Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says the latest U-S-D-A crop report shows good progress in the harvest. According to Northey, “Last week we had five percent of the corn, seven percent of the beans out. Now we’re up to 13 percent of the corn — 32 percent of the soybeans.”  Northey says he’s hearing good things about yields.

“It’s gonna vary every place, but certainly in some areas of north-west and north-central Iowa we’re seeing 60-bushel soybeans where sometimes those are normally 50-bushel soybeans. Certainly corn in a lot of places over 200 bushels (an acre) in place that don’t always get that,” according to Northey. “We are going to have other parts of Iowa that are not going to have their best crop, but in some of these areas, that’s the best crop they’ve harvested.”

The corn harvest is 10 days ahead of last year, but eight days behind average. The soybean harvest is one week ahead of last year, but one day behind average. He expects thing to move forward quite a bit this week. “If we get a good week this week and dodge some moisture in the middle of the week, we’ll be moving along real good,” Northey says.

He says the crop appears to be pretty dry. There have been some concerns about the beans not being dry enough. “Stems are a little damp in some places, so it makes it a little hard to harvest. It takes a lot of power to get those damp stems through the combine, but with good yields, you’ll certainly take that,” Northey says.

Northey farms corn and beans near Spirit Lake.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Conservation Board invites you to enjoy the 23rd biannual Halloween Hike, on Saturday, October 24th, as you follow a trail where your “Hunt in the Wild” will start. The event begins at 7:00 p.m., with small groups departing from the Camblin Addition of Sunnyside Park every ten minutes.

Kids twelve and under are encouraged to arrive early to get their faces painted. The last group will depart at 8:10 p.m. and all hikers are welcome to enjoy free tasty treats and warm drinks after their hike. It is NOT the intent of the staff to scare or frighten anyone, but rather to educate and entertain people of all ages.

Pre-registration is required for this FREE event, so call 712-769-2372 or email lkanning@casscoia.us to make your reservations. If you leave a message please leave name, phone number, how many is in your group and what time you wish to depart on the hike.

The Conservation Dept. is also looking for volunteers to help make the event a success. The hike is sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board.

It’s that time of year for the Cass County Conservation Board to ask you…”When do you think the first Trumpeter Swan will arrive at the Schildberg Quarry?” You can call in your prediction (by November 11th) to the Conservation Board at 712-769-2372, leave a message and return phone number if the staff are not in.

Duplicate dates will not be allowed. For example, if a caller predicts November 25th, no one else will be allowed to predict that arrival date. Again, you can call anytime until November 11th to make your prediction. One prediction per family, please. The sponsors of thw contest will determine the official arrival of the swans. The winner will receive a Trumpeter Swan 8×10 print from the Cass County Conservation Board.

The contest is for Cass County residents only.

Trumpeter Swans have visited the Schildberg Quarry for, at least, seventeen out of the last eighteen winters. Arrival and departure dates of the swans have been as follows:
1997/1998 December 18 – January 2
1998/1999 Nothing on record
1999/2000 December 25 – February 15
2000/2001 November 23 – March 6
2001/2002 December 25 – February 24
2002/2003 November 23 – March 15
2003/2004 November 26 – March 21
2004/2005 November 25 – March 18
2005/2006 November 17 – March 5
2006/2007 October 30 – March 9
2007/2008 November 22- February 14
2008/2009 November 18- March 12
2009-2010 November 19 – January 5
2010-2011 November 5 – February 10
2011/2012 November 17 – February 21
2012/2013 November 24– March 4
2013/2014 November 12- April 7
2014/2015 November 11- April 6

Two executives from Iowa’s livestock industry retired after a combined 80 plus years working in the state. The executive director of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Rich Degner, and his wife, Nancy Degner, the executive director of the Iowa Beef Industry Council put in their last day in the jobs last Wednesday. Both started their careers in Plymouth County — Nancy was a home economics teacher in Le Mars and Rich was a Vocational Agriculture instructor at Rock Valley. Both Degners says they faced many rewarding times, but also some challenges as they touted beer and pork in Iowa and across the country. Nancy says negative news about the beef industry in the media was one of the challenges.

