(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Cass County Master Gardener group say they are excited to host walking tours of 4 private gardens in Atlantic, Sunday afternoon, June 23rd. The garden walk will feature four unique garden spaces for participants to explore at their leisure and gain inspiration for their own gardens, while enjoying a variety of garden styles and designs. Gardens will be open for touring between 2-6 PM and may be visited in any order. Highlights from featured gardens included sun and shade gardens, custom garden décor, antique themed garden areas, unique seating areas and paths, pollinator gardens, perennial beds and more! Follow the Cass County Master Gardeners on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CassCoMG for sneak peeks of featured garden spaces leading up to the day of the tour.

The walk is coordinated by the Cass County Master Gardeners, but is open to everyone interested in gaining some gardening inspiration. Tickets for the walk are $10 each, with all proceeds going to support local Master Gardener projects and activities. Tickets are available now for purchase at the Cass County Extension office, and a registration form can also be found on the Cass County Extension website at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. Tickets should be presented at each location for admission. A map of the tour locations and description of each garden is on each ticket purchased. Additional tickets may be purchased at any of the four locations on the day of the event.

A tour stop on the 2023 Garden Walk

For more information about upcoming Master Gardener activities in Cass County, or to learn about becoming a Master Gardener, visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/master-gardener-program, call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu. In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening!

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report says farmers were only able to get into the fields four of seven days last week due to wet conditions. State climatologist Justin Glisan (Glisten) says the outlook for early June shows the run of wetter than normal days cold drop off. “It’s trending to near normal precipitation as we get into the eight to 14 day period, so if farmers haven’t gotten planted it looks like we’re going to see windows to get those planters out there and get finished up,” he says. The crop report shows about seven percent of the corn is left to be planted — which is almost two weeks behind last year and five days behind the five-year average. Eighty-four percent of the expected soybean crop has been planted, which is 12 days behind last year. The southwest and south-central regions have the most corn and bean planting left as both are just below 90 percent complete for corn and below 80 for beans.

Glisan says it’s not certain if the drier conditions will continue through the whole month of June. “We’re seeing a warmer signal. So we should see warmer than average temperatures potentially in June,” Glisan says. “No clear signal and precipitation equal chances of below above below or near average. So if you looked at that initial outlook that was issued in the middle of May, we were seeing an elevated wet signal. So we’re kind of pulling back on that.” May saw rainfall that was around two-and-a-half inches above normal, keeping the wet spring trend going. “Little over 14 inches above average and that’s almost four inches above the climatological 30 year average, so also looking like March, April, May of 2024 will be in the top 10 wettest,”Glisan says.

Glisan says we are in the midst of a switch in weather patterns that may make for a warmer than normal summer. “And in years in which we’ve shifted from strong El Nino’s that gave us a very warm winter to a weak to moderate La’Nina, we do see some semblance of a warmer June, July, and August overall so that wet that warm signal I think should be covering the state as well,” he says.

The crop report says 81 percent of the corn that’s planted has emerged — which is six days behind last year. Corn condition rated 73 percent good to excellent. Sixty percent of the soybean crop has emerged, one week behind last year. The first soybean condition rating of the season showed 59 percent rated good, and 14 percent excellent.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University Extension has been hosting meetings for farmers with soggy fields who have to make decisions about delayed planting. Gentry Sorenson is a field agronomist with I-S-U Extension who’s based in northwest Iowa. “The last time we had some delayed planting workshops was 2019,” Sorenson says, “so it’s been a few years.” Workshops were held in Spencer, Spirit Lake and Emmetsburg last week.

“Workshops designed to help them kind of go through some of the options,” Sorenson says, “and also hear from a crop insurance agent on some of the deadlines that are out there.” According to the National Weather Service, nearly seven inches of rain fell late last week in the small northwest Iowa community of Cleghorn — just a few days after torrential rains in places like Storm Lake and Aurelia.

(Radio Iowa) – A Bondurant company is getting a state loan to allow it compost material from ethanol plants, chicken growing operations and wood waste at a facility near Earlham. The D-N-R’s Tom Anderson says the J. Pettiecord company recently received a permit to run the operation. “This type of large scale organics composting facility is lacking in Iowa and seen as a critical infrastructure for sustainably managing organics and saving landfill space,” he says. Anderson spoke at the recent state Environmental Protection Commission meeting where one million dollars in assistance was provided to help the composting effort.

“The project will create a environmentally friendly, nutrient rich compost benefiting overall plant growth,” he says. “Finished compost also assists in erosion control measures by promoting deep plant roots and improving water quality by absorbing and retaining storm water and capturing contaminants in the sediment.” The annual goal of this project is to divert five-thousand tons of ethanol plant material and five-thousand tons of poultry waste from landfills while producing 40 to 50-thousand cubic yards of high-quality finished compost material. They also hope to process some 20-thousand cubic yards of wood waste into mulch and compost.

“This project will effectively reduce 20 million pounds of organic waste from Iowa landfills each year,” Anderson says. The E-P-C approved a one-million dollar loan, with 10-thousand of it forgivable. The company is putting in 350-thousand dollars of its money into the project. The company will use the loan to purchase equipment to run the operation. The funding comes from the Solid Waste Alternatives Program and the project was reviewed by a program committee and a C-P-A.

