(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, Tuesday, said 140,000 birds will be destroyed because of a bird flu outbreak in Iowa. The Department of Agriculture reported outbreaks in two commercial turkey flocks in Sac and Cherokee counties. These are the first bird flu flare-ups in Sac and Cherokee counties since the spring. Forty thousand turkeys in Sac County and 100,000 turkeys in Cherokee County will be destroyed.

To date, more than 15 million birds across the state have been destroyed because of the bird flu this year. Across the country, that number is now up to about 53 million, making this outbreak worse than those in 2014 and 2015.

w/Kate Olson.

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa—Dec. 5, 2022— The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has announced five semi-finalists (Including one each from Adair and Pottawattamie County), for their Grow Your Future Award, a competition for farmer entrepreneurs under the age of 35. Now, the public is being asked to narrow the contestant pool. The three finalists with the most votes between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11 will compete for a $7,500 grand prize during a pitch-off at Iowa Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Conference on Jan. 28. Second and third place winners receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.

The entrepreneurs competing in the public voting include:

• Jordian Dougherty of Main at Hart in Marshall County who sells pasture-raised chickens, fall pumpkins, gourds, mums and fresh-cut flowers.
• Titan Immel of AgHub Genetics in Adair County who operates a seed conditioning facility which helps companies supply farming customers with the best quality grain and cover crop seeds to plant.
• Annie Palmer of H8R Acres LLC in Warren County who raises purebred Berkshire feeder pigs and Navajo Churro Sheep, which she plans to market to local restaurants.
• Tanner Sanness of Reconnected Farms in Allamakee County who every year grows between 5,000 to 8,000 pounds of organic gourmet mushrooms sold at grocery stores, farmers markets and to local restaurants.
• Matt Vermeersch of Mud Ridge Ranch in Pottawattamie County who raises and sells Scottish Highland cattle with future plans to direct-market beef and also raises goats that target-graze problem vegetation for public and private projects.

“Young agriculturalists are incredibly savvy in putting their unique thumbprint on Iowa agriculture,” says Amanda Van Steenwyk, Iowa Farm Bureau’s farm business development manager. “And as you watch the videos tied to the online voting, you’ll hear they also have big goals. I’m always impressed by not only the diversity of their businesses but the vision they have that will keep Iowa agriculture moving forward.”

To learn more or to vote, visit www.iowafarmbureau.com/growyourfuture.

(Radio Iowa) – The state expert who tracks the deer population in the state says the herd has been healthy this year. The D-N-R’s Tyler Harms says Hemorrhagic Disease has been a problem in the past — but not this year. “The hemorrhagic disease has been pretty low this year so not a main concern of ours — obviously chronic wasting diseases is still a big concern — and we’re continuing our intensive surveillance efforts across the state,” he says. Harms says they’ve held several public information meetings on C-W-D.

“In Jefferson, Iowa, Glenwood Iowa and Decorah, Iowa, all very well attended and very obvious that folks are concerned and passionate and willing to help with the management of this disease,” Harms says. “We did also just have a virtual public meeting, had at about 225 folks attend that meeting as well. So, really grateful to our hunters and our citizens for taking an interest in learning more about what we all can do to slow the spread of that disease.” Harms says they keep track of the disease by asking hunters to donate samples during the season.

“Especially in areas where we’ve detected Chronic Wasting Disease in the wild, to consider providing a tissue sample for testing for chronic wasting disease, it’s a very valuable contribution to helping us monitor,” he says. The first shotgun deer season is underway now and wraps up on December 7th.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Dec. 2, 2022) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Friday, confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Buena Vista County, Iowa.

The virus was found in a commercial turkey flock.

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.

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding shotgun deer season hunters of the rules, requirements, and tips for keeping safe:

• Make sure to have a valid hunting license and habitat fee, and deer tag for the correct season.
• Make sure blaze orange still fits and that the orange hasn’t faded to the point of being ineffective. The minimum amount of blaze orange required by Iowa law to hunt in the firearm deer season is a 100 percent solid blaze orange vest, but more is better.
• Talk to the landowner or tenant to confirm permission to hunt and to see if anyone else has permission to hunt the same property.
• Create a hunting plan that identifies the hunt location, who’s on the hunt and outlines their role, describes how the hunt will unfold and when the hunters are expected to return home. Leave a copy of the plan with someone in the event of an emergency.
• Pick up and fill an antlerless deer tag. County specific antlerless deer tags are still available in 27 counties. Go to https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeQuotas.aspx for info on antlerless tag availability.
• Check the Iowa Deer Exchange to see if someone nearby is looking for deer meat. The Iowa Deer Exchange is a deer donation program connecting participants willing to provide deer meat with those willing to accept it. To sign up, go to iowadnr.gov/deer then scroll down to Iowa’s Deer Exchange Program link and fill out the required fields. The database creates a map and table with information deer donors and deer recipients can use to get connected. There is no cost to participate. It is illegal to sell wild fish and game in Iowa. The deer exchange, along with the Help us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, allows hunters an opportunity to provide high quality lean protein to their neighbors.
• Report their harvest by midnight on the day after it is tagged or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist. The hunter whose name is on the transportation tag is responsible for making the report. If no deer is harvested, no report is necessary.
• The Iowa DNR will be working with hunters to collect deer tissue samples to test for chronic wasting disease. Interested hunters are encouraged to contact their local wildlife biologist to arrange for sample to be collected. If the sample quota has filled, the DNR will assist with submitting the sample through the hunter submission system, in partnership with Iowa State University – which comes with a fee of $25.
• Shotgun one is Dec. 3-7; shotgun two is Dec. 10-18.
• Become a mentor and share your hunting experience. Invite someone along from outside of the group to experience Iowa deer hunting.

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.