w/Kate Olson.

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Re-Shows must be scheduled by December 16 in Cass County

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Extension office is again hosting continuing instructional courses (CICs) for local commercial pesticide applicators, but wants to remind anyone who has yet to attend the training that all CIC training must be completed by the end of December to keep a license current. To avoid conflicts with year-end scheduling, Cass County Extension is requiring that all training dates be scheduled by Friday, December 16^th.

“We know year end is a busy time for all, and we don’t want anyone to miss the opportunity to attend their annual required training, as time to meet those annual requirements is getting short,” shared Kate Olson, Cass County Extension Director. “We do offer trainings on a first-come, first-serve basis, and our hours will be slightly different during the holidays, so we’d like to remind folks to call and get their classes scheduled before our year-end calendar fills up.”

According to Olson, reshow dates can occur after December 16^th, as scheduling allows, but they must be on the calendar before then to be honored. To ensure a spot on the training schedule, applicators needing to complete CIC for the year are asked to call as soon as possible if they have a preferred training date, but no later than Friday, December 16^th at 4:30 PM. Applicators calling after this date will NOT be placed on the training schedule. Training dates can be scheduled locally by calling the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or by emailing Office Manager Lori Anderson at lander@iastate.edu. For more information on the Commercial Pesticide Applicator program or the CIC classes, please visit www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is predicting the average corn yield in Iowa this year will be 202 bushels an acre. That’s just a couple of bushels short of last year’s record. Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says drought conditions had a mixed impact on yields.

“The western side of the state faced more of those drought problems. As we move over, especially into east central Iowa, we saw some record yields from some producers there,” Hart says, “and so when we add it all up for Iowa, it was actually a pretty good production year.” Commodity prices are strong and the U-S-D-A predicts farm income nationwide will be about five percent higher than in 2021.

“Agriculture’s in a pretty good spot right now. We are seeing good revenues when we look across the board. The challenge is we are starting to see those input costs rising,” Hart says. “…Eventually those costs will catch up to the prices we’re capturing today.” Initial U-S-D-A projections for 2023 suggest Iowa farmers will plant more acres of corn next spring.

“That tells me that USDA is saying farmers are still chasing after the higher prices or higher returns that corn produces,” Hart says, “even though corn is the higher cost crop to produce.” Hart says lingering drought conditions have been a concern for farmers in each of the past two growing seasons and will be again in 2023.

“The longer we’re in this pattern, the most likely we are to see more dramatic impacts on our production,” Hart says, “and do some true economic harm to Iowa agriculture.” Officials in Texas say drought there is causing billions of dollars in losses for cotton farmers. In the American west, drought conditions have persisted for 22 years and ag operations are fighting to maintain access to water.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is conducting a pilot study on the state’s gray fox population. Furbearer biologist, Vince Evelsizer, says the study comes as the number of animals is dropping. “This pilot project will be starting to get into figuring out more understanding and learning more about gray foxes and what the causes for the population decline is,” he says. Evelsizer says it’s puzzling because it’s not an issue in other areas of the country. “Their numbers are declining drastically, and we don’t fully understand why that is. And it’s also a trend going on in the Midwest, but it’s not going on in other parts of the U-S,” Evelsizer says.

He says for example, the gray fox population is doing great in the southeastern U-S. Evelsizer says they’ve gotten five g-p-s collars from Iowa State to use in the grey fox study. “And we’re asking private trappers to help with the project by trapping a grey fox with the trap type that will keep them in great shape alive and well, such as a foothold trap,” Evelsizer says. One a trapper has caught a fox, then the D-N-R will see if it can be a part of the pilot study. “Check it for any injuries — if it’s in great shape, then we will utilize that animal and put a collar on it — as well as getting some other measurements and tissue samples from it. And then we will track those foxes in and see what happens to them,” Everlsizer says. He says the information they gather from the tracking will hopefully confirm some of the thoughts they have on what may be happening.

“The hypotheses so to speak of what could be causing their population decline are habitat changes, or predators other predators such as coyotes and bobcats,” he says. “Or disease, such as distemper, or a combination of factors may be doing it as well, a combination of those factors and possibly others we don’t know about yet.” The D-N-R says the gray fox can be found statewide, but their core area is eastern and southern Iowa, in forested habitats, like cedar thickets, deciduous forests, the Driftless region, on old farms and overgrown pastures.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss Pheasant hunting over the holidays, a recent waterfowl enforcement effort, donating deer hides to benefit veterans, and more.

