Agriculture

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15-August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No MCM Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• May 31: Final Planting Date for Corn
• June 1: Margin Protection Program (MPP) Signup
• June 15: Final Planting Date for Soybeans
• July 15: 2018 Crop Reports
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

Secretary Perdue Names FSA Administrator
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today the appointment of Richard Fordyce to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA). In his role, Fordyce will provide leadership for FSA and its mission to support agricultural production across America through a network of over 2,100 county and 50 state offices.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 - August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No MCM Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• June 1: Margin Protection Program (MPP) Signup
• July 15: 2018 Crop Reports
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig encourages eligible farmers and apiarists to register or re-save their data in the Iowa Sensitive Crop Directory for the 2018 growing season. Two new mobile apps have been released to make it easier for members to access and input data.

“Iowa partnered with FieldWatch just last year to update and improve our state’s Sensitive Crop Directory and have been pleased by the positive response from applicators as well as specialty crop farmers and beekeepers. Hopefully these new apps will make the directory even more user friendly for everyone,” Naig said.

The FieldCheck app is designed to give applicators more functionality from their mobile device and while in the field.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today reminded eligible farm owners that the deadline to apply for the 2018 Century and Heritage Farm Program is June 1, 2018. The program recognizes families that have owned their farm for 100 years in the case of Century Farms and 150 years for Heritage Farms.

“I want to encourage families that have a farm that would qualify for a Century or Heritage Farm award to submit their application by June 1,” Naig said. “We are already looking forward to the State Fair in August and the opportunity to celebrate with these families and highlight the deep history and strong heritage of agriculture in our state.”

Farm families with a century or heritage farm must submit an application to the Department no later than June 1, 2018 to qualify for recognition at the Iowa State Fair this year.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 - August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No MCM Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• June 1: Margin Protection Program (MPP) Signup
• July 15: 2018 Crop Reports
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

May Facility Loan Interest Rates
The interest rates for May are as follows:
• 2.500% for 3 years
• 2.625% for 5 years
• 2.750% for 7 years
• 2.875% for 10 years
• 2.875% for 12 years
• 2.875% for 15 years

The interest rate for crop year commodity loans disbursed during May is 3.125%.

The 2018 Four State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference is fast approaching June 13 and 14 at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa.

Alltech’s June 13 pre-conference symposium will focus on how herds can achieve their genetic potential.

Four State conference speakers include ways to improve prediction of metabolizable protein. Ev Thomas, retired Miner Institute Agronomist, will talk on low lignin forages. Jim Barmore, GPS consultant, and Brian Forrest, Maple Ridge Dairy, will discuss how farms are achieving high production using low lignin forages.

Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin, will discuss how herds are achieving high production with more forages. John Goeser, Rock River labs will help make sense of all the fiber digestion metrics. Michigan State Universities Adam Lock will talk how different fatty acids affect cow performance.

Select breakout topics include:

During May letters will be sent farmers in Poweshiek through Wright Counties who had previously registered a premises

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today announced that during May the final round of letters will be sent to farmers who have previously registered a livestock premises in an effort to update the Iowa Premises Registration database. All information in the database is confidential and only used to contact producers in case of an animal disease outbreak.

Farmers are asked to respond to the letter and either confirm the information is correct or respond with their updated information. Letters will be sent to producers in Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth and Wright counties this month.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• Through June 1: Margin Protection Program Signup
• May 15 - August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No Mid-Contract Management Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• July 15: 2018 Crop Reports
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

Soil Health Meeting for Women Landownders
A fun and informative day is planned for local women landowners Wednesday, May 9, at the Winneshiek Wildberry Winery located at 1966 337th St, Decorah. Women Food and Agriculture Network is working with the Winneshiek Soil and Water Conservation District and local NRCS offices to host this meeting to facilitate the visit about soil health. All women landowners are invited.

Farmers preparing for spring planting would do well to renew their commitment to managing soybean cyst nematodes, according to an Iowa State University plant pathologist.

“I’m doing everything I can to convince farmers that we are on a slow-moving train heading towards a cliff,” Greg Tylka said of the push to revive a program called the SCN Coalition (https://www.thescncoalition.com).

The SCN Coalition started in the 1990s to raise awareness and provide information about the yield-robbing pest of soybeans. The program was successful in getting farmers to test for soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) and take steps to manage them if they were found to be a problem.

Women who own or manage farmland near Decorah are invited to participate in a free conservation discussion focused on soil health Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at the Winneshiek Wildberry Winery located at 1966 337th St, Decorah, IA. The program, sponsored by Women, Food and Agriculture Network, the Allamakee and Winneshiek Soil and Water Conservation Districts and USDA offices is called Women Caring for the LandSM.

Registration and resource sharing start at 8:30 a.m. with the meeting beginning promptly at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served, and during an afternoon field tour, participants will travel via bus to a nearby farm to see conservation practices and watch a demonstration of soil testing. The tests will measure for soil structure, stability and infiltration.

Participants will walk a short distance into a field, so please wear or bring appropriate clothing and footwear. The meeting will end with dessert and wrap-up at the winery by 3 p.m.