Cass County Conservation Dept. personnel are dealing with vandalism that has taken place over the past month. Conservation Director Micah Lee, during his quarterly report, told the Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, that the incidents have taken place along the T-Bone Trail, where people have been run over posts designed to prevent vehicles from entering the trail, at the trail heads.

He says someone is breaking off the two-by-two, 1 ½ inch square tubing. They’re snapped off near the ground, which makes it very difficult for crews to replace. Supervisor Chuck Rieken suggested they use solid railroad-type beams to make it more difficult for vehicles to break the posts. Lee agreed it would cause more damage to the culprits’ vehicle(s) and maybe dissuade them from causing more damage. Micah says other than garbage that’s occasionally being dumped in that area, that’s the first real case of vandalism perpetrated to the T-Bone Trail.

In other news, Lee said the main thing they’re working on during the off-season, is renovating the inside of their offices near Lewis. At the West Nodaway Recreation area near Cumberland, they’ve removed some Cedar Trees in hopes of bringing back some native grasses in the future. And, there are plans for the Outdoor Classroom shelter near Massena to be expanded to include running water, thanks to donations and grants secured from a non-profit Friends group.

No County funds will be used for the upgrades. The Conservation Board gave its blessing to the project, which will include a mini-kitchen and wildlife/nature-related resource library. The improvement’s he said, will add somewhere from 300-to 500-feet to the shelter.

w/ Kate Olson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says the Iowa Supreme Court should settle legal questions about whether farmland drainage districts can be held liable for water pollution downstream before a lawsuit filed by a Des Moines water utility can proceed. Questions such as immunity for drainage districts and which constitutional protections might apply to parties challenging drainage systems have not been decided by state or federal courts in Iowa. The drainage districts have been around since the late 1800s.

Judge Mark Bennett said the novel legal issues deserve the attention of the state’s highest court. The decision comes in the lawsuit that Des Moines Water filed last year against three northwest Iowa counties that oversee 10 agriculture drainage districts. Farm drainage district attorneys say Iowa’s constitution has long protected them from legal liability.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced today (Monday), that three projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices have been selected to receive $1.92 million in funding through the Iowa water quality initiative over the next three years. In addition to the state funds, the three projects will provide over $2 million in matching funds to support water quality improvement efforts as well as other in-kind contributions.

Among the projects, is the Taylor County Water Quality Initiative. The $1.58-million  project received a $611,705 grant award. Project partners AgSolver, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Cattleman’s Association, Taylor County Cattlemen, Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, will work with farmers in Taylor County by promoting alternative land management practices on farmed areas identified to be marginal or unprofitable.

The project will work with producers on an individual basis to evaluate the specific production levels and goals within their farming operation by utilizing several tools to evaluate current farm scale profitability combined with conservation practice and land use alternatives. Rather than focus on the entire field, the project will demonstrate which areas of a field should be considered for alternative forms of production, thus making them more profitable and more sustainable.

In addition to the three new projects, 29 demonstration projects are currently located across the state to help implement and demonstrate water quality practices. This includes 16 targeted watershed projects, 4 projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices and 9 urban water quality demonstration projects. More than 100 organizations are participating in these projects. These partners will provide $16.72 million dollars to go with the $11.11 million in state funding going to these projects.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Friday night, it was investigating reports of land application of process wastewater potentially entering a stream after receiving numerous telephone calls from concerned citizens. A contractor was land applying wastewater from Essentia, a processing facility in Harlan (Shelby County) under its chapter 200 license, which is issued by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. However, the DNR received reports that the processed wastewater was entering the West Nishnabotna River after it was applied.

DNR staff collected samples on Friday to determine if any of wastewater reached the river. Prior to DNR staff leaving the site, the contractor installed an earthen berm to prevent any further discharge. The investigation is ongoing. The DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action, if necessary. Jessica Montana, supervisor of the DNR’s Environmental Services field office in Atlantic, said “We really want to thank the people who took time to call us and alert us to this situation. The quicker we can get on the scene of a situation like this, the better chance we have of getting the accurate data we need to properly assess the potential impact, but more importantly, the quicker we can work with the responsible party to get material contained.”

Montana said it is important to avoid land application of wastewater and manure when conditions are not favorable like when the ground is saturated because it can result in the material being carried to surface water through runoff.

A reminder today, that Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer the Crop Advantage Series to producers at 14 locations across Iowa during January 2016. Locally, a meeting will be hosted on January 19th at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic.

Each year, ISU Exension and Outreach specialists and field agronomists present the lastest crop production research and information for the upcoming growing seasons to producers, agronomists and industry leaders. This year’s Crop Advantage Series will focus on the importance of risk management programs and controlling costs.

Each location features a full agenda of workshops that attendees can choose from to develop a personalized agenda. ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists will present program topics focusing on local needs and production issues.