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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the recent sale of 73 acres of northwest Iowa farmland — for 30-thousand dollars an acre — indicates Iowa farmers are seeing fairly good profit margins. “At the same time, too, though — I would say that we’re also hearing of less land being put on the market because folks are worried that those prices may be weakening,” Hart says.

Higher interest rates are a factor, plus Hart says agland that’s not rated as excellent ground for raising corn isn’t selling for especially high prices. “So there’s a separation that I think’s occurring right now where high quality land is still attracting those dollars,” Hart says, “where maybe the middle and low quality land may be starting to see some erosion in those values as we look forward.”

On November 11th, a tract of farmland near Sheldon appears to have set an Iowa sales record of 30-thousand dollars an acre. It was purchased by a local farmer according to the auctioneer who handled the sale. The value of farmland that’s enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program appears to be holding steady, according to Hart. “There’s a market for it and I think when we look the payments that are being offered for those conservation programs, that’s helping hold that value where it’s at,” Hart says, “but we’re not seeing a run on that market like we are seeing on high-quality cropland.”

There’s a calculation called the “corn suitability rating” for agland and Hart says there’s a limited number of tracts of that highly rated ground for raising corn coming up for sale. “The reason we see sort of northwest Iowa really, if you will, light up when it comes to land values is that you’ve got not only crop producers who are competing for that land, but also the livestock industry,” Hart says. “With strong dairy up there, the cattle industry and even a few hog producers up there, it creates a very strong competition for that land up in northwest Iowa that helps push those land values higher than what we see in the rest of the state.”

Hart is currently the crop market specialist in Iowa State University’s Department of Economics. Hart began his career at Iowa State in 1996 in I-S-U’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

(Radio Iowa) – Net sales for Deere and Company were up 40 percent in its last quarter. The company’s net income for its fiscal year was over seven-point-one BILLION dollars. C-E-O John May says Deere’s just-concluded fiscal year was unprecedented in several ways. “We started the year in a work stoppage at some of our largest U.S. factories, but we resolved that with a groundbreaking, industry-leading new contract,” May says. “Then supply and logistics hurdles created disruption. At times, deliveries were delayed as demand simply outstripped what the industry could supply.” May says from May through the end of October, Deere had a substantial increase in retail sales AND in production from its factories.

“As I look ahead to Fiscal Year 2023 and beyond, I truly believe our best years are ahead of us,” May says. May says the fundamentals in the farm economy are positive and that’s driving demand for tractors and other implements. North American combine orders were recently filled in two months. “In the near term, order books across our businesses are full into the third quarter,” May says, “and it’s important to note that not only do the order books continue to fill when we open them, but the velocity of orders has remained strong.”

May spoke this (Wednesday) morning during an online presentation to investors. Deere’s stock price has been climbing this year and it went higher this (Wednesday) morning after Deere’s financial report was released.

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Tuesday, signed an extension of the proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer, and manure. The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through December 22, 2022. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

The proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table [in Iowa Code 321.463-1](6) (b)], by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa bobcat trapping season is underway and D-N-R wildlife biologist, Vince Evelsizer, says trappers should be able to fill their quotas. “Bobcat populations are doing very well across the southern part of Iowa, the extreme western part of Iowa, and they’re continuing to expand northward up through eastern Iowa,” he says. Evelsizer says it’s one of the positive conservation stories. “The bobcats story is a happy one. Their numbers are stable to increasing in almost all counties of Iowa that have ideal habitat, which is typically early successional forest and in fields, natural grass fields, that sort of thing where there’s a good prey abundance,” Evelsizer says.

The limits on bobcat trapping continue based on the populations for each county. “The north-central part of Iowa is still closed to bobcat harvest. And then there’s several counties across central Iowa that are open to one bobcat bag limit for that county,” he says. “And then the three tiers of southern Iowa counties is open to a three bobcat bag limit.” Evelsizer says the trapping helps keep the populations from getting out of control.”They don’t have many natural predators in the Midwest which you know out in the western U-S — or the far north — they would have to watch out for bigger cats such as mountain lions or even gray wolves with their kittens you know that sort of thing,” Evelsizer says.

You can find out more about bobcat trapping on the Iowa D-N-R’s website.