(Radio Iowa) – A new statewide initiative is being launched that will help support community gardens that donate fresh produce. The Iowa Donation Garden Network is designed to reach and link up garden organizers through expert-led education, shared resources and collaborative programming. Alicia Herzog, the Iowa Master Gardener program manager with I-S-U Extension and Outreach, explains how it’ll work. “The overarching goal of this network is to empower and connect community donation gardens across Iowa,” Herzog says. “It can feel like you’re an island, sometimes, trying to do this work of raising fresh produce to be donated to food pantries in the area and battling food insecurity in the local community.” There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of community gardens across Iowa that are helping to feed people in their immediate areas. Through this new network, Herzog says they hope to get a handle on roughly how many gardens are doing this good work across Iowa, and how much produce they’re donating.

“We’ll be asking the member gardens to provide us some basic annual reporting metrics that then we can help create a statewide map,” Herzog says, “and we can show all of the communities, all of the counties that are impacted by these different gardens.” Exact locations won’t be published, she says, as they don’t want gardens being overrun. Funding will end this year for the U-S-D-A’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education, referred to as SNAP-Ed, so Herzog says the new network fills a critical gap in statewide support for donation gardens. “I’m sure that we won’t catch every donation garden that exists in Iowa, but we’re really trying to cast that net wide and far and let any donation garden that exists know that we want you to be a part of this story,” Herzog says. “We want to help tell your story about the good work that you may already be doing in your community and how that fits into the puzzle.”

Informational Zoom sessions to introduce the Iowa Donation Garden Network will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 AM, noon and 6 PM. Go here to register:
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/mastergardener/iowa-donation-garden-network

Officials with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation have announced they have reached the Foundation’s $1.9 million fundraising goal for the Arnolds Park Nature Area and will purchase the property to ensure it is protected and open to the public.

In a press release, the INHF said a flurry of donations over the final weeks of the campaign made it possible for INHF to exercise an option to purchase the 73-acre property before an Oct. 31 deadline. More than 300 individuals and families donated to support the vision for a city-owned park in the heart of the Iowa Great Lakes, managed with water quality, flood reduction, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation in mind.

INHF partnered with the city of Arnolds Park, Ducks Unlimited and Dickinson County Conservation to raise the necessary funding. Dozens of community partners — including East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation, the Okoboji Protective Association and Iowa Great Lakes Pheasants Forever — championed the project and made meaningful contributions.

After closing on the sale, INHF will place a conservation easement on the property, ensuring its permanent protection. INHF will then transfer ownership to the city of Arnolds Park, and work with partners to plan for wetland and prairie restoration work on the site.   The city plans to install a small parking area, a picnic shelter, and soft surface trails through the park. Eventually, an off-road bike trail along the east side of the property will connect the Great Lakes Spine Trail north toward Bridges Bay.  Any funds raised in excess of the purchase price will go directly toward the native habitat restoration happening on site.

INHF is grateful to all the partners and supporters that made this project possible. Your efforts are improving the quality of life for Great Lakes-area residents and visitors and supporting INHF’s mission to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife.

Supporters that made a pledge to the project can make a pledge payment online or send a check in the mail to:
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
505th Ave, Ste 444
Des Moines, IA 50309

(Radio Iowa) – Sightings of mountain lions in the state have dropped, but Iowa D-N-R furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says there are still some of the animals out there.

There also continue to be sightings in the northern corner of the state.

Evelsizer says the big cats try to stay away from humans, but there is a chance you could see them during the winter.

There haven’t been many recent bear sightings, but Evelsizer says there are still some out there as well.

Evelsizer says the bears will soon head into their dens for their long winter nap.

Evelsizer says bear sightings always pick up in the spring when they come out of hibernation and are hungry and looking for food.

