Agriculture

Extension program helps educate women landowners on current agronomic issues

Women landowners, farmers and ag retailers will have the opportunity to meet again this fall and winter to learn more about agronomy and related agricultural topics through distance-learning sessions of Agronomy in the Field.

This is the fifth year Agronomy in the Field for Women has been offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach at several locations across Iowa. The goals of Agronomy in the Field are to strengthen agronomic skills for women that allow for better decision-making, provide a better understanding of inputs for crop production, see and understand different conservation practices and increase confidence in communication with a spouse, farming partner, ag retailer or tenant. 

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
January 1: Closed in observance of New Year’s Holiday
January 8: ARCPLC Farm Bill Meeting
February 28: CRP General Signup
March 15: 2019 ARCPLC Election
June 30: 2020 ARCPLC Election
September 30: PLC Yield Update

USDA Safety Net Program Enrollment Opens for 2019 and 2020
Agricultural producers now can enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs – two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety net programs – for the 2019 and 2020 crop year.

The Crop Protection Network (CPN) has added an additional publication series to its wealth of print and PDF resources. Beginning in 2020, CPN’s online library at https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/resources/publications will feature annual Research Updates, highlighting advancements in crop-pest research.

These publications are intended to distill published, academic research articles into referable, easy-to-understand summaries. This ensures that growers, Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs), extension specialists and researchers and others in crop protection are armed with the most updated information possible when making crop protection decisions.

Event will focus on dairy herd management strategies

Iowa dairy producers will have the opportunity to learn about emerging dairy industry issues during the 2020 Dairy Days events hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The program is scheduled at five eastern Iowa locations between Jan. 20 and Feb. 6.

“Producers have seen low milk prices in the last few years, causing added farm stress. Our goal is to help producers make sound herd management decisions that are backed by current and relevant information,” said Jennifer Bentley, dairy specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach. “We host these workshops for farmers to network, share ideas, and take back management tips to help improve profit margins.” 

Topics will include ventilation options for freestall barns, dealing with farm stress, dairy market outlook, stress and metabolic responses on dairy cows, and group calf housing and its effects on calf behavior.

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 25: Closed for Christmas Holiday

USDA Opens Signup for CRP General Signup
The U.S. Department of Agriculture opened signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on December 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is February 28, 2020.

Dubuque meeting will feature Place & Alexander

The upcoming Driftless Region Beef Conference will showcase two nationally-known keynote speakers.  Sara Place, currently Director of Sustainability for Elanco, and formerly Senior Director for Sustainable Beef Production Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, will discuss how cattle can help protect our environment and be sustainable. Following Place, Lacey Alexander, animal welfare lead for beef, Cargill Protein North America, will discuss Beef Quality Assurance and the role of animal welfare and handling in the beef industry. The conference will be held January 30-31, 2020, at the Grand River Conference Center in Dubuque.

Extension program helps educate women landowners on current agronomic issues

Women landowners, farmers and ag retailers will have the opportunity to meet again this fall and winter to learn more about agronomy and related agricultural topics through distance-learning sessions of Agronomy in the Field.

This is the fifth year Agronomy in the Field for Women has been offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach at several locations across Iowa. The goals of Agronomy in the Field are to strengthen agronomic skills for women that allow for better decision-making, provide a better understanding of inputs for crop production, see and understand different conservation practices and increase confidence in communication with a spouse, farming partner, ag retailer or tenant. 

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 11: ARC/PLC Decision Meeting at 1 p.m.
December 13: Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020
December 25: Closed for Christmas Holiday

Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC)
The sign-up deadline for 2020 coverage is this Friday, Dec. 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 Mahdi Al-Kaisi, professor of soil management/environment, Integrated Crop Management News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Crop residue serves an important role in physically protecting soil from erosion during rain events or high winds, as well as enhancing the soil biological activity by providing sources of organic carbon and nitrogen for its energy needs. In order to understand how residue decomposes, we need to understand how the degradation processes are influenced by environmental and soil conditions; namely, air and soil temperatures, soil moisture availability, soil pH, oxygen, and type of microbial community. The composition of crop residue includes lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and macro and micronutrients. Certain biological and enzymatic processes, controlled by a wide range of microorganisms and influenced by other factors, must occur in order to release most of these organic forms.

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 6: Market Facilitation Program
December 11: ARC/PLC Decision Meeting
December 13: Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020

We Have Moved!
We have now moved into our new building located at 770 11th Ave SW, across from Fareway. We’re still getting settled in but are open normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We do plan to host an open house once our new furniture arrives, hopefully later this month.  Our phone number (563-568-2148) has remained the same.  Stop in and say hi.