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Fill the Feeder for the Swans and Soiree with the Swans

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 31st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Conservation Department has teamed up with Atlantic’s Orscheln’s store to help feed the Trumpeter Swans, now through January 31st. Officials say you can buy a bag of Whole Cleaned Corn at the registers and Orscheln’s staff will put it aside for the Trumpeter Swans. Four bags will fill the feeder, and the Conservation Dept. appreciates your help in keeping it full.Cass Co Conservation Board

Here’s a reminder also, to join Cass County Conservation Staff at Atlantic’s Schildberg Recreation Area this Saturday, January 4th, for ten-minute presentations on the Trumpeter Swans. Conservation staffers will give the presentations every half-hour beginning at 11-a.m., with the last one being presented at 2:00 p.m. 

The Schildberg Quarry is located on the northwest edge of Atlantic, on the north side of Highway 83. In the event of bad weather, or if the swans are not present at the quarry, the program will be held at the Atlantic Public Library from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. with a light lunch available.

The event is sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Atlantic Public Library.

Iowa farmers who plan to spread manure next spring need to sign up now to train

Ag/Outdoor

December 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Iowa livestock confinement and commercial manure applicators should start to plan now for taking their required training to renew their certificates. Jeff Prier, at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says testing will begin early next month. “It starts in January and it runs through February for most of the confinement applicators,” Prier says. “The commercial guys, there’s basically two days that they can get video or live training. It’s a three-hour class that the commercial guys sit through and it’s a two-hour class that the confinement people sit through.”

Prier says classes will be offered at locations all over the state. “There’s different county extension offices that they can call into to make a reservation so there’s enough seating,” Prier says, while there are day and night classes available for the confinement applicators. Prier says there are a couple of reasons why applicators need to take the training course. “The most important reason is that state law requires it,” Prier says. “The second reason to get certified is there’s a lot of knowledge gained on how to handle spills and respond so you minimize the impact to the environment which sometimes minimizes the impact to your pocketbook.”

The Iowa D-N-R certified 2,538 commercial and 2,310 confinement site manure applicators in 2013. Learn more about the training at www.iowacnaa.org or by contacting your nearest Iowa State University Extension Office.

(Radio Iowa)

Forester offers sky-high estimate for removing Iowa’s ash trees

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

One estimate finds it will cost more than three-billion dollars to eliminate all ash trees from Iowa’s communities as the infestation of the Emerald Ash Borer marches forward. The estimate comes from state forester Paul Tauke, who says there are more than three-million ash trees in Iowa’s urban areas, which are all at risk of being devoured by the destructive insects.  “Once you reach the point where ash trees are declining and dying, basically, every ash tree in town will be dead in 5 or 6 years,” Tauke says. “The longer you wait, the longer you stick your head in the sand, the more impact you will have and troubles you’re gonna have when it finally shows up on your doorstep.”

Tauke says communities should start with a tree census and an action plan. He expects the Asian beetle to spread relatively quickly through counties in southeast Iowa that are now under a firewood quarantine. It’s not unusual for endangered ash trees to comprise 15-20 percent of a town’s total tree inventory. Tauke says Iowa’s cities and towns will face new budget challenges as the Asian beetle widens its attack on ash trees across the state.

“They have absolutely got to be removed because they’re going to present a public safety hazard to the citizens of that community and to homeowners,” Tauke says. “We estimate just the removal costs of those ash trees as they start to decline is going to be 3 to 3.5 billion dollars. Somebody’s going to have to pay for that.”

Burlington alone is looking at removal expenses of one-million dollars for nearly 900 ash trees. Including rural areas, where cutting them down is not as pressing, the state has up to 60-million ash trees.

