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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) – As we endure the sweltering sun of summer, Iowans may find some relief in pondering the cooler weather that’s sure to come. The new edition of the Farmers’ Almanac is now available and managing editor Sandi Duncan says they’re predicting plenty of cold and widespread snow for the Great Plains states, including Iowa. “The 2024 Farmers’ Almanac says, ‘The BRR is Back,’ meaning that there’s going to be a lot of cold temperatures coming to your neck of the woods this winter season,” Duncan says. “Overall, we’re thinking that it’s going to be ultimately more of a cold than a snowy winter, but we do see some occasional bouts of storminess bringing widespread rain and snow to your region.”
The publication is forecasting a more traditional winter ahead, with colder temperatures and near-countrywide snowfall. As for Iowa, it may arrive sooner, not later. “Winter is going to start a little bit early. It looks like in December, the Farmers’ Almanac is calling for some snowy conditions,” Duncan says. “Some people like to have a little bit of white around the Christmas holidays so that may happen, but looking into January and February, the cold is more the headliner this winter.”
After wintertime is technically over, the almanac is calling for what it calls a “Polar Coaster Spring,” which doesn’t sound like something that will enthuse Iowa farmers — or many of the rest of us. “It’s kind of going to go back and forth and in fact, winter is going to hang on,” Duncan says. “We’re calling for some cool and cold conditions through March and into April. So even though the calendar may say spring, it looks like it’s going to be kind of a Polar Coaster, meaning that we see nice days that remind you that spring is coming, but overall, we see a kind of a chilly, rainy season on tap for you all.”
In a Radio Iowa interview in August of 2022, the almanac’s editors predicted we’d have a “glacial, snow-filled” winter, with heavy snows beginning in late October. How did that forecast compare to what Iowa actually saw? “Cold weather kind of got stuck over Russia and China, so of course, you had some cold conditions, but our forecast was slightly off the mark,” Duncan says, “but you know, we do our best. We try to give people an idea of what may come 12 months to 16 months down the road so that you can plan ahead.”
The Lewiston, Maine-based almanac was founded in 1818 and boasts a forecast accuracy rate of 80- to 85-percent. The formula was developed more than two centuries ago, based on factors including sunspot activity, planet positions, and the effect the Moon has on the Earth. Besides long-term weather predictions, the Farmers’ Almanac also contains a wealth of information on gardening, cooking, home remedies, folklore, managing your household, living in harmony with nature, and more.
(Radio Iowa) – The states of Iowa and Nebraska are suing the Environmental Protection Agency. The attorneys general for the two states are accusing federal regulators of illegally delaying year-round sales of gas with a 15 percent ethanol blend. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says they sent a notice to the E-P-A that they were going to sue.
Governor Reynolds and the governors of six other Midwest states asked the E-P-A in 2022 to allow E-15 sales in their states THIS summer. Bird says the E-P-A has done nothing and they are dragging their feet. The E-P-A has restricted sales of E-15 in the summer months, citing concerns about air pollution.
In a written statement, Reynolds said the E-P-A is showing its disdain towards clean, renewable, American-produced ethanol.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowans can take a step toward a healthier future by stepping back in time during the 9th annual Iowa State Fair Historical Walking Tour that kicks off the Iowa State Fair this Thursday, Aug. 10th. Co-hosted by the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, the historical walking tour is free with the price of admission to the Iowa State Fair. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be joined by Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, Iowa Healthiest State Initiative Executive Director Jami Haberl, and Healthiest State Annual Walk co-chairs April Schmaltz of Delta Dental of Iowa and Heidi Parkhurst of Bank of America, as well as other fairgoers for the walking tour.
The tour will start at 8:15 a.m. near the Administration Building on the Grand Concourse and finish about 45 minutes later in time for the fair’s opening ceremony at the Public Safety Building. The route is approximately 1 kilometer, or about 1,500 steps for an average walker. Guides from the State Historical Society of Iowa will share stories at several historic sites along the way. This year’s tour highlights include the following:
Iowa has had more USDA secretaries than any other state including the longest-serving – James Wilson of Tama County. The current secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has served the second-longest tenure. Details about the program can be found at history.iowa.gov
(Anita, Iowa) – Anita is hosting a mobile food pantry on Wednesday afternoon, August 16. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. Full details about the August 16 Mobile Pantry, as well as dates for upcoming mobile pantries in 2023, are listed below:
Anita August 16 Mobile Food Pantry
Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut St., Anita, IA 50020)
Time: 4-6 p.m.
