Native seed mixes planted on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres are suspected in two new Palmer amaranth infestations in Iowa this summer. Iowa State University Extension weed specialist Bob Hartzler says while previous Palmer infestations have been tied to animal feed and commercial grain transportation, the use of seed mixes represents a new method of introduction.

Palmer amaranth grows quickly and creates seeds rapidly, making it difficult to control. Weed scientists say it could be the most aggressive weed Indiana farmers have had to face. (Superior Ag Resources photo/Tom Sinnot)

“Both sightings were found in new CRP plantings that were planted to a diverse mix of various native species. One was for pollinator habitat and one was for quail habitat,” Hartzler says. “It’s another way that Palmer is finding its way into the state, so that is a concern.” Palmer amaranth is a threat crop production, but Hartzler says farmers should not be overly concerned with this latest finding — at least for now.

“Our concern is that in the year or two that the Palmer is likely to survive in this habitat, some of that seed could move into crop fields,” Hartzler explained. Many CRP seed mixes have species produced in other states, according to Hartzler, and it’s possible the seed came from a state with more widespread Palmer amaranth issues. The new infestations occurred in Muscatine County in southeast Iowa and Madison County in south-central Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Federal office holders from Iowa and their General Election challengers are raising questions about the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks established by the federal government in 1916 to help farmers. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says he supports the system, but it has operated outside its charter. “They came to my office to talk to me and I brought up some of the loans that were very questionable loans,” Grassley says. “I got the feeling that they were very embarassed by the issues that I brought up with them.”

Former Iowa Ag Secretary Patty Judge is the Democrat who’s challenging Grassley this year.”There are probably reforms that need to be made and I would suggest to you that we are going to have a real opportunity to do that next year as we write the new Farm Bill,” Judge said. Republican Congressman Steve King of Kiron says the Farm Credit System needs to refocus on helping farmers and agribusinesses “stay afloat.”  “They write their own mission statement,” King says. “I asked the chair of the board that before an Ag Committee hearing some time back and, you know, my message to that was: ‘We may have to help you write that mission statement.'”

Kim Weaver, a social worker from Sheldon, is the Democrat who’s challenging King. Weaver says she’s troubled by the Farm Credit System’s loan to Cracker Barrel.
“Even though it has a rather rustic appeal, it isn’t exactly a farm-related business,” Weaver says. “I would look at actually having a little bit more monitoring of that because I really don’t think it’s fair.”

Republican Congressman David Young of Van Meter says the Farm Credit System must be held to its original mission. “Choice is good out there, but one of the choices out there is backed by the taxpayer, in a sense,” Young says. “…Have they been operating outside of their purview?” Jim Mowrer, a former National Guard soldier and Pentagon administrator, is Young’s Democratic challenger. “When you look at some of the recent activities, like the Verizon loan that they made, this is way outside of its intended scope of purpose,” Mowrer says.

Republican Congressman Rod Blum of Dubuque, says there’s probably still a role for the Farm Credit system. “We need to make sure that they’re not competing in the areas that they’re not supposed to be in,” Blum says. “…They’ve made some very big loans to some very large and profitable customers that whether they’re ag related is very, very questionable.” Christopher Peters, an Iowa City doctor, is the Republican who’s challenging Democratic Congressman David Loebsack of Iowa City. Peters says he has just started doing research on the Farm Credit System. “I will say just blanket, though, I’m suspicious of all government sponsored enterprises. I’m not sure why we need those at all,” Peters says. “If things can be delivered in a marketplace, they should be. If they are not able to be delivered in a marketplace, then government I think should provide those services if they can’t or won’t be provided otherwise.”

The candidates made their comments Thursday afternoon during a meeting of the Community Bankers of Iowa. Congressman Loebsack and Monica Vernon, the Democratic candidate in the first congressional district who’s running against Blum, did not attend. The 80 Farm Credit banks do not have to pay taxes on mortgage loan interest and other banks are lobbying congress to end that tax break. Supporters of the system say it’s a crucial source of financing for all of rural America, not just farmers.

(Radio Iowa)

Members of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa are getting some special training to be able to handle horses and other large animals who get into trouble. The A-R-L’s animal intervention welfare coordinator, Scott Wilson, says they received a 66-hundred dollar grant from American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to purchase equipment and go through the training.

“One of the common things you’ll see around the country is horses will get stuck in ponds, or they will get into a swimming pool and not be able to get back out. Or they’ll fall into a shallow well. So, a big part of the training will be utilizing a sling and A-frame to actually hoist the horse of these situations and back onto solid ground,” Wilson explains. It might seem like you could offer the horse a carrot and coax them out of trouble. Wilson says it’s not that simple.

He says this is done when the horse absolutely won’t come out on their own. Wilson says horses don’t do well on ramps or stairs and that’s how they can get stuck in a swimming pool. Those trained for the A-R-L’s equine rescue team will have the skills to rescue horses and other large animals during disasters or emergencies. “It doesn’t happen very often,” Wilson says,”but the problem is horses are actually very fragile creatures sometimes. And when the need arises, it requires an immediate response. So — even if it only happens once every couple of years — having the equipment on hand like this and the training will give us the possibility of actually saving the horse’s life. While a delay of several hours waiting for something to be figured out could cost the horse’s life.”

