CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
(Radio Iowa) – Recent rains have helped with dry conditions — but they have been spread out and some areas of the state could use much more rain. The Iowa D-N-R’s Tim Hall says severe drought conditions expanded in June from 12 counties in northwest Iowa across nearly all of northern Iowa. “Sixty-two-percent is now severe drought — up from only about eight percent at the beginning of the month,” Hall says. “So that is a significant uptick in coverage of the D-2 drought.”
While the severe drought has spread across the state — the rain we did get in June was beneficial. “June was drier than normal. Normally we get about five inches of rain. We ended up getting about three inches. That three inches of rain certainly has helped to push off any of the real severe conditions that we might otherwise be seeing right now,” according to Hall. Streamflow conditions across approximately half of the state remain in the below normal condition. Hall says other states are in worse shape coming out of June.
“As dry as it is in Iowa, it gets progressively worse as you go north and west into the Dakotas and Montana,” Hall says. “And the prediction in the Missouri River basin is that the runoff north of Sioux City could very well be the tenth lowest on record, going back to the late 1800s.” He says that is a big contrast to the flood fears on the Missouri River in the last couple of years.
)”The Missouri River is in as bad a shape as anything we’ve got here in the state. And it does not look like they are going to come out of that anytime real soon,” Hall says. Hall says the crops need continued moisture as they grow and there is hope we can get more rain as we move through July.
(Radio Iowa) – Cattle producers see hope in a new beef processing plant coming to southwest Iowa in 2023, as ranchers often complain about limited choices when it’s time to sell their beef cattle. A new company, Cattlemen’s Heritage, will build a facility on the Mills-Pottawattamie county line to process 15-hundred head of cattle per day. Iowa State University livestock economist Lee Schulz says another player in the packing industry means “tremendous opportunity” for Iowa producers. “Locally, that should really help competition for the cattle that are available,” Schulz says. “Cattle can only travel so far and so the largest impact is going to be to producers in that area.”
Four big meatpackers control most of the beef slaughter and farm groups say less market competition means lower prices for cattle. The new plant should help to change those dynamics and Schulz says it’ll have ripple effects across the region. He says, “If that’s the new demand there, the other plants are going to have to bid higher prices or go out further distances to find cattle to supply their plants.”
Schulz says it’s hard to say how much the new plant will affect prices because markets and production costs are constantly changing.
(by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking for your help in counting wild turkeys. Wildlife biologist, Jim Coffey coordinates the turkey tracking. “During the month of July and August, we look for the general public to report any turkey sightings that they see. What we are really looking for is a way to count this year’s production — so this year’s poults that are produced,” Coffey says. He says the wild turkey population changes dramatically after nesting. “They’ll have about ten to 12 eggs. Of that, about 95 percent of those eggs will hatch. So on day one, they could have ten poults — but as quickly as four weeks later they could be down to zero or five poults,” according to Coffey. “So half of those poults are expected to die in the first four weeks.”
He says the young birds must survive the weather and predators. Coffey says wild turkeys can be spotted across the state. He says they mainly live in the forest, but spend a lot of time in pastures and hayfields this time of year. “One of the main diets of the poults is bugs — so any place there is lots of bugs they are going to be moving around and feeding — eating that high-quality protein that makes them grow quickly. So you can expect to see turkeys all across the state of Iowa in all 99 counties,” he says. If you do see wild turkeys, you are encouraged to visit the D-N-R website and report the sighting. He says you can go to the hunting tab and click on “turkeys.” There will be another tab where you can report the number of turkeys and the number of poults that you saw.
Coffey says wild turkey populations have seen a recent rebound. “We had pretty poor production two years ago, and then good production last year,” Coffey says. “We are kind of concerned about southeast Iowa — it tends to be the part of the state that has had the least production over the last ten years. But turkey numbers can fluctuate quite dramatically from year to year.”
Hunters annually take more than 14-thousand wild turkeys each year.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Grow Another Row Cass County has released its pick-up and drop-off schedule for 2021, and is now accepting local fresh produce donations across the county through October 1. Grow Another Row Cass County is a Healthy Cass County campaign started by a group of local growers to encourage residents to grow and share more fresh local produce. Grow Another Row Cass County invites local farmers and gardeners to plant a few more rows of produce to share again this year. Anyone interested in the program is invited to sign up for the Grow Another Row newsletter to keep up with the latest program news, gardening tips, recipes, and more at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county.
Anyone is welcome to donate fresh produce, and anyone is welcome to take fresh produce they need. You are also welcome to drop off extras and pick up something you need in the same trip. There is no requirement to sign up to either donate or take the produce. Donations of any size are appreciated!
