(Radio Iowa) – After months of delays, the Farm Bill was introduced today (Wednesday) in the U-S House. It’s more than a thousand pages long and it’s estimated to cost one-and-a-half TRILLION dollars over ten years. Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra, who serves on the House Agricultural Committee, says the massive piece of legislation is vital to farmers in Iowa and nationwide. “The most important part of the Farm Bill is protecting producers,” Feenstra says, “whether they be livestock or commodity farmers. We have to make sure we have a safety net.”

He says that safety net includes crop insurance, in addition to improving exports and preventing animal illnesses. “We’re being devastated by the bird flu, and we surely don’t ever want to see African swine fever come into our livestock,” he says, “and that’s the main goals that we’re trying to achieve.” Feenstra, the Republican who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, says he worked on 25 bills contained in the Farm Bill.

The package includes cuts to the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and overturns California’s Proposition 12 mandates. The previous farm bill from 2018 expired last fall and was extended through September.

(Iowa News Service) – The U.S. House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to take up the first version of the new Farm Bill tomorrow (Thursday) morning.  Outdoor enthusiasts in Iowa are pushing for the measure to address key hunting and fishing policies. The Farm Bill is the biggest, most high-profile piece of legislation for farmers and ranchers and it has a huge effect on hunters and anglers in Iowa. Kate Hansen, agriculture program director for the Isaak Walton League of America, said conservation policies set out in the Farm Bill — support for approaches like cover crops, for example — have a domino effect on the state’s ecosystems.

“At face value, cover crops have benefits like they improve our water quality and our soil health,” Hansen pointed out. “We think about how could water quality improvements benefit our fish habitats? There are also benefits of them sitting right there in the field for wildlife.” Hansen noted the healthy fields benefit Iowa hunters. She added it is important for the Farm Bill to consider private land access and conservation measures to improve habitats for fish and wildlife. The House Agriculture Committee is set to consider the bill tomorrow.

The Farm Bill is the biggest investment the U.S. makes in private lands conservation. Aaron Field, director of private lands conservation for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said one especially important part of the bill focuses on increasing voluntary conservation projects on private property. He emphasized it benefits hunters and anglers and called the public-private partnerships crucial to shaping the Farm Bill. “It’s critically important that hunter and angler groups step up and provide feedback as Congress is making decisions about how those programs operate and how they’re funded,” Field urged.

Summer shoreline view of Saylorville Lake near Polk City Iowa.

Field added this year’s Farm Bill is the best opportunity hunter and angler programs have had for increased funding in recent history. He noted the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has published an online guide about how to participate in shaping the measure.

• KJAN, Atlantic  1.52″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  1.43″
• Massena  1.63″
• Elk Horn  1.46″

(Radio Iowa) -Farmers saw a lot more dry days to be in the fields last week. The U-S-D-A report says there were four days suitable for planting, more than double the previous week. Corn planting moved to 78 percent complete, an increase of 21 percent. Corn planting remains eight days behind last year and four days behind average.

Sixty-one percent of the bean crop is now in the ground, compared to 39 percent the week before. Soybean planting is one week behind last year and two days behind normal.

Topsoil moisture is now 93 percent adequate or surplus compared to 79 percent the prior week.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .12″ (we received another 1.08″ between 7:00 am and 8:00 am)
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .36″
• Elk Horn  1.69″
• Exira  1.6″
• Audubon  3.3″
• Guthrie Center  3.12″
• Logan  3.7″
• Missouri Valley  5.5″
• Carroll  1.75″

(Lewis, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is holding “Stand Up Paddleboard” Demonstration The public demonstration will be held on Saturday May 25th from 1-until 4-p.m., at the Cold Springs Park- Beach. There is no fee. Stand-up paddleboarding is the fastest growing sport in the paddling community, not only across the country, but especially right here in land-locked areas like Iowa. It’s fun, healthy as a total body work-out, and offers a unique perspective when it comes to being on the water.

After a quick demonstration try out the boards for yourself! If you do not bring a life jacket one will be provided to you. Children must be 16 years or older. Paddlers must weigh LESS than 250 LBS. Available time slots for the demonstration and try-out’s are as follows:

Saturday May 25th

1-p.m.:  5 spots

2:30-p.m.: 5 spots

June 29th

1:00-p.m.: 5 Spots

2:30-p.m.: 5 Spots

At Cold Springs Park- Beach

Kayaks will be available for checkout at the same time. There are 4 sit-in kayaks. Again, the paddler must weigh LESS than 250 LBS. There are 4 Sit-on top Kayaks, Paddler must weigh LESS than 395 LBS. If you do not bring a life jacket one will be provided to you.