The training also teachers the rescuers how to be safe. “Horses can be very unpredictable and when they get scared you’ve got over a thousand pounds of scared animal trying to get away. So, you’ve really have know what you are doing both with the horses and the equipment to minimize any sort of risk,” Wilson says. He says they hope to be able to help other agencies if they are ever faced with a horse rescue or the rescue of another large animal.

(Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa – Are you prepared for implementation of the Veterinary Feed Directive on January 1st, 2017? Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Farm Bureau, and the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association are partnering to offer an educational series about the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). Iowa State Extension beef program specialist Chris Clark said Iowa veterinarians, livestock producers, and feed industry personnel are invited to participate.

“The program will include a general overview of the VFD, species break-outs, and discussion panels featuring veterinarians, producers, and feed industry personnel,” Clark said. “The implementation date of January 1, 2017, is approaching and at this point people may have some specific questions or scenarios that they are unsure about. Hopefully we can help answer some questions and clarify some of those issues.”

Iowa veterinarians, livestock producers and feed industry personnel are invited to attend any of the 11 session locations. Each program features breakout and discussion sessions, with a primary objective of helping attendees learn about the roles and responsibilities of all involved parties.

“Implementation of the VFD will require cooperation and communication between veterinarians, producers, and feed industry personnel,” Clark said. “It’s important that each party knows not only their own responsibilities but also what to expect from the other two parties. It may be really valuable to hear what others are thinking and planning in regard to implementation of the VFD.”

The series runs from Aug. 22 through Sept. 1 with specific times set for each location. There is no fee to attend, but preregistration is encouraged to assist organizers with planning. Register by calling the numbers below, associated with the session you would like to attend.

·        Monday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to noon – Swan Lake Conservation Center, Carroll. RSVP to the Carroll County Extension Office, 712-792-2364

·        Monday, Aug. 29, 6 to 9 p.m. – Cass County Community Center, Atlantic. RSVP to the Cass County Extension Office, 712-243-1132.

w/Max Dirks.

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While the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have both blasted proposed trade agreements, Iowa’s top ag official says trade is essential to agriculture and especially to Iowa agriculture. Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says he’s concerned when he hears Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump speak out against trade deals. Northey says the Pacific Trade Pact would be a boon to agriculture.

“TPP is another one of those, Trans Pacific Partnership, with a dozen of us around the Pacific Ocean that would be very beneficial to agriculture,” Northey says. “It’s very easy to come out opposed to those agreements and talk about the problems without appreciating the benefits.” Iowa is the top pork-producing state and Northey says the export of Iowa pork products is a great example of how agriculture benefits from world trade.

“We ship about a quarter of all our pork production overseas,” Northey says. “We’ll ship maybe the majority of some of the products like pork feet or pork hearts or other kinds of things, and we’ll keep those things we value, like pork chops and bacon.” Northey says many of Iowa’s key ag products are being shipped out of the country. “Excess of 40% of our soybeans are exported, a lot of those go to China,” Northey says. “It’s very important that we retain those markets. That’s true of distillers grain and that’s true of beef and corn exports. These are all very important and our markets would be severely impacted if we lost some of those markets.”

On Monday, Iowa entered into a partnership of memorandum of cooperation with India. Northey says India doesn’t constitute a major market for Iowa agricultural goods at the moment, but he believes with time, that will change. India has a growing population of 1.2 billion.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency has approved changes to administrative rules regarding water pollution that two groups say will weaken environmental protections. The Environmental Law & Policy Center and the Iowa Environmental Council say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources scaled back protections to Iowa’s waterways by changing its anti-degradation standards on Wednesday. Those standards help regulate when new pollution is added to Iowa waters. It guides businesses that propose adding or expanding operations.

A DNR commission met and voted to implement changes that guide how to balance the potential costs of a proposed project with its environmental impact. It goes into effect Friday. The environmental groups say the tweak in language eliminates consideration of the environment. Groups supporting the changes disagree. A DNR spokesman says it will clarify the process.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair will begin an 11-day run that likely will draw more than a million visitors to the fairgrounds in east Des Moines. The fair will start Thursday morning, with most buildings open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the midway open from 10 a.m. to midnight. The fair will run through Aug. 21st.

The fair saw its largest attendance last year, when 1.1 million people attended. There will be plenty to see and do, with hundreds of performances, a giant livestock shows, Iowa’s biggest art exhibition, the midway, more than 75 kinds of food on a stick and, of course, the butter cow.

Regular gate admission is $12 for those 12 and older, $6 for children 6 to 11 and free for kids 5 and younger.

w/Kate Olson.

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Farmland values in Iowa have dipped for the second year in a row according to the U.S.D.A. The U-S-D-A’s National Agricultural Statistics Services estimates the average price for Iowa “cropland” is now eight-thousand dollars ($8,000) an acre. That’s a nearly two-and-a-half percent decline from 2015. Experts say the drop is fueled by low commodity prices. The average price for Iowa land used as pasture for livestock is 34-hundred dollars, unchanged from a year ago.

A spring survey of realtors who sell Iowa farmland indicated a bigger drop in the price for Iowa cropland, of nearly nine percent. The U.S.D.A.’s report concluded the total value for farm real estate in Iowa is 244 TRILLION dollars. That’s the value of all the agland as well as the barns and farmhouses in Iowa.

The RENTAL price for cropland in Iowa averaged 235-dollars ($235) an acre for this growing season. That’s down 15 dollars an acre from a year ago.

(Radio Iowa)