Agriculture

Instead of sitting high and dry for harvest and fall manure application, virtually every county in the state now has saturated soils, ponded fields and high running streams. Manure applicators are waiting for that one dry week, and producers are worrying about emptying pits and compacting soils.

“Don’t panic. While there are no good options when storage is full and the ground is wet, there are still some things confinement site owners and commercial manure applicators can do,” says Ken Hessenius, supervisor of the DNR’s Spencer field office. (Find a list of commercial applicators on the Iowa Manure Management Action Group’s website.)

“With saturated soils, the main thing is to keep manure from reaching a creek via surface runoff or through a tile line or the ground water,” he says. Save those valuable nutrients by reducing runoff. Here are some tips:

Call the DNR field office. We will discuss site-specific options and how to minimize problems.

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

Allamakee County FSA is Hiring!
Our office is currently accepting applications for a permanent Program Technician position. The individual selected will be responsible for carrying out general office activities and technical functions pertaining to FSA administered programs. Applicants should possess excellent human relations skills as well as strong clerical and computer skills. A general knowledge of agricultural practices would also be beneficial.
You can read the full vacancy announcement with application requirements at usajobs.gov. Vacancy announcement number is IA-2019-0003. Last day to apply is October 19! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call (563) 568-2148 or stop by our office.

The Kickapoo Grazing Initiative and Great River Graziers have a pasture walk scheduled at the Vance and Olaf Haugen Farm, 12620 Deer Road, Canton, MN Tuesday, October 30 at 10:30 a.m.

Directions: Fillmore County: From Decorah IA, take Hwy 52N about 17 miles to the intersection of Hwys 44 & 52. through intersection onto Dove Road. .5 mile to right on Deer Rd. Go 1.5 miles to farm on east side of road. Fire # 12620.

Topic: Late fall/early winter paddock planning for dairy grazing. Kura Clover production for seed. Guest speaker Bonnie Haugen of DGA will discuss “How the importance of soil health for pastures affects feeding our cows, and conse-quently our profitability. Improving soil health ideas.”

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

Allamakee County FSA is Hiring!
Our office is currently accepting applications for a permanent Program Technician position. The individual selected will be responsible for carrying out general office activities and technical functions pertaining to FSA administered programs. Applicants should possess excellent human relations skills as well as strong clerical and computer skills. A general knowledge of agricultural practices would also be beneficial.

You can read the full vacancy announcement with application requirements at usajobs.gov. Vacancy announcement number is IA-2019-0003. If you have any questions or would like more information, please call (563.-568-2148) or stop by our office.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Allamakee County office will offer the Mosquito/Public Health Pest Management Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators Thursday, October 25, 2018. The program provided by the ISU Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) can be seen at office locations across Iowa.

The local attendance site for the October 25 CIC is the Allamakee County Extension Office, Waukon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by sessions from 9-11:30 a.m. The registration fee increases after October 18. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Allamakee County office at 563-568-6345.

The Stockmanship, Handling and Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Training program will be held Saturday, November 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Northeast Iowa Equity Sales 1645 Hwy. 76 North, Waukon.

This training session features the basics of animal behavior and a cattle handling demonstration by Curt Pate, Ryegate, MT.

Pre-register by November 12 by calling the Allamakee County Extension office at (563) 568-6345.

For more information contact: Denise Schwab, ISU Beef Program Specialist, (319) 721-9624 or Rusty Gibbs, IBIC Director of Industry Relations, (515) 296-2305.

The Iowa BQA Program is funded by the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Beef Checkoff, and the education is delivered as a joint effort in conjunction with the Iowa Beef Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

At harvest time, Chad Hart, associate professor of economics at Iowa State University in Ames, is urging Iowa farmers to watch their costs and be patient as they face what is playing out to be a difficult market for corn and soybeans.

“This marketing year, like many of the previous years, will challenge producers’ patience and financial standing,” Hart said of the fall harvest season and the outlook on the marketing of those harvest yields. “It will take some time for prices to recover and we may not yet have seen the low. But time is still on our side if we can position ourselves to ride out the next few months. Seasonal patterns and the current futures prices both suggest better prices will be available in the spring.”

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• October 8: Office closed in observance of Columbus Day

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Payments
We will soon be issuing payments for the Conservation Reserve Program. CRP payments begin with those contracted prior to 2008. Barring no computer delays, those payments will begin being issued October 2. For CRP contracts that began after the 2008 Farm Bill, payments will be issued starting October 11.

Remember that these take a few days to be deposited into your account.

The Anderson family farm in rural Waterville was recognized as a Heritage Farm at the annual ceremony held at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August of this year. The farm has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1868. Pictured above with the Heritage Farm sign designating the award are, left to right, Gladwin and Darlene Anderson, who sold the farm in 2011 to their grandson and his family, Adam and Kristy Anderson, pictured with their children Tucker and Madison Anderson. Submitted photo.
 

By Sara Berges, Allamakee SWCD

Adam Kramer, owner and operator of Black Sand Granary out of Prairie du Chien, farms ground just west of Waukon. He has been working for the past few years to improve the fertility and build up the soil health on the farm. As part of that effort, he decided to plant winter wheat at the beginning of October 2017 following soybean harvest. Adding a small grain to a rotation can help to break up pest cycles, improve soil health, spread out work load, and reduce input costs when compared to corn or soybeans. Another reason that Kramer wanted to plant winter wheat was so that he could follow it with a very diverse cover crop mix. His cover crop included turnips, radishes, Austrian winter peas, sunflower, red clover, soybeans, oats, and spring barley.