Agriculture

Farmers in northeast Iowa and the surrounding area are invited to attend the Northeast Iowa Farm Energy Fair Tuesday, June 13, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. The event will offer the opportunity to attend workshops about technical and financial assistance available for farm energy projects and time to meet with local contractors.

Workshops at the fair will focus on farm energy efficiency and on-site solar opportunities. Morning programming will dive into information regarding farm energy efficiency including lighting, grain drying, dairy equipment, financial incentives, and technical assistance programs.

Programming in the afternoon will focus on on-site farm solar energy production and the incentives that are available for farmers. Industry professionals, farm equipment specialists, solar contractors, and lighting suppliers will be available throughout the day to explore options for improved energy usage.

Submitted by Sara Berges, Allamakee SWCD

Plan now to facilitate successful cover crop establishment this fall.  Your herbicide program could prevent successful cover crop establishment or may restrict grazing/forage options for your cover crop.  Many herbicides prohibit grazing or feeding within a specified time frame, which would then prohibit cover crops planted on these fields to be used for feed. Make sure that you follow the restrictions listed on the label.  There are several resources available that compile information from herbicide labels regarding establishment of cover crops for grazing/forage.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season - No Mid-Contract Management Activities on CRP acres   
• May 31 - Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• August 1 - ARC/PLC Sign-up

Twenty-six area women recently invested six weeks into learning about how to make their farming operations more successful.  “While farm women have always been an integral part of agriculture, their role in managing farm operations continues to grow. That’s why Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (ISUEO) recently offered Annie’s Project to farm women in northeast Iowa,” says Melissa O’Rourke, ISUEO’s Farm and Agribusiness Management Specialist.

Annie’s Project is a farm management risk education program designed for women and facilitated by women agriculture professionals.  O’Rourke describes Annie’s Project as a six-week program “intended to educate and empower farm women to be better business partners by managing and organizing critical information, improving decision-making skills, and networking with other farm women.”

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey encourages eligible farm owners to apply for the 2017 Century and Heritage Farm Program.  The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and recognizes families that have owned their farm for 100 years in the case of Century Farms and 150 years for Heritage Farms.

“These awards are an opportunity to recognize the hard work and commitment by these families that is necessary to keep a farm in the same family for 100 or 150 years,” Northey said.  “If you consider all the challenges and unexpected obstacles each of them would have had to overcome during their life on the farm, it gives you a greater appreciation of the dedication and perseverance of each of the families being recognized.”

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season - No Mid-Contract Management Activities on CRP acres   
• May 31 - Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• August 1 - ARC/PLC Sign-up

CRP Participants Must Maintain Approved Cover on Acreages Enrolled in CRP and the Farm Programs
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the contract after the practice has been established. Participants must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.

The Allamakee County Soil and Water Conservation District hosted a cover crop field day on Thursday, April 6.  Area producers had the opportunity to stop by three different sites and drive by two additional sites to view cover crops.  All of the fields also had manure applied before or after seeding the cover crop.  The field day offered producers the opportunity to view different methods of cover crop establishment and manure application and see that the two practices can work together.  This field day was funded through a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.   Speakers included project coordinator, Sara Berges; NRCS Area Agronomist, Neil Sass; Scott Nelson from the Iowa Soybean Association; and the producers (Scott and Dylan Ness, Nick Rolling, Mike Johanningmeier, and Derek Bentien).

As the number of Iowa farmers using cover crops continues to grow, it’s important to help make sure these farmers have a successful experience. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today shared a number of spring management tips for farmers new to growing cover crops.

Northey also encouraged farmers that are using cover crops to share photos on social media.  The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be sharing photos on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #FarmersCoverIowa.

Pastures represent an important land resource, but many pastures are overgrazed resulting in uneven forage stands, low yields, higher weed pressure, and erosion issues due to bare ground. Continuous grazing doesn’t allow forage time to rest and recover and high-quality species die out from selective overgrazing.  Rotational grazing occurs when a pasture is divided up into segments and only a portion of the pasture is grazed at one time.  Cattle are rotated between the paddocks giving forage time to regrow and build deeper root systems.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 - August 1: Primary Nesting Season - No Mid-Contract Management Activities on CRP acres   
• May 31 - Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• August 1 - ARC/PLC Sign-up

Census of Agriculture Countdown Begins for Farmers and Ranchers
America’s farmers and ranchers will soon have the opportunity to strongly represent agriculture in their communities and industry by taking part in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the census, to be mailed at the end of this year, is a complete count of all U.S. farms, ranches, and those who operate them.