“One really huge one was the e-coli incident out in Washington with the Jack-in-the-Box. When people got sick and died after eating a hamburger that was contaminated with e-coli,” Degner says. “That sent shock waves through our industry and cause concerns with consumers about the safety of beef.” Other beef industry issues during her career included the detection of “mad cow disease”, and three years ago, when some national news media outlets referred to finely textured ground beef as “pink slime”.

Degner says the beef industry has only recently been able to recover from those setbacks. Rich Degner says a challenge he faced was when the pork industry was evolving from the smaller sized producer to the commercial size operations we see today. He says as a result of that change, society dictated the pork industry follow additional environmental government regulations and be more aware of quality assurance.

“I tell people we have this license to operate — which are the regulations that the state of Iowa requires — and then we also have to have a license to basically be able to market our hogs,” Degner says. Both industries saw demand increase with use of check-off program funds to create the “Beef, Its What’s For Dinner” campaign and the “Pork: The Other White Meat” campaign. Rich Degner says one of the big successes for his industry is the Pork Tent at the Iowa State Fair. It’s almost a standard requirement of presidential candidates to stop by the tent and grill some pork chops as part of their campaign.

“Ever since the Iowa Pork Tent opened in 1981, this country has had a president who has been at the Iowa Pork Tent,” Degner says. “And that was an unexpected benefit of creating the Iowa Pork Tent. And it has been really enjoyable for me to watch that and what has occurred over time.” Now that they are retired from touting the benefits of pork and beef, Rich Degner says he wants to pursue doctorate degree. Nancy says she doesn’t have any specific plans, but hopes that she and her husband can enjoy some traveling.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa farmers who agree to use sustainable grazing practices may be eligible to take part in the updated Conservation Reserve Program, or C-R-P, for grasslands. Katie Olthoff, spokeswoman for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, explains how the familiar program has been switched up. “This program is a change to the federal CRP,” Olthoff says. “It now includes a grasslands program nationally. That means farmers can use their grasslands areas for grazing, as long as they agree to certain conservation practices on that land.”

Farmers who are interested can sign up immediately. “You can participate by applying at your local FSA office,” she says. “The application period is open right now through November 20th, but there will be more application periods after that.” While the C-R-P has been around for years, this is the first time the new extension has been around.

“The CRP Grasslands program was created in the 2014 Farm Bill but there have been some changes just this summer in the July 2015 edition of the Federal Register, so this is the first time it’s been available for Iowa’s farmers.” Learn more about the program at the Iowa Cattlemen’s website. www.iacattlemen.org

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City officials are looking to develop a recreational vehicle campsite along the Missouri River in one of two parks on the city’s east side. The Sioux City Journal reports that it would be the first campground of its kind in Sioux City.

Parks and Recreation Director Matt Salvatore said Friday that the project was first identified by the City Council three or four years ago, and his department “is finally getting somewhere to bring that forward.”

On Monday, the City Council will be asked to approve a $72,340 contract with a consulting group to analyze which park — Chris Larsen Park or Bacon Creek Park — would be most suitable for an RV campground.

The Iowa DNR say a Slater man suffered a broken ankle after falling while setting up a tree stand Friday afternoon in Stephens State Forest near Lucas. 42-year old Derek A. Kahler was putting up the tree stand and accidentally cut through the strap holding the stand in place while he was cutting branches shortly before 3 p.m. He fell 16-feet and had not yet attached his safety harness. Kahler was transported by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines where he was being treated for the non-life threatening injury.

According to Allen Crouse, a recreational safety officer for the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources, setting up tree stands can be a potentially dangerous situation for hunters. He says “It is important that hunters are wearing proper restraints even when they are setting up their tree stands.”

