State officials, along with commodity group leaders, are touting a nine-and-a-half million dollar U-S-D-A grant for water quality efforts that will get four-point-75 million dollars worth of matching funds from the state. Officials say Iowa farmers will invest another 33 million dollars to complete water quality projects. Kurt Simon, the state conservationist, says more than 40 partner are involved.

“This partnership has brought together diverse stakeholders from multiple sectors committed to improving water quality in line with the goals of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy,” he says. That’s the voluntary approach farm groups and state officials announced three years ago in response to concerns about run-off from ag land.

Kirk Leeds, the C-E-O of the Iowa Soybean Association, is also a spokesman for the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance and he was at Tuesday’s news conference to announce the combined 47-and-a-quarter million dollar investment in conservation practices on Iowa farms.

The Iowa Soybean Association Research Conference started Tuesday and continues today (Wednesday) in Des Moines. This (Wednesday) morning at the state capitol, the House Ag Committee began debating Governor Branstad’s plan to divert some school infrastructure money to water quality projects.

The Des Moines Water Works, the state’s largest water utility, has sued officials in three northwest Iowa counties for mismanaging drainage districts, causing the utility to spend millions removing nitrates from the river water used as its drinking water supply.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Kate Olson

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The three month window to reserve a state park campsite for a Friday arrival on Memorial Day weekend opens Saturday, Feb. 27th. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says more than a few campers will plan their arrival for the weekend before Memorial Day and stay through the holiday, which means their window will open Saturday, Feb. 20th.

Most parks will have nonelectric sites available for the Memorial Day weekend. Not every campsite is available on the reservation system for advanced reservations. Parks maintain between 25 and 50 percent of the electric and nonelectric sites as non-reservation sites, available for walk-in camping.

Information on Iowa’s state parks is available online at www.iowadnr.gov including the link to the reservation website. Campers may log on directly to http://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com; enter their preferred amenities and requirements, dates and/or parks to see what sites are available and make a reservation, or they can call 1-877-427-2757, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday to place their reservation.

Campers are encouraged to note closures when making reservations. Some campgrounds may be closed Memorial Day. Currently, Springbrook State Park campground is closed through June 9th for road and bridge repair. Red Haw, Lake Wapello, Lake Manawa, Fairport and Lake Keomah state parks are all currently closed for campground renovations. No advanced reservations are available at Union Grove State Park due to the lake draw-down.

Weather will play an important role in how soon projects will be completed and a how soon campgrounds will be back online. Closure information is current on the DNR website and reservation system. Closure information can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks-Rec-Areas/Closure-Information and on individual park webpages.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today encouraged Iowans to nominate deserving farmers for the 2016 Iowa Conservation Farmer of the Year Award. The award is given out each year to one statewide winner who is making outstanding contributions towards soil conservation and water quality. The award is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

“The award recognizes a farmer who has gone above and beyond in their conservation efforts. It is important that we recognize the continuous voluntary improvements made by all Iowa farmers and help raise awareness about the efforts by farmers to conserve our valuable soil and protect water quality,” Northey said.

The statewide winner again this year will have free use of a John Deere 6D series utility tractor or its equivalent for up to 12 months (or up to 200 hours). The Van Wall Group and John Deere are providing the use of the tractor to the state winner.

To nominate a deserving farmer, the nominator needs to write a brief letter (100 words or less) and submit it to their local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office. Nominations must be submitted by June 5. Upon receipt of the nomination letter, the District will then help complete the full application.

The local SWCD will select one nomination to advance for consideration for the Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) Regional Conservation Award. The nine regional award winners will then be considered for the statewide Conservation Farmer of the Year award. Representatives from the Department, ISU Extension and Outreach, CDI, State Soil Conservation Committee, USDA NRCS and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation serve on the award selection committee.

Farmers, farm managers, Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs), agribusiness and financial professionals, ag organizations, and other interested Iowans are encouraged to nominate deserving farmers. The local SWCD office will have all the nomination details. A SWCD directory is available on the Department’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov under “Hot Topics.”

The winner will be honored August 30 at the Conservation Districts of Iowa Annual meeting in Altoona.

