(Radio Iowa) – The annual Iowa State University survey released today (Tuesday) finds the average price of an acre of farmland set a record again at 11-thousand-411 dollars. I-S-U’s Wendong Zhang oversees the survey. “This represents a 17 percent growth over the past year, and this is really phenomenal because that when you’re thinking about over the past few years — last year 2021 Iowa will farmland values rose 29 percent — and so this is a ramp up that is that we haven’t seen since the 1980s, essentially,” Zhang says.

Zhang says the inflation adjusted farmland value was a nearly nine percent increase — which is also a record. He says it is the first time since they since they started collecting information in the 1940s that both the regular and inflation adjust values have set records. He says overall medium quality ground rose the most at 17-point-seven percent, the high quality ground rose about 17 percent, and the low quality ground rose 15 percent. Each county saw an increase. “All 99 counties rose 10 percent or more — so it all rose between 10 percent to about 22 percent,” he says.

Zhang says landowners are happy to see an increase in their land value — but do wonder how long it will last. “There are more growing concerns about the sustainability of the land market growth, and also the elevated entry barriers for beginning farmers and less resource to farmers to enter the market because of the higher prices,” he says. Zhang says commodity prices are the number one reason those in the survey say prices have increased — as everyone was thinking four-dollar a bushel corn would be good — and nobody was expecting corn to get to six and seven dollars. He says there are several reasons for that rise — including the conflict in Ukraine.

Wendong Zhang

“The Russia Ukraine war, the geopolitical uncertainty essentially further pushed up the commodity prices,” he says. “And the strengths and the stability in the U-S market, and the consistency and the quantity of the U-S agricultural markets sort of benefited from that.” He says corn and beans aren’t the only commodities seeing the impact. “This is happening for soybeans and for hay as well. But also this time, we are also seeing tremendous growth in terms of the livestock prices as well. And when you are thinking about especially cattle prices,” Zhang says.

He says this has shown up in the increased growth in land values in the northwest part of the state as there’s a significant presence of cattle producers, and to a lesser extent hogs. He says producers need to have land to spread manure on for nutrient management purposes, so they are more aggressive in bidding nearby grounds.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .51″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .6″
• Massena  .88″
• Elk Horn  .44″
• Audubon  .48″
• Oakland  .52″
• Logan  .98″
• Villisca  .68″
• Neola  .5″
• Corning  .61″
• Clarinda  .56″
• Shenandoah  .6″
• Creston  .47″

DES MOINES, Iowa (Dec. 12, 2022) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Ida County, Iowa.

The affected site is a commercial turkey flock.

(Radio Iowa) – Some lakes and ponds in northern Iowa already have ice thick enough to support ice fishing, while elsewhere, you can still see open water. Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa D-N-R Fisheries Bureau, says it’s early in the season and Iowans who love ice fishing have to be patient — or head north. Larscheid says Iowans are a hardy people and despite the frigid temperatures, they love ice fishing. He calls the sport “the great equalizer.”

“You don’t need any special equipment,” Larscheid says. “Using the maps that are online at our DNR website, you can find the habitat and the deep-water spots and all of that stuff in ponds. You don’t need a boat. You can go right out to those spots, use your phone to find the exact spot, drill a hole and you’ll be right on top of the fish.” It’s still technically fall, as the first day of winter this year is December 21st. Especially when it’s this early, ice anglers need to make sure safety is their top priority, and there are a few simple rules to follow.

“Go out with a person that you know and trust, and drill a lot of holes as you venture out onto the ice and verify that it’s at least four to six inches thick of clear, hard ice,” Larscheid says. “I, personally, won’t go out until it’s six inches, but four inches of clear, hard ice is considered safe.” He’s quick to add, no ice is 100-percent safe, while new ice is usually stronger than old ice. The D-N-R says river ice is 15-percent weaker than lake ice, while ice with a bluish color is safer than clear ice. Larscheid says ice anglers should never go out alone, and always let someone know where you’re going and when you’ll return.

“It’s good to have a ‘throwable,’ an inflatable thing so if you do fall through, you won’t sink,” he says, “and a rope that a buddy can toss you in case something happens.” The DNR recommends a minimum of four inches of clear ice for fishing and at least five inches for snowmobiles and ATVs. Larscheid also suggests wearing a life jacket, bringing a whistle to call for help, and an extra set of clothes, including gloves. The D-N-R offers a weekly fishing report that’s online at: www.iowadnr.gov.

Jim Field visits with Alicia Herzog, ISU Extension & Outreach Master Gardener Program Coordinator, about the Master Gardener Home Gardening Series beginning in January and ending in March.  To register for the free series of webinars, contact Alicia at 515-294-3627 or mgardener@iastate.edu.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (Dec. 11, 2022) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Cherokee County, Iowa and Buena Vista County, Iowa.

The affected sites are both commercial turkey flocks.