 

(Radio Iowa)

Doc Leonard’s Pet Pointers 12-26-2013

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

December 26th, 2013 by admin

w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

Play

USDA Report 12-26-2013

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

December 26th, 2013 by admin

w/ Max Dirks

Play

Snowshoe hike through the Loess Hills planned for Jan. 11th

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 26th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Assuming there’s snow on the ground, the Hitchock Nature Center in Honey Creek will hold its annual guided snowshoe hike through the Loess Hills on Jan. 11th. The Omaha World-Herald reports the event is scheduled to start at 10-a.m. and 1-p.m., and will allow visitors to learn about winter ecology, the animals and migrant birds.

Each hike averages about 15-to 20-people. The event is designed for those 12 and older, and costs $5 per person. The price includes the hike, refreshments and use of snowshoes. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required by Jan. 10th. You can call 712-242-1197 to register.

There must be at least 4-inches of snow on the ground in order for the event to take place. If there’s no snow, the Hitchcock Center will cancel the event and return your registration fees.

For more information, go to www.pottcoconservation.com/parks-and-habitat-areas/hitchcock-nature-center/

Cass County Extension Report 12-25-2013

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

December 25th, 2013 by admin

w/ Kate Olson

Play

Late muzzleloader deer season underway

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

December 25th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa DNR reminds hunters that the late muzzleloader deer season began Dec. 23, which is the final season that any-deer licenses are available. Nearly 30,000 hunters participated in the late muzzleloader season in 2012 and the DNR expects similar numbers again this year. Archery season also re-opens on Dec. 23 so bow hunters with unfilled tags will likely be heading back to their tree stands as well.

Hunters are required to wear blaze orange during the late muzzleloader season, but unlike the shotgun seasons, party hunting is not allowed.  If hunters are seeing fewer deer where they hunt they may want to refrain from harvesting extra does. Hunters should check with landowners to see if deer numbers are at an acceptable level and tailor their harvest accordingly.

Hunters are reminded to report their harvest within 24 hours of recovering their deer. The DNR says that information is an important part of the data needed to manage Iowa’s deer herd.

Farmers making up bigger share of land buyers

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 25th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Farmland prices in Iowa hit a record high for the fourth straight year in the Iowa State University survey released earlier this month. I-S-U economics professor Mike Duffy, who conducts the survey, says farmers have recently become bigger players in the land sales. “Seventy-seven percent of the land was bought by existing farmers and about 18-percent by investors. Five to seven years ago, the existing farmers were only about 55-percent of the purchasers,” Duffy says. Duffy says producers looked to expand their holdings as they make more off the ground

“Farm income has been at record levels, and when incomes are high, farmers will tend to bid it into land,” Duffy explains. And as farmers age, they want to keep the land in their family. “What we’ve found is that 30-percent of the land is owned by people over 75,” Duffy says, “and the major intention is to get the land to the family, in some cases either by sale or by gifting.” Commodity prices have dropped recently, but Duffy doesn’t expects big changes in land ownership patterns.

“I think what we’re going to continue to see is about the same level of land being sold, which is about one-and-a-half percent of the land in a year. The other two-and-a-half percent is going to be transferred to the family through inheritance or something like that,” according to Duffy. The survey found the average price for an acre of land in 2013 was eight-thousand-716-dollars an acre, which was up five percent.

(Radio Iowa)

Jurors reject Deere’s patent claims against rivals

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 24th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Jurors have ruled against tractor maker Deere & Co. in a lawsuit that alleged rivals were infringing on its patent covering the design of heavy-duty mowing blades. Federal jurors in Davenport found last week that rotary cutters marketed by Bush Hog Inc. and Great Plains Manufacturing Inc. didn’t infringe on Deere’s patent.

The trial centered on competing brands of rotary cutters, which are pulled behind tractors and are used to cut through fields after harvest and clear weeds and brush. Deere filed the lawsuit in 2009 contending the Bush Hog and Great Plains brands infringed on a patent issued in 2000 that covers a deck design meant to keep the blades clean by stopping debris from accumulating.

Deere had been seeking an injunction and damages for lost profits and royalties.