Agriculture

Topics include pollinator habitat, planter technology and niche pork, among others

Practical Farmers of Iowa will offer nine new topics as part of its long-running Tuesday night webinar series, known as farminars, thus continuing its farmer-to-farmer education through the winter. Farminars offer practical knowledge for beginning and experienced farmers raising row crops, livestock, fruits and vegetables, and are free for anyone with an internet connection to participate.

Farminars are held every Tuesday at 7 p.m., and each focuses on a unique production or business management topic. All presentations are led by a farmer or subject-matter expert, and attendees are able to ask questions in real-time using a chatbox while they listen and watch a slideshow.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• February 19: Office closed in observance ofGeorge Washington’s Birthday

USDA Looking to Lease Office Space
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency in Waukon, Iowa, is interested in leasing approximately 5315 rentable square feet of office and related space together with approximately 40 onsite, paved parking spaces.  The rentable space shall yield a minimum of 4621 to a maximum of 4855 contiguous ANSI/BOMA office area square feet of first class, high quality office space.  The space must be ready for occupancy within nine months after the lease award.

Researchers who participated in the Sustainable Corn Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP), which was led by Iowa State University, are providing access to five years of data from the multi-university, corn-based cropping systems study at https://datateam.agron.iastate.edu/cscap/.

The research was funded from 2011-17 with a $20 million USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant. The research included nine states, 11 institutions and a 140-member team, which was led by Lois Wright Morton, project director and Iowa State University professor of sociology emeritus, and Lori Abendroth, project manager.

Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture (IARA), a coalition of 27 state, community, and national organizations, called on Iowa state legislators to support 15 bills introduced by Senator David Johnson (I-Ocheyeden) that would strengthen how animal feeding operations are regulated in Iowa at a January 16, 2018 press conference held at the Iowa State Capitol.

The bills include a moratorium on new or expanding concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) until there are fewer than 100 water impairments in Iowa and the Master Matrix is addressed.

There are 750 water impairments in the state with over 1000 impairments, and over 20 counties have called for changes to the Master Matrix this past year.

Senator Johnson was one of 12 legislators and stakeholders that developed the Master Matrix in 2002. Over the last two years he logged thousands of miles traveling throughout the state listening to citizens share stories of how CAFOs impacted their lives.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• February 19: Office closed in observance of George Washington’s Birthday

USDA and SCORE Launch Innovative Mentorship Effort to Support New Farmers and Ranchers
USDA is collaborating with SCORE – www.score.org - the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors in an effort to provide free business mentoring to farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural and rural business owners.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 15: Office closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January Facility Loan Interest Rates
The interest rates for January are as follows:
• 1.875% for 3 years
• 2.125% for 5 years
• 2.250% for 7 years
• 2.375% for 10 years
• 2.500% for 15 years

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 15: Office closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Marketing Assistance Loans
The FSA office would like to remind producers that marketing assistance loans are available through our office. The 2017 loan rates are $1.87 for corn, and $4.99 for beans. If you do take out a marketing assistance loan with us, we will need a copy of your driver’s license, as well as your spouse’s. 

Dairy farmer and former Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Lang announced his campaign for Iowa secretary of agriculture today, saying he is committed to bringing together Iowans to improve the state’s soil health, water quality and rural economy.

As the New Year 2018 gets underway, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has highlighted some of the top ag issues in Iowa in 2017.

“While the challenging economic conditions on the farm continued in 2017, I was extremely encouraged to continue to see farmers experimenting and investing in water quality efforts on their farm. We continue to see Iowans on the farm and in our communities taking on the challenge of improving water quality. It is encouraging to see growth by farmers in both infield practices, such as cover crops and no-till, but also edge of field practices, like wetlands and bioreactors, as we work to address this important issue,” said Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 1: Office closed for News Years Day

Report Livestock Losses
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) provides assistance to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. LIP compensates livestock owners and contract growers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather, including losses due to hurricanes, floods, blizzards, wildfires, extreme heat or extreme cold.