Jim Field talks about Small Business Saturday.

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Jim Field talks about the cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 2022.

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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the recent sale of 73 acres of northwest Iowa farmland — for 30-thousand dollars an acre — indicates Iowa farmers are seeing fairly good profit margins. “At the same time, too, though — I would say that we’re also hearing of less land being put on the market because folks are worried that those prices may be weakening,” Hart says.

Higher interest rates are a factor, plus Hart says agland that’s not rated as excellent ground for raising corn isn’t selling for especially high prices. “So there’s a separation that I think’s occurring right now where high quality land is still attracting those dollars,” Hart says, “where maybe the middle and low quality land may be starting to see some erosion in those values as we look forward.”

On November 11th, a tract of farmland near Sheldon appears to have set an Iowa sales record of 30-thousand dollars an acre. It was purchased by a local farmer according to the auctioneer who handled the sale. The value of farmland that’s enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program appears to be holding steady, according to Hart. “There’s a market for it and I think when we look the payments that are being offered for those conservation programs, that’s helping hold that value where it’s at,” Hart says, “but we’re not seeing a run on that market like we are seeing on high-quality cropland.”

There’s a calculation called the “corn suitability rating” for agland and Hart says there’s a limited number of tracts of that highly rated ground for raising corn coming up for sale. “The reason we see sort of northwest Iowa really, if you will, light up when it comes to land values is that you’ve got not only crop producers who are competing for that land, but also the livestock industry,” Hart says. “With strong dairy up there, the cattle industry and even a few hog producers up there, it creates a very strong competition for that land up in northwest Iowa that helps push those land values higher than what we see in the rest of the state.”

Hart is currently the crop market specialist in Iowa State University’s Department of Economics. Hart began his career at Iowa State in 1996 in I-S-U’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

(Radio Iowa) – Net sales for Deere and Company were up 40 percent in its last quarter. The company’s net income for its fiscal year was over seven-point-one BILLION dollars. C-E-O John May says Deere’s just-concluded fiscal year was unprecedented in several ways. “We started the year in a work stoppage at some of our largest U.S. factories, but we resolved that with a groundbreaking, industry-leading new contract,” May says. “Then supply and logistics hurdles created disruption. At times, deliveries were delayed as demand simply outstripped what the industry could supply.” May says from May through the end of October, Deere had a substantial increase in retail sales AND in production from its factories.

“As I look ahead to Fiscal Year 2023 and beyond, I truly believe our best years are ahead of us,” May says. May says the fundamentals in the farm economy are positive and that’s driving demand for tractors and other implements. North American combine orders were recently filled in two months. “In the near term, order books across our businesses are full into the third quarter,” May says, “and it’s important to note that not only do the order books continue to fill when we open them, but the velocity of orders has remained strong.”

May spoke this (Wednesday) morning during an online presentation to investors. Deere’s stock price has been climbing this year and it went higher this (Wednesday) morning after Deere’s financial report was released.

Jim Field speaks with Deb Schuler about the 2022 Festival of Trees coming up December 1st through the 4th at the Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Parish Center in Atlantic.

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DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Tuesday, signed an extension of the proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer, and manure. The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through December 22, 2022. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

The proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table [in Iowa Code 321.463-1](6) (b)], by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa bobcat trapping season is underway and D-N-R wildlife biologist, Vince Evelsizer, says trappers should be able to fill their quotas. “Bobcat populations are doing very well across the southern part of Iowa, the extreme western part of Iowa, and they’re continuing to expand northward up through eastern Iowa,” he says. Evelsizer says it’s one of the positive conservation stories. “The bobcats story is a happy one. Their numbers are stable to increasing in almost all counties of Iowa that have ideal habitat, which is typically early successional forest and in fields, natural grass fields, that sort of thing where there’s a good prey abundance,” Evelsizer says.

The limits on bobcat trapping continue based on the populations for each county. “The north-central part of Iowa is still closed to bobcat harvest. And then there’s several counties across central Iowa that are open to one bobcat bag limit for that county,” he says. “And then the three tiers of southern Iowa counties is open to a three bobcat bag limit.” Evelsizer says the trapping helps keep the populations from getting out of control.”They don’t have many natural predators in the Midwest which you know out in the western U-S — or the far north — they would have to watch out for bigger cats such as mountain lions or even gray wolves with their kittens you know that sort of thing,” Evelsizer says.

You can find out more about bobcat trapping on the Iowa D-N-R’s website.

Jim Field speaks with Shaun Sayres with the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn about Julefest in the Danish Villages this weekend.

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(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report shows the 2022 harvest season is done. The report shows the corn harvest is now 97 percent complete — after being reported as 95 percent complete last week and eight days ahead of schedule. The bean harvest was completed two weeks ago.

The state Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the first statewide snowfall and subsequent melting will help the topsoil moisture improve for next year’s planting season.

Jim Field speaks with Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh about Mental Health Night at the Griswold Schools on Tuesday.

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