(Radio Iowa) – President Trump met with China’s president earlier today (Thursday) and Trump says China has agreed to start buying massive amounts of U.S. soybeans. U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says China purchased “multiple” shiploads of soybeans just before the meeting. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says it’s all great news that will have a meaningful impact at a tough time for the farm economy. China has historically been the largest overseas market for U.S. soybeans, but stopped buying this spring in response to U.S. tariffs. American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland says that made financial problems even worse for soybean farmers.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig on the “Iowa Press” set at Iowa PBS (Iowa PBS photo)

“We are hopeful that this market will be restored following the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi,” Ragland said. “Still, high production costs and market losses mean soybean farmers are expected to face losses of $109 per acre for this year’s crop.” Ragland says the financial situation for row crop farmers remains dire, though, due to escalating costs for things like seeds, fertilizer and farm equipment. “As congress and the administration continue to address the overall cost of farm production, targeted farm assistance is desperately needed,” Ragland said.

President Trump suggested weeks ago that up to 10 BILLION dollars of emergency payments to farmers could be made using tariff revenue, but the plan was put on hold during the government shutdown.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Farmers are pondering the question of whether or not this is a good time to apply anhydrous ammonia to their fields after the harvest. Aaron Saeugling ISU Extension/Outreach Field Agronomist for Cass County says it’s a “difficult question to answer, with several variables,” but Saeugling says “I will say NO it is still too warm we need soils to cool a bit further to reduce the conversion to nitrate.  We want spoils that are trending downward in temperature the 4-inch soil temp fluctuates more in dry soils and with sunny days.  Some folks will justify this by that timing to get it all applied is challenging, while I do agree that getting it applied is a challenge just prepare your self to lose more nitrate than if you are to wait.” He urges crop producers to “Be safe!”

More information is available HERE.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County are being asked to contribute to a case involving local control of carbon pipeline projects. During the Board’s meeting Tuesday morning in Red Oak, West Township resident Jan Norris asked them to approve the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) request for funding for an Amicus brief in an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case.

Each of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors received a letter from ISAC asking for a donation. An amicus brief is a legal document submitted by a third party who is not directly involved in a lawsuit but has a strong interest in the outcome. Related legal terminology, “amicus curiae” translates to “friend of the court,” and the brief’s purpose is to provide the court with additional information, expertise, or arguments that can help inform its decision. Those briefs are often filed in cases of public importance and can support or oppose a party’s position by offering unique perspectives or legal analysis

Earlier this month, Shelby and Story County officials filed a petition in their case against Summit Carbon Solutions. Both counties seek to appeal the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in June that upheld a lower court’s ruling barring counties from implementing ordinances regulating carbon sequestration projects–such as the proposed Midwest Express CO2 pipeline.

Norris says ISAC is asking each county to consider a $500 contribution or more, to cover the total cost of $25,000 to file the amicus brief and represent counties during the legal proceedings.

The Board acknowledged the matter is worthy of consideration and discussion, and it will be placed on their agenda for Wednesday, Nov. 5th.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa furbearer season opens Saturday, and the D-N-R furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer says the trapping prospects look good. “Overall the furbearer populations around the state are in great condition. The only two species that are of concern would be muskrats and gray fox. Both have a declining population, or with muskrats, somewhat stable,” he says. Evelsizer says the wet start to the year helped fill up waterways, which benefits furbearers, especially beaver and muskrats. “Having some water out there on the landscape helps them all with litter rearing,” he says, “and then also gives them a place for the winter that doesn’t dry up. And so it just helps with them to do have a better year population wise.” Evelsizer says the fur prices are still in the low category for those who do take part.

“The species that are most popular these days in the current world typically are still raccoons, and to some extent otters, and bobcats have become fairly popular as well,” he says. Evelsizer says we’ve been holding around 15-thousand licensed trappers over the last several years. He says efforts to introduce young people to the sport have been successful. “We’ve partnered with the Iowa Trappers Association and the D-N-R’s Hunter Ed program and the D-N-R’s conservation officers. All have been great to work with and getting more beginner trapper events going, with the Iowa Trappers Association leading several of those beginner trapper events. And what’s neat with that is that we’re seeing quite a few youth and females and males attending those events.”

Evelsizer says the young trappers are getting into it for a lot of reasons. “It’s not just fur market driven, they’re doing it to learn the outdoor skills. They’re doing it to get a few nice tanned pelt, that sort of thing, so neat to see,” Evelsizer says.

You can check the Iowa D-N-R’s website to find out all the rules and regulations for the trapping season.

