Pheasant hunting season opens today (Saturday) in Iowa, but hunters may not see many birds. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports pheasant numbers could be down 18-percent compared to last year. Todd Bogenschutz, a wildlife biologist with the DNR, says the population decline isn’t surprising. “We had the wettest April and May in state history and hens don’t do very well when it’s wet in the spring, certainly not when it’s record setting,” Bogenschutz says. Five consecutive harsh winters followed by wet springs previously led to a drop in pheasant numbers between 2007-2011. Bogenschutz expects the forecast for another decline this year could lead to fewer pheasant hunting licenses being purchased.

“We finally had an increase in the pheasant population last year for the first time in about five years and we saw a little bump up in hunter numbers. Now, things drop down a bit…so, I expect we’ll see fewer hunters,” Bogenschutz says. “I still think we’ll be similar, we’ll probably have around 40,000 to 50,000 pheasant hunters this year.” The pheasant hunting season runs from October 26 through January 10. Bogenschutz predicts hunters will harvest between 100,000 to 150,000 pheasants this season. He notes hunters will likely have better luck later in the season as nearly half of the state’s corn crop has yet to be harvested. “Standing corn on opening weekend…there’s going to be quite a bit of it and that’s going to make hunting challenging because the birds figure out pretty quick that they’re safe in that standing corn,” Bogenschutz says.

The best pheasant numbers, according to Bogenschutz, can be found in areas of northwest, north-central, and central Iowa. Hunters shot roughly 158,000 pheasants last year. That compares to 109,000 pheasants harvested in 2011 – which was the lowest number since the state began keeping track in 1962.

(Radio Iowa)

FINCHFORD, Iowa (AP) – A family in the small northeast Iowa community of Finchford watched sadly as an excavator brought their century-old barn crashing down. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the barn was built in the early 1900s to house a man’s race horses. It included an oversized opening with sliding doors to allow wagons inside and gabled dormers with windows to let light and air into the loft.

Wilbur Anderson’s grandfather bought the property in 1911 and it had been owned by the family ever since. He says, “That used to be a classy barn.”  After so many years, repairing the barn would have been too expensive. After family members took a last walk through it Thursday, it took only minutes for an excavator to bring it tumbling down.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is giving priority to new farmers leasing public land owned by the state. The state Department of Natural Resources says available land that’s managed by the agency can be viewed online beginning in early November. Farmers will have a month to review the details before the agency begins awarding leases.

A participating farmer must be a permanent Iowa resident, have appropriate skills and have a net worth of less than about $691,000. They must also be certified as a beginning farmer. The change is part of legislation that passed this past spring.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad is suspending the specific hours that drivers can transport propane in Iowa. Branstad announced the emergency declaration Thursday. It goes into effect Friday and ends Nov. 7. The declaration says Iowa residents have extremely low supplies of propane because of a late harvest and high demand for petroleum products throughout the Midwest.

The declaration adds that adequate supplies of propane are necessary for normal agricultural harvesting and residential heating, particularly in rural areas. The suspension does not mean that fatigued or ill drivers should transport propane. Drivers needing rest should be given certain hours before they return to service.

w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

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w/ Max Dirks

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A series of online seminars aimed at helping farmers learn about such topics as how to insure an apple orchard, marketing and distributing local food, and the profit potential of grass-based livestock will be held through December. Practical Farmers of Iowa has set a schedule for a series of seminars this fall. The interactive webinars are Tuesday evenings from Nov. 5 through Dec. 10, except for Thanksgiving week.

Anyone is invited to listen in by signing in as a guest at www.practicalfarmers.org/farminar. Funds for the webinars have come from more than 200 individual donors and corporate sponsors including John Deere and Farm Credit Services of America.

Most presenters are farmers and the events are set up for participants to ask questions in real time.

Sixteen Iowa agricultural cooperatives are among the nation’s 100 largest. According to the U.S.D.A., farmer-owned cooperatives set records in 2012 for sales, income and assets. Sales at farmer-owned co-ops in the U.S. were up more than eight percent and income was up nearly 13 percent. There are more than 22-hundred co-ops in the United States. Iowa’s highest ranking ag co-op is United Suppliers of Eldora. It ranked as the country’s eighth largest co-op in 2012.

The West Central Cooperative in Ralston made the largest jump on the “Top 100” list, going from 69th in 2011 to 41st in 2012.

(Radio Iowa)

Western Iowans will have a chance to shape the future of Iowa’s conservation and outdoor recreation when the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) assembly comes to the Council Bluffs Public Library on Oct. 29th. REAP is a program that provides grants for and encourages enhancing and protecting Iowa’s natural and cultural resources. Meetings are being held across the state.

The assembly will begin with an open house from 6 to 6:30 p.m., followed by the meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. where Iowans can to voice ideas for changes and modifications to REAP and its programs.

Participants at each assembly will elect five members to the REAP Congress that will meet at the State Capitol on Jan. 4th,  to discuss conservation topics such as soil conservation, water quality and outdoor recreation.

Next year is the 25th anniversary of REAP, so the meetings will reflect on REAP’s accomplishments and look to the future. REAP received $16 million for fiscal year 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 2014). In addition to projects that enhance and protect resources, funding also goes to enhance soil and water quality, historic preservation, roadside vegetation and several other programs that are beneficial to Iowa. REAP has funded projects in every county in Iowa.

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