In addition to discussing the economic returns of crop production, extension field agronomists will present program topics focusing on local needs and production issues. Topics will include: crop market outlook, farm bill decisions, corn disease update, corn rootworm management, nitrogen recommendations, managing soybean Sudden Death Syndrome, herbicide and weed control, and many more.

Over 2,000 producers participate in the regional Crop Advantage Series meetings each year. All meetings are approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits, and every location offers the opportunity for private pesticide applicators to receive continuing education credits.

Early registration for each location is $50; late registration made less than seven days prior to the meeting or at the door is $60. Registration includes lunch, printed proceedings, private pesticide applicator recertification and CCA credits. Online registration and additional information is available at http://www.cropadvantage.org/ or from your local ISU Extension office.

For statewide locations, times, and program content, contact your local ISU Extension Office or visit www.cropadvantage.org. Local dates include:

January 13 – Ames
January 14 – Honey Creek
January 19 – Atlantic
January 28 – Carroll

Crop Advantage Series is presented by ISU Extension and Outreach with support from the Iowa Soybean Association and from the North Central SARE Program–Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. For questions, contact ANR Program Services at (515) 294-6429, anr@iastate.edu, or contact your local Iowa State University Extension field agronomist, Aaron Saeugling at clonz5@iastate.edu or (712) 769-2650.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at camp. Local children in grades K-2 are invited to have some fun on a no-school day this January at Mammals R’ Us Day Camp. Offered by Cass County Extension and the Cass County Conservation Board, Mammals R’ Us is a fun, half-day camp, where kids will learn what makes a mammal a mammal, play games and participate in hands-on activities and crafts to learn about mammal habits.

A snack will also be provided and campers will go on an outdoor adventure hike to find mammal tracks. Youth in grades K-2 can sign up for one of three sessions: Monday, January 18 at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or January 25, with sessions at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or 1:00 PM – 4 PM.

All winter daycamps will take place at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. There is no cost to attend the camps, but pre-registration and a medical form are required for all campers. Remember to dress your children to go outdoors for a fun winter hike.

Registration deadline for Mammals R’ Us Camp is January 15th. Call the Cass County Extension office at 243-1132 or email xcass@iastate.edu to register your children. No registrations will be accepted after the registration deadline. All camps are sponsored by the Cass County ISU Extension and Cass County Conservation Board.

While no one wants to respond to an environmental emergency, planning for one can make it easier to deal with. Adam Broughton, the Iowa DNR’s emergency response coordinator, says “Along with all your other New Year’s resolutions, updating your emergency action plan could be one of the most important. If you’ve ever had a spill, a wastewater discharge, a fish kill or problems with drinking water, you know how important it is to check that the plan is current.

Make sure you’ve updated the DNR’s environmental emergency number, too, since it changed to 515-725-8694 last July. First responders, industries, businesses, cities and livestock producers – are among those who might need to report an environmental emergency.

Find out more about who should use the emergency number and when to use it at www.iowadnr.gov/spills/. Look for the Environmental Hotline Reporting Guide in the table at the bottom of the page.

Republican candidate Ted Cruz supports a five-year phase-out of the so-called “Renewable Fuels Standard” that sets annual ethanol production levels for the country, but Cruz says Iowans are being “snookered” about the R-F-S. “You know, a lot of corn farmers, a lot of people in Iowa have been led to believe by the lobbyists that the RFS is the ‘holy grail’, but the RFS ensures that Washington remains front and center,” Cruz said Tuesday in Sioux Center.

“It ensures that corn farmers have to go on bended knees to politicians in Washington, seeking their regular support and mandates.” Under current federal law, the Renewable Fuels Standard will end in 2022. Cruz co-sponsored a senate bill in 2013 that would have triggered a five-year phrase out of the R-F-S. Cruz says a better answer is improving market access and he promises as president he would end federal regulations that effectively prevent refineries from making higher blends of ethanol, like E-15 and E-30.

Cruz has been trailed this week in Iowa by America’s Renewable Future, a pro-ethanol group that’s headed by Eric Branstad, the oldest son of Republican Governor Terry Branstad, and Cruz is taking issue with their efforts. “Now I recognize, particularly as our campaign has gained more and more support, as we’ve seen conservatives uniting behind our campaign, that a coalition of lobbyists and Democrats have gotten together and are spending an awful lot of money trying to convince you that somehow Ted Cruz opposes corn farmers,” Cruz said in Sioux Center. “I’ll tell you the straight truth: it is utter nonsense.”

Eric Branstad says Cruz “started the Caucus process” by calling for an “immediate” repeal and has been swayed by Iowa farmers, but a spokeswoman for Cruz says the senator first called for a gradual phase out of the R-F-S nearly three years ago.

(Radio Iowa)

w/Kate Olson

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