Agriculture

Confinement site manure applicators and anyone interested in learning about manure issues should plan to attend a two-hour workshop offered by Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach in January or February. These workshops are offered in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. There is no fee to attend the workshops, but applicators will need to pay certification fees to complete certification requirements.

“Iowa law requires confinement site manure applicators to attend two hours of continuing education each year of their three-year certification period or take and pass an exam once every three years,” said Dan Andersen, associate professor, ISU Ag and Biosystems Engineering and coordinator of the manure applicator certification program.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program
• January 21: Office closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day

USDA Market Facilitation Program
The last day to stop in and sign the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) application is January 15!  You don’t need to certify production at that time, but if you don’t sign the application by January 15 you will not be eligible for MFP payments.  Once you sign the application, you have until May 1 to prove production. 

Storage and Handling Trucks Eligible for Farm Storage Facility Loans
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) provide low-interest financing so producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Some storage and handling trucks are eligible for the FSFL. These include:

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recently highlighted passage of dedicated, long-term water quality funding, a challenging trade environment and ongoing economic uncertainty as some of the top issues facing Iowans involved in agriculture in 2018.

“The year started off with the passage of dedicated, long-term water quality funding to continue to scale up the ongoing conservation work underway across the state,” Naig said. “Uncertainty around trade and the impact that has had on markets has been a key issue throughout the year. While there has been significant movement on trade in recent weeks, the trade disruptions continue to impact our farmers and the state’s economy.”

Naig highlighted the following top issues:

Practical Farmers of Iowa will continue its online learning series – called “farminars” – for the 10th winter season in a row beginning Jan. 8 with a presentation on adding prairie strips to farmland. The webinar series features practical knowledge shared by farmers and experts on a wide range of topics for row crop, livestock and fruit and vegetable growers.

Held every Tuesday at 7 p.m. CST, each farminar focuses on a unique production or business management topic. All presentations are led by an experienced farmer or subject-matter expert, and attendees are able to ask questions in real time using a chat box while they listen and watch a slideshow. The presentations are free for anyone with an internet connection.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program
• January 21: Office closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day

USDA Market Facilitation Program
Last day to sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) is January 15! This is the last day to sign the application to ensure payment for the program. You have until May 1 to prove production. So, make sure you have a signed application on file in your recording county by January 15!

The MFP program will provide payments to corn (fresh and processed), cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean (fresh and processed), wheat, shelled almond, and fresh sweet cherry producers.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• January 1: Office closed for New Years Day
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program

USDA Market Facilitation Program
USDA launched the trade mitigation package aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. Producers of certain commodities can now sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP).

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer MFP to provide payments to corn (fresh and processed), cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean (fresh and processed), wheat, shelled almond, and fresh sweet cherry producers. An announcement about further payments will be made in the coming months, if warranted. 

Amy Powell started working to help 4-H’ers throughout Iowa understand the basics of animal care when she came to Iowa State University in 2014. To find out how those youth acquire information about animal care Powell set up focus groups with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach professionals, volunteers and parents in five Iowa counties. She found that there were no guidelines in place for acquiring and disseminating information about animal care.

Powell, a 4-H animal science program specialist in Iowa State University’s animal science department, coordinates curriculum and activities for more than 16,000 youth enrolled in Iowa’s 4-H animal science projects, FFA and ag-focused classrooms. To make animal care information available Powell decided to create an interactive video series called “Animal University”. To help fund the project the Iowa Pork Producers Association gave $325,000 and the Iowa Beef Industry Council gave $100,000.

A new technology for cleansing nutrients from water leaving Iowa’s tile-drained fields began with two Iowa State University researchers brainstorming after a professional meeting. Their “back of the napkin” discussion in 2010 led to development of saturated riparian buffers, a new conservation practice that is rapidly gaining interest in Iowa and far beyond.

The challenge they were addressing - how to make traditional riparian conservation buffers more effective at reducing nutrient pollution - has since become a major research focus for Tom Isenhart, professor of natural resources ecology and management, and Dan Jaynes, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment on campus and affiliate professor of agronomy.

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• December 25: Office closed for Christmas
• January 1: Office closed for New Years Day
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program

Introducing Mary Melcher
Hi everyone! My name is Mary Melcher.  I recently started as a new Program Technician here at the Allamakee County FSA office. I grew up on a dairy farm near Harpers Ferry.  Along with the dairy we have a small beef herd. I graduated from Waukon High School in 2015. I then went on to continue my education at NICC in Calmar.  There I completed degrees in Dairy Science Technology, Agriculture Business, and Agriculture Finance.

I have enjoyed growing up in Allamakee County and I am looking forward to working with area farmers!

Tuesday, December 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) proposed a clear, understandable, and implementable definition of “waters of the United States” that clarifies federal authority under the Clean Water Act. Unlike the Obama administration’s 2015 definition of “waters of the United States,” today’s proposal contains a straightforward definition that would result in significant cost savings, protect the nation’s navigable waters, help sustain economic growth, and reduce barriers to business development.