(Iowa News Service) – Scientists in Iowa and their partners are going after what they call the ‘low-hanging’ fruit in their effort to sequester carbon and combat climate change. They’re making use of ingredients nature is already providing. It’s called biochar and its made by heating wood and other biomass at high temperatures with no oxygen. Biochar makes Iowa’s rich soil even more fertile, but it also turns that soil into one of the world’s most efficient carbon sinks, allowing it to absorb fossil fuel emissions, while creating healthier soil and sustainable fuels.

To Iowa State University soil science professor David Laird, mixing biochar into the soils is targeting the low-hanging fruit in carbon sequestration.

Last year, carbon sequestration projects removed more than 125-thousand tons of C-O-2 from the atmosphere, 92-percent of which were done using biochar, according to a group called C-D-R which tracks carbon sequestration.

Taking a soil sample for a soil test in a field. Testing carbon sequestration and plant health in Australia.

Once biochar is mixed with the soil, it can improve conditions for root growth and microbial activity in crops, which in turn reduce the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Biochar also helps the soil retain water, absorb nutrients and greenhouse gasses. While biochar won’t end climate change on its own, Laird argues it is an important piece of the puzzle given that the liquid transportation fuels the world relies on are notoriously hard to decarbonize.

While using biochar alone won’t help the planet reach a zero carbon emissions goal by 2050, Laird says it is a good first step that not only sequesters carbon but also a move toward creating fuels using biochar that could one day replace the heavy, emission producing liquid fuels.

DES MOINES – Today (Sunday), Gov. Kim Reynolds authorized a disaster proclamation for Cherokee County, Iowa effective immediately through July 2, 2024. The USDA has confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock. 

This proclamation allows state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection. The proclamation also waives regulatory provisions related to commercial vehicles responding to affected sites. 

The recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern, and it remains safe to eat poultry products. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. 

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are seeking Chronic Wasting Disease Ambassadors in southern Iowa, for a collaborative education program between the agency and Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach, that seeks to help Iowans address the challenge of chronic wasting disease.

Hunters, landowners, and conservationists interested in learning more about chronic wasting disease are encouraged to attend a course offering June 11, 18, and 25 at the Rathbun Fish Hatchery, in Appanoose County.

The course will cover best practices for preventing spread of the disease, how to collect tissue samples for testing, and how to educate others within their community, all in an effort to better educate Iowans on how to manage a healthy deer herd and slow the spread of the disease. The goal of the program is to develop a small, connected, and well-educated network of local leaders to effectively communicate about the management and mitigation of chronic wasting disease.

“Partnerships are key to the effective management of chronic wasting disease,” said Tyler Harms, biometrician for the Iowa DNR and co-organizer of the course. “We need hunters, landowners, and interested conservationists working together to slow the spread of this disease.”

The course includes three in-person meetings from 6-9 p.m. and two online lessons completed between the in-person sessions. In-person sessions will include instruction and hands-on exercises related to the ecology of chronic wasting disease, sampling for the disease, and effective communication strategies. Participants will also have the opportunity to network with area wildlife biologists. Graduates of the course will be given resources to help spread the word regarding effective chronic wasting disease management in their communities.

Registration is available at https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebL4dhDJanzAbFs or by contacting course facilitator, Adam Janke, at ajanke@iastate.edu or 515-294-7429 and is open until the week before the course starts, or until the class is filled (25 participants). There is no cost to participate. A light meal and refreshments will be served at each of the three sessions.

Chronic wasting disease is always fatal to deer and has been found in wild deer in 23 Iowa counties. To learn more about the disease and its management in Iowa, including ways to help slow the spread of the disease, go to www.iowadnr.gov/cwd.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who’ve never tried fishing before can give it a whirl next weekend as part of the state’s annual free fishing weekend, June 7th through the 9th. Nate Carr, a conservation officer with the Iowa D-N-R, says it’s a wonderful pastime, plus, you might catch dinner.

“For all Iowa residents, even if you don’t have a fishing license, you can still go out and experience fishing,” Carr says. “It’s a good time to get out with your family, your kids, and friends. If it’s something that you maybe aren’t sure you’re quite committed to buying the license, it’s a good opportunity to go out and try it.”

Some Iowa law enforcement agencies are sponsoring “Cops and Bobbers” fishing events for kids and their families during the weekend.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Use of new playground equipment at Harl Holt Park at the corner of 16th and Olive Street in Atlantic, is on hold for now, thanks to Mother Nature. Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Coordinator Jeff Christensen says they’re still waiting to install the playground safety/fall material.

He said he hopes to be able to have the park open by June 8th, but we’ll just have to see. Plans to install new playground equipment at Harl Holt Park, Christensen says, began about three-years ago, with former Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen.

He said the prices of playground equipment “are kind of insane, on what they cost, for what we get. That’s the reason we can’t just keep putting in brand new playgrounds everywhere, we just kind of have to save up money to get it done.” On the topic of playgrounds and other park amenities in Atlantic, Jeff Christensen said there have been many incidents of vandalism.

He said at Mollett Park, graffiti was scratched into a slide, and screws were run through the slide. The water for the raised garden beds is being turned-on and not turned-off. “It only takes one person to ruin it for everybody,” Christens says.

Parks and Rec staff are keeping busy mowing and weed-eating, in an effort to keep the parks looking great.