(Radio Iowa) – President Trump’s approach to trade is being debated on the Iowa campaign trail. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson points to a potential deal with China later this week and Josh Turek  — a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate — says Trump’s tariffs and the decision to import Argentine beef are causing a “farmageddon” in rural Iowa. “Our farmers are the very best in the world here in Iowa,” Turek said. “We’ve got a long history of feeding the world, doing it better than anybody else and it is due to these chaotic tariffs that we’re seeing our farmers having an inability to make a living for themselves. They want markets, not handouts.”

Congressman Zach Nunn and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst — both Republicans — have sent a letter to Trump Administration officials, calling for swift, coordinated action to restore access to foreign soybean markets. Congresswoman Hinson — who’s running for the U-S Senate — did not sign the letter. Hinson says Trump’s trip to China this week shows his commitment to American farmers. “It’s great to see things moving in the right direction for our soybean farmers, promising news when China’s potentially agreeing to buy substantial amounts of our soybeans,” Hinson said. “And as we wait for more details on that deal, I will continue working with the administration to expand market access for our Iowa farmers and secure new trade deals.”

Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks sent a letter to President Trump and the U-S ag secretary, warning any trade deal with China must have strong enforcement mechanisms to sanction bad actors. During Trump’s first term, he negotiated a deal in which China promised to buy 200 billion dollars worth of U-S exports. While the deal ended trade tensions between the two countries, China only bought 58 percent of the U-S goods and commodities it had promised to buy.

(Radio Iowa) – Senators from Iowa and Wisconsin recently re-introduced a bill that would require the U-S-D-A to study competition in the fertilizer market and its impact on prices paid by farmers. Three companies dominate fertilizer production in North America, according to Farm Action. Noah Coppess farms and runs an agri-business in eastern Iowa. and told Senators during a Judiciary Committee hearing that farmers right now are price takers, not price makers – especially when consolidation limits their options.

“Fertilizer pricing has become very volatile with at times, wild swings and costs varying as much as 25 to 50 percent from year to year,” he says. Coppess says they have to pay up front. “We are asked to pre-pay for fertilizer three-to-six months prior to it being applied to the soil, and up to 14 months before the crop will be harvested,” Coppess says.

The C-E-O of the Fertilizer Institute said during the hearing that geopolitics and demand from U-S corn growers have contributed to higher fertilizer prices. He said streamlining environmental permitting for mines and production plants would help the sector boost the domestic supply. The U-S imports the vast majority of the potash used in fertilizer, with most of it coming from Canada.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is a co-sponsor of the Fertilizer Research Act, which would require the U-S-D-A to conduct a study on competition in the fertilizer market and its impact on price.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s encouraged by the trade deals President Trump is making during his Asian tour, but it’s still unclear if there will be an agreement reached with China to buy American products, especially agricultural products like soybeans. China had been the biggest customer of that crop, but halted all purchases earlier this year in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs. “It would still give a great morale boost to farmers if they knew that China is going to be back in the market for our soybeans,” Grassley says. “Now, exactly when those first soybeans start flowing to China, I can’t give you a date on that.”

Grassley also couldn’t say if a deal with the Chinese this late in the year would be too little, too late for Iowa soybean growers, as China’s been buying beans from Brazil for many months. Grassley says the president’s making significant progress elsewhere. “I think the trip is already producing results,” Grassley says. “You heard announcement of trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia and signed reciprocal trade framework for Thailand and Vietnam.” A few weeks ago, the president talked about offering farmers who’ve been impacted by retaliatory tariffs several billion dollars in relief, but that potential aid package is on hold due to the federal government shutdown.

Trump’s in the midst of a five-day trade trip in Asia and he’s scheduled to meet with China’s president in South Korea on Wednesday. Grassley couldn’t say what Iowa farmers should hope for from those talks. “That’s new negotiations,” Grassley says. “Don’t forget that China only fulfilled about two-thirds of their obligation to buy American products, including agricultural products, from the January 2020 agreement that we had, called the First Phase of the China agreement.”

Trump met today (Tuesday) with Japan’s prime minister, signing a wide-ranging deal on several fronts, including missiles and rare earth elements.