Agriculture

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
November 1: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program
January 31: Livestock Forage Program (LFP)

2024 Program Dates
submitted by Ben Cottrell, District Conservationist
The end of September brings the end of the Fiscal Year 2023 for us and all the Farm Bill Programs. With that, we are transitioning to a new set of funding for Fiscal Year 2024. It was recently announced that an established application date for the first round of funding considerations on all programs will be November 3, 2023. Applications will still be accepted on a continual basis after the date and considered for future funding rounds. Two of the bigger programs we assist producers within the county are the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Monday, September 11, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain, fertilizer and manure in the state of Iowa.

The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through October 11, 2023. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

As the annual fall harvest season gets underway, Alliant Energy reminds farmers of the vital importance of staying safe when operating farm equipment near power lines.

According to Alliant Energy, contact incidents with electric power lines significantly increase this time of year. The fall harvest season is riskier for several reasons: More equipment is deployed in the field; the equipment tends to be larger, such as combines, wagons and tractors; and farmers often work long hours into the dark when it’s difficult to see poles and wires.

In addition to the risk of an injury or fatality, contact with power lines can interrupt electric service. That can halt work and slow electricity-dependent farm activities such as grain drying and other crucial farm functions.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
November 1: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program
January 31: Livestock Forage Program (LFP)

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.

If drought-stressed corn is green-chopped, producers should be aware of the potential for nitrate toxicity

Iowa is fortunate to have corn as a major cropping enterprise. That’s why it’s important to keep harvest management tips in mind, according to Beth Doran, beef specialist with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach.

“We grow a lot of corn, which offers producers the opportunity to harvest green-chopped corn as forage or to put it up as silage,” Doran said. “Regardless of what producers choose, there are other factors to consider, especially when harvesting drought-affected crops.”

Doran cautions producers to check with both their Farm Service Agency and crop insurance agency before chopping. If drought-stressed corn is green-chopped, producers should be aware of the potential for nitrate toxicity.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
November 1: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

Offseason Management of CRP
by Jacob Hawes, NRCS

As the harvest season is over and we have more time, landowners need to consider fall and winter management of lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program or CRP. The next few months are an ideal time to begin scouting for weeds, trees, and shrubs that are beginning to sneak their way in. Although you may be required to burn or mow as part of your mid-contract management, these onetime practices alone often aren’t sufficient to remedy unwanted vegetation.

Early weaning may be necessary due to drought

As forage resources dwindle in times of drought, producers may need to consider early weaning options for the cow herd. Early weaning is designed to save body condition on the females by ending lactation and decreasing nutritional requirements. Getting each cow to a body condition score of 5.5-6 by calving is a key step in establishing reproductive success for the following year.

Terry Engelken, a professor with Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University, says early weaned calves may present health challenges as producers are now dealing with a younger and lighter calf than those weaned at the traditional date.

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

Crop producers and the crop industry can get timely updates on growing-season challenges by subscribing to Integrated Crop Management News, a web service offered by the crops team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

A team of agronomists, plant pathologists, entomologists, weather experts and others collaborate to write timely articles and blogs that are posted to the ICM News website and emailed directly to subscribers.

The information addresses everything from pre-plant to planting concerns, growing season issues, harvest and reflections on the past growing season. Articles are timely and address real-time concerns growers are experiencing.

Anyone who wants to subscribe to the web service can enter their email, on the right side of the ICM News website: https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews.

Iowa State University researchers are leading a quest to develop a farming system that integrates cash crops with a cover crop that would only need to be planted once every 5 to 15 years. It’s a tall order, but one the research team thinks can soon be realized.

The project goes by the name, RegenPGC, short for Regenerating America’s Working Landscapes to Enhance Natural Resources and Public Goods through Perennial Groundcover. The large team of scientists and engineers all share a vision of seeing year-round cover on cropland in the Midwest become the norm rather than the exception.