Agriculture

Becky McCrea, Waukee; Cindy Rockwell, Carlisle; and Molly Woodruff, Indianola; are tech industry veterans who work with top Iowa and national firms. They’re also a trio of Iowa female entrepreneurs who have developed Farmmee, an innovative app that connects farmers to farmers when they need it most.

Every farmer knows what it’s like to see a storm on the horizon with acres of crop to harvest before it hits. They also know the time-robbing impacts of breakdowns. Finding help quickly can be hard.

Not anymore. Farmmee (https://www.farmmee.com), solves dilemmas like this and more by quickly connecting farmers with farmers to solve immediate challenges. The app provides a robust collaboration network that lets farmers seek services by other farmers and also lets farmers offer their services to other farmers.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 17: Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP)

Natural Nitrogen for Crop Production
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist

Dr. Christine Jones, one of the world’s preeminent microbiologists from Australia, wrote an article titled Nitrogen: the double-edged sword, in which she says that nitrogen is a component of protein and DNA and as such, is essential to all living things. She states that prior to the Industrial Revolution, around 97% of the nitrogen supporting life on earth was fixed biologically. Over the last century, intensification of farming, coupled with a lack of understanding of soil microbial communities, has resulted in reduced biological activity and an increased application of industrially produced forms of nitrogen to agricultural land.

This new publication provides a basic understanding of the major crops grown in Iowa

Growing successful field crops is a science, one that is learned and improved upon with years of experience. But sometimes it just makes sense to start with the basics. That’s the approach of a new publication from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach called the Field Crop Production Handbook.

This 144-page handbook provides a general overview of the essential aspects of producing field crops in Iowa. It focuses on the basics of crop establishment, but also on care and harvest, as well as the impacts on soil, water and wildlife.

“The handbook is useful for people who are new to agriculture or may be joining the family farm and want to get reacquainted with some of the basics of crop production,” said Erin Hodgson, professor and extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State University.

Practical Farmers of Iowa has released a new cover crop app designed to help farmers easily locate cover crop seed, services and suppliers in time for fall 2021 planting decisions. The app, Find Cover Crops, is free to download and use, and is available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

“Whether farmers are looking to source cover crop seed or hire someone to seed their cover crop, the Find Cover Crops app can help,” says Rebecca Clay, PFI’s strategic initiatives and agronomy coordinator.

“Not everyone has the equipment or supplies to seed cover crops themselves – and harvest time gets busy quickly. Having an app that connects farmers instantly to services near them can make a big difference to ensuring they get their cover crop planted during that busy time.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
August 6: CRP Continuous Signup
September 17: Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP)

Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP)
PLIP provides financial assistance for losses of poultry and livestock depopulated between March 1, 2020 and December 26, 2020 due to insufficient processing access during the COVID pandemic. Animals sold at a reduced price are not eligible. Eligible livestock includes swine, chickens, and turkeys. Sign-up runs through September 17. Contract growers, live poultry dealers, and packers are ineligible for this program. You’ll need to provide documentation to substantiate the numbers you report on your application. This can include vet records, feeding records, rendering receipts, etc.

Two northeast Iowa dairy farms will be featured on tours

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team is hosting a field day focused on dairy technology on the farm. The Aug. 16 field day will feature two farm visits where attendees can see heifer facilities utilizing activity monitoring systems and the use of a sand separating system.

The first farm visit will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Foresight Farms heifer facility, located at 1574 Big Canoe Road, Decorah. From Big Canoe Road go south on Sattre Ridge Road (gravel). The facility is on the east side of the gravel road. The dairy recently constructed the steel frame monoslope heifer facility and utilize an activity monitoring system on cows and heifers. Owner Dave Wise will be on hand to answer questions about the facilities and equipment.

Learn about opportunities and challenges of carbon credit markets

Renewed interest in carbon markets and carbon credit trading is quickly finding its way to the farm. In an effort to provide updates and answer questions, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will hold a public webinar August 11 from 1-3 p.m.

A group of specialists will discuss the basics of what a carbon market is, how people can participate, the benefits and consequences of participating and the things landowners and tenants should consider.

“Some farmers are already being asked to join marketing agreements,” said Chad Hart, professor in economics and extension grain markets specialist at Iowa State University. “Over the last six to eight months in particular, we have seen a lot of private companies starting to set up their carbon trading mechanisms and some are reaching out to landowners.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
June 15: COC Election Ballots Mailed to Producers in LAA 3
July 23: CRP General Signup
August 6: CRP Continuous Signup

Meetings will focus on the issues impacting all parties involved in leasing arrangements

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is hosting multiple farmland leasing meetings during July and August at various times and locations throughout the state, beginning July 26. The annual meeting is offered to address questions that land owners, tenants or other interested individuals have about leasing farmland.

Core components of this year’s program will be land values and cash rent trends, cost of production, methods for determining a fair rental rate, the latest legal updates that impact farm leases and land ownership (such as carbon credit contracts), and communication between tenants or landowners.

Three-day program offers resources to understand and design subsurface drainage

Agricultural drainage is an important management tool for crop production in many areas of Iowa. The design, installation and maintenance of drainage systems is the focus of the Iowa Drainage School to be held Aug. 24-26 at the Borlaug Learning Center on Iowa State University’s Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm, near Nashua.

“Iowa Drainage School provides educational opportunities for all interested in drainage, whether they are contractors, farmers, consulting engineers, county officials or others,” said Matt Helmers, professor and agricultural engineering specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “The school focuses on the fundamentals of drainage design, including getting an accurate survey, drainage pipe size and spacing, controlled drainage and water table management, legal considerations and different installation techniques and equipment.”