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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s lone prairie chicken population appears to be struggling to sustain itself. The Iowa D-N-R and Missouri officials brought in about 500 birds from Nebraska between 2011 and 2015 to bolster a small, existing flock. The chickens were released in the Kellerton Grasslands Conservation Area in Ringgold County and a nearby natural area in Missouri. Iowa D-N-R biologist Chad Paup says there are now fewer than 50 birds in the area. “We cannot really put our finger on it,” Paup says. “Do we still not quite have the habitat they need? Do we not have the size that they need? Do we not have the large enough expanse of grasslands that they really need?”
Kellerton is a roughly four-thousand acre grassland area, and Paup says the birds might need a larger, contiguous area to sustain a bigger flock. Paup says the species’ future in Iowa doesn’t look bright. “There’s not going to be a lot of support, quite frankly, for going out and spending tens of thousands of dollars to transport more chickens back here,” Paup says.
When European settlers first arrived in Iowa, the prairie chicken was everywhere, and unlike almost every other wild creature, its numbers increased during the early years of the settlement movement. After a few decades though, they were overharvested by the millions for meat and nearly wiped out. Paup made his comments on IPR’s Talk of Iowa program.
(reporting by Michael Leland, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University is getting a more than half a million dollar grant from the U-S-D-A to support research focused on planting two crops in the same field, like soybeans and winter wheat. It’s called relay intercropping and researchers are assessing how it impacts soil health and water quality in the area. U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says large commercial operations are doing well financially and the goal is to find ways to help small and mid-sized farms stay afloat.
“Let’s figure out a way in which as you embrace sustainable practices that you benefit from those sustainable practices with increased productivity, with increased value,” Vilsack said. The I-S-U project will incorporate winter wheat or rye in corn and soybean fields on three university research farms and six other independent farms.
“An exciting opportunity for farmers to see the benefit of potentially harvesting three crops in two years,” Vilsack says, “as opposed to just two crops.” The Iowa Soybean and Iowa Corn Growers Associations will get nearly 900-thousand dollars from the U-S-D-A to conduct trials of how conservation practices and crop genetics impact yields.
“It’s tough to ask farmers to do this because oftentimes is requires an expenditure, an investment up front and it’s important for farmers to be able to see the benefit of that investment before we ask them to essentially spend their own resources,” Vilsack says, “so the OnFarm program really provides additional resources to make it a little bit easier for farmers to really embrace innovation in conservation.”
Vilsack made his comments Thursday afternoon during a news conference in Ames.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Spring is in the air, and plans are underway for gardening projects in Cass County. Local groups planning community gardening, beautification or education programs will again be eligible for assistance from the Cass County Master Gardeners. The group is offering grant money to be used in the 2023 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food for donation, for gardening education, and/or for gardening projects to improve local communities. The Cass County Master Gardener Memorial Grants are offered in remembrance of the many years of service to the community provided by long-time Master Gardener volunteers who have passed.
Any Cass County not-for-profit group may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, or other organizations/individuals working to improving their communities can apply for money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping for community benefit, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, those who were funded by 2022 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2023. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. Applications must include plans for teamwork and sustainability. All grant recipients will be expected to submit a report at the end of the growing season, detailing how the money was spent. Recipients will also be given a sign to place in their garden area for the 2023 growing season.
Applications must be received by 4:30 PM on Monday April 24 for guaranteed consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their application status no later than Monday, May 8 so they can make plans for the growing season. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu.
Application forms can be printed from the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. You can also call or email the office to request a form be mailed or emailed to you, or stop by 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic to pick one up.
The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University Extension. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis, with the next statewide training class open for enrollment in the summer of 2023. For more information on the program, contact Cass County Extension Director Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu.
(Radio Iowa)- The number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico dropped this year. Nicole Shimp with Iowa State’s Monarch Conservation Consortium says they can tell the population by the number of monarchs in the tree canopy. “The space that they occupied in Mexico in the forest in their wintering grounds decreased by about 22 percent,” she says. “Last year, we were around seven acres. This year, we’re a little under five and a half acres.” Shimp says “You always had a little sadness with it, because last year, we saw just, you know, the population kind of held steady, which we thought was a pretty good sign. And so we were hopeful this year that it would maybe hold steady again, or increase a little.”