Crouse said hunters need to check the straps being used to secure tree stands to make sure they are strong enough to hold the hunter and stand in place. He said hunters should also double check straps for any damage that may cause them to break, particularly if the straps have been left outside and could have been weakened by being exposed to the elements over time.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $35 million in federal grants to support farmers markets and other local farm programs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Friday the distribution of funds allocated in last year’s farm bill to hundreds of local food marketing programs. Iowa farmers market promotion grants include $97,000 for Fort Dodge, $61,000 for Belmond and $35,000 for Creston.

The North Iowa Fresh food hub in Belmond gets nearly $100,000 to expand. The Nebraska Food Cooperative in Belgrade receives nearly $100,000 to develop and promote a local food supply network. The USDA says purchases of locally-produced food have reached nearly $12 billion as farmers increase direct sales to local grocers, institutions and restaurants. The number of farmers markets has surged to more than 8,500 from 5,200 in 2009.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports Paige Stoaks, of Essex, will be spending three days in an Ontario marsh on a waterfowl dream hunt later this month, thanks in part to a thoughtful gift she received from her boyfriend last Christmas.

In order to use her new bow to go hunting, Stoaks had to complete hunter education and by taking her online class at HUNTERcourse.com, the Page County woman was automatically entered into the dream hunt drawing. While her first deer hunting trip didn’t yield success, she is hopeful her first waterfowl hunt will end with ducks in the bag. Stoaks and her father, Brian, will leave Oct. 13 from Omaha for a guided waterfowl hunt by St. Lawrence Outfitters from Lansdowne, Ontario.

Stoaks has been working to improve her shot in preparation for the trip. She says “We’ve been doing some clay pigeons (shooting), adding that she plans to do more target shooting before the hunt. The whirlwind Dream Hunt trip ends Oct. 15.

Students who complete their hunter education requirements at HUNTERcourse.com are automatically entered into the Dream Hunt drawing that selects two students and one instructor each year for a hunt of a lifetime. The other student winner is Derek Ramage, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the instructor winner is Dwain Lecoq, from Stony Mountain, Manitoba.

Huntercouse.com is one of two approved online hunter education courses approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. To search for an upcoming hunter education course or if 18 years or older and want to begin an online only course, go to www.iowadnr.gov/huntered

October 4th through the 10th, 2015, is National 4-H Week, and Adams County is celebrating the 4-H youth who have made and are making an impact on the community. Adams County 4-Hers are stepping up to the challenges of a complex and changing world. During National 4-H week Adams County 4-H clubs and members will be visiting with elementary students in Corning about what 4-H is about.

Students will get information about joining one of the three Adams County 4-H clubs to bring home to their parents. 4-H clubs usually meet at least once per month, elect officers, and throughout the year participate in many community service projects and activities as well as have their own individual projects.

Also during National 4-H Week, Adams County Extension will host the Adams Community Chamber of Commerce coffee at the Extension office in Corning. The office is located at 603 7th street in downtown Corning. According to Chris Nelson, Adams County Extension program coordinator, the coffee will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9th and all interested adults and youth are invited to attend and celebrate 4-H with special 4-H cookies and coffee or ice tea.

Recent findings from Tufts University’s 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development indicate that young people in 4-H are three times more likely to contribute to their communities than youth not participating in 4-H. Notably, the Tufts research discovered that the structured learning, encouragement and adult mentoring that 4-H’ers receive play a vital role in helping them actively contribute to society and their communities.

There were more than 20,000 4-H club members and more than 10,000 4-H volunteers in the Iowa 4-H program in 2014-2015. In Adams County, more than 85 4-H members and 50 volunteers are involved in the 4H club program. 4-Hers do hands-on projects in program areas ranging from citizenship to communication, food and nutrition, leadership, livestock, pets, and science and technology.

4-H’ers are a living breathing, culture-changing revolution for doing the right thing, breaking through obstacles and pushing our country forward by making a measurable difference right where they live. Learn how you can join 4-H by contacting Bonnie Chafa, County Youth Coordinator at Iowa State University Cooperative Extension in Adams County at 641-322-3184 or e-mail to xadams@iastate.edu.