Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about the great outdoors. This week we discuss second deer season and Christmas Bird Count.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Farm Bureau has elected a northwest Iowa farmer and business owner as its next president. According to a news release from the organization, Brent Johnson raises corn, soybeans and cattle on a Calhoun County farm near Manson. He also operates a precision farming company that does soil sampling, deploys drones and offers data management. Johnson replaces 64-year-old Craig Hill of Ackworth who is retiring after a decade as the organization’s president. “I farm and enjoy the aspects of the farming operation,” Hill says. “I’m of that age where, you know, while I’m healthy and able, I want to do some things and we’re going to do those and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Hill says soon after he became Iowa Farm Bureau president in 2012, he was part of a group that greeted Xi Jinping in Des Moines, just before Xi became president of China. “We knew the market demands of China. They’re a very large population and the growing need for food and it was an exciting opportunity to talk about trade and to hopefully prepare to be a large provider of their needs going forward,” Hill says, “so trade has been so important from the very beginning to me, the trade war that disrupted a bit of things a few years ago during my tenure, the challenges there.”

Hill says he’s proud the Farm Bureau was successful in scuttling rules that could have made more Iowa waterways subject to federal regulation. “Something that would have been very critical to this organization and to our farmers and we avoided that,” Hill says. Hill says the greatest frustration during the past decade has been the federal waivers that have exempted oil refineries from ethanol blending obligations.

“Just think how perverse this is,” Hill says. “We have an EPA that’s for clean air, right? And you have a product, a liquid fuel, that is the cleanest burning fuel that can be offered.” Johnson, Hill’s successor, was elected president yesterday (Wednesday) at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s annual meeting. Johnson was not available for media interviews after his election.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports esident hunting, fishing and other licenses for 2022 are available beginning Dec. 15. The menu of license options includes the popular Outdoor Combo annual resident hunting/fishing/habitat combo license for $55; the Angler’s Special three-year fishing license for $62; and the Hunter’s Special three-year hunting license with habitat included for $101.

Also available is the Bonus Line option for $14 allowing resident and nonresident anglers to fish with one more line in addition to the two lines allowed with the regular fishing license.

Beginning Dec. 15, hunters who purchase a 2022 license and plan to pursue migratory game birds will be required to register for Harvest Information Program (HIP) either through the Go Outdoors Iowa app on their smartphone, through a link at www.iowadnr.gov/waterfowl or at www.gooutdoorsiowa.com and answering the questions. Migratory game birds mean more than ducks and geese; it includes ducks, geese, coots, doves, woodcock, rails, and snipe.

Once registered, hunters will need to physically write a confirmation number on the line provided at the top of the license as proof of registration. The HIP registration can be found in the GoOutdoorsIowa mobile app by clicking on the purchase license button, and then logging in to your account. Registering for HIP is a federal requirement for all migratory bird hunters.

The change was necessitated because registering through license vendors at the time of purchase has been inconsistent. Deer, turkey, and upland game hunters are not required to register for HIP and do not need to take the survey or record a confirmation number. Registering for HIP can be done later, if the hunter changes their mind.

Licenses are available at 700 locations across the state, and on the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/GoOutdoorsIowa.

Hunting and fishing are often enjoyed with family and friends. A fishing or hunting license makes a great stocking stuffer. Upgrade your paper license to a durable hard card with custom art from Iowa artists for only $5.

Licenses purchased for 2021 expire on Jan. 10.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Biden Administration has rejected dozens of oil refinery requests to be exempt from ethanol blending requirements, while proposing to dial back ethanol production targets. The moves are getting mixed reaction from the biofuels industry. Ron Lamberty of the American Coalition for Ethanol says it appears oil refiners won’t have to make good on ethanol blending goals.

“The numbers for 2021 seem to be lower than what we’re actually selling now, so we could take a hit there,” he says, “and the 2022 numbers look to be what they are supposed to be by law, so you know kind of hard to give anybody a pat on the back for that.” American Renewable Fuels Association president Geoff Cooper says there’s a lot to digest.

“Obviously we have some significant concerns with some of it,” he says, “but on balance we think this is probably overall a modest step in the right direction toward getting the RFS back on track.” The Renewable Fuels Standard calls on the E-P-A to set yearly ethanol blending requirements for the oil industry, but the Trump Administration did not meet last December’s deadline to set a target for this year.

The Biden Administration has now set the ethanol production goal for 2022. Republican elected officials from Iowa are blasting the decisions to retroactively reduce ethanol rules for 2020 and 2021. Governor Kim Reynolds calls the package a slap in the face to Iowa farmers and renewable fuels producers. Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines, the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, says denying oil industry waivers for ethanol blending obligations is the right path for the future, but dialing back previous ethanol requirements rewards oil companies that have failed to follow the Renewable Fuels Standard.

National Corn Growers Association president Chris Edgington — a farmer from St. Ansgar, Iowa — says denying oil refinery exemptions for 2022 is an important step forward, but the move to change previous ethanol blending requirements should be reversed.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has released a video to announce he will seek reelection in 2022. “Agriculture benefits all Iowans. That’s why we’re looking ahead to ensure that the future is bright for the next generation of Iowans who choose to go into agriculture,” Naig said. “We’ve worked to expand markets for Iowa farmers and our rural communities, working to meet the food and renewable fuel needs of consumers here and around the world.”

