(Radio Iowa) — With ratification of the U-S Mexico Canada Agreement expected soon and the lifting of a ban on U-S exports to China, Iowa’s turkey producers are expecting 2020 to be a banner year. Iowa Turkey Federation executive director Greta Irwin says new biosecurity measures are in place at all of Iowa’s 130 turkey farms following a devastating round of avian flu in 2015.

“We really work hard to make sure we have clean boots when we go into a barn,” Irwin says, “because that would be the number-one way that you’re going to track in a virus and we are constantly keeping the water clean and healthy and sanitized for the birds here on the farm.” Back in November, China announced that it was lifting an import ban on U-S turkey products that had been place since 2015.

“Even our turkey feathers were not allowed to come into China and as you think about turkey feathers,” Irwin says. “You say, ‘Wow what do we use turkey feathers for?’ Well, decorative masks, costumes, feather boas, even fishing lures. China would make those products out of our turkey feathers.” The U-S-M-C-A passed the U-S House last month and cleared a U-S Senate committee last week, with passage by the full Senate expected soon. Mexico is Iowa’s top trading partner, followed by China, then Canada.

(Reporting by Pat Blank, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — The Prairie Woods Nature Center held its grand opening over the weekend at Oak Grove Park near Hawarden in northwest Iowa. The project is a dozen years in the making, according to Sunday Ford, the environmental education coordinator for the Sioux County Conservation Board. “With the number of students we get every year and the number of families and individuals that want that outdoor connection, we had outgrown our building that we were using for education,” Ford says. “We really just needed a place for the environmental education programs and also for the self tours to learn about the outdoors.”

During the summer months, the staff will be joined by two naturalist interns and many volunteers, which, according to Ford, serve a very important role. “We have a wonderful core group of volunteers that are excited about the building, excited to help with teaching, help with summer camps, greet people when they come in, and do projects that have to do with the outdoors,” Ford says. “Our volunteers are what’s going to make this building what it is.”

The goal is to provide education that enhances the outdoor experiences for all ages in Sioux County, leading to environmental appreciation, understanding, and stewardship. The facility is a two-level, 12-thousand square foot building that will host school education programs, field trips, nursing home visits, preschools, library programs, public programs, partnerships with civic groups, and more. Inside the center are hands-on activities for kids and adults, reading, live animals and exhibits.  “When you get out of your car in the parking lot, you’re going to take in this majestic view, rolling hill prairies,” Ford says. “Walking the sidewalks into the building, there are animal tracks that are in the concrete from foxes to deer and we’ve got a woodpecker.”

Inside, she says, the vaulted ceilings and wood create a cabin feel. The four-point-eight million dollar project included a local fund-raising campaign to raise two-point-three million — and that mark was surpassed. The project also received an Enhance Iowa community grant of 600-thousand dollars. The facility is closed Sundays and Mondays, so official business hours begin tomorrow (Tuesday).

BENTON COUNTY, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Sunday, said that around 12:21-p.m. Saturday, a man was shot in the leg in eastern Iowa, while pursuing a coyote across a field. The incident in Benton County happened in a field just north of Highway 30 at 13^th Avenue, southwest of Keystone.

Authorities say 41-year old Brian McManemy of Blairstown, was a passenger in a pickup truck while coyote hunting when one of the firearms in the vehicle discharged and struck him in the left leg. He was transported to a Cedar Rapids hospital with non-life threatening injuries. .

Thes incident remains under investigation by the DNR. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the incident.

The Atlantic Archery Club recently held a raffle fundraiser and gave away a bow. The winners of the bow were Briley and Troy Dunning. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone that contributed to the fundraiser.

Front Row: Jaylen McDaniel, Xander Cook, Hayden Kline, Rylee Bengel, Mariah
Hadley, Troy Dunning raffle winner, Henry Knudsen, Kaydee Pedersen, Kaylee
Stetzel, Conner Johnson
Second Row: Halie Kelsey, Rylie Vandevanter, Bennet Whetstone, Connor Sarsfield,
Cayleigh Sarsfield, Aubrey Graham, Lily Johnson, Margaret McCurdy, Zander Pieken,
Kipp Namanny, Brett Dreager, Dylan Comes, David Retallic, Mason Dougherty, Head
Coach Clint Roland, Volunteer Coach Rob Kirchner
Third Row: Volunteer Coach Tyler Petty, Volunteer Coach Dent Petty, Wyatt Simons,
Braden Spurr, Belle Berg, Kyler Edie, Rio Johnson, Savanah Cameron, Clayton Jipsen,
Zane Berg, Derek Dreager, Cooper Jipsen, Dayna Dreager, Koby Namanny

Bow Winner
Briley Dunning & Troy Dunning

Jim Field speaks with Cass County ISU Extension Coordinator Kate Olson about the Cass County Master Gardeners program.

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Adair County ISU Extension and Outreach is offering a Farmers’ Excel Budgeting Class on Monday, January 20 from 6pm-9pm. Farmers will learn to use Microsoft Excel to create and track their personal farm finances. Diane Clayton will lead the class teaching attendees Excel basics that they will need to create their budget. We request all attendees bring their own laptop for this class. There is no cost to attend, and there will be a light soup supper served during class. The registration deadline is Monday, January 13 by 4:30pm. To register please contact the Adair County Extension Office at 641-743-8412 or email sdmorgan@iastate.edu.

