Agriculture

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Spring Crop Reporting

Forage legumes provide valuable N and Save Money
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist

The Annual Spring Field Day at the Iowa State University Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm will run from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 22. Dennis Todey, Director of the USDA Midwest Climate Hub, will kick-off the program, by providing his insights on crop weather and trends for the 2022 growing season.

Antonio Mallarino, professor and extension fertility specialist, will share his insights on proper soil fertility management with regards to current fertilizer prices.

Greg Tylka, professor and extension pathologist and nematologist, will provide updates on soybean cyst nematode management.

Alison Robertson, professor and extension plant pathologist, will provide an update on crop diseases and tar spot management.

According to Iowa State University Extension, warm-season annual grasses, such as sorghums, millets and teff grasses, are usually planted from mid- to late-May through early July or when the average four-inch soil temperature is 65°F and increasing. They are typically used for two to three months during summer and autumn. Most are ready for first harvest or grazing about 50 days from emergence, and if managed properly, often result in more than one forage crop per year.

June 7 of this year, Penn State University Extension provided a list of potential summer cover crop options to consider this summer.  They posted this in Seeding Practices, Soil Health on the Extension website, https://extension.psu.edu/summer-cover-crop-options.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Spring Crop Reporting

June 2022 CCC and FSFL Interest Rates
New rates were issued for the month of June and are as follows:
• 2.875% for 3 years
• 2.875% for 5 years
• 3.000% for 7 years
• 2.875% for 10 years
• 3.000% for 12 years

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today encouraged producers of pesticide sensitive crops to renew their field and beehive entries on the Iowa Sensitive Crops Registry.  “The Iowa Sensitive Crop Registry is an effective tool to support communication between producers of specialty crops, beekeepers and pesticide applicators – all important aspects of Iowa agriculture,” said Secretary Naig. “Now is a good time for farmers, beekeepers and pesticide applicators to reference and update their information using this user-friendly online platform.”

The latest version of Iowa State University’s Research and Demonstration Farms summary reports are now available online and in print.

Nine farm reports are available, with a new look that includes larger headings, expanded tables and color photography.

“I think the public will be excited by the new look, but they will also appreciate the fact that the reports contain the same data and the same information people are used to, just in a modernized package,” said Tim Goode, director of research and demonstration farms at Iowa State.

The reports date back to the early 1930s and were part of the agreement made with farmers and Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, when the first research farm was established in north central Iowa.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Spring Crop Reporting

New Food Trends Looking at Sustainably Raised Foods
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist

To shed light on how cultural and demographic shifts are impacting demand for food and beverage, Hartman Group analysts recently examined six key trends in consumer culture. The Hartman Group includes anthropologists, social scientists and business analysts. This article was written by Laurie Demeritt and published April 4, 2022 on Smartbrief.com.

According to the report “Fresh, less processed foods” have become the premier signifier of quality today when it comes to consumer views on foods and beverages.

The Hartman Group analysts recently examined six key trends in consumer culture in Ideas in Food 2022. These six trends are:

Dairy goat webinar series continues with Paul Plummer June 14

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team will continue its quarterly dairy goat webinar series June 14, with a look at Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis, also known as CAE.

The webinar will be led by Paul Plummer, veterinarian with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University and executive director of the National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education.

CAE is a viral disease of goats that is very closely related to Ovine Progressive Pneumonia of sheep and HIV of humans. In goats, there are two predominant presentations. The most common is an arthritic form in adult goats. The second presentation is an encephalitic (neurologic disease) of young kids and is much less common than the arthritic form.

Plummer will discuss management practices that can help prevent the spread of CAE.

Field day planned for June 16 in Kanawha

Tar spot, recent analysis of the corn nitrogen rate calculator and a review of current growing season issues will highlight the summer field day of the Iowa State University Northern Research and Demonstration Farm.

The field day will take place June 16 at the farm’s southern location, one mile south of the main farm on R35 or 1040 James Ave. Registration and refreshments will begin at 9 a.m. and the field day will start at 9:30 a.m. Certified Crop Adviser credits will be available. Lunch will be served at noon and the field day will conclude by 1 p.m.

Matt Schnabel, farm superintendent, will begin the day with a season review of the farm activities, followed by Greg Guenther, North Central Iowa Research Association president, with an update on the on-going capital campaign.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Spring Crop Reporting