(Radio Iowa) – U-S Trade Representative Katherine Tai joined Congresswoman Cindy Axne, and U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Thursday at farm near Woodward to talk about global trade opportunities and the Inflation Reduction Act. Tai says the Inflation Reduction Act pushed through by Democrats will be important to the agricultural industry in terms of our trade tools and the design of the way that goods flow in the global economy.  “And we see that there are short term stresses that we’re under that we are responding to. But we also know that there is a medium to long term realignment and transition that we need to go through in order to focus on and build out our resilience as an entire economy,” Tai says.

Ag Dept. via Twitter

They also discussed the high cost of farm inputs, specifically fertilizer. Secretary Vilsack says one issue is making sure that farm income is high enough to be able to help farmers withstand these difficult times. He says prices today are better than they were a year ago.  “And one of the reasons is because we are on par for a record year in exports. So as we continue to look for ways in which we can continue to market now, what are we doing, or we’re maintaining and expanding our presence in these markets, we have more trade missions, we have more assistance efforts underway to try to build existing markets. We’re opening up new opportunities,” Vilsack says. Tai says it’s also reasonable to take a look at the health and functioning of the market here domestically.

“In light of changes that have happened in the international context, and how healthy the competition is here. And what our options are also for creating more supply, creating more resilience, and thinking about how our trade tools can complement that,” she says. Secretary Vilsack was asked about the impact on the Farm Bill. He says it does not impact the decision making for the Farm Bill — it simply allows money through the process to be used on existing programs. “So it’s not like we have to write a whole bunch of rules, we don’t have to write a single rule,” Vilsack says. “We have a backlog of conservation projects that we haven’t been able to fund, not because we don’t have the staff, but because we don’t have the resources, the money.” Vilsack was asked if he sees carbon capture pipelines as essential to “climate smart agriculture.”

“The legislation that’s been passed and by the administration has been supportive of tax credits and basically encouraged this as a mechanism,” Vilsack says. “You know, the reality is, we need a variety of options here, a variety of options. Carbon capture and sequestration is one option, it is by no means the only option, and it is by no means the sole solution.” Vilsack is a Democrat and the former governor of Iowa who is serving his second stint as U-S Ag Secretary after serving in the Obama administration.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is reminding persons interested in hunting during the upcoming seasons, that hunter safety classes are being offered in Cass County next month (September). There are limited number of classes. Anyone born after January 1, 1972 needs to be certified in order to purchase a license. 11 years and older may attend hunter safety. Youth under the age of 16 can get a license without hunter education but must be hunting with a licensed adult.

If you have any questions regarding hunter safety, please go to the Iowa department of natural resources’ (DNR) website.

(Radio Iowa) – Deere & Company, Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer, is releasing its third quarter earnings report today (Friday) in an online conference call. Deere officials say the company is continuing to grow and thrive in the face of economic setbacks in the global marketplace. Rachel Bach is Deere’s manager of investor communications. Bach says, “John Deere achieved higher production rates in the third quarter resulting in a 25% increase in net sales, despite ongoing supply challenges.” The Quad Cities-based Deere reports net income of $1.88 billion for the third quarter, compared with net income of $1.66 billion in the third quarter last year.  “Financial results for the quarter included an 18% margin for the equipment operations,” Bach says. “Ag fundamentals remain solid with our order books beginning to fill for model year ’23 products reflecting continued healthy demand as we look ahead.”

For the first nine months of the company’s fiscal year, net income reached $4.88 billion, also an increase from $4.68 billion for the same period last year. The production and precision agriculture division reports sales increased for the quarter, which officials say was due to higher shipment volumes and price realization. “The construction forestry markets also continue to benefit from demand contributing to the division’s strong performance in the quarter,” Bach says. “Similarly, order books are now extending into 2023 providing visibility into the new year.”

With one quarter remaining in the company’s fiscal year, net income attributable to Deere is forecast to be in a range of seven to seven-point-two billion dollars. “Net sales and revenues were up 22% to $14.1 billion, while net sales for the equipment operations were up 25% to $13-billion,” Bach says. “Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $1.884 billion or $6.16 per diluted share.”

