State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency John R. Whitaker announced that disaster assistance under FSA’s Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program begins on October 22, 2012.

In order to be eligible for SURE a farm or ranch must meet the following requirements: 1. At least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance.  2. Insured all economically significant crops.  3. Been physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Secretary of Agriculture under a Secretarial Designation.  Without a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may be eligible if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to natural disaster in 2011.  Other insurance qualifications do apply.

Those producers that suffered a loss in 2011 are encouraged to visit their local FSA office to learn more and to apply.

For more information about the SURE program or other disaster assistance programs you can visit the FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship today said that more than fifteen cattle herds primarily in western Iowa have had animals contract the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) virus.

EHD is a virus that is spread by biting midges and primarily affects deer.  A hard freeze kills midges and will stop the spread of the virus.

EHD can cause illness in cattle, including fever, ulcers in the mouth and gums, swollen tongue, excessive salivation, and lameness or stiffness when walking.  Death loss is uncommon in cattle and there is no evidence that the EHD virus can infect humans.

EHD rarely affects cattle, but the wild whitetail deer population in southern and western areas of Iowa and surrounding states is seeing the disease at high levels.  EHD is common in whitetail and other deer in some years and can be fatal in these deer.

Cattle farmers are advised to use insect control as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of having cattle that become infected.  Farmers who notice signs of illness in cattle are encouraged to immediately contact their veterinarian.

Info on animals available for adoption at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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Iowa farmers are taking advantage of good weather by harvesting corn and soybeans and moving it to grain elevators or on-farm storage. The U-S-D-A’s weekly crop progress report this afternoon (Monday) is expected to show Iowa’s fall harvest well ahead of average for late September. Brent Larson, who farms in the Fort Dodge area, says dry weather is speeding the harvest but it’s also contributing to grain losses.

Larson says there is some corn down because of strong winds, plus, there just hasn’t been enough moisture so some of the corn is so dry that it shatters when it hits the corn head of the combine. Larson farms about 400 acres of corn and soybeans. He says the dry weather has allowed him to finish harvesting most of his crops already.

“The corn’s nice and dry for the most part and so are the beans,” he says. “The yields have been all across the board. It really depends on soil type. The heavier soils are yielding well and almost up to a normal, average crop, and the lighter soils are really quite poor.” Larson says it’s a concern for next year, too, because farmers may be planting in dry soil.

There doesn’t seem to be any reserve moisture, Larson says, “and if we go into next spring like this, with no more extra moisture, it’s gonna be nip and tuck to get next year going well.” Some weather analysts believe the long-running drought will finally break in October, while other forecasters fear it may last into spring.

Members of the Nishna Valley Trails organization will hold a public meeting Monday evening, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, in Atlantic. During the event, which begins at 6-p.m., the group will hear a report on conversations with railroad officials with regard to development of the T-Bone and other recreational trails in Atlantic and Cass County, a review of recent events, other updates on trail development efforts, and plan for future activities. For more information, contact Ed or Myra Kail at 712-243-4265.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – German-based chemical maker BASF had made a deal to buy Ames-based Becker Underwood, which makes seed treatment and other farm products.  BASF says the purchase price is $1.02 billion. Becker Underwood was co-founded in 1982 by Atlantic natives Roger Underwood and Jeff Becker.  They sold controlling interest to Norwest Equity Partners of Minneapolis in 2004. Becker has more than 210 employees in Ames; St. Joseph, Mo.; and Caldwell, Idaho; and nearly 270 more in several other countries.

BASF is based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and produces chemicals and plastics as well oil and gas and agricultural herbicides and fertilizers. BASF spokeswoman Anne Burt says final decisions haven’t been made about the future of Becker Underwood’s chief executive officer, Peter Innes, other managers or other workers.

A very tiny bug is raising big alarms for some Iowa producers. Its name is the spotted wing drosophila (droh-SOFF-ah-lah) and it closely resembles a common fruit fly. It’s only an eighth of an inch long, but an infestation is now confirmed for the first time in Iowa — in Story County, with several other colonies suspected. Laura Jesse, an entomologist at Iowa State University, says the invasive insect could be a serious threat to certain Iowa crops. “The spotted wing drosophila is going to be a big problem primarily for small fruit growers, growers of small fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries,” Jesse says. “It can reportedly attack apples but not really fruits with harder skins.”

Blackberries, cherries and grapes could also be at risk. This red-eyed pest is difficult to tell from a regular fruit fly, even for an expert on wee winged creatures like Jesse, who co-directs the I-S-U Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic. She needs a microscope to accurately distinguish the drosophila from the more common variety. “Those fruit flies, that we’re used to, attack rotting fruit,” Jesse says. “You always know when you’ve got a bunch of ’em in your kitchen, you know there’s a banana that you forgot somewhere and it’s rotten. Our normal native fruit fly can’t attack fruit that’s not damaged where as we’re concerned about this fruit fly because it can attack healthy fruit.” The female fly can slice into the skin of fresh fruit to lay eggs and producers in other states report a serious yield impact with maggots in the produce. Jesse says the pest has already gotten a foothold in Iowa.

“Here in Story County, we were aware of it and looking for it, so we had traps out,” Jesse says. “We’ve already gotten reports at least from Mitchell County, Linn County and Dubuque County. It’s probably pretty widespread in Iowa. We’re confirming each new infestation. It’s not going to surprise us that it’ll be in a lot of counties, especially over the next few years.” Parts of Iowa have already seen frost, but she says the fruit flies shouldn’t have a problem over-wintering in the Hawkeye State.  “When it first came into the U.S, it was picked up in California, Washington and Oregon and there was some hopes that maybe it wouldn’t survive in the Midwest,” Jesse says. “It’s actually been in Michigan the past few years and done just fine there so we suspect it will be able to survive our (Iowa) winters.”

The pest is native to Asia and was first found in the U-S in 2008 and quickly spread. It’s confirmed in at least 20 states, including neighboring Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Jesse has some advice for Iowa producers with concerns about this pest: Pick all fruit when harvesting and remove and destroy any fallen, damaged and overripe fruit. Also, there are insecticides available but options are limited.

(Radio Iowa)