(Radio Iowa) – Favorable conditions for planting continued again last week. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the dry weather kept things moving.Naig says the dry weather allowed planting to move ahead quickly — so 86 percent of the corn crop is now planted and 67 percent of the soybean crop is done — with corn 10 days ahead of the five-year average and soybeans are 15 days ahead of the five-year average. The Monday crop report shows central Iowa farmers have less than 10percent of their corn crop remaining to be planted. Corn emergence improved to 22 percent — up from two percent last week — and Naig says it’s hope the emergence can continue to improve.

“We’ve seen some cooler and drier conditions that have certainly caused that corn to lay in the ground a little longer than maybe normal. But with a much-needed rain, a drink of water will get that corn growing. And some sunshine of course — we need heat to get things going,” according to Naig. He says the recent rise in corn and bean prices adds to the excitement for farmers getting into the fields. “Farmers are feeling a lot better about prices this spring versus the last couple of years. And certainly that’s good when you can look at the marketplace and know that you can lock in a profit for the year,” Naig says. “Now with that, some of the input costs have been going up and certainly livestock products have been experiencing some increases in feed costs as well.”

Naig says farmers are always optimistic as the planting season moves ahead — but also know conditions often change. “Weather and markets are two things where the only constant is change, and folks are used to dealing with that,” Naig says. Naig says the optimism is high that the year will go well and farmers will have a good result when it comes to the harvest. He says a strong demand right now has resulted in much higher prices.

(Radio Iowa) – It has been too cool and dry for mosquitoes to get very active so far this year — but you may have noticed another insect flying around. I-S-U entomologist, Donald Stewart, says wasps have been active. “Most of these are paper wasps with an elongated, about an in long, brownish color. It’s the wasp that makes a nest up under the eaves of your house. It looks like a little upside down umbrella hanging there,” Lewis says. He says the wasps right now are looking for a place to live.

“Those nests are started by a single queen,” Lewis explains,”and they are quite active on the warm days of spring as they look for a sheltered location where they can build that nest.” But Lewis says they shouldn’t be very aggressive. “They aren’t interested in stinging, they’re interested in finding a place to make a nest — build a little nest, catch a little food, lay a few eggs,” according to Lewis. “Later in the summer when the population increases, then the wasps will be a little bit more aggressive, but right now they are not quite as threatening as people expect.”

Lewis says they shouldn’t pose much of a concern.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has introduced a bill with a bipartisan group of senators that would force meatpackers to buy at least half of their weekly beef supply on the open market. The vast majority of cattle sales today are private sales, and Grassley says he met with independent farmers this week who can’t gauge the fair market price for their cattle. “I met in Jones County, Iowa with 150 cattlemen that were very irate about the dominance of these four big packers having 80% of the slaughter and 80% of each daily slaughter is either pre-contracted or by the company-owned cattle,” Grassley says, “so the independent producer can’t get a market.”

Grassley says lawmakers need to intervene, because the cattle market isn’t working. “We’ve got to pass this legislation so the independent producer can negotiate a price and know when he can deliver,” Grassley says. Grassley says he began talking about this issue in 2002, but abandoned the effort in 2007 when he could not muster the votes to get a bill passed in the U.S. Senate. “And then a year ago, the cattle people came back to me from Iowa came back to me and said: ‘Would you resurrect your bill?’ I thought: ‘Ye gods, we’re going to go through the same thing again and not get any support?’ You’d be surprised the number of people that signed up for my bill almost immediately,” Grassley says. “We have good, bipartisan support now and I think it’s got no problem getting out of the agriculture committee.”

Grassley made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press,” which airs this weekend on Iowa P-B-S. According to the U-S-D-A, Iowa ranks fourth among the states in the number of cattle destined for slaughter at a meatpacker.

(Radio Iowa) – When you hear the average temperature or rainfall during the weather, that’s typically based on the past three decades of information, and this week the National Weather Service updated that temperature and precipitation data. Doug Kluck, the weather service’s Central Region climate services director, says they roll the averages forward every ten years.

