Monitoring, and Assessment Improvement Strategy. Another priority included implementation of a new planning rule for the National Forest System. Also in the WO, Tooke served as Director for Ecosystem Management Coordination, Deputy Director for Economic Recovery, and Assistant Director for Forest Management. Prior to 2006, Tooke served as Deputy Forest Supervisor for the National Forests in Florida as well as District Ranger assignments at the Talladega NF in Alabama, the Oconee NF in Georgia, and the DeSoto NF in Mississippi. His other field assignments were Timber Management Assistant, Other Resource Assistant, Silviculturist, and Forester on six Ranger Districts in Mississippi and Kentucky. Tooke grew up on a small 200-acre farm in Detroit, AL. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from Mississippi State University. He was in the Forest Service’s inaugural class of the Senior Leadership Program, and he has completed the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. |
Rain has hopscotched through the state this week and Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says the precipitation is coming at a make-or-break time for soybeans. This is the time when the beans are forming inside the pods on soybean plants. “(For) a lot of those beans, that rain could make the difference between 20-bushel beans and 55-bushel beans,” Northey says.
In 2016, the average soybean yield in Iowa was 60 bushels per acre. A U-S-D-A report issued Thursday, concluded seven southern Iowa counties are now in “extreme drought.” Overall, 70 percent of the state is considered to have some level of drought conditions. Northey says “most of the state” needs a soaking rain. “I’m sure roots are using every last drop of water there is out there,” Northey says. “…It’s a pretty amazing thing to think you’ve got a kernel of seed corn that was planted the end of April and now it’s got a 10 or 12 foot stalk out there…I’ve talked to folks who’ve found roots eight foot deep, going after that moisture that we had this spring.”
LaVerne Arndt farms near Sac City in northwest Iowa, one of the driest spots in the state. “That July hot spell really cooked our crops,” Arndt says. “I think we’re looking at on corn a 50-75 percent loss from last year, which I understand was a really great year.”
But Arndt says his soybeans still have the potential for good yields with timely rains. Kurt Olson farms near Grand Mound in east-central Iowa. He say his crops are doing well. “We’ve been getting moisture where other people haven’t,” Olson says. “(Compared to) anywhere else I’ve been in Iowa, we look really good.”
Olson farms in Clinton County. Much of northeast Iowa where heavy rains and flash flooding hit recently is out of the drought zone. However, portions of Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Madison, Union, Warren and Wayne Counties are rated in “extreme drought” by the U-S-D-A’s latest report.
(Radio Iowa, w/Reporting by Ken Anderson of Brownfield Ag News)
An Iowa businessman has returned from Brazil where his company helped the country open its first large-scale corn ethanol production plant. Summit Agricultural Group C-E-O Bruce Rastetter, of Alden, says Brazil has previously made most of its ethanol from sugar cane. But the country now has gone to a two-season crop system that has increased the amount of corn available.
“Because of the weather and the rainfall they have been able to move to produce a crop of soybeans, and plant the corn the next day in January and February when harvest the corn in May and June,” Rastetter explains. “So that ability has allowed them to grow to significant corn production on second crop — which allows the opportunity for corn ethanol.”
The 115 million-dollar ethanol plant will annually process 22 million bushels of corn and produce more than 60 million gallons of corn ethanol along with 62-hundred tons of corn oil and 170-thousand tons of feed rations for Brazil’s growing livestock industry. Rastetter says the plant keeps the additional corn production in Brazil — which is good news for Iowa. “For them to produce value in their country — producing energy with it and also then the high-quality livestock feed alongside of it — is probably pretty important to the American farmer when we see large grain surpluses here in the U-S,” according to Rastetter.
He says Brazil already uses more ethanol than the United States, as their minimum ethanol blend with gasoline is 27-and-half percent compared to 10 percent in the U-S. And he doesn’t expect the increased ethanol production to hurt the U-S. He says the U-S exported about 500 million gallons of ethanol to Brazil last year and the number is increasing. And while their home produced ethanol might cut into that, he says other countries like China, Europe and those in Southeast Asia will use more ethanol in the future.
Rastetter says exporting ethanol is not the problem here, he says it needs to be offered in more blends at the pumps like Brazil.”The U-S needs to move form 10 percent to 15 to 20 percent ethanol blends. That’s the problem for the industry, it’s part of the problem for agriculture,”Rastetter says. “Over the last eight years we haven’t seen ethanol use increase in the U-S, production go from 12 billion to 15 billion gallons.”