Commercial and backyard flock owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds. Sick birds or unusual deaths among birds should be immediately reported to state or federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present a public health concern. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always utilize the proper handling and cooking of eggs and poultry products. An internal temperature of 165˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

Commercial and Backyard HPAI Detections in Iowa

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. Grant discusses some of the common mistakes he’s finding with early season deer hunters and some tips on proper procedure in the field. The show also contains talk about licensing requirements and the upcoming Cass County Christmas Bird Count on the 18th.

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(Radio Iowa) – The state Natural Resources Commission has approved a D-N-R proposal to create a continuous open season on raccoons. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Vince Evelsizer, told the commission the request was not taken lightly and came after a review of various raccoon population surveys. “It starts with our annual wildlife surveys. So for example, the spring spotlight survey that our staff do statewide, that’s showing a consistent increase in the raccoon population,” Everlsizer says. He says there’s been a steady increase in the raccoon population in roughly the last 20 years. Evelsizer says they also have consulted with the wildlife depredation staff that deal with raccoons and deer and other animals that annually eat up crops and cause other problems.

“Those depredation staff are already dealing with nuisance raccoons and crops. And all wildlife staff and law enforcement staff are dealing with raccoons and attics, raccoons and barns, raccoons and farm equipment, and things like that,” he says. Evelsizer says having a continuous raccoon season will provide some help with the issues. “What we’re proposing here won’t fix the problem, what we’re proposing is to make adjustments that are within our means to give folks a little more freedom to deal with a population of raccoons that has increased and is high,” he says. Evelsizer says they’ve also seen an increase in distemper outbreaks around the state — which he says is typically indicative of a high density of raccoons.

“And when a raccoon gets distemper — it’s not it’s not a pretty thing — they carry it, they can spread it to others, then they will die from that usually, and it’s not a quick death either,” according to Evelsizer. “So that’s not a thing we’d like to see out there on the landscape either.” The senior director in the Wildlife Protection department at the Humane Society of the United States, Jill Frtiz, did speak out against the issue during the public comment portion of the N-R-C meeting. “Instead of Iowa randomly killing more raccoons, we suggest that reports of high raccoon densities and claims of increased raccoon conflict and predation should be carefully reviewed against current human population density, and movement and development, local agriculture practices, and the effects of growth and climate change on native wildlife habitat factors,” Fritz says.

The Natural Resources Commission also approved a proposal to extend the regular trapping season for other furbearers by one month. “We did feel that was okay biologically, and as far as selling those furs can they be utilized in the fur market? Yes, they can in February. The pelts are still in good shape. Ethan and prime at that time,” he says. That extension impacts the trapping of mink, muskrat, badger, opossum, weasel, striped skunk, fox (Red and Gray), beaver, coyote, river otters, bobcats, gray (Timber) wolf and spotted skunk. A public comment period on the proposed change will be set for sometime in January, and then there will be a public hearing on the issue in February.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says the threat of bird flu continues to hang over Iowa’s poultry industry, as migrating wild birds are identified as the likely source of bird flu outbreaks at seven Iowa sites this fall. “We’ve had three just in the past few days and it does appear that these continue to be wild bird introductions,” Naig says. “We’ve still got that migratory waterfowl that are carrying this virus as they are returning south. They carried it north and really, truly what we need for them to do is to get moving south.”

A hard freeze will help drive birds out of the state, as their landing spots on Iowa lakes and streams turn to ice. During the last bird flu outbreak in 2015, the virus had essentially vanished by June. During this year’s outbreak, wild birds continue to spread the deadly disease nine months after it was first detected. “Once again when those birds head north next spring, we’re very concerned about what they could be bringing back into the area again,” Naig says.

“It’s just unfortunately a reminder that our producers have to be in a constant state of readiness and keeping their biosecurity at just the ultimate levels really now all year round.” Naig plans to ask the 2023 legislature for additional funds to enhance his agency’s ability to prevent and respond to foreign animal diseases. “So of course we’re dealing with (highly pathogenic) avian influenza in the state of Iowa again,” Naig says, “…but we also have in the background the continuation of the threat of African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease.”

African Swine Fever is a deadly virus that has been spreading in Asia and Europe since 2018, but has not been detected in the United States. Foot and Mouth Disease has not been confirmed in the U.S. since 1929, but an outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2001 led to the destruction of a million animals.

(U.S. Small Business Administration News) – On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced an extension of the comment period on a proposed rule to revise regulations under the Packers and Stockyards Act. The purpose of the revisions is to promote inclusive competition and market integrity in livestock, meat, poultry, and live poultry markets. The proposed rule would identify and prohibit retaliatory practices that interfere with lawful communications and other protected activities. It would also identify deceptive practices by contractors or dealers in contract formation, performance, and termination of a contract.

Written comments are now due by January 17, 2022.

• Read the proposed rule.
• Read the notice extending the comment period.
• Submit comments on the proposed rule.