Some crop experts are questioning the very high corn yield numbers put out by the USDA in August. The agency estimates Iowa’s average corn yield at 197 bushels per acre, five bushels better than last year’s record yield.  Todd Claussen, director of agronomy with Landus Cooperative in Ames, says he’s seeing a lot of variability from field to field. “I get that every day — ‘Boy, the crop looks great’ — and yes, it does look good at 60 miles per hour,” Claussen said. “But when you get out in it, don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, there’s no catastrophe here — but we’re quite variable,” Claussen said.

Reduced stands are an issue in some fields, according to Claussen. “If you dropped 33,000 or 34,000 (seeds), you’ve got a lot of 27,000 to 28,000 (plants today) — so we’re short of ears,” Claussen said. Jordan Carstens, who farms near Bagley in west-central Iowa, says tip-back on corn ears will shave the high-end off his yield potential. “We got into some heat there in July, when things were really going there, pollinating,” Carstens says. “Some of the tip-back I’m seeing, it’s on ears that probably would have been 45 kernels long and they went back to 34 or 35.”

The term “tip-back” means the kernels don’t fill all the way out to the end of the ear. Still, Carstens expects “a really good” corn crop. “You never really know until you get the combine in the field and start weighing stuff up, but I think we’ll have a decent fall,” Carstens said.

The USDA crop report issued on August 12 estimated the 2016 total U.S. corn production at an all-time record level of 15.15 billion bushels. The projection, if accurate, would best the previous record U.S. corn production of 14.2 billion bushels in 2014.

(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Ag News)

Insects that pollinate crops are vital for Iowa’s agriculture industry, but many species have been dying in large numbers in recent years. The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to change that. The agency’s Gary Van Vreede says they’re trying to help various groups improve the habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies. Van Vreede says, “If we can just get the nectar species and the flowering species out there that they need, we can help them provide the habitat and the nectar and the food source that they need to thrive.”

Van Vreede says insecticides and other chemicals are taking a toll on honey bees and monarchs. “It’s been a huge problem and the decline in the number of pollinator species has been astronomical,” he says. “We’re doing whatever we can to help them out.” When Iowans put new plants in the ground, he’s asking them to keep the bugs that pollinate crops in mind as it doesn’t take a lot of nectar-producing plants to make a big difference. “Having these little stop-over areas is very important,” Van Vreede says. “They don’t need a big area like a lot of grassland birds. As they’re moving along and traveling along, these little spots can provide a lot of benefit.”

Iowa has some 4,500 beekeepers who manage more than 45,000 colonies of honey bees. Those bees produce about 4-million pounds of honey annually, valued at over $8-million. Honey bees are also responsible for the pollination of many Iowa crops, as well as home gardens and plants eaten by wildlife. The economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators in Iowa is estimated at $92 million a year.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa ranks among the top 12 states for milk and cheese production, but the state’s dairy industry often misses out on the spotlight due to Iowa’s role as a national leader in corn, soybean, beef, and pork production. Sue Ann Claudon, executive director of the Iowa Dairy Association, says there are currently around 1,260 dairy farms in Iowa — with each farm having anywhere between 50 and 5,000 cows. She’d like to see those numbers grow.

“We have a lot of dairy farmers in other states who would love to come to Iowa because we are a dairy friendly state,” Claudon says. “We have the feed stuff available and we have the resources — we have the businesses who serve the dairy (producers) already here.” California and Wisconsin are the top two milk producing states. Claudon says Iowa needs to expand its processing capacity before the state can significantly boost its production.

“We are working with the state and looking at how we can expand that processing capacity and compete against the other states, especially Wisconsin and South Dakota,” Claudon said. “One of the challenges with that, though, is those two states give incentives to businesses to come into their state.” The dairy industry is struggling in Iowa and across the country as dairy prices have gone down about 35 percent in the last two years.

The USDA announced in late August it would help out farmers by buying 11 million pounds of cheese out of private inventories. The cheese will be donated to food banks and pantries.

(Radio Iowa)

A wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources expects another good year for quail hunters after a dramatic increase in the number of birds taken last year. The D-N-R’s Todd Bogenschutz says the estimated 28-thousand-400 quail taken were a 165 percent increase compared to 2014. This year’s roadside indicates the trend could continue.

He says there was a slight upward trend in numbers and he says the statewide count of quail is the highest it has been in 27 years. Bogenschutz says quail numbers had suffered from the weather just like pheasants.  “I think we do have a small suite of folks who just go out to find quail. Of course those numbers have declined with our lower numbers over the last 20 or 30 years — but I think we still have a small group of dedication quail hunters that when they go out the door that’s basically what they’ve focused on,” he says.

Bogenschutz says there are also hunters who will take what they see. He says in southern Iowa, which is the best quail range, hunters will take pheasants or quails, depending on what they run into. Bogenschutz says the recent mild winters have helped all upland game improve their numbers.

(Radio Iowa)

COLLINS – A fish kill south of Collins near the Jasper-Polk County line is being investigated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  Officials say the fish kill was reported late Saturday morning along Wolf Creek. Approximately six miles of stream was affected and the kill consisted of smaller fish species.

Field testing did detect high amounts of ammonia along portions of the stream. Wolf Creek is a tributary of Indian Creek which did not appear to be affected.

More than 80 percent of the state’s corn and soybean fields were rated in “good” or “excellent” condition at the start of this week and one weather experts says the 2016 growing season “has turned out pretty well” for Iowa farmers. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says crop development is about a week to a week-and-a-half ahead of normal. “Things for the most part got planted on a timely basis, with exceptions in far western Iowa that had a pretty mid-April and early May, but otherwise in much of the state things got planted on time. It’s been a relatively warm growing season, so things that did get planted on time have been progressing along very well.”

