(Radio Iowa) – The former Iowa governor who now heads the U-S-D-A says the young farmers of today will be the key to innovation that will sustain the industry. U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the next generation of farmers will be the ones in the spotlight and help to feed the planet. “It’s an exciting new world, you just have to continue to have hope, okay?” Vilsack says, “and it’s going to make young people want to get into this business.”

Vilsack encourages young people to be open to inspiration, urging them to follow their dreams and branch out into the ag sector. While recognizing current difficulties in the ag industry, Vilsack says the opportunity for innovation and change in farming makes this an exciting moment in history. “Our challenge is to make sure we provide you the technical assistance to make sure you understand how to get into the business, the credit that allows you to get in business, and then markets that allow you to stay in business,” Vilsack says.

One of the U-S-D-A’s goals, he says, is to make sure young people who want to farm have the resources necessary to enter the industry. Vilsack made his comments before the opening of the Minnesota State Fair, which started its 12-day run Thursday.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers Association is exploring its legal options after a judge dismissed its attempt to block rules that likely will prevent most Iowa-raised pork from being sold in California. The federal judge wrote there isn’t proof California voters intended to harm Iowa pork producers when they passed what’s called Proposition 12. Once regulations to into effect next year, California businesses won’t be able to sell pork that comes from pigs confined in less than 24 square feet of space.

Eldon McAfee, an attorney for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says it’ll be tough for producers to give each breeding pig more space than that. “We alleged in the lawsuit that it would be very difficult — you never want to use the word impossible; it can be done, but it would be very difficult, extremely difficult on a commercial basis,” he says.

McAfee says to comply with the size requirements, producers would have to get rid of individual crafts and shift to housing sows in groups and the conversion would be expensive.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katie Peikes)

(Radio Iowa) – A challenge to California’s looming law on animal confinement is being thrown out by a federal judge in Iowa. What’s known as Proposition 12 will go into effect in January. It bans California businesses from selling pork from pigs that were confined in what it calls “a cruel manner,” or pens with less than 24 square feet of space for each breeding hog. Iowa pork producers argued compliance would sharply boost costs, but Judge C-J Williams ruled there was no proof California intended to harm Iowa producers when voters passed Prop 12. He sided with the motion from California officials and dismissed the case.

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(Radio Iowa) – A survey finds Iowa had the highest cash rent average for cropland this year at 233-dollars an acre, three-dollars an acre higher than last year. Farmers across the country are paying an average of 141-dollars per acre to rent cropland. That’s up two-dollars from last year. Iowa State University Extension ag economist Wendong Zhang says cash rents closely follow farmland values. “Iowa has seen about 20% growth, evidenced by many of the auction prices as well as the expert opinion survey,” Zhang says. “Iowa land values have shown about 18% growth from last July to July 1st of this year.”

He says having cash rents follow farmland values is supported by their recent survey of farm managers and ag lenders. “Typically, the cash rent to land value ratio, regardless of the change over the past decade, people have all anticipated this to be around 3.1%,” Zhang says. “In general, when the land markets goes up, then land prices goes up, then the cash rent typically tracks that as well.” Zhang expects the farmland values and cash rents to remain high. “In the near future, we will likely see this level of high land value, high cash rent to stay because the interest rate is still fairly low,” Zhang says. “Even though we have seen some increase in supply, in general, it’s still limited due to COVID payments and other things.”

Of the top five states, Iowa had the highest cash rent average followed by Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and Minnesota.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 23, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment through the Continuous Signup.  The Continuous Signup remains open and CRP Grasslands Signup closed last week, so USDA expects to enroll more acres into all of CRP than the 3 million acres that are expiring.

“Despite Congress raising the enrollment target in the 2018 Farm Bill, there have been decreases in enrollment for the past two years.  The changes we made this spring have put us on the path to reverse this trend,” said Bob Wegand, Acting State Executive Director for the Iowa Farm Service Agency. “Even with the improved direction, USDA will still be about 4 million acres below the enrollment target.  The CRP benefits for producers, sportsmen, wildlife, conservation and climate are numerous and well documented. We cannot afford to let them to be left on the table.”