“We’re taking 1991 through 2020 compared to 1981 through 2010, so that’s a ten-year adjustment forward in a 30-year full period,” Kluck says. “We’re going to see how much the climate has changed in those ten years.” Kluck says the new numbers show a cooling trend across the Northern Plains states, which includes Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas. “Guess what happened in the last ten years across the Northern Plains, what have we seen up there? An abundance of what? Not necessarily cold air, but an abundance of moisture, right?” Kluck says.

“We’ve had some pretty wet years, let’s say, in the last ten across the Northern Plains, thus, the temperatures are dampened a little bit.” While most of the nation is trending warmer with the shift in the decades of averages, Iowa and its neighbors are seeing a cooling trend. “Other parts of the country, not so much,” he says. “If you go to the West, especially in the Southwest, you’re going to see a lot more increases in temperature when you compare the last 30-year period to the new 30-year period.”

As for the Northern Plains, Kluck says they’re seeing cooler temperatures lingering longer in the spring, with warmer temperatures pushing further into the fall.

(Radio Iowa) – A study from the Environmental Working Group says Iowa needs to monitor more bodies of water for a toxin that’s produced by a microscopic organism called blue-green algae. The report says Iowa does routine weekly monitoring for microcystins on state park beaches, but it’s missing other locations like lakes, ponds and reservoirs. E-W-G’s Anne Schechinger  says the state should do more monitoring to keep people from getting sick as the microcystins can cause cancer or liver failure, among other things. “Since they have such potentially serious public health impacts,” Schechinger says, “it’s really important to monitor so we can warn people to stay away from affected water bodies.”

A water quality supervisor with the Iowa D-N-R says the state tests for microcystins in lakes too, but it’s a fairly new program. The state tests about 130 lakes up to three times a year. Schechinger says it’s a step in the right direction, but wants to see more frequent testing, while ponds and reservoirs should be included too. “You can’t tell if a blue-green algae bloom is toxic unless you test,” she says. “You can’t just look at it and tell it’s toxic. So you need to do testing in any body of water that people are going to recreate in or near to really keep people safe.”

Schechinger says Iowa tests for microcystins more often than Minnesota and Wisconsin, which don’t test every year.

(reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – A new online map can be used to educate Iowans about the air quality around them with a few mouse clicks. Brian Hutchins, the air quality supervisor at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the colorful map is called simply, AirNow, and it’s focused on fires and smoke.  “What you can find there is the Air Quality Index (AQI),” Hutchins says. “It’s easy to read and essentially the higher the number on that chart, the worse the air quality is. It’s a great tool for those with underlying health conditions, like asthma, to keep an eye on.”

The first time you log in, you’ll see a map of North America, with a series of green, yellow, orange and red dots stretching across Canada, the U-S and Mexico. “You can zoom in on Iowa and you can see the monitoring sites that we have in the state, and the AQI is represented by a dot on the map,” Hutchins says. “It’s a colored dot and you can compare that to the AQI number.” In recent years, Iowa’s air has been polluted by wildfires as far away as Canada. The next time it happens, Hutchins says the map will come in handy, as there are things Iowans can do to stay safe.

“It’s a good idea to limit outdoor activity, especially physical activity like exercising, that sort of thing,” Hutchins says, “if you are an individual that is susceptible to that type of impact.” He also suggests limiting your time near pollution sources — like busy roads. This is National Clean Air Week.

(Radio Iowa) – The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent much of Tuesday in Iowa. It’s the first solo trip Administrator Michael Regan has taken since he was sworn into office. Regan toured an ethanol plant in Nevada and he told reporters the E-P-A’s announcement on biofuels production levels is coming. “It’s a priority and I’ll be honest with you, the last team left us in a little bit of a deficit. There were some decisions that were not made for 2019, 2020 and 2021,” Regan says.

“We’re working on a strategy for how we can make up for lost time, but have integrity in the system so that when we come up with a product, we’re not legally vulnerable for skipping steps.” The legal dispute over how the E-P-A previously awarded ethanol blending waivers to the oil industry has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. And the E-P-A just rescinded three ethanol waivers granted on President Trump’s last day in office.