Saturday May 25th

1PM- 4 kayaks, sit in, 4 kayaks, sit on top.

2:30PM- 4 kayaks, sit in, 4 kayaks, sit on top.

June 29th

1:00pm- 4 kayaks, sit in, 4 kayaks, sit on top.

2:30pm- 4 kayaks, sit in, 4 kayaks, sit on top.

Cold Springs Park- Beach

You MUST register online to get your spot! https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Cass/Park/Cold-Springs-Park.aspx

The Program will be cancelled if there is unsafe weather conditions on the Lake.

(Lewis, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a “Movie in the Park” Campground Program this Friday. The CCCB will be showing “Migration.” The public program will be held at the Campground Shelter at Cold Springs Park in Lewis, on Friday May 24th, beginning at 9-p.m. There is no cost to attend, and you do not have to be a registered camper to attend the program!

In the movie, a duck family wants to convince their overprotective father to go on the real vacation of a lifetime. Come out for a great movie under the stars! Bring a blanket or chair, Dress for the weather, if it rains, the event will be canceled. The CCCB hopes you will the, Friday night, for a Movie in the Park.

Jim Field visits with Steve Pelzer about a benefit for the Dan Daugherty family on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at the Cumberland Community Building.  The event will begin with social time at 4:00 pm, a free-will offering meal at 4:30, followed by a live auction at 6:30.  Donations can also be made through Venmo (Daugherty Benefit) or at FNB Bank in Massena.

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• KJAN, Atlantic  .26″
• Massena  1.06″ (Tornado reported…see video)
• Elk Horn  .21″
• Anita  .43″
• Avoca  .3″
• Oakland  .22″
• Neola  .23″
• Earling  .12″
• Corning  1.32″
• Bedford  1.25″
• Clarinda  1.62″ (large hail reported)
• Creston  1.07″

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s spring turkey hunting season wrapped up with a record harvest of just more than 16-thousand birds, topping the record set last season by around 12-hundred. D-N-R Wildlife Research Biologist Jim Coffey says the records are one good thing to come from the dry weather. “We’ve had three good years of back to back hatches, and then just some exceptional weather that just made for good turkey hunting conditions,” he says. The weather allowed more young turkeys to survive after hatching. “Typically cold wet weather is not good for ground nesting birds so drought conditions we tend to see a bump up in production,” Coffey says. “It can be too dry as you get farther west that can have an impact, but we kind of hit the sweet spot the last few years.”

He says more hunters chase the elusive wild turkeys. “So success rate right now will probably be about the same and that 25 percent category, but we did see an increase in license sales as well. And that’s usually an indication of people noticing more birds on the landscape or more game to chase,” he says. “And so we always usually see a little bit of an uptick in hunter numbers when we see an uptick in populations.” Coffey says bagging a wild turkey is one of the tougher challenges. “They can be very difficult, they’re very weary they’ve got great eyesight and great hearing and they don’t give you a lot of room for error if you’re a new inexperienced hunter and even a seasoned hunter that Turkey is a difficult query to get after,” Coffey says.

Coffey says the turkey numbers could be strong again next season. “This year with extreme rain we’re having will probably you know speculating see a downturn in the population. But we have to remember that it’s usually the two year old birds are what carry the numbers,” he says. “And so next year is birds will really be the ones that were hatched last year and 2023. So we should have good turkey numbers for another year or two depending on how the weather lays out the next couple of years.”

Coffey says wild turkeys won’t be the same as the ones you buy at the grocery store. “They’re a little drier because they don’t have the fat that a domestic bird does. And of course domestic birds are bred for that delicious taste and that moist moisture content,” Coffey says. “We have to remember that most domestic birds are less than six months old. And most of the males that we’re harvesting in the field of the wild, they’re probably two years old. So kind of think of a fit athlete. The muscle is a little tighter, a little more structure to it, and not as much fat in it.”

Hunters report taking turkeys in all 99 counties — with a high of 649 birds bagged in Clayton County to a low of three in Osceola County.