Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Monday, highlighted 11 individuals, companies and organizations that were recognized with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Awards for their progress, their innovative solutions and their commitment to serving our communities through collaboration and hard work.

Among the award recipients, was Homer Focht, of Red Oak, who receive a Pioneer Award for Conservation. The 92-year old Focht built his first terrace in 1946 after returning to Southwest Iowa following World War II. Northey said Mr. Focht has continued to promote conservation by building practices to control soil erosion and improve drainage. He still operates his bulldozing business near Red Oak.

Northey created the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Awards to recognize, honor and promote Iowa citizens, companies and organizations who have made significant contributions to Iowa’s agriculture industry. Those recognized have displayed leadership within the categories of Innovation, Conservation, Education and Promotion, Service, and Collaboration.

Northey presented the awards at the Iowa Agriculture Leaders Dinner held at the Knapp Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on March 1.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will host a public meeting at 6:30 p.m., March 15th, in Room 900 of the Allied Health Building on the Southwest Iowa Community College campus, to discuss the proposed fish renovation of Three-Mile Lake.

Growing yellow bass and common carp populations have reduced game fish populations, decreased water quality and limited fishing activity in Three-Mile Lake.

Information will be presented on plans to eliminate yellow bass and common carp as well as future watershed and in-lake improvements to further improve the lake’s water quality and recreation opportunities.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says participating businesses, and fire station in the County, should keep their “FIRE DANGER” signs in the HIGH category for the next few days, as record temperatures and breezy conditions will create near RED FLAG (extreme fire danger) conditions, especially between 11-a.m. and 6-p.m. each day.

Any open burning that can be moved to the early morning or late evening hours, will reduce the potential for fires to rapidly spread. The next update will be Thursday morning.

The Center for Rural Affairs will host a series of six roundtable discussions and dinner conversations with farmers across Iowa this month, beginning this week. Stephanie Enloe is rural policy program associate with the Nebraska-based center. “It’s really important that our policy positions are informed by the people that they are intended to benefit,” Enloe says. “In the case of these meetings, that’s farmers. What we’re trying to do is get input from local farmers all around the state of Iowa about some of their top priority issues.”

The meetings are designed to focus on a couple of key areas for starters and to inspire conversation.  “The meetings will consist of two short presentations, one on conservation programming and another on beginning farmers, barriers and opportunities,” Enloe says. “Then, we’ll have roundtable discussions around each of these issues and look for farmer input on how they think we can help them achieve their goals around those issues.”

The first meeting is scheduled for today (Monday, March 7th) in Eagle Grove, in Atlantic tomorrow (March 8th), Sioux Center on March 10th, Washington on March 21th, Dyersville on March 28th and Emmetsburg on March 29th. Each meeting will run from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. Learn more at: www.cfra.org.

(Radio Iowa)

The cold weather of winter is the time to plan for future gardens. The Cass County Master Gardeners group is again offering grant money to be used in the 2016 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food and/or beautify local communities. The money may also be used for gardening education purposes. The David Williams Master Gardener Grants are offered to honor the many years of service Master Gardener David Williams provided as a long-time volunteer, with the Master Gardener program and other community organizations, including a term as Cass County Master Gardener president in 2012.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group or individual may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, and individuals working to improving their communities can use the money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, groups who were funded by 2015 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2016. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. The application must also include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important selection factor.

Applications must be received by Thursday, March 31st for consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their selection by the end of April. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132, email keolson@iastate.edu, or stop by the Extension Office at 805 W. 10th St in Atlantic. You may also contact committee members Carolyn Hartman, Donna Reimers or Connie Pettinger. Application forms can be picked up at the Extension Office, or printed from the Cass County Extension website- www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis. For more information on the program, or to sign up for our next class starting in August, contact Cass County Extension Program Coordinator Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu.

If you’re a farmer or are involved in the agriculture industry, you should plan on attending Iowa State University Extension and Outreach – Shelby County’s Farmer’s Coffee, March 22nd at 9:30 a.m.  Extension and Outreach Farm Management Specialist Shane Ellis will present a market outlook for both crops and livestock.