Naig, who is a Republican, grew up on a farm in the northwest corner of the state, near Cylinder. In March of 2018, Ag Secretary Bill Northey resigned to take a U-S-D-A job and Governor Reynolds appointed Naig to serve as secretary of agriculture. In November of 2018, Naig was a full four-year term as the state’s top agriculture official. “Agriculture is the backbone of our state and our economy,” Naig says. “I’ll continue to stand up for Iowa’s hard working farm families and ag communities.”

Naig is Iowa’s 15th secretary of agriculture. In 2018, Naig finished three percent ahead of his Democratic challenger. No Democrat has formally announced they intend to challenge Naig in 2022.

(Des Moines, Iowa) –  Officers with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) responded to four deer hunting incidents over the weekend – one related to property damage, one minor injury, one serious injury and one fatality – and one related to pheasant hunting.

• An individual was shot in the midsection by a member of his party who was shooting at a running deer in southern Muscatine County. He was transported to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The investigation is ongoing.
• An individual was treated and released from the hospital in Waukon after a slug grazed his right hand and forearm during a deer drive near Lansing, in Allamakee County.
• A house was struck by an unknown shooter near the Howard County town of Elma.
• A hunter was killed after being struck in the torso while hunting the Red Rock Wildlife Area in Marion County. It’s the first hunting related fatality of 2021. The incident remains under investigation.
• A pheasant hunter received four pellets to the neck and face area while hunting in Calhoun County. He was transported to the hospital in Sac City where he was treated and released.

The first of Iowa’s two shotgun deer hunting seasons will end on Dec. 8. Second shotgun deer season runs from Dec. 11-19. An estimated 120,000 hunters are expected to participate in one of the two seasons. Jamie Cook, hunter education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said these incidents underscore the importance of putting together a hunting plan that identifies the role and location of each member of the hunting party and then following the plan when in the field. “The hunting plan is a step by step playbook for how the hunt will unfold that includes reviewing safe hunting practices, avoid target fixation, and drives home the point of not just identifying the deer, but what is beyond the deer, before taking the shot. It’s the most essential part of every hunt,” Cook said.

He also stressed the importance of wearing more than the minimum amount of blaze orange than is required for the deer gun seasons. Iowa law requires one of the following pieces of external clothing of solid blaze orange: vest, jacket, coat, sweatshirt, sweater, shirt or coveralls. “You can’t have too much blaze orange on. If the color has started to fade, it’s time to replace it. You want to be seen from all sides,” he said. Cook said it’s also each hunter’s responsibility to know and understand their limitations as a hunter and the firearms capability and to stay within those.

“This is especially true when utilizing a rifle for the first time during the shotgun season. Hunter’s need to exercise good judgment when taking a shot and remember that when using a higher capacity magazine that they could be shooting over a longer period of time and possibly covering a larger area so they need to be even more aware of what’s going on around them and not get fixated on the target,” he said.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports, due to the chance of winter weather around the corner, the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department will begin closing all the Sunnyside (Park) Roads Friday morning, December 10, 2021.

He says “The closed roads do not mean then end of fun at Sunnyside Park. Stay tuned for all the winter recreation available and other updates on our Facebook page.”

(Radio Iowa) – Thousands of workers at Tyson meatpacking plants in Iowa will get year-end bonuses. Tyson has plants in Council Bluffs, Independence, Columbus Junction, Perry, Storm Lake and Waterloo. Tyson executives have announced year-end bonuses will range from 300 up to 700 dollars. The size of the bonus will depend on how long the employee has worked for the company. Soaring meat sales have pushed Tyson profits.

The company reported net income grew 47 percent in its recently concluded fiscal year. The company is providing about 50 million total in year-end bonuses to its nationwide workforce.

(Radio Iowa) – After ten years, Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Hill is stepping down as head of the state’s largest agricultural organization. Hill’s successor will be chosen as Farm Bureau members meet in Des Moines starting today (Tuesday) for their annual state conference. Matt Schuiteman of Sioux County, district director for northwest Iowa, says three names will be on the ballot. “Joe Heinrich, who is the current vice president, is from Jackson County over in far eastern Iowa,” Schuiteman says. “Then there’s Brent Johnson who is from near Manson in Calhoun County, and Tim Kaldenberg is also running. He’s from southern Iowa in Monroe County near Albia. Each one of them would be a fine choice.”

Schuiteman says it may take more than one vote to determine the next Iowa Farm Bureau president.”It’s hard to say. It very well could take a couple of votes just because there’s three guys running so typically, in that situation, somebody needs to get over 50% and a lot of times when you have three people running, that doesn’t happen the first time,” he says, “not to say that it’s going to be contentious at any point.” Schuiteman says Farm Bureau members won’t be establishing any new planks in the platform during the conference.  “We’re not going to work on establishing any policy in this meeting,” he says. “In terms of the delegate body, there’s more internal things that we take care of that are pertinent to the organization.”

This year’s theme for the state conference is “Our Farms, Our Future.”