(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa State University report finds it will cost less to plant some crops this spring. Report author Alejandro Plastina says that includes the state’s two major crops. He says the cost of production will decline anywhere from three to four percent for both corn and soybeans. He says some of the inputs will cost more. “The increased costs are expected for labor, insecticide and corn seeds While the other categories are expected to go down — including for land costs,” Plastina says.

A drop in production costs does not mean farmers will make a profit on their harvest. “The cost of production is a big component of profitability — but on the other side — we have prices and that is something that farmers do not control, “Plastina says. “And currently there is a big uncertainty on where prices will go for the 2020 crop.” Plastina says the new trade agreements could have a big impact on profitability. “We have to wait and see what might happen with those and how those will be implemented,” according to Plastina. “On the negative side we have the coronavirus alert and we don’t know how that will impact trade for China in particular and the demand for soybeans.”

You can go to the extension department website to find the report on production costs. (www.extension.iastate.edu)

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State Fire Marshal Dan Wood has lifted the ban on open burning in Mills County. His action followed a request by fire chiefs in each Fire District in the County. The burn ban was officially lifted Monday morning. It had been in effect since Dec. 27th.

(Radio Iowa) — A Farm Bureau report says Iowa saw 27 farms file for bankruptcy during 2019. That’s up from just 14 farm bankruptcies the previous year. Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, says there may be more bankruptcy filings in coming years as the federal government ends trade mitigation payments that supplement farm income. Hart says, “Given that, we might see a step back here in farm incomes and that should lead to, again, continued pressure where we could see this bankruptcy trend continue to rise slowly higher.”

Hart says the overall numbers are relatively small, but it shows there’s mounting financial trouble from dairy states like Wisconsin to grain states like Iowa.  “It shows that it’s not just centered on one sector like dairy,” Hart says, “that this is spread more broadly across production agriculture.” Iowa and six neighboring states each marked decade-high numbers of farm bankruptcies in 2019.

Hart says farm income has actually been on the rise, buoyed by 28-billion dollars in federal payments to make up for trade disruptions. He says those payments are not expected to continue, but the financial pressure on Midwestern farmers likely will.

(Reporting by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — The spread of the coronavirus and the recently signed phase one of a trade agreement has put a lot of focus on China. Iowa State University agricultural economist Wendong Zhang is from China and says many Americans don’t fully understand the size and population of China. During a presentation in Le Mars, he says the Wuhan (WOO-hon) area at the heart of the outbreak is an example. “Most people in Iowa and across the U-S never even heard about the city — but that city is actually is home of 11 million people — that’s how big China is,” Zhang says. “…there’s a hundred million people who share my last name — that’s how big China is. That’s how big China is. That’s one of the reasons we are talking about China and demand.”

He says the coronavirus could cause issues with carrying out the trade agreement with China. “There are significant challenges logistically in terms of meeting the targets outlined in the baseline trade deal. Especially when you think the soybean export season is November to April. We will likely see the virus stay there for an extended period of time. We likely won’t see that go away until May,” Zhang says. Zhang says the trade deal between China and the United States is significant.”This is a really good thing for U-S agriculture — but there is still a whole lot of concerns about whether these promises are too good to be true,” according to Zhang. “Because these promises will reach a level we really haven’t seen before, and the 88-page agreement doesn’t have a whole lot of concrete details.”

He says the Chinese people are in desperate need of protein.”Pork, beef and poultry, because China currently has African Swine Fever where they lost 40 percent of their hog inventory, which is larger than the entire U-S inventory,” he says. He says China has a lot of other needs as well. “There’s also a growing demand for the consumer products as well — infant formula, wine, peanuts and fruits, vegetables, avocados,” Zhang says.

Zhang says the Chinese have more respect for the food safety inspection process in the U-S than they do for their own country. Zhang says it is unknown how much impact the coronavirus will end up having on the trade situation.

Get ready to welcome spring by attending the Cass County Master Gardeners’ 2020 Spring Garden Seminar, scheduled for Saturday, March 7, at the Cass County Community Center.  This year’s event, focused on “Garden Inspiration Old & New,” is a half day seminar designed to provide inspiration for discovering what’s new in the garden and appreciation for the heirlooms that continue to delight gardeners. Master Gardeners are encouraging attendees to register early as space is limited and the deadline for registration is March 1st.

The event will feature two main guest speakers. Kathy Johnson, owner of local business “Flowers For You” will kick off the morning with a presentation on growing your own cut flowers. Kathy will share her knowledge of floral design and tips for selecting and growing flowers for your own bouquets.