“People will criticize EPA for not going fast enough, but I can assure you this administration is going as fast as we can, utilizing the science,” Regan says. “And, by the way, we want to do it as quickly as possible because this industry deserves some certainty.” Regan met privately with a group of Iowa farmers and he says they discussed the role agriculture can plan in a national effort to reduce carbon emissions.

“It was a very optimistic conversation about what farmers are doing,” Regan says, “and how technologically advanced, scientifically grounded the farming community is in terms of looking at carbon capture and sequestration, reducing their own greenhouse gas footprint.” The group also briefed the E-P-A administrator on some of the projects that are part of the state’s voluntary strategy to reduce farm chemical run-off into Iowa waterways.

Regan says what he heard about was innovative and cutting edge, but Regan told reporters he hasn’t examined the issue closely enough to determine whether the voluntary approach is working. “What we’re trying to do is use the power of convening, get everyone to the table and let’s take a honest look at what has been working and what hasn’t been working,” Regan says. “I think we have to be honest about pushing forward on the things that are working and not to be afraid to discuss what’s not working and then we get to the point of discussing what has to happen through a regulatory versus a voluntary lens.”

Regan met with Governor Reynolds and visited a contaminated industrial site in Des Moines that the E-P-A will start cleaning up this year. Regan was North Carolina’s top environmental regulator before President Biden asked him to lead the E-P-A.

1st Place High School Owen Wilkinsen & Daniel Mattox

1st place juniors AJ Draper & Emmett King

Big Fish AJ Draper

Atlantic, IA. – The SW Valley student anglers of Owen Wilkinson and Daniel Mattox of Corning, IA scored the victory in the Powerade High School Series at the Danielson Inc. SAF SWIFT bass tournament at Lake of Three Fires on Sunday with their bag of 5 fish weighing 10.15 pounds. Second was the team of Owen Hoover and Korben Brunt of Anita. Their five fish weighed in at 9.42 and rounding out the top three were Drey Newell of Atlantic and Braden Smith of Atlantic who brought 5 bass to the stage weighing 7.56.

Emmett of Panora, IA and AJ Draper of Linden, IA caught a 5 bag limit and won back to back tournaments in the Fairlife Yup Junior Series with their bag weighing 9.51 pounds. Second place went to Braxton Hass of Atlantic, IA., and Cody Swank, Harlan, IA  hauled in 5 bass at 8.39 lbs.and rounding out the field in third place was the team of Grayson Malgaard and Owen Miller of Anita, IA their total was 5 bass 8.23 lbs.

A record nineteen teams battled 10 to 20 mph winds all day long on the 85 acre lake to find the biggest fish. Even with  tuff conditions the student anglers persevered and every team put fish into the boat and seventeen teams hauled in an impressive 5 bass bag limit. At the end of the day at the official weigh-in 88 fish were brought to the stage totalling 115.82 pounds.

AJ Draper of Linden, IA also earned the AM Cohron & Sons Big Fish of the tournament with his bass weighing in at 4.41 pounds.

Powerade High School Boat Series results from the McDermott & Son Roofing Company SAF SWIFT tournament at Lake Anita on Saturday.

1^st –  Owen Wilkinson  , Corning, IA and Daniel Mattox, Corning, IA, 5 bass, 10.15- Boat Captain- Johnathon Locke
2nd – Korben Brunt, Anita, IA and Owen Hoover, Anita, IA, 5 bass, 9.42 lbs., Boat Captain- Randy Hoover
3rd – Drey Newell, Atlantic, IA and Braden Smith, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 7.56 lbs., Boat Captain- Brendon Atkinson
4^th– Colton Rudy, Atlantic, IA and Colin Rudy, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 7.02 lbs., Boat Captain- Chuck Rudy
5^th Tie- Vicente Butcher, Corning, IA., and Conner Britten, Red Oak, IA., 5 bass, 6.41 lbs., Boat Captain- Jim Robinson- Villisca
6th– Cooper Jipsen, Atlantic, IA and Braden Smith, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 6.38 lbs., Boat Captain- Dent Petty
7th –  Joey Oathoudt, Corning, IA and Joaquin Wailes, Wiota, IA, 5 bass, 4.42- Boat Captain- Johnathon Locke
8^th Tie– Mason McCready, Macedonia, IA and Caden Forristall, Carson, IA, 5 bass, 4.24 lbs., Boat Captain- Eric McCready
9^th– Jake Oathoudt, Corning, IA and Dakota Breaud, Corning, IA, 1 bass, 1.20 lbs., Boat Captain- Chuck Elmquist

Fairlire Yup Junior Boat Series results from the McDermott & Son Roofing Company SAF SWIFT tournament at Lake Anita on Saturday.

