The Iowa DNR says Iowa hunters this fall will have access to hunt on more than 25,000 acres of private land on 132 sites around the state as part of a program that helps landowners improve habitat on portions of their land in exchange for allowing hunter access.

The Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) provide expertise and funding to landowners who are interested in improving wildlife habitat on their property. Landowner participation varies from three to 10 years depending upon the contracts.

“Hunters told us they felt access to private land was an important step to improving their hunting experience and to attracting new hunters to the outdoors. We were fortunate to have this opportunity to provide them with access to these areas through the IHAP,” said Kelly Smith, private lands program coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources who manages the IHAP.

Areas are posted with signs, are regularly patrolled by Iowa DNR conservation officers and will be treated like public hunting ground, with the noted exception that it is private property.

“Hunters should respect private property, stay on the land enrolled in the program and pick up after themselves,” Smith said. “This program is only available because landowners were willing to participate in it.”

Site maps are available at www.iowadnr.gov/ihap showing boundaries, which species would be most likely attracted to the habitat and the location of a checkout box where hunters are asked to leave their comments on the program. The checkout cards are used to evaluate the program to see if hunters are getting what they expected from the program.

Walk-in public hunting through IHAP is available between September 1 and May 31. The IHAP is supported with money from Federal Farm Bill and Habitat Stamp.

The Iowa DNR says a new license went on sale July 13th that allows anyone age 16 and older to bypass the hunter education requirement for purchasing a hunting license while they give hunting a try under the direct supervision of an experienced, licensed adult hunter.

“We want to reach out to our fellow Iowans who missed hunter education when they were 12 and are now in their 20s and 30s and are interested in trying dove hunting or small game hunting,” said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “If they like it, we can get them in the hunter education program and hopefully they become lifelong hunters.”

The apprentice hunting license includes the habitat fee and is available to residents for $30 and nonresidents for $123. There must be one licensed adult mentor hunter for each apprentice hunter. The apprentice hunting license may be purchased up to two times without having completed hunter education.

Resident apprentice licenses may be used to pursue small game and as the hunting license requirement for deer and turkey licenses and waterfowl stamps. A person hunting with an apprentice license must shoot and tag their own deer or turkey.

The nonresident apprentice hunting license is not allowed as a license for nonresidents to hunt deer or turkey. The apprentice program was approved by the Iowa legislature and signed by Governor Branstad during the 2015 session. More information is available online at www.iowadnr.gov/learntohunt.

Iowa’s corn and soybean crops continued to do well as the calendar turned to August. The latest U-S-D-A report shows 83 percent of the corn is rated in good to excellent condition. The report says 94 percent of the soybeans are blooming which is six days ahead of last year. Seventy-nine percent of soybeans were setting pods which is one week ahead of normal.

The majority of the soybean crop is also in good shape — with 82 percent rated good to excellent. The crops have plenty of moisture to draw on, with 83 percent of the topsoil moisture in the state rated adequate and five percent showing a surplus. The same levels were reported for subsoil moisture as well.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) is concerned with changes the CME Group is making to cattle futures contracts. One of those changes is the addition of a seasonal discount of $1.50 per hundredweight on cattle delivered to the Worthing, South Dakota delivery point. The discount will be effective with the October 2017 contract, which will be listed on August 22. I-C-A C-E-O Matt Deppe says that action will create a “marketing disadvantage” for Iowa cattle feeders.

“Especially FOR our northwest Iowa feeders who utilize the Worthing delivery point as a marketing tool, as well as the cattle futures contract,” Deppe says. The decision, according to Deppe, “feels like a mandate” on how and when people should feed cattle for market. Deppe also believes the move may decrease cash negotiated trade in the upper Midwest.

“There could be high likelihood that feeders in not only northwest Iowa, but also northeast Nebraska, don’t utilize that contract, which would limit the volume,” Deppe says, “and we all know that the most deliveries, in terms of a percentage of deliveries, take place in Worthing as an individual point.”

A news release from CME said the discount will better align delivery values with cash market prices and result in little or no impact on local cash cattle prices. In the same release, CME said it will also consider moving to a cash settled live cattle futures contract if price discovery and cash negotiated trade in the cattle industry do not increase.

(Brownfield Ag News)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is awash in a sea of delicate white flowers in nearly every roadside ditch, along bicycle trails and on the fringes of public parks. The Des Moines Register reports  that they’re known as Queen Anne’s Lace, or wild carrot.

