News Center newsletter

Ernie Lubahn of Waukon will be celebrating his 90th birthday December 26 from 2-5 p.m. at the FreedomBank Community Room, 201 West Main Street in Waukon. Coffee and cake will be served. No gifts are requested.

For those not able to attend the celebration, cards and well wishes can be sent to: 208 Fifth Avenue NW, Waukon, IA 52172.
 

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

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 25: Closed for Christmas Holiday

USDA Opens Signup for CRP General Signup
The U.S. Department of Agriculture opened signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on December 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is February 28, 2020.

Dubuque meeting will feature Place & Alexander

The upcoming Driftless Region Beef Conference will showcase two nationally-known keynote speakers.  Sara Place, currently Director of Sustainability for Elanco, and formerly Senior Director for Sustainable Beef Production Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, will discuss how cattle can help protect our environment and be sustainable. Following Place, Lacey Alexander, animal welfare lead for beef, Cargill Protein North America, will discuss Beef Quality Assurance and the role of animal welfare and handling in the beef industry. The conference will be held January 30-31, 2020, at the Grand River Conference Center in Dubuque.

Extension program helps educate women landowners on current agronomic issues

Women landowners, farmers and ag retailers will have the opportunity to meet again this fall and winter to learn more about agronomy and related agricultural topics through distance-learning sessions of Agronomy in the Field.

This is the fifth year Agronomy in the Field for Women has been offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach at several locations across Iowa. The goals of Agronomy in the Field are to strengthen agronomic skills for women that allow for better decision-making, provide a better understanding of inputs for crop production, see and understand different conservation practices and increase confidence in communication with a spouse, farming partner, ag retailer or tenant. 

To the Editor:

Senator Ernst has told us what she believes. During a Republican primary debate in April 2014 and again in an interview by KCCI media May 29, 2014 she said, “We have to reform Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. And the way we do that with Social Security is by looking at transitioning our younger workers onto individual plans or individual savings accounts, whether that’s tied to the market, whether it’s based on interest rates - however we want to do that, we can have that discussion.”

Ernst reminded us of her goal at a September 5, 2019 town hall where she said members of congress should discuss social security “behind closed doors.” The only reason politicians ever take actions behind closed doors is that they know the results will be massively unpopular. Raising taxes on the wealthy (who mostly escape Social Security taxation) to pay for Social Security benefits is favored in opinion polls and is a discussion that should be held in public.

EMT Class offered beginning in January at NICC Waukon Center

by Lissa Blake

(Editor’s Note: This feature on the Postville Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program is the third in a multi-part series addressing the need for additional Emergency Medical Services personnel in Allamakee County. Additional area communities will be featured in subsequent articles.)

Most people take for granted that when they call for an ambulance, someone will always answer that call.

But to keep an ambulance service going, it takes a lot of resources - many of those human.

“I just had no idea what it took to be a volunteer in the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) world until someone recruited me,” said Mindy Koenig of Luana.

The latest Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report produced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service indicates that greater than 95% of this year’s corn harvest is now complete across the state, which is more than two weeks behind last year’s harvest and the five-year average. A good portion of that remaining corn stand could likely be found in northeast Iowa, as indicated in the above photo of one northeast Iowa producer still working away to complete the harvest just this past weekend. The weekly crop progress and condition report has the northeast district of Iowa, which includes Allamakee County, as the only district in Iowa to not yet reach that 95% completion rate with its corn harvest.

Allamakee County shares largest percent decrease in land values at 2.2% since 2018

It’s been a difficult year for farmers - the planting season saw an overabundance of rain and delayed planting, the United States’ trade war with China persisted, skewing both commodity prices and demand, and farm bankruptcies rose to the highest level since 2011. However, favorable interest rates, strong yields, and limited land supply combined to help drive Iowa’s farmland values up for only the second time in six years.

The statewide value of an acre of farmland is now estimated to be $7,432, which represents an increase of 2.3 percent, or $168, since 2018. The $7,432 per acre estimate, and 2.3 percent increase in value, represents a statewide average of low-, medium-, and high-quality farmland.

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, December 16 to address a full agenda of items including discussion of the Vet’s Club in Waukon, County funding for EMT (Emergency Medical Technican (EMT) training and updating the authorized driver list for County vehicles. Chairperson Pro-Tem Dennis Koenig called the meeting to order with Chairperson Larry Schellhammer not in attendance due to a scheduled absence.

by Carly Palmer, Waukon High School Little Switzerland FFA Chapter Reporter

October 29 through November 2, 12 members of the Waukon High School Little Switzerland FFA Chapter traveled to Indianapolis, IN for the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo. During their time at National Convention, members explore the Expo, attended sessions and workshops, went on industry tours, attended concerts and much more.

This year, chapter members had the chance to participate in three tours, The Farm at Prophetstown in West Lafayette, IN, Wea Creek Orchard in Lafayette, IN and Kinze Manufacturing Inc. in Williamsburg. On the way to Indianapolis, members stopped at Kinze Manufacturing where they were able to tour the factory where the Kinze equipment is built as well as visit the company’s Innovation Center.