She says scientists estimate there needs to be a long-term average of about 15 acres to sustain the monarch population. Shimp says the monarch populations have dropped because of a loss of habitat down in Mexico, and loss of habitat in the Midwest where they spend their summer. She says this report shows the urgency to create more habitat continues. “This means that we need to continue to reinforce that the monarchs still need our help, and they’re still around, we just need to help them out a little bit to get the population back up,” she says. Iowa has been part of the effort to restore habitat, including the milkweed, which is the plant the monarch caterpillars eat and lay their eggs on.
Shimp says the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium report shows good things are happening here. “It showed between 2018 and 2020, that Iowans added 430-thousand acres of habitat in the state. And we even have a dashboard that you can go to that can show you it by county to county to kind of break it down if it’s agriculture, urban. So we have it broken down by different areas, and just seeing how many of those acres have gone in,” she explains. Shimp encourages everyone to register their monarch habitat. “If you have already put in habitat, but to make sure that your habitat is being recorded. So you can do that by we have an app called Habi-Tally,” she says. You don’t even have to be in the state of Iowa. You can put in your habitat into there and it walks you through how to do it.”
You can find out how to create a monarch habitat at: monarch.ent.iastate.edu.
(Lewis, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is now taking Pre-orders for their Native Plant Sale! The order form and payment will be DUE April 28th 2023 at 4PM. Forms can be found online https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/conservation-office/
Native Local Eco-type live Plants will be sold. Live plants from nursery will come as small plugs; cells are 5” deep x 2” wide at top or 4.5”deep x 2” Cone. 1 Specie of Native grass, and 11 Native Forbs including many that benefit Pollinators! New this year Sneezeweed and Prairie Coreopsis! All orders must be picked up during designated times at the CCCB offices in Lewis, unless prior arrangements are made. Designated pick up times will be: Thursday May 25th 8 AM-6 PM OR Friday May 26th 8AM-7PM. Plants not picked up will be donated with NO REFUND.
The Cass County Conservation Board is also holding a Wildflower Walk! The program will be held at the Pellett Memorial Woods outside of Atlantic IA on April 29th 2023 at 9 am. FREE! Oak Strollers Nature Club for Families are welcome to join at this event! The Board invites you to walk through the early spring wildflowers with our naturalist. Learn the names, uses and history of these Wildflowers. 
Those in attendance will meet at Pellett Memorial Woods- located just outside of Atlantic, ½ mile north and ¾ mile east of the KJAN radio station (63066 Troublesome Creek Rd).
(Radio Iowa) – One of the state’s largest independent agricultural banks is releasing the results of its annual survey of thousands of farmers, gauging their opinions on a range of topics. Bank Iowa president and C-E-O Jim Plagge says 67-percent of farmers surveyed said they believed the ag economy would be the same or stronger in 2023, while more than 70-percent felt they were in the same shape or better off financially as the prior year. Finding labor was the top concern on last year’s survey, but Plagge says finding ‘qualified labor’ moved to number-one this year.
The survey finds technology is leading the way in terms of investment decisions. In the past two years, the percentage of farmers who say they’re considering investing in ag-tech jumped from 22- to 36-percent.
(Submitted by Atlantic FFA reporter Lily Johnson) – The Atlantic FFA Banquet was held on Monday, March 28th at the Atlantic High School. There were 172 members and guests were present at the event. The banquet started with the opening ceremonies, led by the 2022-2023 chapter officers. This year the officers include President Dylan Comes, Vice President Daniel Freund, Secretary Claire Pellet, Treasurer Jackson McLaren, Reporter Charli Goff, Sentinel DJ Sheppard, and Student Advisor Colton Rudy. 2022-23 Chapter President Dylan Comes said, “The 2022-2023 FFA year went extremely well. We competed in many contests, succeeded in most of those said contests, and grew not only as individuals, but as a chapter. I am super excited to see where the chapter goes in the future.”
The opening ceremony was followed by a welcome to members and guests, and was given by President Dylan Comes. A reflection was then said by Daniel Freund. Following that, dinner was held for members and guests. Wiota Steakhouse provided the Brisket and the sides for the FFA members and guests. At the conclusion of dinner, two guest speakers spoke to the audience. The first was Chad Comes, the Father of FFA President Dylan Comes. Mr. Comes talked about how FFA is a great program and how it can impact your future greatly if you put in the effort. The next speaker was Southwest District FFA President, George Martin. Martin talked about getting outside your comfort zone and realizing the many great opportunities and life lessons FFA can bring to you that will be valuable in yours and other people’s futures. Claire Pellet gave the secretary’s report and the treasurer’s report was given by Jackson McLaren.