A research specialist with Practical Farmers of Iowa is calling on all row-crop farmers who raise cattle to use cover crops. Sarah Carlson has been studying cover crops since 2008. “There’s multiple places where cover crops and cattle just make so much sense,” Carlson said. “For example, in the fall, you fly on a cover crop into standing corn. You harvest that corn and have the green material out there with those corn stalks. That green material is really lush, so it’s going to help that cow eat even more corn stalks.”

The corn stalks are full of carbon and the green, nitrogen-rich cover crop helps cattle digest and eat more stalks, therefore saving on hay costs. Carlson says, as the cow processes all the carbon, that leads to more benefits. “It deposits its manure, so the end credits that you could take going back to corn (like corn following corn) you could be able to reduce nitrogen and not take the yield hit we see in corn on corn because the cow would’ve processed all that carbon,” Carlson explained.

She says fall grazing of cover crops should be a “no-brainer” for cattle producers, and there are ways to work around some of the challenges of spring grazing, like compaction from the cows.

(Brownfield Ag News)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say a Grand Junction man was seriously injured Sunday afternoon while snowmobiling west of Boone along U.S. Highway 30. 35-year old Damion Louk was third in line of five snowmobiles traveling eastbound in the median of the highway,when the left front ski caught deep snow near a culvert snapping the connections and sending him and the snowmobile air born.

Louk was traveling at an estimated speed of 60 miles per hour and was thrown approximately 150 feet before landing near the shoulder of the highway. Authorities say they believe his helmet may have not been fastened, as it came off during the incident and landed separately. Louk was transported to Boone County Hospital where he was later transferred by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

The incident remains under investigation. Deputies with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, members of the Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Natural Resources assisted at the scene.

ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County will offer the Ornamental and Turfgrass Applicators Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators Wednesday, March 2, 2016. The program can be seen at locations across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) team.

The local attendance site is Montgomery County Extension, 400 Bridge Street. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course runs from 9 to 11 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before Feb. 24 and $45 after Feb. 24. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Jodie Smith at the ISU Extension and Outreach office in Montgomery County by phoning 712-623-2592.

The course will provide continuing instructional credit for commercial pesticide applicators certified in categories 3O, 3T, 3OT, and 10. Topics to be covered include: pesticide applications and impacts to sensitive areas, pests, pest management, and pesticides with discussions on ornamentals, home lawns, golf course turfgrass, and sports turfgrass; pesticide labels; and restricted entry intervals.

Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses being offered by the PSEP team can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/psep.

Shelby County will host a Seed Treatment Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. The program will be shown at locations across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

The local attendance site is 906 6th St., Harlan. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course runs from 9 to 11 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before Feb. 17 and $45 after Feb. 17. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the Shelby County Extension and Outreach office by phoning 712-755-3104.

The course will provide continuing instruction credit for commercial pesticide applicators certified in categories 4 and 10. Topics to be covered include neonics in groundwater, seed treatments and pollinators, evaluation of seed applied nematicides on soybeans, seed treatment IPM, seed treatment stewardship, and seed treatment labels.

Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered. Interested participants should bring their CCA number to the program. Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered by the PSEP team can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP/.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A regional conference in Nebraska next month will focus on ways to encourage schools to get their food from local farmers and the benefits of that. More than 200 people are expected to attend the March 2 event in Nebraska City. The conference will attract a mix of farmers, ranchers, school food service officials and others concerned about the issue.

Throughout the day, speakers will offer advice on ways to increase the amount of local food served in schools and ways to teach students more about healthy food. The event is sponsored by the Center for Rural Affairs, Iowa Department of Agriculture and University of Missouri Extension.

More information is available online at http://www.cfra.org/midwest-farm-school .

The public is invited to attend the 25th annual meeting of the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at the Learning Center located at the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis.

This year’s program will begin at 9:45 a.m. with Steven Bradbury and Richard Hellmich, ISU environmental toxicologists, presenting “Update on the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium” followed by Lee Schulz, ISU extension agricultural economist, speaking on “Crop and Livestock Market Situation and Outlook.”

Following a complimentary lunch, the annual business meeting will be conducted.

The Armstrong Research Farm is located 12 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and a half mile east on Hitchcock Avenue; or, 13 miles east of Oakland on Highway 6, half a mile south on 525th Street, and half a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue.

For more information contact the Wallace Foundation at 712-769-2650 or paulette@iastate.edu.