Agriculture

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

The Wonderful Smell of Healthy Soil
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
You may not have heard of geosmin but, wherever you may be on this planet, it is highly likely that you’d recognize its smell.

Geosmin is the soil-based compound that gives the earthy smell so characteristic of spring. It’s the wonderful smell after recent rainfall or while digging in the soil and is also the source of the earthy taste in some vegetables. The human nose is so sensitive to the compound that it is detectable at one hundred parts per trillion.  To put that in context, a shark can smell blood at one part per million. That means human noses are 200,000X more sensitive to geosmin than a shark is to blood.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Brent Johnson and Vice President Joe Heinrich honored 351 Iowa farm families with Century or Heritage Farm designations at the Iowa State Fair August 18. The program celebrates farms that have been owned by the same families for 100 and 150 years, respectively.

Allamakee County Heritage Farm honorees included the George and Helen Beardmore family of Dorchester, Susan Cahoon family (Indian Hill Farm, LLC - Dorchester) and the Krystal Johnson family of Waukon. Century Farm honorees included the Sandra Koehring family of Postville and Kathy Kruse family of Dorchester, with the Pat and Kate Curtin family of Waukon honored with both awards. Two Allamakee County families attended the August 18 ceremony and are pictured below.

On-farm visits will introduce producers to creative and efficient ways to manage feed costs

The dairy team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer a half-dozen nutrition-related field days this fall, beginning with a visit to an organic grazing dairy farm September 27.

“Grass to Glass: Soil and Nutrition Systems for Organic Dairies,” will be held at the Wedemeier Dairy near Maynard, Iowa. Participants will learn about best practices related to grazing, followed by a tour of the Wedemeier Dairy in the afternoon. Lunch will be provided, sponsored by Organic Valley.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

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 (8-4:30).  If you would like to visit with the loan officer, call or stop.

Lenth Herefords of Postville brought home some championship honors from the Hereford Show judged at the 2022 Iowa State Fair held in Des Moines August 11-21. Lenth Herefords showed both the Champion and Reserve Champion Cow/Calf combination, as well as the Reserve Champion Bull Calf, which also claimed first-place Junior Bull Calf honors.

The Postville producer also placed second in the Produce of Dam competition, and also placed fifth in the Junior Bull Calf (January 1 - February 28, 2022) class.

Young Cattle Company of Lexington, IL took home Grand Champion Horned Female honors at the show. Tyler Davisson of Calamus received Reserve Champion Horned Female and Champion Iowa Horned Female accolades.

Tjardes Farms of Foosland, IL claimed the Grand Champion Bull banner, and Young Cattle Company received Reserve Grand Champion Bull honors. Putz Cattle & Working Aussies of Otley earned Champion Iowa Bull recognition.
 

Crooked Creek Cattle Co. of Waukon claimed some championship honors in the Gelbvieh Cattle Show at the 2022 Iowa State Fair held in Des Moines August 11-21. Crooked Creek showed the Grand Champion Balancer Bull, the Champion Balancer Senior Bull Calf and Champion Balancer Senior Female, in addition to claiming Reserve Champion honors in the Balancer Cow/Calf class.

Those championship honors for Crooked Creek were further bolstered by first-place finishes in the Balancer Senior Heifer (September 1-December 31, 2020) class, Balancer Early Winter Senior Bull Calf (September 1-October 31, 2021) class and Produce of Dam competition. Crooked Creek also claimed second-place finishes in the Balancer Cow/Calf and Balancer Early Junior Heifer Calf (February 1-28, 2022) classes.

Isabel Lowe of Adrian, MO won Grand Champion Bull honors at the show. Cib’s Gelbvieh of Clutier claimed Reserve Grand Champion Bull and Champion Iowa Bull accolades.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

Vehicle Weight Causing Subsoil Compaction
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
“I really think we are wrecking the soil quicker than 30-40 years ago,” Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension Soils Field Specialist, tells Civil Eats in a June 6, 2022 article. He is concerned that the enormity of modern equipment causes tillage-based soil degradation. He said “The total weight of combine harvesters has increased nearly 10-fold, from around 8800 pounds in 1958 to about 80,000 pounds in 2020. At a time when farmers are desperate to hold onto soil moisture, the subsequent compaction caused by all this weight can limit water infiltration, which is particularly troublesome when high intensity rains can’t be captured and stored in the soil.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
August 31: Dairy Margin Coverage Premiums Due
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

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. - 4:30 p.m.).  If you would like to visit with the loan officer, please call or stop in.

The Iowa Nutrient Research Center will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a new seminar series highlighting outcomes and impacts from a decade of research. The series starts this fall and continues through spring 2023.

Two presenters each month will discuss INRC-supported projects. The presentations will take place the second Wednesday of each month, from 3:10-4 p.m. The fall seminars begin Sept. 14. The hybrid seminar series will be presented online and in-person at 1306 Elings Hall, 605 Bissell Road, on the Iowa State University campus.

“The INRC began its work in 2013, and since that time, we’ve supported more than 115 research projects,” said INRC Director Matt Helmers. “This seminar series aims to provide a sense of the breadth and depth of this work. Although the focus is on the past, the value of these efforts is to help Iowa and the water quality research community prepare for the important work ahead.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 1: Dairy Margin Coverage Premiums Due
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

The Cost of Erosion
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist
Soil out of place is dirt! If it is so critical to our existence, why do we just accept it when we see wind or water erosion? It is not the wind or rain’s fault when erosion occurs. Soil erosion is a direct result of poor land management choices!

Does erosion have a cost?  All we have to do is measure the value of our topsoil.  According to Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension Soils Field Specialist, the value can be calculated in terms of lost nutrients.  His calculations show the value of 1 inch of topsoil across 1 acre is $2,967.  His results were posted in Soil Health in May of 2022.