1^st- Emmett King, Panora, IA., and AJ Draper, Linden, IA., 5 bass, 9.51 lbs., Boat Captain-Jeremy King
2nd-Cody Swank, Harlan, IA and Braxton Hass, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 8.39 lbs.,  Boat Captain- Allen Porter
3rd: Grayson Molgaard, Atlantic, IA and Owen Miller, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 8.23 lbs., Boat Captain- Peter Molgaard
4th-Jake Wailes, Wiota, IA and Brentyn Hoover, Anita, IA,5 bass, 6.55 lbs. Boat Captain- Rob Clausen
5th- Hunter Quist, Atlantic, IA., and Adien Smith, Elliot, IA., 5 bass, 6.54 lbs., Boat Captain-Kyle Quist
6th- Colton Anderson, Atlantic, IA., and Grant Petty, Atlantict, IA., 5 bass, 5.86 lbs., Boat Captain- Kirt Knudsen
7th: Gavin Dougherty, Lewis, IA and Garrett Stetzel, Atlantic, IA, 5 bass, 4.91 lbs., Boat Captain- Koby Stetzel
8th: Brody Hughes, Red Oak, IA and Bently Hughes, Red Oak, IA, 5 bass, 4.23 lbs., -Boat Captain- Bill Hughes
9th- Hade DeVore, Atlantic, IA., and Holden DeVore, Atlantic, IA., 5 bass, 3.13 lbs., Boat Captain- Brad DeVore
10th: Letty McSorely, Carson, IA and Colton Krueger, Carson, IA, 2 bass, 1.67 lbs.,- Boat Captain- Adam Krueger

The next event for SWIFT will be Saturday May 22^nd at Prairie Rose Lake. It will be the TBF/SAF Iowa Jr & High School Fishing State Championships.

(Radio Iowa) – If your neighbor’s lawn is looking shaggy, don’t scold them as they may be taking part in No Mow May. It’s an effort to toss out the image of a “perfect” lawn and raise awareness about alternatives that are friendlier to the environment and to pollinators, especially bees, which are now emerging from hibernation. Ginny Mitchell, education program coordinator of the Insect Zoo at Iowa State University, says lawns are America’s biggest crop and they provide no food or resources.  “The non-native grasses that we use as our lawns were brought over in the 1700s and they’re really outdated,” Mitchell says. “They don’t bring anything to our lives except work, right? How many people like mowing the lawn or applying fertilizers or doing anything to your lawn. It’s a lot of work.”

The No Mow May effort is just starting to catch on, Mitchell says, as about two-dozen homeowners in the Ames area have pledged to take part. Some plan to convert all or at least part of their lawns away from traditional grass. “We can plant alternatives that also help pollinators and insects and wildlife in general, birds,” Mitchell says. “We can plant things like violets which are low-growing and do not require lawns. We can do many different ground covers, creeping thyme which can withhold foot traffic, white Dutch clover, all sorts of other plants.”

Iowa has what’s believed to be the highest proportion of privately-held land in the U-S, which is why Mitchell says it’s important for homeowners to consider making the change. “Whether you’re converting your entire lawn, like I am, or just a small area, no matter what, it’s going to have a positive impact on the environment, reduce pesticides, reduce greenhouse gases from using a gas-powered lawn mower,” Mitchell says, “and frankly, you’ll have more time to stop and smell the roses.”

Even people who live in apartments can help, by starting with their balconies and planting cone flowers, goldenrod, coreopsis and other pollinator-friendly alternatives.If you live in the city, though, you should make sure you know how tall your grass can grow before local ordinances kick-in and require the lawn to be mowed.

Learn more at the ISU Insect Zoo’s website: https://www.ent.iastate.edu/insectzoo/