Each year, land owners and others are allowed to harvest hay out of highway rights of way by permit. The Iowa Department of Transportation requires those permits for several reasons, one of which is the protection of habitat.

The Iowa DOT begins the permitting process in the spring, but harvesting hay is not allowed until July 15.

Joy Williams, an agronomist with the Iowa DOT’s roadside development section, said, “July 15 was chosen as a compromise for hay harvesting to begin to both help those wanting to harvest hay and to protect bird habitat. Many people would like to harvest hay sooner and then take a second cutting in September, but that conflicts with the nesting season. It is also hard on the native grasses and does not allow winter cover for birds.”

When early spring weather is cold and damp, later harvesting of hay from the right of way is even more important, especially for pheasant habitat. “Pheasants nest several times throughout the year,” says Todd Bogenschutz, the upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “Sometimes nests are destroyed by floods. We probably had a lot of that this year. About 35 to 45 percent of pheasant, 62 percent of quail, and 60 to 70 percent of songbird nests hatch after July first.”

The Iowa DOT has established two periods for harvesting grass within the state-maintained highway right of way.

July 15-Sept. 1:For cool-season grasses and forage legumes (e.g., smooth brome, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, alfalfa, bird’s-foot trefoil)
July 15-Aug. 15:For areas containing warm-season native grasses (e.g., switchgrass, big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, sideoats grama, Canada wildrye)
An Iowa DOT Harvesting and Mowing Permit Application is available from your area representative listed or online at https://forms.iowadot.gov/FormsMgt/External/810050.pdf. The application covers three types of operations: (1) mowing only; (2) harvesting hay in large or small bales; or (3) harvesting plant material other than hay with machinery, by hand or with hand tools.

Contact the representative serving the area nearest where you would like to harvest grass to receive assistance in processing your permit application. In Atlantic contact Vicki Brown at 712-243-7621 or email at vicki.brown@dot.iowa.gov.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a Nebraska man early this (Thursday) morning. Twenty-year old Timothy Gene Humphrey of Omaha, NE was arrested and charged with Possession with intent to deliver (Meth), Possession of Marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia and on a warrant for failure to appear for trespassing. Humphrey’s bond was set at $50,000.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Senator Charles Grassley says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage essentially returns the issue to states where he hopes the idea of marriage between a man and a woman is upheld. Grassley says the two 5-4 high court rulings issued yesterday stand as the law of the land and he realizes his opinion makes no difference.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican businessman Mark Jacobs says he’s exploring a run for U.S. Senate in 2014. Jacobs, the former CEO of the Texas-based Reliant Energy, says today he’s forming an exploratory committee to review running for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Tom Harkin. The 51-year-old native Iowan moved his family to Iowa last year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say a man has been found shot to death in his house. Police and medics were called to the home about 2:30 p.m. yesterday. Sergeant Jason Halifax says they found a man identified as 20-year-old Christopher Byers inside the residence with a gunshot wound. Byers was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State will host the Iowa women’s basketball team on December 12th, according to a schedule released yesterday by the Hawkeyes. The matchup with the Cyclones is one of three true road games in non-conference play for Iowa. The Hawkeyes will face Colorado and Northern Iowa in back-to-back road games in late November.