(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will release rainbow trout in 10 locations across Iowa this winter in areas that would not support them during warmer months. Winter trout stockings are a great place to take kids to catch their first fish. A family-friendly event is paired with each stocking to help anglers have success and fun while fishing. The popular program is supported by the sales of the trout fee. Anglers need a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout. The daily limit is five trout per licensed angler with a possession limit of 10.

Children age 15 or younger can fish for trout with a properly licensed adult, but they must limit their catch to one daily limit.  They can buy a trout fee which will allow them to catch their own limit. Winter trout stocking events are dependent on favorable weather and safe ice conditions. Check the DNR Trout Fishing website at www.iowadnr.gov/trout for possible changes to the schedule.

2024 Winter Community Trout Stocking Schedule

Jan. 13, Bacon Creek Lake, Sioux City, at 1:30 p.m.

Jan. 13, Blue Pit, Mason City, at 11 a.m.

Jan. 19, Big Lake, Council Bluffs, at 3 p.m.

Jan. 19, Moorland Pond, Fort Dodge, at Noon

Jan. 27, Lake Petocka, Bondurant, at Noon

Feb. 3, Ada Hayden Heritage Park Lake, Ames, at Noon

Feb. 3, Triumph Park West and East, Waukee, at Noon

Feb. 10, Terra Lake, Johnston, at Noon

Feb. 10, Scharnberg Pond, Spencer, at Noon

(Atlantic, Iowa) – On Wednesday December 6th, members of the Atlantic FFA participated in the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation Beef Extravaganza. Team members Lola Comes and McKenna Sonntag placed 6th overall, while team members Callee Pellett, Claire Pellett and Colton Becker placed 7th and finally Brock Henderson and Joaquin Wailes placed 11th. Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller. The seven members of the Beef Extravaganza team would like to thank the following individuals for helping with the teams preparation. Dr Nathan Hansen at Anita Vet Clinic, TS Bank employees, Abby Becker and Dan Rosell, Jim Skardvdt, Mike Henderson and the Cass County Cattlemen for paying the entry fee for our contest.

Team member Claire Pellett said, “It was an incredible opportunity to learn more about the beef industry in an engaging and hands-on way. We were put into real life situations and were challenged to develop our skills in many different aspects. I was excited to compete in the contest again this year and was impressed by the growth we made.”

The Beef Scholarship Extravaganza is a unique contest open to high school juniors and seniors that focuses on the student’s knowledge and skills in ten different areas of the beef industry. Teams worked through ten 30-minute stations with 10-minute breaks between each station. Atlantic FFA member Lola Comes commented, “McKenna and I got the opportunity to compete in the Collegiate Cattlemen Beef Extravaganza. It was an extremely challenging contest, but I learned many valuable skills for my future. We dedicated a lot of our time, but I am very passionate about the beef industry. I am excited to compete again next year!

In station one, Health and Handling, Team members were tested on effective stockmanship for handling of cattle and proper health related practices included, but not limited to, proper vaccination procedures and protocols, dose administration and equipment selection, parasite control, castration procedures and other health related practices essential for the beef industry and animal welfare.

During station two, Nutrition, team members evaluated the body condition score of four cows and then assisted the station judge in balancing a feed ration for a real life scenario. To prepare, students learned about body condition scoring, cattle nutrient requirements, the nutrient values of feedstuffs, and how to use that information to determine what diet will be the best for the exercise.

Station three focused on Marketing. This station required contestants to calculate yield and quality grades for carcasses, determine the value of a carcass, and determine values for lots of cattle. Team members should know the degrees of marbling necessary to achieve a final quality grade, assuming that all marbling calls are derived from A maturity carcasses. Students must also be able to use adjusted fat thicknesses, ribeye areas (sq. in.), hot carcass weights, and KPH% (values provided) to calculate final yield grades.

Station four was the Seedstock Merchandising station. Team members demonstrated how to incorporate performance information, pedigrees, and phenotypes into a private treaty sales situation. Judges acted as buyers and team members had to identify the buyer’s needs, concerns, and goals in order to “sell” the bull or bulls.

Station five was the Keep-Cull Replacement Heifer station. During the first part of this station team members evaluated expected progeny differences (EPDs) and visually appraised live cattle in order to choose four out of eight heifers to keep that would best fit the production scenario given to contestants. The scenario addressed the objectives and marketing scheme of the operation along with other management information. In the second component teams answered questions about the set of heifers and their EPDs as well as their phenotypical features.

