Agriculture

Crop producers must make some important and timely decisions if they want to participate in the Farm Bill programs for 2023.

The deadline to make an election and enroll is March 15, according to Ann Johanns, education extension specialist and manager of the Ag Decision Maker with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

For program year 2023, producers have three options: Agriculture Risk Coverage-County (ARC-CO), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Agriculture Risk Coverage-Individual Coverage (ARC-IC). Even if producers have enrolled in the past and want to keep the same program, they still need to enroll this year, by March 15. Enrollment is an annual decision.

“To be eligible for payment, producers must complete the enrollment contract for each of their farms,” said Johanns. “Every situation is unique, so we need to make the best decisions for individual farm operations and take the opportunity to make changes if necessary.”

Farmers and industry persons are invited to attend the 2nd Annual Soil Health Workshop in conjunction with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Thursday, February. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Wilder Business Center on Northeast Iowa Community College’s (NICC) Calmar campus. The workshop will feature a variety of speakers focused on unlocking nutrients with soil health.

Jimmy Emmons of Leedey, OK is the first presenter with “Grazing Beyond the Yield.” An international leader in the soil health movement, Emmons served as the regional coordinator for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation Program. He recently joined the Oklahoma Conservation Commission as its soil health mentoring coordinator.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: ARCPLC Signup

submitted by Matthew Welsh, Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA
It’s that time of the year again when our attention is focused on a particular Sunday in early February to see who will be crowned world champion in the Super Bowl. At the end of the game there is no doubt the winning team has reached the pinnacle of success and achieved its objectives through teamwork, having built a great foundation. Like a Super Bowl champion football team, a healthy functioning soil has the same superior foundation and teamwork aspects.

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with Consortium for Cultivating Human And Naturally reGenerative Enterprises (C-CHANGE), will host a cover crop workshop Wednesday, February 22 from 12-2 p.m. at the West Union Event Center.  We welcome farmers and landowners to attend the free event, which includes a complimentary meal catered by the West Union Event Center.

Cover crops offer many benefits to farmers and landowners, including reduced soil erosion, weed suppression potential, reduced nitrogen and phosphorus loads entering water bodies, increased organic matter in the soil and forage potential for livestock. When paired with no-tillage or strip-tillage, additional benefits include increased water infiltration to further reduce erosion during heavy rain events. Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about these opportunities, ask questions, and share their experiences.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the details of additional assistance for dairy producers, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP) and a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP). The update to PMVAP and the new ODMAP will enable USDA to better support small- and medium-sized dairy operations who weathered the pandemic and now face other challenges.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: ARCPLC Signup

Farm Loan Presence in Allamakee County
The USDA/FSA Farm Loan team will have a Loan Officer in our office every Tuesday during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).  If you would like to visit with the loan officer, feel free to call or stop in.

Applying for Farm Storage Facility Loans
The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has announced the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is accepting applications for the 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program through March 10. The program, which is designed to support projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in Iowa by increasing demand, yields or awareness, is administered by the Department with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS).

“The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program helps to build and showcase the diversity of agriculture within our state and drives the creation of new markets, products and small businesses in Iowa,” said Secretary Naig. “Consumers have demonstrated that they want the option to more readily buy Iowa grown products and this program plays a key role in expanding availability to meet that growing demand.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: ARCPLC Signup

For agricultural producers and rural business owners interested in making the shift to renewable energy, the time is now to apply for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).  

Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, the program provides funding through grants and guaranteed loans for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. The application deadline is March 31.

“This year, REAP received an additional $250 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, for a program total of $300 million,” said Kalee Olson, policy associate for the Center for Rural Affairs. “This increase translates to more opportunities for renewable energy projects across rural America.”

Annual survey finds quality of life indicators on the rise, stress on the decline

Every two years since 1982, the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll has asked farmers to report on changes in quality of life, defined as “the degree of satisfaction with all aspects of life,” for their families and families in their communities.

In 2022, 86% of participants reported that quality of life for their families either stayed the same or improved over the five years leading up to February/March 2022. This represents a substantial uptick from what had been a downward trend from 91% in 2014, 87% in 2016, 84% in 2018 and 80% in 2020.

The 2022 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll summary report was published in December, and is available online at the Iowa State University Extension Store.