Each location has set hours during which people can pick-up or drop-off fresh produce. If you plan on just donating, it’s best if you can drop produce off closer to the beginning of the location’s open hours. If you just want to pick up produce, try visiting closer to the end. All pantries in Cass County also accept donations during specified hours prior to their distribution hours. A full schedule is available below.
When donating, please don’t wash produce if you can’t dry it, and try to bag items in familysized amounts. When picking up produce, please only take what you need and be sure to wash it before eating. If you need bags or containers to package donated produce, contact Grow Another Row Coordinator Claire Smith at 712-243-1132.
Finally, Grow Another Row could not serve residents across Cass County without our wonderful volunteers. If you would like to volunteer at any time throughout the summer, please contact Grow Another Row Coordinator Claire Smith at claires2@iastate.edu. This could include donating, harvesting, delivering, transporting produce, and other volunteering opportunities. Any help is greatly appreciated, even if you can only help a time or two.
Grow Another Row Cass County 2021 Weekly Produce Distribution Schedule….
Monday: Griswold: Griswold United Methodist Church (100 Cass St. Griswold); Time: 8 AM – 12 PM
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
For more information on Grow Another Row Cass County visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county or contact Grow Another Row Coordinator Claire Smith at claires2@iastate.edu or 712-243-1132. For information on Cass County food pantries, farmers markets, and other locally-driven food initiatives, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council on Facebook @CassCountyLocalFood.
Healthy Cass County is a community-focused volunteer network formed to promote the health and well-being of Cass County residents. Follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty (https://www.facebook.com/HealthyCassCounty/). Reach out to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or call 712-249-5870 for more information.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley vows to work with his colleagues to address restoring the year-round sale of the 15-percent ethanol fuel blend, even though in his words, “fighting big oil is not an easy job.” On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the rule enacted by the E-P-A that allowed E-15 to be sold between June and September, a move that was encouraged by then-President Trump. “The previous administration made the right call to allow E-15 to be sold year-round,” Grassley says, “and to allow consumers to make their own decisions about what kind of fuel they want to choose at the pump.”
The decision to allow E-15 to be sold year-round put that blend on a par with the popular 10-percent ethanol blend which has been available for sale all year for decades. “Banning this higher blend of ethanol for part of the year never made sense in the first place,” Grassley says, “but it was still the rule and the Trump administration corrected that silly rule that you couldn’t sell it during the summer.” Grassley says he’ll push for a legislative solution to the issue to give some certainty to farmers and producers as he says the court ruling is a “big hit” to ethanol. “We all know that ethanol is good for the economy, good for national security and good for the environment,” Grassley says. “This is what’s puzzling to me because I constantly hear from my colleagues, particularly on the Democratic side of the aisle, that they’re concerned about the environment.”
Governor Kim Reynolds issued the following statement after the court’s ruling: “Iowa proudly leads the country in the production of renewable fuels, and today’s ruling is a gut punch to not only our renewable fuel industry but our fuel retailers as well. I worked closely with the Trump Administration to secure year-round sales of E-15, and I disagree with today’s court decision. We will continue to stand up for renewable fuels and fuel retailers, and pursue every avenue to ensure they can continue to offer lower cost, cleaner burning E-15 to Iowans.”
A local businessman who, for many years helped to promote and organize tractor rides in southwest Iowa, died Saturday. In memory of Maynard Hansen, owner of the Tune Up Inn in Wiota, tractor Ride enthusiasts are being asked to bring their tractors to Hansen’s funeral service on Friday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the Brayton Lutheran Church located on the northwest edge of Brayton.
Maynard Hansen (Kessler Funeral Home obituary photo)
Ride participants are asked to show up with their tractors one hour prior to the service (or at 9:30 am) Friday. Steve Best of B & B Barrett Trailer Sales at 3270 J Avenue will be the tractor unloading point.
(Radio Iowa) The summer heat is here but Iowans are being advised against swimming in seven state park lakes due to elevated e-coli levels and toxic algae blooms tied to agricultural runoff. So far, Lake Darling in southeast Iowa is the only beach in the state with both advisories in place. Diane Rosenberg, of the advocacy group Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, says the pollution is causing a major loss for families.
“I used to bring my children when they were young to the lake all the time. We would go and have a nice afternoon there,” Rosenberg says. “I would never do that if I had small children again. I just wouldn’t do that. It’s just not healthy. It’s not safe right now.” Taxpayers and private donors funded a multi-million-dollar restoration at Lake Darling State Park that was completed in 2014. Rosenberg says a lack of regulation of nearby livestock operations have degraded the lake, despite the investments to improve it.
“Why bother to raise $16 million and get a whole community of people working to create this beautiful lake to make it more available and clean it up if you’re not going to have practices that protect it?” Rosenberg says. Advisories are also posted for the lakes at the following state parks: Backbone, Lake Keomah, Pine Lake, Prairie Rose, Rock Creek and Union Grove.
(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)
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