The flower is abundant this year because of optimal road conditions and roadside management practices. Some view it as a nuisance, while others see it as a wildflower or weed. Photographers enjoy the flowers’ beauty, while gardeners yank them out.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources ecologist John Pearson says the plant has flourished because it’s free from normal pest controls in its native Europe.

Officials with Cass County Conservation report the Nishna Valley Trails group is hosting a Kids Bike Ride August 13th, 2016 beginning at 10:30-a.m. Check-in and start of the ride both take place in the west parking lot of the Schildberg Recreation Area, in Atlantic.

There are three age groups, with each ride length according to age. The event is FREE, and all ages welcome. The ride is co-sponsored by Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Cass County Conservation, Howard’s, Fareway, and West Side Diner, in Atlantic.

If you have any questions, call Cass County Interpretive Naturalist Lora Kanning, at 712-769-2372. After the ride, you check out Atlanticfest going on in the downtown area!

• KJAN, Atlantic  .01″
• 7 Miles NNE of Atlantic  .05″
• Elk Horn  .7″
• Logan  .28″
• Bedford  .37″
• Council Bluffs  1.55″
• Shenandoah  .43″
• Clarinda  .64″
• Irwin  .18″
• Underwood  .26″
• Missouri Valley  .42″

Shelby County Extension Council Chairperson Julie Klein reports four Shelby County residents have been appointed to the Iowa State University Extension Council Nominating Committee. The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the four vacancies on the council before August 10th, 2016. Committee members selected to nominate extension council candidates for the 2016 election are Arleatta Bartelson of Irwin, Travis Lane of Shelby, Robert Mortensen of Elk Horn and Stacy Torneten of Harlan.

By law the nominating committee must include two women and two men, and cannot include any current member of the council. The committee is required to take county geography into consideration when nominating candidates. Terry Maloy, director for Iowa Association of County Extension Councils, says “Serving as an extension council member is one way to give back to your community. If you believe local educational opportunities are vital to the community’s well-being, then you should consider running for council. It is rewarding to know that people are able to improve their lives, farms, businesses and communities because of ISU Extension and Outreach’s education and information.”

Candidates nominated by the committee must submit petitions containing the names of 25 qualified voters to the county election commissioner by 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2016. Additionally, individuals may petition to have their names placed on the ballot through a self-nominating process by submitting petitions with 25 names to the election commissioner. Petition forms are available from the election commissioner and at the county extension office.

Voters will cast ballots for the nominees in the Nov. 8th, 2016, general election. Successful candidates will serve four-year terms beginning in January 2017.

The Cass County Conservation Board (CCCB) is sponsoring a “Breakfast with the Birds” Program. The program will be held at Sunnyside Park, Kiddie Korral Shelter in Atlantic, Saturday, August 13th, beginning at 9-a.m. Free will donations are being accepted. 

During the event, Terrie Hoefer, rehabilitator and Educator at S.O.A.R., Saving Our Avian Resources, will show and discuss several of her permanently injured birds and will hopefully have one that is fully recovered and ready to release back into the wild.

Breakfast with the birds is made possible by the Dick McCauley Memorial Fund. The CCCB asks you to help them support raptors and education, by attending “Breakfast with the Birds,” on Aug. 13th.

Local farmland owners, producers and other interested parties are invited to join Cass County Extension for the 2016 Farm Leasing Arrangements meeting, set for August 8 in Atlantic from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Cass County Community Center at 805 West 10th Street.

Besides the standard topics of land value and cash rental rate trends, this year’s special topic is costs of production. Landlords and tenants are more interested in costs when farming is not as profitable. They have to figure out how much money is available and decide where cuts can be made.

In January 2016, participants from last year’s Farm Leasing Arrangements meetings across Iowa completed a follow-up evaluation. According to the results, people attended to get an update on the rental market. One participant wrote, “The meeting helps me have informed discussions with the farmer, hopefully arriving at a fair price on the rent and being good custodians of the land.” Participants’ most requested topic for 2016 was costs of production.

Tim Eggers, Iowa State University Extension Field Agricultural Economist, said, “With last year’s participants requesting more information on the tenant’s costs of production, I wanted a hands-on activity instead of more slides.” He continued, “We’re going to play a game so participants experience decisions tenants make every year.”

The Farm Leasing Arrangements meeting will give landowners, tenants, and agri-business professionals information and materials they need to make decisions regarding farmland ownership, management, and leasing practices.

The Farm Leasing Arrangements meeting costs $15 per person, which includes the 100-page Farm Leasing Arrangements booklet and a copy of the presentation. Pre-registration is required and limited to 30 people. To register, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email xcass@iastate.edu.