The event takes place at the Shelby County Extension Office, 906 6th St. in Harlan, and will include hot coffee and refreshments, the latest ag news, and a visit with Shane Ellis. There is no cost to attend. The informational meeting is for anyone who is involved in the agriculture industry.

Call the Shelby County Extension and Outreach Office at (712)755-3104 for more information.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report the emerald ash borer (EAB), which has already been confirmed in nearly one-third of Iowa’s counties, has been discovered in Decorah. The destructive pest, native to Asia, feeds on and eventually kills infested ash tree. Winneshiek County has been added to the growing list of 31counties in Iowa that have confirmed EAB infestations.

The discovery marks the second county in Iowa where EAB has been found this year. Last month EAB was found on the University of Iowa campus. The exotic pest was first detected in Iowa back in 2010 in Allamakee County. EAB has spread to 25 states where it is responsible for decimating tens of millions of ash trees.

A consulting arborist was drawn to the tree in Decorah after noticing evidence of EAB damage. Further investigation revealed distinctive S-shaped galleries and an EAB larva (immature beetle) underneath the bark of the infested tree. The collected larva was sent to the USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory where it was confirmed positive for EAB.

EAB infested ash trees include thinning or dying branches in the upper canopy, evidence of woodpecker activity, S-shaped feeding galleries under dead or splitting bark, D-shaped exit holes and water sprouts (along the trunk and main branches). Federal quarantines are in place to restrict the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states.

The Iowa EAB Team urges Iowans to use locally sourced firewood, burning it in the same county where it was purchased. Firewood is not only a means of transportation for EAB, but other tree-killing pests as well. At this calendar date, the window for all preventive treatments remains closed. If a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, he or she should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids and treat beginning spring 2016 (early April to mid-May).

The State of Iowa will continue to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. Before a county can be officially recognized as infested, proof of a reproducing population is needed and an EAB must be collected by a member of the Iowa EAB Team and verified by USDA entomologists.

To learn more about EAB and other pests that are threatening Iowa’s tree population, please visit www.IowaTreePests.com.

Shelby County Fire stations and other facilities or businesses with Fire Danger placards, are being told to set their signs in the “HIGH” section. Emergency Management officials say the forecast indicates warming weather with wind for the next several days. Because the ground is soft, fire trucks may have a hard time reaching field sites where controlled burns are planned. Authorities therefore are asking anyone who plans to conduct controlled burns to contact their local fire chief, first.

Be sure and call 755-2124 also, with the location of your burn, so dispatchers can gather logistical data. A burn plan can be downloaded from www.shelbycountyema.com.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved a Resolution in support of the Schildberg Recreation Area Committee and Atlantic Parks and Rec Department Board, to secure a Vision Iowa CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) Grant for Phase 1 of the Schildberg Recreation Area improvements. The project will cost $635,000, but Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring said they anticipate reducing that amount by as much as $13,000 by working with local vendors and local contractors.

Schildberg Rec Area Master Plan (click on image to enlarge)

The application to Vision Iowa, which must be submitted by April 15th, will request $360,000. It requires a 50-percent match, meaning $180,000 would have to be raised through other sources. The City Council, in its action Wednesday, approved $100,000. The rest, according to Herring, will possibly come from a REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) grant, and local sources, which would help fund some portion of the proposed, phased-in improvements to the Schildberg Rec Area.

Campground area site plan (click to enlarge image)

He says within the next 2-3 years, they could fund the playground, an ADA compliant fishing pier, the west side shelter house, and parking lot, not only through REAP, but through the Local Option Sales Tax, the Hotel-Motel Tax and the regular budgeting process, as well as local donations. In addition, the Schildberg Rec Area Committee will talk with the Board of Supervisors for a possible contribution. The CAT grant, according to Herring, allows for up to 25-percent of what the request is as in-kind, or about $40,000. He says they’ve already met that requirement “Three-times over,” because of all the time, labor, and other efforts put into improvements.

The goal of the CAT grant application, he says, is to make Atlantic, a “Destination Point [Place], a place where people can spend time and money while they are enjoying the outdoors and our community. The City should know sometime late this Summer or early Fall at the latest, whether it’s request for grant funds will be met in whole, or in-part.