At station six, Job Interview, each student prepared a cover letter and resume and participated in a mock interview with an industry professional. By participating in this station, young people had the opportunity to explore career choices in the cattle industry.

Station seven, Beef Industry Issues and Advocacy, gave team members the opportunity to give a presentation shedding a positive light on an area of the beef industry. Subjects may have included Modern Beef Production, Animal Care, Beef Safety, Beef Nutrition, Environmental Stewardship, and The Beef Checkoff.

The Reproduction station is often considered the most difficult station of the contest. Students were tested on their knowledge of calving management practices such as pre-calving preparation, process of parturition, dystocia, equipment involved in reproductive practices, synchronization techniques, artificial insemination, embryo transfer and other technologies in this field.

In the Credit and Finance station team members were provided with the experience of organizing, preparing, and participating in a mock loan request. Teams met with financial officers and presented a description of a project along with completed financial data in support of the loan request. The project consisted of selecting one of three scenarios: purchasing 100 head of yearling steers to feed out, purchasing 20 bred cows to start a cow/calf business, or purchasing 100 head of heifer or steer calves.

The final station is the Beef Management Challenge. This station allowed students to tie information gained from the other stations of this competition together. This station was an informal discussion between team members and a judge, who assumed the role of a manager who needed advice about his or her cattle operation. The team members assumed a role of a hired consultant to provide advice for the fictitious beef enterprise.

Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller said, “Overall I was extremely happy with how both teams performed. This contest is basically taking ten college sophomore level tests in a row. This contest is very demanding and took a lot of practice.”

(By Atlantic FFA reporter Lily Johnson) – Officials with the Atlantic FFA report 11 members of the FFA traveled to Ankeny on Dec. 2^nd, to attend the Ignite and Amplify FFA Leadership Conference. FFA members from all over the State attended the event which taught them about leadership and student development. Those in attendance from the Atlantic Chapter of the FFA included: Addison Freund; Claire Schroeder;, Maddy Anderson; Mia Kloewer; Braden Wood; Lauren Comes; Keston Schmidt; Frank Freund; Collin Harris; Lily Willrich; Claire Comes, and Addalyn Sonntag.

The IGNITE Conference focused on the Endless Opportunities in agriculture and the FFA, including: Careers in Agriculture What’s Behind Door number1, and Discovering FFA Opportunities. The next workshop was Fuel Up! Managing Emotional Fuel Tanks. Common Ground workshop was learning Diversity & Similarity Among FFA Members. Next is Pay It Forward learning how Servant Leadership and Service Planning can help our community and finally, Follow the Leader: Leading with Integrity.

IGNITE Conference team: Front Row Left to right Front to back Front Row Braiden Wood, Frank Freund, Claire Schroder, Maddy Anderson, Mia Klever
Back Row Keston Schmidt, Lauren Comes, Addison Freund,

The AMPLIFY Conference focused on student development. This year the conference focused on Purpose: Connect. Care. Create. Establishing a purpose as a daily practice and draft a leader purpose statement. Discovering how people are connected to purpose and identify their talents. Members also learned to discover what it means to live to serve as a leader and examine methods for serving others while pursuing purpose, all while Identifying the value in practicing practical self-care as a leader and discovering the difference between living with purpose and completing action items.

To wrap up the conference, each member drafted a personal purpose team and identified how to live out a purpose plan at home.

Amplify Conference members: Collin Harris, Lily Willrich, Addalynn Sonntag and Claire Comes

FFA Advisor Eric Miller said, “These conferences are important to help develop the kind of leaders that we need in our school and community. I am glad the Iowa FFA provides us with the opportunity and the students are so willing to give their time to become better leaders.”

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) will award 27 graduating high school seniors from Iowa (three from each of IFBF’s nine districts) a $2,500 scholarship each, renewable for four years (up to $10,000 per recipient). College and graduate students are not eligible to apply. IFBF President Brent Johnson says offering scholarships has been a long-standing program for the organization.

He says agriculture hinges on the passion and ingenuity of the next generation.

The scholarships give students interested in agriculture, but not sure which aspect they want to specialize in, the opportunity to explore the options.

Johnson says the scholarships aren’t just for farm kids.

Each of IFBF’s 100 county Farm Bureaus will select one application from their county to be considered for IFBF’s state scholarship.

To qualify for the IFBF scholarship renewal, the recipient must continue to meet the scholarship requirements annually. To learn more about IFBF eligibility requirements and guidelines, click here.