In a news release, Deere chairman and C-E-O John May said: “We’re proud of the extraordinary efforts by our employees to increase factory output and get products to customers under challenging circumstances. At the same time, our results reflected higher costs and production inefficiencies driven by the difficult supply-chain situation.”

(Radio Iowa) – As we approach harvest time, new concerns are rising about Iowa’s worsening drought conditions. A statewide virtual meeting is planned for next week to help address those concerns and to survey options. Field agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe, with the Iowa State University Extension, says the online meeting is free for anyone to join. Vittetoe says, “It’s designed for crop farmers and livestock producers, as well as ag retailers, farm managers, ag lenders or anybody in general that is impacted by the drought conditions and would like to know more.” Multiple speakers are lined up to discuss a list of farmers’ worries, and there will be opportunities for anyone watching to use the chat window to ask questions.

“One of the big things at this stage is on the livestock side, thinking about how we’re going to be managing the livestock with the drought, and then also thinking about feeding, drought stress crops and forages,” Vittetoe says. “One of the big questions that we always get in a drought is nitrate concerns especially for chopping for silage.” There could be health concerns for livestock as there can be higher nitrate levels in lower portions of the corn stalk. There will be several field agronomists in the virtual meeting, along with beef specialists, a farm management specialist, and representatives from the Farm Service Agency.

Drought-stressed corn. (ISU Exstension photo)

“On the farm management side of things, it’s more so thinking about crop insurance,” Vittetoe says. “Then also there’s some different government programs available as well for producers, depending upon what level of drought that we’re in. Usually once we reach that D-2 drought, certain programs become available to producers.” Roughly 16 Iowa counties are in at least D-2 or severe drought, while parts of five counties are in D-3 or extreme drought. The meeting is scheduled for noon on Tuesday (August 23) and should last around 90 minutes.

No pre-registration is required. To join the meeting, visit: https://www.aep.iastate.edu/drought/view

(Radio Iowa) – Despite widespread rainfall earlier this week, drought conditions are worsening across Iowa, according to the new map out today (Thursday) from the U-S Drought Monitor. Field agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe, with the Iowa State University Extension, says the new red spots on the map are particularly troubling. “It just got updated again this morning based off of rainfall as of Tuesday morning of this week,” Vittetoe says, “so, not necessarily major changes on the Drought Monitor but parts of western Iowa, there’s a few more areas that are in the D-3 or that extreme drought compared to last week.”

Extreme drought is now shown in five western counties: Cherokee, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury, while statewide, 67 counties are now in some form of drought, up from 64 counties last week. Vittetoe is based in southeast Iowa’s Washington County, which is listed as both abnormally dry and in moderate drought, and she’s encouraged by crop conditions as harvest season nears. “It’s amazing what the plant breeders have been able to do to help crops better withstand drought,” Vittetoe says. “I look at some fields that have had less than five inches of rainfall this growing season and I’m impressed with how well they look, considering the little rainfall that we have had.”

She says Iowa’s two biggest crops are suffering fairly equally in the drought. “On the corn side, that pollination and grain fill is a really critical period when we don’t want to be having a lot of drought stress. We want to have plenty of moisture, cooler temperatures, to really help with pollination and with grain fill,” Vittetoe says. “On the soybean side, if we’re hot and dry in July, when that corn’s pollinating, I’m not as concerned then as when we get into August and we’re trying to work on putting on pods, filling pods.”

Vittetoe will be hosting a statewide virtual meeting next on the drought from the fall harvest perspective. For details, visit: https://www.aep.iastate.edu/drought/view

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are familiar with the emerald ash borer and the green insect’s threat to our foliage, but we’re also being asked to be on guard for another insect that’s equally as lethal to a much wider variety of trees. Rhonda Santos, a spokeswoman for the U-S-D-A, says Iowa homeowners should examine their trees for the Asian longhorned beetle and report any clues they find about the invasive pest.

“Now is the best time to look for and report the signs of the Asian longhorned beetle in your backyard and in your neighborhood,” Santos says. “This wood-boring beetle attacks many types of trees and is a threat to our shade trees, recreational areas and our forest resources.” Unlike the emerald ash borer, the Asian longhorned beetle likes to feed on a host of trees, including: ash, birch, elm, sycamore, maple, buckeye, poplar and willow. The bug has distinct markings and leaves behind a series of holes and other signs in trees that make it quick to identify.

