Agriculture

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
November 11: Closed in Observance of Veterans Day
December 6: Market Facilitation Program
December 11: ARC/PLC Decision Meeting
December 13: Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020

Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC)
Sign up for 2020 coverage runs from October 7 – December 13, 2019. Every operation that will participate in 2020 needs to stop in and sign a new application that certifies you are still marketing milk, including those producers who locked in for 5 years (even though you can’t change your coverage levels).

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 6: Market Facilitation Program
December 13: Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020

2019 Crop Commodity Loan Program Information
• Corn: $2.12
• Soybeans: $6.18
• Crop year commodity loan rate for October is 2.750%

October 2019 CCC and FSFL Interest Rates
New rates were issued for the month of October and are as follows:
• 1.500% for 3 years
• 1.500% for 5 years
• 1.625% for 7 years
• 1.625% for 10 years
• 1.750% for 12 years
• 1.750% for 15 years

The Waukon Feed Ranch Corn Maze event held in early September helped raise more than $2,400 for the future of local farming, and those funds were recently distributed to local high school FFA chapters at a check presentation event held Friday, October 11 at the Waukon Feed Ranch Agronomy Center near Waukon. Waukon Feed Ranch created a corn maze for the public to try and navigate at its agronomy center location west of Waukon along Old Highway 9, taking a freewill donation to help raise funds for the local FFA chapters of Waukon High School and Kee High School. Along with the corn maze proceeds, the Allamakee County Cattlemen and Allamakee County Pork Producers hosted a grilling event, WW Homestead Dairy sold cheese curds and the Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board had its dairy wagon on site, with additional proceeds from those offerings also being added to the donated funding.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association has been dedicated to improving market conditions for Iowa’s independent cattle producers since long before the Holcomb, Kansas Tyson plant fire. However, recent market conditions have added more urgency to the situation, and ICA’s volunteer leaders are actively searching for new solutions to the market problems faced in the upper midwest.

The ICA Feedlot Council has been working on specific policy proposals and invites cattle producers to attend one of the upcoming cattle marketing listening sessions.

Each meeting will include a history of ICA’s policy initiatives related to cattle marketing and an open forum to discuss new ideas with staff, Feedlot Council members and board members.

Members who are unable to attend one of the five meetings will be given an opportunity to voice their opinion through other avenues.

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 6: Market Facilitation Program; Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020

Market Facilitation Program (MFP)
Signup for the 2019 Market Facilitation Program began July 29 and continues through December 6, 2019.  For non-specialty crops such as corn, soybeans and alfalfa, payments are based on a single-county payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings of MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings. The Allamakee County payment rate is $40 per planted acre.

by Meaghan Anderson, Field Agronomist, Dr. Bob Hartzler, Professor of Agronomy, Prashant Jha, Associate Professor, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

The plentiful rain in September has provided ideal conditions for establishment of winter annual weeds, thus many no-till fields will have dense stands of these weeds going into winter (Fig. 1). The wetter springs we have encountered recently complicate getting spring burndown applications made in a timely matter.

Fall burndown applications are an option that may be beneficial in fields with a history of problems with winter annuals (e.g. horseweed/marestail, field pennycress, henbit). The advantages of fall applications include more consistent control since winter annuals are smaller, and there will be less weed biomass next spring that may interfere with planter operations. Consider the following before choosing this management option:

by Dr. Bob Hartzler, Professor of Agronomy, Meaghan Anderson, Field Agronomist, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Fall is one of the best times for managing perennial and biennial weeds found in pastures or other areas maintained in perennial grass. As perennials prepare for the upcoming winter they move energy reserves from shoots to their perennial vegetative reproductive structures (e.g. rhizomes, perennial rootstocks). Systemic herbicides applied at this time are translocated along with the energy reserves to the reproductive structures, therefore providing more consistent control than applications made at most other times of the year. 

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 6: Market Facilitation Program

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Payments
We will soon be issuing payments for the Conservation Reserve Program.  CRP payments begin with those contracted prior to 2008. Barring no computer delays, those payments will begin being issued October 2. For CRP contracts that began after the 2008 Farm Bill, payments will be issued starting October 9. Remember that these take a few days to be deposited into your account.

The Iowa farm costs and returns report compares income and cost data for 600 Iowa producers

The “2018 Iowa Farm Costs and Returns” analysis is now available, and despite a slight increase in net farm income last year, farmers saw another year of tight margins and a decrease in total farm assets and net farm worth.

The average accrual net farm income (adjusted for inventory changes and accrued expenses) increased by 6% in 2018, to $58,832.

“It wasn’t a huge increase in income, but at least we didn’t see a decline,” said Alejandro Plastina, assistant professor and extension economist at Iowa State University. “However, the rate of return on assets remains very low, compared to historical averages.”

by Dr. Erin Hodgson, Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist Specialist and ANR Crops Team Leader, Integrated Crop Management News and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Corn earworm  (Photo 1) is common in Iowa corn. It is a migratory pest, migrating from the southern and southeastern U.S. every summer. There are two general fights to the Midwest every summer, but the first flight is not of economic concern. Iowa’s corn is more vulnerable to infestation of the second flight, arriving in late July. Yield losses can occur in late-planted cornfields, where caterpillars can infest >50% of plants. It is more common to see corn earworm issues in sweet corn, white corn, popcorn, and seed fields. Kernel injury can promote ear mycotoxins (e.g., fumonisins and aflatoxins) and further reduce grain quality. The frass (excrement) can also be a contaminant for corn processing.