DES MOINES – Required annual training starts Jan. 17 and concludes on Feb. 29 for confinement site manure applicators at many county Iowa State University Extension offices. Seven dry manure classes will also be held.  “Confinement site applicators are required to attend annual training, even though their certificates are good for three years,” said Jeff Prier, DNR coordinator of the program. “It’s also a good reminder of new and existing rules and other information pertinent to applicators and producers.” 

Certificates expire on Dec. 31. To avoid late fees, certification renewal must be submitted to DNR no later than March 1. Applicators whose certificates are expiring must complete the training, and submit forms and fees. Confinement site applicators must attend two hours of training each year of the three year certification. A $25 continuing education fee is charged and pre-registration is required. Prier said even those who received initial certification the fall of 2011 must complete training in 2012. Applicators can find contacts for registration and a list of counties where the training is available at www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/confdates.html.

 Those applicators who cannot attend a training session should contact their local Extension office to schedule time to watch a video. Extension offices may charge a $10 fee to show the video outside of a scheduled showing. Applicators may also take a 50‐question exam. Contact the DNR field office most convenient to you to make an appointment, by calling:

• Northeast Iowa, Manchester, 563-927‐2640

• North central Iowa, Mason City, 641-424‐4073

• Northwest Iowa, Spencer, 712-262‐4177

• Southwest Iowa, Atlantic, 712-243‐1934

• South central Iowa, Des Moines, 515-725‐0268

• Southeast Iowa, Washington, 319-653‐2135 

More information about the manure applicators certification program is available at www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/LandStewardship/AnimalFeedingOperations/ApplicatorCertification.aspx  or  www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/maccsa.html.

The Cass County Conservation Service has teamed up with a local store to help feed the Trumpeter swans at the Schildberg Quarry Recreational Area, in Atlantic. Officials say when you buy a bag of Whole Cleaned Corn at the Atlantic Orscheln store at the cash registers, the store’s staff will set it aside for the Trumpeter Swans. Four bags will fill the swans’ feeder. Your opportunity to buy the corn for the large-winged birds is available now through Jan. 31^st, 2012. And, don’t forget, you can join the Cass County Conservation Staff at Atlantic’s  Schildberg Quarry on Saturday, January 7^th 2012, when staffers will be giving ten-minute presentations about the Trumpeter Swans every half-hour beginning at 11:00 a.m., with the last one being presented at 2:00 p.m.  

The Schildberg Quarry is located on the northwest edge of Atlantic, on the north side of Highway 83. If the weather is bad, or the swans are not at the quarry, the program will be held at the Atlantic Public Library from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m., with a light lunch available. The “Soiree with the Swans” event is sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Atlantic Public Library.

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The lack of snow in December could be big in turning around several years of declinging pheasant numbers. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says seeing brown fields instead of white snowdrifts is important the pheasant population “This current winter for pheasants is exactly the kind of winter that we’ve been needing…the last couple of winters we’ve had anywhere from 20 to 30 inches of snow by the end of December, and this year is shaping up to be zero. I’d say our pheasant survival to this point is over 90-percent, so that’s awesome,” Bogenschutz says. He says winter survival sets the stage for a good spring hatch. “Winter is pretty critical because it’s the first major crunch time they have to go through,” Bogenschutz says, “and so if we have bad winters and kill most of ’em, that’s pretty much the end of it. Certainly if they make it through the winter then what happens in the spring is also important.” He says the more hens that survive the winter the more chance there is for success if there is a bad spring. The D-N-R conducts an annual roadside survey in August, and that count found an average of seven birds last year for each 30 miles, down from 11 birds the year before. Bogenschutz says past records show the birds can rebuild the population quickly if the climate is right. He says there are several documented cases where we’ve had mild winters followed by a good spring, and that has led to the bird population doubling. “It’s definitely and awesome start, we’ve still got three months of winter to go yet, but it’s an awesome start for them, that’s for sure,” Bogenschutz said. The current pheasant season runs through January 10th.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

The public is invited to join former 4-H’ers and Extension staff on Monday, Jan. 2^nd, as they explore the best tactics for developing successful material for applications, resumes and more.  Youth attending the event will leave knowing the basics and options to further explore. The event is open to 9th-through 12th grade students, regardless of whether they are involved with 4-H or not.  The Application Extravaganza takes place from 12:30 p.m.-to 4:30 p.m., at the Cass County Community Center, in Atlantic.

Recent graduates from Cass County will share their personal successes with applications and resume building.   Topics to be covered include:  Getting information, organizing information, and finding opportunities to apply for, resume building, 4-H awards and scholarships, and, letters of recommendation.  Information will be general to benefit all young people in grades 9-12, with opportunities for further learning. 

The event will include door prizes, giveaways, refreshments and hands-on learning.  Persons wanting to attend should RSVP by December 30 to xcass@iastate.edu or 712-243-1132.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he’s opposed to enacting a user fee to help spruce up the state’s parks and would rather rely on the Iowa State Parks Foundation to generate donations for park maintenance. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Roger Lande says Iowans have told him they would be willing to pay such a fee to improve state parks. The Sioux City Journal reports Lande raised the possibility of reinstating a user fee during budget talks with Branstad. DNR funding has declined since 2008 and with it the number of seasonal workers hired to maintain parks. Public complaints resulted in more money for maintenance and the number of seasonal workers should nearly double from 80 in 2011 to 150 for the year that ends June 30.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Boyer Chute and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuges are holding a January muzzleloader deer hunt for Iowa and Nebraska hunters. The hunt will run from Jan. 11 through Jan. 18, and will apply to antlerless deer only. Nebraska hunters need a Season Choice Area 21 permit for the hunt. Iowa hunters will need a January antlerless deer license, but they can use similar permits from Harrison or Pottawattamie counties. Boyer Chute Refuge is open to Nebraska hunters only. DeSoto has land in both the states of Iowa and Nebraska, and hunters from both states may hunt.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ethanol production in Iowa has increased to a record 3.7 billion gallons in 2011. The Des Moines Register says production for the state’s 41 plants has jumped by about 200 million gallons from last year. Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says the industry has relied on export markets for growth. The overall production for ethanol in the U.S. for 2011 is estimated at 13.8 billion gallons,. Foreign sales of U.S. ethanol have added an additional 1 billion gallons of production this year. Much of the foreign demand has come from Brazil. A shortfall in the sugar cane crop caused that nation to turn to imports for domestic use.