Yield prospects are “looking quite good” for most of the state, according to Hillaker. “A few places still a bit on the dry side, but nothing really super dry at this point,” Hillaker says. “Certainly northwest Iowa could use some rain, although it’s getting late enough in the growing season that it may still, perhaps, help out the soybean, but probably too late to have any benefit for the corn crop in that part of the state.”

A small area stretching from Onawa to just northwest of Sac City got NO rainfall at all last week, while nearly nine inches fell near Decorah. About nine-tenths of an inch is the normal amount of rainfall in Iowa for the final week of August.

(Radio Iowa)

Conservation groups are forming a partnership with food and agriculture businesses to push for more sustainable farming and cleaner water in Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. The Midwest Row Crop Collaborative includes diverse members like The Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund as well as Pepsi and Walmart. Jill Kolling, director of sustainability at Cargill, says they plan to raise four-million dollars over the next five years to fund on-farm conservation programs.

Kolling says, “In these states, we’ll be working to optimize soil health practices and outcomes, reduce nutrient runoff into the rivers and streams of the Mississippi River Basin, maximize water conservation to reduce pressure on the Ogallala aquifer and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Other members of the group include the World Wildlife Fund, Monsanto, Kellogg and General Mills. Kolling says in addition to fundraising, the collaborative will collate conservation research so farmers can easily review results. Larry Clemens, with The Nature Conservancy, says aligning with agriculture across a vast landscape is a way to ensure food production goals are met while maintaining a commitment to land, water and wildlife resources.

Clemens says, “The Nature Conservancy is eager to help the collaborative leverage our expertise to accelerate solutions that match the scale of the challenges we face in this region, such as improving water quality across the Midwest and addressing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The collaboratives’ initial efforts will support the Soil Health Partnership, a farmer-led conservation program of the National Corn Growers Association.

(Radio Iowa)

Despite recent rains, nearly all the facilities in state parks and recreation areas in Iowa are open for the Labor Day weekend. All 101 camping sites with electrical hook-ups are claimed already at Rock Creek State Park, about six miles northwest of Grinnell.  The park’s lake has 15 miles of shoreline and a beach for swimmers. Boats are allowed on the lake, but there’s a “no wake” rule. It means a boat is to go no more than five miles an hour.

Last week nine inches of rain fell at the Yellow River State Forest near Harpers Ferry. Three of the four camping areas within the park will reopen today (Friday) for Labor Day Weekend camping. There was brief flooding at George Wyth State Park near Waterloo last week, but the campground there is open.

In central Iowa, the Ledges State Park near Boone is open to campers, but Canyon Drive in the park is closed to vehicle traffic due to high water. Hikers are allowed in the canyon, but they’re advised to stay out of the water. Horseback riding trails in two state parks and two state forests are closed and won’t reopen until the trails have dried out and flood repairs are made.

(Radio Iowa)

This is the third and final day (Thursday) of the Farm Progress Show near Boone which has drawn big crowds of on-lookers, but far fewer buyers. Iowa U-S Senator Joni Ernst was at the show this week and says she’s concerned about the faltering farm economy and the impact on Iowa’s farm families.  “Our corn has been below $3 for about a month now, so that is really tough,” Ernst says. “They don’t want to overextend themselves. So, when they’re out here looking at the wonderful, advanced technology, they have to step back a little bit. We want to know that our future is strong before they’re engaging anymore.”

Due to the downturn in the ag economy over the past few years, some members of Congress are discussing the possibility of rewriting the Farm Bill next year, but Ernst is hesitant. “We know that once we open the Farm Bill, anything goes and I tend to believe that would be more harmful to our farmers than beneficial,” Ernst says. “We’ll have to sort through that. We’ll talk with other members and see what they think but I want to protect where we are right now.”

While many farmers are struggling with lower incomes, falling commodity prices and steady input costs, Ernst does not think it’s wise to seek remedies by changing the Farm Bill. “Production is really hurting, the prices are hurting, so we’ll see where we go but I’d tend to push back against that,” Ernst says. “I don’t think we should be opening the Farm Bill. I’d like to hear specifically where they think it’s not effective.”

Farm Bills typically remain in place for five years. The latest one, the Agricultural Act of 2014, authorizes nutrition and agriculture programs across the U-S for the years of 2014 through 2018.

(Radio Iowa)

The sixth dove hunting season opens today (Thursday) across Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz expects hunters to find a lot of targets. “We don’t count doves on our roadside surveys, they are usually counted by the Fish and Wildlife Service through some of their surveys,” Bogenschutz says. “But anecdotally from our staff doing the roadside surveys — it seems doves are pretty abundant this year along the roadsides — so we are expecting our dove opener to be a pretty productive one providing we had good weather.”

Bogenschutz says the best approach is to scout out your hunting area before you go. He says there are a lot of managed dove plots on public and they have a list of them on their website. Doves like small grains, which are not that plentiful in Iowa, but he says the season has developed. “It is challenging to find places to hunt. But we have been running about 12-thousand hunters and they’ve been harvesting about 100 to 150-thousand doves. I think that’s pretty respectable numbers if you look at surrounding states,” according to Bogenschutz. “Will it continue to grow in future years? I think we will have to wait and see.”

Doves offer a new challenge to hunters who’ve been used to shooting pheasants, as Bogenschutz says they are without a doubt the toughest to hit. He says doves are talented at flying, while pheasants, quail and partridge are more straight line flyers. Other hunting tips from the D-N-R say the best times to hunt doves are morning and evenings when the birds are most active.

The dove season runs through November 9th, with shooting hours set at one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. There’s a daily limit of 15 and a possession limit of 45.

(Radio Iowa)