Following the guest speakers, awards were given out. First were those recognized for earning 10,000 FFA points throughout their time as a member. These points are earned through getting involved with our chapter. The more activities and events a member participates in, the more points they earn. Those recognized for reaching 10,000 points included Dylan Comes, Brett Dreager, Daniel Freund and Jackson McLaren. The next award was the Academic Achievement Award. This award is given to those who have been a part of the Atlantic FFA chapter for three years, and have maintained a 3.5 GPA throughout all those years. Those who received the Academic Achievement Award included Rio Johnson, Dylan Comes, and Daniel Freund.
After the Academic Achievement Award came the Star Greenhand, Star Ag Placement, Star Ag Business, and Star of Ag Production Awards. The Star Greenhand is awarded to a freshman who the chapter officers feel was the most involved with the chapter in the past year. This year there were two outstanding Greenhand members so the award was given to Lauren Comes and Lily Johnson. The next award, Star Ag Placement, is an award given to a member that has done an exceptional job in their employment, whether that be in or out of agriculture. This award was received by Jackson McLaren.
This year, the new officers for the 2022-2023 term elected four members to receive the Atlantic FFA Leadership Award, which is given in appreciation to those who have shown leadership through their years in FFA. These 4 members who received the award include Brett Dreager, Callee Pellet, DJ Sheppard, and Colton Becker. Officers also elected 2 individuals to receive the Honorary Chapter Farmer award, which is given to people who have played a large role in helping the Atlantic FFA chapter and the activities they do. Those that accepted this award include Rod Deter and Jeremiah Thompson.
2023-24 Officers:
Left to Right Back Row
Colton Rudy, Roth Denbeste, Wyatt Simons, Lily Johnson
Click to enlarge the image Left to Right Front Row:
Claire Pellet, Charli Goff, Lola Comes.
This year, 16 members were given the Discovery Degree. The Discovery Degree is awarded to members who are finishing their 8th grade year of schooling, and have been involved in FFA for one year. Those that have been involved for one year of high school Ag, received the Greenhand Degree, which was given to 28 members. Next came 16 members who were Chapter FFA degrees, which are given to members who have been involved in FFA for 2 years since being in high school, or members who have been in FFA for three years including their 8th grade year.
The banquet concluded with the installation of new chapter officers. For the upcoming 2023-2024 year, the new officers include the following: Colton Rudy as President, Lola Comes as Vice President, Claire Pellett as Secretary, Roth Denbeste as Treasurer, Lily Johnson as Reporter, Wyatt Simons as Sentinel, and Charli Goff as Student Advisor. 2023-2024 President Colton Rudy said “The 2023 Atlantic FFA Banquet was a remarkable experience, marking the end of a very successful year for our chapter and the beginning of a new year. I am honored to lead the chapter into the new FFA year, which will hopefully be filled with chapter growth and new memories to be made.”
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s spring turkey hunting season is scheduled to start soon. Nate Carr, a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says Iowa’s youngest hunters will fire the first shots. “Youth season is going to get us kicked off April 7th,” Carr says. “It’ll go on for a few days and then we’ll get into our regular spring turkey hunting seasons which is broken up into four different seasons.” Those seasons start April 10th, 14th and 19th, with the final season running April 26th through May 14th.
Carr says the turkey has a storied past in Iowa as the pioneers had to hunt to survive. “Back in the late 1800s, early 1900s, early settlers were pretty hard on our wildlife here in Iowa, turkeys included,” Carr says. “They were actually extirpated from the state, which means they were completely wiped out within the state of Iowa and the last wild turkey was seen around 1910.” Carr says it was a lengthy recovery process for the big birds, which vanished from our soil for more than five decades.
“It was a long road to get them back in the ’60s through different reintroduction efforts,” Carr says. “We were able to get some birds from Missouri who really had a similar issue, but they were starting to see their wild population come back. So we transplanted some birds from Missouri, up into Iowa in different locations and have really seen them be fairly successful throughout Iowa.”
The D-N-R usually issues around 50-thousand tags for spring turkey hunting season, with roughly 22-percent getting filled, which equates to a harvest of around 11,500 birds. Learn more at www.iowadnr.gov.
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