(Radio Iowa) – The development of housing and businesses has exploded in the last decade in many of the state’s metro areas, but a farmland expert says all the building hasn’t put much of a dent in agriculture. Peoples Company president Steve Bruere says central Iowa is a good example. “There’s 27 million crop acres in Iowa. And when you look at what’s happening around the Des Moines metro, there’s about three-thousand new homes being built a year. And so that takes about one thousand acres of development ground,” he says. Bruere says when you throw in commercial developments, that takes another one-thousand acres.

“Of course for farmers and people that grew up on a farm, it makes you sick to see some of these fields get turned into turned into houses,” Bruere says. “But from a statewide impact, you know, that 27 million acre figure versus the two thousand it’s not going to move the needle.” He says there will be some local impact on farming, especially if there are big chunks of land that are bought for data centers or other development.

“That’ll have an impact on the local market when you see those big transactions happen. But, you know, as far as food security and whatnot, it’s not as impactful as one might think,” according Bruere. His company producers an annual report that reviews all types of sales information and other factors for Iowa’s cropland. The survey this found farmland prices have held their own along with the rest of the country despite issues with the national economy.

Jim Field visits with Kitt Tovar Jensen, Iowa State University Beginning Farmer Center Manager, about the 2024 Farm Transitions Conference scheduled for February 8-9, 2024 in Ames.  CLICK HERE for more information!

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(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Mahaska County. The case involves a Iowa. backyard mixed species flock. There have been 19 outbreaks of bird flu found in Iowa since October. Seven have been in backyard flocks, four have been in game bird flocks, and the rest are in commercial turkey and chicken flocks,

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present a public health concern. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always utilize the proper handling and cooking of eggs and poultry products, including cooking to an internal temperature of 165˚F.

(Radio Iowa) – Temperatures are expected to be above normal the rest of this week in what has already been an up-and-down cycle in Iowa. The wide range of temperatures can impact the quality of ice forming on lakes and rivers. The D-N-R’s Pete Hildreth says you should be checking for a minimum of four inches of clear ice for fishing and at least five inches for snowmobiles and A-T-V’s. “Because ice conditions change constantly and its thickness can vary across the lake,” he says. Hildreth says it’s better to wait than risk a chance of going out on thin ice. “Always trust your instincts if the ice does not look right, and don’t go out,” Hildreth says.

The D-N-R has has several other tips for those venturing out on the ice this winter. “No ice is 100 percent safe. New ice is usually stronger than old ice. We encourage folks not to go out alone. If the worst should happen. Someone should be there to call for help or to help rescue,” he says. Hildreth says off-colored snow or ice is usually a sign of weaker ice.  “The insulating effect of snow can slow down the freezing process. And we encourage folks to bring along some basic items to help keep them safe such as hand warmers, ice cleats to help prevent falls, ice picks to wear around your neck to help you crawl out of the water if you do happen to fall in,” he says. “A life jacket or a floating safety rope, a whistle to call for help.”

Hildreth says you should also take a basic first aid kit and an extra set of dry clothes including a pair of gloves when you’re exploring the ice this winter.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports NASS will release the 2022 Census of Agriculture data on February 13, 2024. NASS concluded the data collection this summer with a preliminary national return rate of 61%. The ag census, conducted once every five years, was mailed to over 116,000 producers across Iowa late last year with a preliminary return rate of just over 71%, the highest of any state.

NASS Upper Midwest Regional Director, Greg Thessen says “I want to thank all the Iowa producers for the time and effort they invested in completing their Census form and helping achieve the highest return rate of any state. The aggregate information from individual farmer responses provides a powerful tool to help show the importance of agriculture in Iowa, promote the industry, and track trends. The Census of Agriculture provides the only source of comprehensive agricultural data for every State and county in the nation. Farm and commodity organizations, extension educators, agribusinesses, legislators at all levels of government, news media, and many others will use this data for a wide variety of purposes.”

The ag census data will be available at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus and in NASS’s searchable database, Quick Stats. Publication dates for the various ag census data products can be found on NASS’s online 2024 Agricultural Statistics Board Calendar. Like all NASS data, ag census data will be available in aggregate form only, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified, as required by federal law. Watch for additional news about the ag census at @usda_nass on X (formerly known as Twitter). In addition, two ag census special studies that will provide more in-depth information on certain industries will be conducted this winter: the 2023 Census of Aquaculture and the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey. These questionnaires will be mailed to the producers who reported these activities in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. For more information about these upcoming special studies, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.