Rastetter says the new plant used some parts that are only made in the U-S along with some production expertise from a company called I-C-M Incorporated of Colwich, Kansas. He doesn’t think this will be the only modern ethanol plant built there. “We have terrific support from the government..the president of the country as at the inauguration as were a number of ag businesses, farmers and governors. So, we are excited about the opportunity,” Rastetter says.
Rastetter’s company partnered with a Brazilian firm known as Fiagril (Fee-uh-Grill) to build the plant. They broke ground on the facility in early 2016.
(Radio Iowa)
A farm equipment manufacturer is wrapping up a tour of the Upper Midwest highlighting “common planting mistakes.” Joe Whorton, with AGCO, says they’ve set up 10-acre demonstration fields across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and South Dakota. “What we’re trying to do is bring customers out and really get in the field and highlight what type of yield impacts common mistakes can have on your operation, with the idea farmers can take this knowledge home and try to do a little bit better job next year,” Whorton said.
Each plot includes strips comparing plant emergence, season-long plant progress, and how variables impact yield. “Things like incorrect depths, too much down-force which can create compaction, and incorrect spacing and singulation,” Whorton said. Data from the demonstration fields will be collected and made available online (at agcocropcare.com).
AGCO planter
“We’ll have yield estimates, and then in the October timeframe, when we come back and combine this corn – we’ll be capturing yield data to really quantify exactly the impact different depths, spacing (and) down-pressure have on your operation,” Whorton said.
The AGCO crop tour ends today (Friday) with a stop in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The tour’s only stop in Iowa was in New Hampton last Thursday (August 10).
(Radio Iowa, w/reporting by Mark Dorenkamp, Brownfield Ag News)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows drought conditions continue to burden the rural economy in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The overall Rural Mainstreet Index for the region rose slightly in August to 42.2 from July’s abysmally low 40.7. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with any number under 50 indicating a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says nearly 58 percent of bankers reported in August’s survey that drought conditions were having a negative effect on agriculture products in their area. Also, bankers expect farmland prices to decline by another 3.5 percent on average over the next year.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
We’ve heard for months that it’s a possibility, and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says he’s still under consideration for a top job at the U-S Department of Agriculture. Northey says he’s been told a background check is underway. “I think it’s getting closer but I don’t know how close it is,” Northey says. “I think I’m still going through the vetting process and the discussion pieces and I think it’s still moving along. I think it’s still very possible that it’ll happen but no announcement yet.”
Northey says he’s impressed with the team U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is putting together. All three of the top appointees so far are from the Midwest, including one from Iowa. “I’m very excited about the three that have been announced that are up for their hearing in September,” Northey says. “It’ll be wonderful whether I get to Washington or not, I look forward to working with them, either as Secretary of Ag from Iowa or as a fellow undersecretary.”
President Trump has nominated Steve Censky of Minnesota as his deputy and Ted McKinney of Indiana and Sam Clovis of Hinton, Iowa, as undersecretaries.
(Radio Iowa)
A Southwest Iowa Beginner and Young Farmers group will host the third meeting in the series for the Start to Farm: New Farmer Learning Network, organized by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, on August 23, 2017. Start to Farm is a statewide program designed to provide education and support for beginning and early-career agricultural producers.
The SW Iowa group will meet several times throughout the year to discuss farm management and beef cattle production topics. Based on priorities and specific topics determined by the group, they will discuss production techniques, ways to grow and improve business practices, and farm management strategies.
Production topics include: winter nutrition, reproduction management, preconditioning, nutrition management, low-stress weaning, pregnancy checking, body condition scoring and more.
Farm Financial topics include: developing farm financial statements, using key financial rations and indicators, managing cash flow, financing capital assets and livestock economies.
Participants will participate in a wide variety of activities, including the opportunity to learn about resources available to get started and tour successful farming operations. They also will become part of a community of Iowa beginning farmers.
There is no registration fee for this program. It will be held in the White 4-H Exhibit Building at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Red Oak, Iowa. The program will begin at 6:30 pm, and it will end at 8:30 pm. The address is 1809 4th Street, Red Oak, Iowa.
For more information contact Montgomery County Extension at 712-623-2592.
ISU Extension and Outreach connects the needs of Iowans with Iowa State University research and resources. We provide education and partnerships designed to solve today’s problems, prepare for the future and help Iowans make informed decisions. The Montgomery County office is located at 400 Bridge Street in Red Oak. You can contact us at 712.623.2592 or through our website at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery ,or “like” Montgomery County-IA Extension on Facebook!
(Press Release)
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