The second speaker is Cody Egan from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Cody will teach attendees about heirloom plants and how to preserve them.  Cody believes heirloom seeds have the ability to reconnect us to a specific time and place, a certain soil and season during which that seed, and the memories associated with it, were grown.

In addition to the guest speakers, the seminar will feature 60 minutes of “lightning learning” where attendees will have the opportunity to rotate between short presentations on topics such as Hostas, Small Space Gardening, Soil Testing, Propagating Succulents, and What’s New at the Garden Center, with more topics still to be added.

“Garden Inspiration Old and New” will be held at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. Registration and a light continental breakfast for the March 7th event begins at 8:30-a.m.  The program begins at 9-a.m., and will conclude by 12:30-p.m. Attendees will be provided ideas and coupons to spend the afternoon lunching and exploring in the Atlantic area.

Cost for the seminar, including continental breakfast, materials and refreshments is $20. A schedule and registration form are available at the Cass County Extension office, or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.  Previous Garden Seminar, attendees with a current address on record will also receive a brochure with registration form in the mail. Questions can be directed to Kate Olson at 712-243-1132, or by email at keolson@iastate.edu.

Mark your calendars, register by March 1st and plan to join the Cass County Master Gardeners for the 2020 Spring Garden Seminar, “Garden Inspiration Old and New” on Saturday, March 7th!

AMES, Iowa — Practical Farmers of Iowa will host several breakfast meet-ups across the state in February for fruit and vegetable farmers to meet others in their area, and share tips and advice ahead of the 2020 growing season. One meet-up will be specifically for cut flower farmers. All meet-ups run from 9:30-11:30 a.m., and each is hosted by a farmer from the area. During the gatherings, farmers will have time to discuss the upcoming season, challenges, opportunities and ideas, and to network with other farmers over a cup of coffee and some breakfast. The events are free and open to all fruit, vegetable and cut flower growers. In our area, the PFI breakfast meet-up will be held Thursday, Feb. 6th, at Logan Flours (305 E. 7th St.), in Logan. The event is hosted by One Farms’ Danelle Meyer.

Participants do not have to be PFI members to attend. RSVPs are appreciated, but not required. RSVP for specific meet-ups online at https://practicalfarmers.org/ fruit-vegetable-farmer-meet-ups. For questions, contact Liz Kolbe, PFI horticulture and habitat programs manager, at (515) 232-5661, or e-mail liz@practicalfarmers.org

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(DES MOINES) – This week, Representative Tom Moore (a Republican from Griswold) welcomed students involved in Creston and Southwest Valley FFA programs, to the Iowa House of Representatives. The students were visiting the Capitol for the Legislative Symposium, which is designed to build character and promote citizenship, volunteerism and patriotism.

Pictured here is Rep. Tom Moore (Griswold) and students with the Creston FFA.

Pictured here is Rep. Tom Moore (Griswold) and students with the Southwest Valley FFA.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa D-N-R is asking you to take make a donation to help the state’s wildlife when you file your state taxes. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Stephanie Shepherd, says the number of people who donate through the “Chickadee Check-off” has been dropping. “In 2003 we had almost 13-thousand people donating. In this last year — in 2018 — roughly 73-hundred folks donated to the checkoff,” Shepherd says.

She says the amount of money has fortunately not dropped as much as the amount of donors. Shepherd says the donations go to species that don’t get funds from dedicated sources like hunting and fishing licenses. “We have a thousand plus other species in the state that also require habitat, and require research and conservation,” according to Shepherd. She says there are probably several reasons the Chickadee Checkoff gets missed at tax time. “We don’t spend a lot of money on marketing — we want most of the money that comes in for the checkoff to go towards wildlife conservation,” according to Shepherd “We don’t do a ton of market besides word of mouth or putting out a press release or two. So, maybe that’s just not bringing in a lot of new folks who aren’t aware of the Fish and Wildlife on the state tax form.”

The check-offs are one of the last things you have to do in filling out your return, and Shepherd says that may work against them. “A lot of times folks can be in tax return preparation fatigue by the time you get to the bottom of the state tax form where the checkoff line is — so a lot of times it just gets overlooked,” Shepherd says.  Shepherd says you don’t have to donate thousands of dollars to help out the cause. “I always like to point out that we have about one-and-half million taxpayers in the state of Iowa and so if every one of them just donated one dollar on the checkoff that would be one-point-five millions for wildlife conservation in the state,” Shepherd says. “So even a little bit can make a huge difference — especially if we can get more people donating.”

The Fish and Wildlife Check-Off, line 57 on Form 1040. Or tell your tax preparer you’d like to donate to the fund.