Asian Longhorned Beetle (USDA photo)

“The beetle is easy to recognize with their black and white antennae, shiny black body with white spots, and six legs,” Santos says. “The beetles create round holes and scars in the tree bark, sawdust-like material around the tree, and can cause branches to fall.” The beetle is not native to the U.S. and has few-to-no natural predators. Santos encourages Iowans to take five minutes and give your trees a close inspection for those round holes or sawdust.

Santos says, “If you see these signs, take photos and capture the suspicious insects to help the USDA with identification.” The beetle was first spotted in the U.S. in New York in 1996 and spread quickly. It’s one of a group of invasive pests and plant diseases that costs the nation some 40-billion dollars each year in losses to trees, plants, and crops. For more information or to report the insect or tree damage, visit www.asianlonghornedbeetle.com.

(Radio Iowa) – Tyson Foods is operating a new feed mill in northwest Iowa. It’s a replacement feed mill and adds 69 acres to Tyson’s turkey complex in Storm Lake. Nearly six dozen farmers within a 60 mile radius of the community supply the majority of turkeys processed at the company’s Storm Lake plant. Joe Hedden, Tyson’s Associate Director of Live Operations in Storm Lake, says the mill is providing high-quality feed for the turkeys.

“It gives us some great opportunities to help with the bird quality and animal welfare,” Hedden says, “and overall, all around it was a great decision.” The company’s turkey plant is operating at full capacity. “We’ve got three full shifts,” Hedden says. “It’s just the best thing that we’ve done is to open up a new feed mill here.”

Tyson feed mill in Storm Lake. (KAYL photo)

Tyson also operates a pork processing facility in Storm Lake and about 3000 people are employed at the company’s pork and turkey plants in Storm Lake. Tyson held an official opening for the towering feed mill today, but it’s been operating for several months.

The most recent data available indicates Iowa has more than 400 mills that grind grain and soybeans into specialized feed for livestock and poultry.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A teen from Atlantic showed the Champion Shorthorn Breeding Heifer, Tuesday, at the Iowa State Fair. Colton Becker showed another Breeding Shorthorn Heifer earning a second-place finish in his class. Colton is the son of John and Abby Becker.

Photo: Mike Plagman, Eric Plagman, John Becker, Abby Becker, and Showman Colton Becker.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic Party’s nominee for state ag secretary says the Iowa Department of Agriculture needs to represent both producers and consumers. “We have to have an eye on the world and where the world is going and maybe think about the secretary of agriculture as the secretary of food, land and water.” John Norwood is a business consultant and currently serving as a Soil and Water Commissioner in Polk County.

Norwood says Iowa’s ag industry is tremendously productive, but there’s an imbalance and the state’s voluntary approach to reducing farm chemical run-off isn’t working. “We send a billion pounds of nitrates down our Mississippi and Missouri River systems and into our reservoirs like Saylorville Lake here and that creates major drinking water issues, water recreation issues, access to water issues,” Norwood says. “Over half of our state waters are impaired.”

Norwood’s first job out of college was at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority which handled drinking water and wastewater. Norwood has not proposed specific limits on nitrogen and phosphorus application on cropland. He says innovative thinking is needed to improve Iowa’s water quality AND reduce top soil loss. “We have among the richest soils in the world here in Iowa and in some cases we’ve lost a third of the top soil, ten times the rate of loss that we make in any particular year,” Norwood says. “That’s unsustainable.”

Norwood says if Iowa is to weather more frequent floods and droughts, it needs healthy soil — and more acres planted with cover crops like oats, barley, rye and hay. “That might mean bringing more livestock, outdoor livestock which are important to soil health,” Norwood says. Norwood says Iowa needs to dedicate more ag land to crops that aren’t corn and soybeans. “We should be thinking about how do we feed 3.2 million Iowans and the 80 million people who live within a day’s drive Iowa,” Norwood says, “because places like California, which supply more than half of our fruits and vegetables is facing…drought.”

Norwood worked with cattle ranchers, nut growers and other farmers in California before settling in Iowa in 2002. Norwood made his comments on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Current Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig (NEGG, rhymes with “egg”), a Republican, has been in office since the spring of 2018 and in this year’s election he’s seeking a second full term.