2023 Dates: October 18
Upcoming Pantries:
Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries
Where: Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)
Time: 4-6 p.m.
2023 Dates: October 11
Massena 2023 Mobile Food Pantries
Where: Southwest Iowa Egg Coop (74877 Clarke Ave. Massena, IA 50835)
Time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.
2023 Dates: October 11
Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on upcoming events and local food, farmers markets, and food access activities, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – One final reminder: The Cass County Iowa State University Extension office will host their annual farmland leasing meeting this Thursday, August 10, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic. The meeting will last approximately 2 ½ hours and will be facilitated by Tim Christensen, farm and agriculture business management specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach.
The discussion will focus on various methods to determine a fair 2024 cash rental rate and the importance of good tenant/landlord communications. Emphasis will be placed on recent returns to Iowa Cash Rented Land and the 2023 Iowa Cash Rental Rate Survey.
Pre-registration is requested to ensure availability of materials, and a $20 per individual fee is payable at the door. Participants will receive a 100-page booklet and meeting handouts designed to assist landowners, tenants and other agri-business professionals with issues related to farmland ownership, management, and leasing arrangements.
Contact the Cass County Extension office at (712) 243-1132 with questions or to pre-register. A flier with more information is available online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Department reports Nishna Valley Trails is holding a Kids Bike Ride August 12th, 2023 10:30 AM at Schildberg Recreation Area west parking lot, in Atlantic. Check-in and start the ride at the West Parking lot.
Three age groups ride a length of the trail according to age. The event is FREE, and all ages welcome. After the ride check out Atlanticfest going on in the downtown area!
The Kids Bike Ride is co-sponsored by Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Cass County Conservation, Fareway, and West Side Diner, in Atlantic. For questions, call Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning, at 712-769-2372.
(Radio Iowa) – A setback today (Friday) for Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions’ plan for a pipeline to carry liquid carbon from ethanol plants in Iowa and other states to underground storage in North Dakota.
All three members of North Dakota’s Public Service Commission have voted to reject the proposed 320 mile route for the pipeline in their state. Summit issued a statement saying it plans to address the commission’s concerns and resubmit its application in North Dakota. Summit and two other companies have proposed carbon pipeline routes that would run through Iowa. North Dakota’s Public Service Commission said Summit had not addressed legitimate concerns from some North Dakota landowners and had not sufficiently pursued an alternate route around Bismark, the state capitol.
The IOWA Utilities Board plans to start its hearing on Summit’s pipeline route through Iowa on August 22nd. The hearing could last for months. The company has said it wants a decision by the end of the year on the application to build its pipeline along a 680 mile route through Iowa.
(Radio Iowa) Organizers of the “Rooster Tail Ride” are hoping their event next weekend will encourage bicyclists to venture farther on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. There’s a 20-mile ride on the trail from Council Bluffs to Mineola on Tuesday nights in the late spring through late October when the weather cooperates. Rebecca Castle, who’s on the Southwest Iowa Nature Trails board, says the 35 mile Rooster Tail Ride extends to Shenandoah and combines bicycling and live music in each of the towns riders pass through. “We’ve also added a couple of stops, so now we have live music on the Silver Creek bridge, which is a nice, about halfway point between Silver City and Malvern,” Castle says, “and then we also have music in Strahan, which is a ghost town about halfway between Malvern and Imogene.”
Castle says the towns and musical acts along the route break up the ride into nine mile segments. “For those people that maybe aren’t experienced riders, don’t have a lot of long distances under their belt, this is still a good ride for them,” Castle says. There is a pre-party in Mineola on Friday, August 12th, but the ride starts Saturday morning, August 13th in Mineola. “You’ll bring your luggage there to Mineola and then that morning we will haul from Mineola down to Shenandoah, to Sportsmen’s Park. That’s where the camping is,” Castle says. “And then there’ll be showers not only at the pool, whilc they’re open, but at Pork Belly Events. They will be bringing their shower trailers that they use for RAGBRAI and other events for later showers also.”
There’s a 45 dollar registration fee, plus Castle says the Rooster Tail Ride has local sponsors and a state grant to help pay the musical acts and cover other expenses. A band called Silver Bullet that plays Bob Seger tunes and a Tom Petty tribute band from Kansas City are booked to perform in Shenandoah for the riders. The Wabash Nature Trail for biking and hiking is on the former Wabash rail line. It starts in Council Bluffs and ends 63 miles later in the tiny town of Blanchard, in Page County.
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