Agriculture

New research suggests that water quality challenges in Iowa and nationally would be even greater if it weren’t for a little appreciated feature of the landscape: road ditches.

“Road ditches are human-made, hydrologic pathways we take for granted,” said Keith Schilling, state geologist and director of the Iowa Geological Survey at the University of Iowa, who led the study funded by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at ISU. “They are everywhere, criss-crossing our state. Our research shows they are already working to help filter our water and raises the question: How can we better realize their potential?”

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
May 1: Last to report production for the Market Facilitation Program
May 14: Deadline to complete mid-contract management (MCM) activities on CRP
May 15 - August 1: Primary Nesting Season.  No MCM activities on CRP acres.

Market Facilitation Program
May 1 is the last day to report production for the Market Facilitation Program.  If you signed an application timely (deadline was February 14) but need to report production for beans, corn, dairy, or hogs, please stop in our office by this date to ensure you get paid. 

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
May 1: Last to report production for the Market Facilitation Program
May 14: Deadline to complete mid-contract management (MCM) activities on CRP
May 15 - August 1: Primary Nesting Season.  No MCM activities on CRP acres.

Market Facilitation Program
May 1 is the last day to report production for the Market Facilitation Program. If you signed an application timely (deadline was February 14) but need to report production for beans, corn, dairy, or hogs, stop in our office by this date to ensure you get paid. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Bruce Trautman invite Iowans to nominate families in their communities for the Farm Environmental Leader Award. Farmers who voluntarily take actions, like planting cover crops or installing conservation infrastructure in their fields, are eligible for the award.

Farmers that are nominated should have made environmental stewardship a priority on their farm and incorporated best management practices into their farming operation. As true stewards of the land, they recognize that improved water quality and soil sustainability reaps benefits that extend beyond their fields to citizens of Iowa and residents even further downstream.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
May 1: Last day to report production for the Market Facilitation Program
May 14: Deadline to complete mid-contract management (MCM) activities on CRP
May 15 - August 1: Primary Nesting Season.  No MCM activities on CRP acres.

Market Facilitation Program
May 1 is the last day to report production for the Market Facilitation Program. If you signed an application timely (deadline was February 14) but need to report production for beans, corn, dairy, or hogs, please stop in our office by this date to ensure you get paid. 

“Thank you to all the farmers who participated in the 2017 Census of Ag. This data gives us a valuable snapshot of the crop and livestock production happening right here in Iowa, and it reaffirms that agriculture is vital to the state’s economy,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “We generated almost $29 billion in crop and livestock sales in 2017, and livestock sales now exceed crop sales by 4 percent. Iowa remains number one in corn and pork production, and planted cover crop acres increased 256 percent since the 2012 census.”

Practical Farmers of Iowa is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned land-matching website, FindAFarmer.net, a free tool that aims to connect farmland owners with land seekers to preserve family farms. Practical Farmers first developed the tool in 2011 as a way to help Iowa’s aging farmland owners find possible successors, and to support beginning farmers facing the difficulty of accessing land.

The most recent Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey, released last summer by Iowa State University, shows that 60 percent of Iowa farmland is owned by someone 65 years or older, and 35 percent is owned by someone 75 years or older. In addition, more than half of Iowa’s farmland is farmed by someone other than the owner. FindAFarmer can help retiring farmers find a non-family successor to continue the farm and non-farming landowners find a tenant for a rental arrangement. The site can also help facilitate many other unique land access situations.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
May 14: Deadline to complete mid-contract management (MCM) activities on CRP
May 15 - August 1: Primary Nesting Season.  No MCM activities on CRP acres.

April 2019 CCC and FSFL Interest Rates
New rates were issued for the month of February and are as follows:
• 2.500% for 3 years
• 2.500% for 5 years
• 2.500% for 7 years
• 2.625% for 10 years
• 2.750% for 12 years
• 2.750% for 15 years
Crop year commodity loan rate for April is 3.500%

by Bob Hartzler, Iowa State University Professor of Agronomy and Meaghan Anderson, ISU Extension Field Agronomist in Central Iowa

One benefit of planting cover crops is their contribution to weed management.  While several factors contribute to the inhibition of weeds by cover crops, the physical barrier of cover crop residue on the soil surface is most important. Research has shown a strong relationship between the amount of cover crop biomass at termination and the level of weed control provided by the cover crop (Figure 1 above).

Because of the importance of cover crop biomass, it is essential to manage the cover crop to maximize growth when using cover crops to aid weed management. The following practices have a major influence on cover crop biomass:

More landowners are interested in planting strips of deep-rooted prairie within crop fields or on marginal land as an effective soil conservation and water quality practice. But they need reliable answers about the costs and benefits, the best seed mixes to use and how to establish a prairie that resists weedy invasion.

Answers to practical questions like these are coming out of projects led by University of Northern Iowa researchers and funded by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University.

“Restoring prairie at strategic locations in agricultural landscapes is a practice that can gain huge improvements in water quality and bring other benefits, like reduced weed pressure and valuable habitat for pollinators and wildlife,” said Justin Meissen, Research & Restoration Program Manager at the University of Northern Iowa’s Tallgrass Prairie Center and principal investigator on one of the projects.