The 4 million-acre shortfall in CRP would have had the following impacts:

• More than 359,000 acres less annual forage under CRP Grasslands;
• A loss of 1,500,000 acres of quality wildlife and pollinator less habitat for wildlife;
• 20% fewer apiaries in major production regions meeting critical forage thresholds;
• A loss of more than 4 million upland game and other grassland birds;
• About 90 million pounds of nitrogen entering waterways;
• Over 30 million tons of soil eroded, leading to increased pollution and sedimentation in streams and rivers; and
• Foregone sequestration of more than 3 million metric tons of CO2.

Like other USDA conservation programs, CRP is a voluntary program that has a variety of options that can be tailored to the specific conservation issues of a state or region and desires of the landowner. The options run the gamut from working lands such as CRP Grasslands to partnerships with states and private entities to target a specific joint concern such as water quality or quantity.

“We are grateful to the leadership and staff at the USDA, who have worked diligently over the last several months to ensure that the Conservation Reserve Program remains a viable and effective conservation tool,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Today’s announcement demonstrates that when the CRP is administered with the needs of landowners in mind, they respond by investing their lands in conservation. This course correction is needed now more than ever, as management decisions in recent years have left program acreage at a 30-year low, with an additional 4 million acres set to expire by October 2022. We look forward to continuing to work with the USDA to improve the trajectory of the CRP and guarantee that the program benefits our natural resources, landowners, and the sporting community for years to come.”

Continuous CRP Signup

Continuous CRP allows USDA to target the most sensitive land like highly erodible land, the most environmentally beneficial land like wetlands and buffers along streams and rivers, or locally identified critical habitat like State Acres For Wildlife.  This targeted approach also reduces the whole-farm type enrollment in CRP that was more common when it first began and helps meet the conservation goals while maintaining the majority of the land in production agriculture.  FSA has accepted offers from over 37,000 producers to enroll more than 897,000 acres through the Continuous Signup. This is double the enrollment from last year and three times the enrollment from 2018 and 2019.  FSA expects this process to be completed by the end of September so contracts may start on October 1, 2021.

The growth in the targeted enrollment through Continuous Signup is due to a recommitment of USDA to incentives and partnerships that brought in nearly 1.4 million acres in 2016 and 2017.  These efforts have also included the expansion of the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rives Initiative 30-year (CLEAR30) from two regions to nationwide as well as moving State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practices from the General to the Continuous signup. This year, offers for 20,000 acres have been submitted for CLEAR30 and 296,000 acres in SAFE practices.

General CRP Signup

FSA opened the General CRP Signup 56 in January 2021 and extended the original deadline to July 23, 2021, to enable producers to consider FSA’s new improvements to the program, which included higher rental payments and more incentivized environmental practices.

Additionally, FSA introduced a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This incentive provides a 3%, 5% or 10% incentive payment based on the predominate vegetation type for the practices enrolled – from grasses to trees to wetland restoration.

Through CRP, producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. In addition to the other well-documented benefits, lands enrolled in CRP is playing a key role in mitigating impacts from climate change.

A full list of changes to CRP, including those to the Continuous and General Signups, can be found in our “What’s New with CRP” fact sheet.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 23, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented Monday (today) on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.

“After generally dry and pleasant weather during the Iowa State Fair, beneficial rain fell across much of northern Iowa over the last few days, providing some help to the extreme drought areas,” said Secretary Naig. “As we enter the final days of August, a more active weather pattern looks to bring additional chances of rainfall as soybeans are reaching a critical stage of development.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Despite spotty precipitation, Iowa’s farmers had 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending August 22, 2021, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting hay and oats. Producers were utilizing the release of CRP land for haying and grazing.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 24% very short, 40% short, 36% adequate and 0% surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 27% very short, 42% short, 31% adequate and 0% surplus. Northwest, Central and East Central Iowa had the lowest subsoil moisture levels in the State, with more than 80% rated short to very short.

Corn in or beyond the dough stage reached 90%, six days ahead of the 5-year average. Forty-seven percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage or beyond, four days ahead of normal. There were scattered reports of corn reaching the mature stage. Some producers have begun chopping silage. Iowa’s corn condition rated 58% good to excellent. Soybeans setting pods reached 95%, eight days ahead of normal. Five percent of soybeans were coloring. There were a few reports of soybeans dropping leaves. Soybean condition was rated 61% good to excellent. Sudden death syndrome was observed in some soybean fields across the State. Oats harvested for grain reached 97%.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay reached 68% complete, three days ahead of the 5-year average. Both mites and army worms have been spotted in alfalfa and grass hay crops. Pasture condition was rated 31% good to excellent. Water for cows and calves on pasture has become an issue as some creeks and ponds dry up.

Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Above-average temperatures were observed across most of Iowa during the reporting period with a cool down from a cold frontal passage late in the week. The statewide average temperature was 72.7 degrees, 0.7 degrees above normal. Though most of the week was dry, a large-scale weather system brought widespread rainfall across Iowa with above-normal totals approaching two inches in drought-stricken northern Iowa; much of southern Iowa reported only a few tenths of an inch of rainfall.

Sunshine and southeasterly winds led to pleasant conditions on Sunday (15th) afternoon. Partly cloudy skies remained overnight into Monday (16th) morning as a dome of high pressure dominated the weather pattern over the Midwest, lending to quiet conditions. Afternoon temperatures ranged from the low to mid 80s west to upper 70s east. Starry skies and a light southerly wind held temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s into Tuesday (17th) with some clouds streaming into central Iowa. Daytime temperatures were on the rise with increasing southerly winds and humidity; mid to upper 80s were observed in western Iowa while eastern Iowa reported temperatures three to five degrees cooler. Hazy skies were observed into Wednesday (18th) as wildfire smoke filtered into the region. Daytime highs rose into the 80s with a few 90 degree readings under partly cloudy skies. Morning lows reported at 7:00 am on Thursday (19th) were unseasonably warm, generally in the mid to upper 60s, up to nine degrees above normal. Dew point temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s combined with afternoon highs in the upper 80s led to very muggy conditions into the evening hours.

Light showers formed in western Iowa early on Friday (20th) before dissipating during the late morning hours. Southwesterly winds picked up through the afternoon as a cold front approached the state front from the west. Muggy conditions continued, which helped fire stronger thunderstorms in northwestern Iowa as the boundary entered the state. Some storms turned severe with a brief tornado reported near Sibley (Osceola County), causing some damage to trees and outbuildings. As the front swept across the state, measurable rainfall was observed at a majority of stations with general totals of a few tenths of inch over the state’s northern half. Numerous stations in north-central Iowa reported above 0.50 inch with nearly 30 stations measuring an inch or more. Pocahontas (Pocahontas County) reported 2.15 inches while Webster City (Hamilton County) observed 2.92 inches. Behind the front, cooler and more pleasant conditions were experienced on Saturday (21st) with sunny skies and a light northerly wind. Temperatures remained in the mid 70s to low 80s during the daytime hours and dropped into the 50s overnight into Sunday (22nd) morning.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at several southern Iowa stations to 3.26 inches at Webster City (Hamilton County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.57 inch while the normal is 0.95 inch. Multiple stations observed the week’s high temperature of 92 degrees on the 20th, on average nine degrees above normal. Elkader (Clayton County) reported the week’s low temperature of 46 degrees on the 16th, 12 degrees below normal.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Environmental Protection Agency is revoking all use of a pesticide called chlorpyrifos, which was used on corn, soybeans and other row crops. The chemical is linked to intellectual disabilities in children and farm workers. Iowa Soybean Association President Jeff Jorgenson says anytime producers lose a tool that helps with pest management, it’s a concern. “There’s a lot of work that we have to do in making sure that we’re raising the crop that we want to and having lots of opportunity to use some products,” Jorgenson says. “It’s concerning to farmers and it’s going to be concerning in policy because we have to keep those tools as best we can and manage them the correct way to make sure we can produce a crop that we want to raise.”

Jorgenson says any decisions made by the EPA or other government agencies regarding chemicals and what can be used must be based on sound science. Jorgenson says there are other treatment options growers can consider using, now that chlorpyrifos is out of the picture. “I hope that by the time we have those discussions with either our chemical providers or our agronomists, what is going to work and what’s been showing to work the best,” Jorgenson says. “Those things are going to come up, there’s no question about that. We’re going to be talking about that soon and that’s for next year’s crop already. There’s a lot of management we’re doing right now as to what we’re going to do for 2022.”

Researchers say the pesticide can permanently damage brains, causing a reduced I-Q, loss of working memory and attention deficit disorders.