Jim Field visits with Cass County Fair Board President Curtis Bierbaum about a recent award given to the fair.

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w/Kate Olson.

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Thurman, Iowa – William and Sara Blackburn, from Long Grove, Ill., donated 151 acres in northwest Fremont County to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that will be used to create the Blackburn Wildlife Management Area and Blackburn Unit of Waubonsie State Park. The donation is valued at more than $515,000. Blackburn traces his family history to southwest Iowa and was looking to buy property in the area when this parcel became available. After acquisition in 2003, he began working to turn his vision for the property into reality.

blackburn-property-stone-benches (IA DNR photo)

The family began hauling away junk and old machinery, and removed about 200 cedar trees and acres of tree of heaven and honeysuckle that were invading the native timber. They researched what prairie plants would likely have been on the area during settlement and searched for those seeds to include as part of the mix used for a 35-acre prairie restoration. They improved the oak timber, installed roads, trails and erosion control, and developed an open-air picnic shelter and performance pavilion, with adjoining boardwalk leading to a viewing platform. The family’s investment totaled more than $300,000.

In more recent years, the Blackburn property has become a popular nature preserve for the family and community, and site for weddings, graduation parties, and a biennial music festival, a charity affair that has helped serve tornado victims, a local library and, last fall, flood victims of Fremont County. It was Blackburn’s wish that everyone could enjoy this property in the Loess Hills that has meant so much to generations of his family. Whether visitors come in October when the leaves are a shock of reds, oranges and yellows, or in June when the prairie is alight with wild flowers and alive with bees and butterflies, Blackburn said his goal was to spark visitors’ interest in the Hills.

“I want them to say ‘Wow! I had no idea this natural beauty was right here in my back yard! We have to come back!’ I want folks to realize this is something rare enough, enchanting enough to take care of, not just for their own use, but for their children, their children’s children, and all who come after them,” he said. The 72-acre parcel containing the shelter-pavilion, stone viewing benches, and other facilities—roughly the southwest half of the donated grounds– will become the Blackburn Unit of Waubonsie State Park. “It’s a natural gem that’s been well managed,” said Matt Moles, park manager at Waubonsie State Park who will manage the park portion of the donation. “It’s definitely a place that people will enjoy.”

Moles said the plan is continue to maintain the high-quality natural landscape, hiking trails and open-air shelter. A local fundraising effort and assistance from Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) allowed the park to receive a new pit latrine prior to ownership being transferred. The area does not currently have water or campsites. “Mr. Blackburn has held charity music festivals here and we are interested in continuing that tradition,” Moles said. The 79-acre undeveloped parcel to the northeast will become the Blackburn Wildlife Management Area and managed by the Nishnabotna Wildlife Unit.

“This is a really nice piece of Loess Hills timber with high quality prairie reconstruction on the edges,” said Matt Dollison, wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR who will be managing the new wildlife area. “The Blackburns did a great job of using a quality mix of native local ecotype plants to reestablish the prairie, and fire to manage it. They’ve also been vigilant in keeping unwanted invasive species off the property.” The impact on existing and future natural resources is much greater than the value of the donation. The location is important as the Blackburn parcel links a newly acquired 200-acre Wiedel tract to its north and west with the 350-acre Green Hollow Wildlife Area. This resulting 700-acre wildlife area and park abound with turkey, deer, and a wide variety of birds, along with other wildlife.

More than a dozen threatened or endangered species have been have documented on the two areas, including the regal fritillary butterfly, the western worm snake, the plains pocket mouse, the great plains skink – a lizard found in few places in southwest Iowa, including Waubonsie State Park, plains spadefoot toad, six-lined racerunner and more. “That’s a big deal,” Moles said. “This is some of the best, most cared for prairie that I’ve ever seen. And the views from the prairie ridges are phenomenal. It has some of the best oak woodland in the area that would be a great place for viewing wildlife.” The addition of the Blackburn donation will significantly increase the footprint and permanently protect the habitat necessary for these species, and more, to survive.

“I firmly believe that the Loess Hills is a rare gem, a jewel, that we must protect,” Blackburn said. A land donation to the Iowa DNR of this size does not happen often. The most recent comparison occurred in 2013 when the Larson brothers donated nearly 150 acres in Humboldt County. The INHF played an important role in helping this donation happen. “For years we’ve helped Bill explore ways that this special place could be permanently protected, so it is exciting to see this happen,” said INHF Vice President Anita O’Gara. “We thank the DNR, the Blackburns and local volunteers for their diligence and patience in bringing together the ideas and resources that have protected this land for all to experience and appreciate. We were continually inspired by the Blackburns’ deep commitment to this vision for the land and the future.”

The land donation was completed in early December.

Adair County Extension will be hosting a private pesticide applicator continuing education class on Monday, January 13, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Warren Cultural Center Auditorium, 154 Public Square, in Greenfield. State law forbids admitting late-comers, so license holders are encouraged to arrive 20-30 minutes in advance of the actual start time to register. Attending a two hour class each year allows a license holder to renew their license using the training option.

The continuing education class will be taught by Aaron Saeugling, ISU Extension Field Agronomist. There is a $20 class enrollment fee, payable at the class site to Adair County Extension. For more information about the private pesticide certification process or to make an inquiry about the status of your license, contact the Adair County Extension office at 641-743-8412 or 1-800-ISUE399.