Agriculture

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

The next Allamakee County Committee meeting will be Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 9 a.m. in the Allamakee County FSA conference room.

2015 Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL)
Harvest is fast approaching and the Allamakee FSA Office will be administering the loan program. The following are the loan rates for the crop year 2015:
Corn - $1.87
Oats - $ 1.43
Barley - $1.70
Soybeans - $4.99
MALs provide producers interim financing at harvest time to help them meet cash flow needs when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. MALs for covered commodities are nonrecourse because the commodity is pledged as loan collateral and producers have the option of delivering the pledged collateral to the CCC as full payment for the loan at maturity. For more information, contact the Allamakee County FSA office at 563-568-2148.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced recently that $3.5 million in cost share funds to help farmers install nutrient reduction practices have been obligated to farmers in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. The practices that were eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer.
“Farmers continue to show they are willing to invest in practices focused on limiting nutrient loss and improving water quality. To consider that this program went from zero to more than 1,800 farmers over the past three years shows that farmers are committed to action and willing to invest in water quality,” Northey said.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship received applications covering 187,000 acres from more than 1,800 different farmers seeking to participate in the program. Farmers in each of the 100 Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state received funding.

America’s Farmers Grow Communities will partner again with farmers to award more than $3.3 million to community nonprofits across the country. In Iowa, 99 organizations will receive donations in 2016. Sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the program’s purpose is to make a positive impact in rural communities by giving farmers a chance to direct $2,500 donations to eligible nonprofit organizations of their choice. Farmer enrollment for Grow Communities kicked off  August 1 and runs through November 30.

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

Reminders
June 15 - September 30: ARC/PLC sign-up for 2014/2015 program.
July 1 - September 30: 2016 MPP (Dairy) Program sign-up period.
September 7: FSA Office closed for Labor Day.

“Map of My Kingdom,” a play commissioned by Practical Farmers of Iowa and written by Iowa’s Mary Swander, tackles the critical issue of land transition. Hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach, the play will premiere Wednesday, September 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Chase the Adventure, 1838 Middle Calmar Road, Decorah.
In the drama, Angela Martin, a lawyer and mediator in land transition disputes, shares stories of how farmers and landowners she has worked with over the years approached their land successions. Some families almost came to blows, struggling to resolve the sale or transfer of their land, dissolving relationships. Others found peacefully rational solutions that focused not only on the viability of the family, but also of the land.
Land is the thread that binds all of the stories together. “For most farmers I know, owning land means everything,” Angela Martin said.

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

The next Allamakee County Committee meeting will be Thursday, August 27 at 9 a.m. at the Allamakee County FSA Office conference room in Waukon.

The next Allamakee County Committee meeting will be Thursday, August 27 at 9 a.m. at the Allamakee County FSA Office conference room.

Reminders
June 15 - September 30: ARC/PLC sign-up period for 2014/2015 program.
July 1- September 30: 2016 MPP (Dairy) Program sign-up.
September 7: FSA Office closed for Labor Day.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently reported that its work to comply with a five-year agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 is right on track. DNR staff completed 41 percent of required animal feeding operation inspections in its first two years of the work plan.
“Our biggest effort is to complete the required 8,582 inspections, working to identify any hog, cattle, dairy or other operations that need National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits,” said Barb Lynch, chief of DNR’s field services and compliance. “We agreed to complete about 20 percent of the inspections each year.

Hot temperatures, low stream levels and cloudbursts are the perfect recipe for a fish kill.
“Historically, fish kills occur more frequently under these conditions, and we are very dry here in northwest Iowa,” says Ken Hessenius, supervisor of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR’s) Spencer field office. “We’ve also investigated a few fish kills in other parts of the state this week.
“For that reason, we want to encourage farmers, pesticide and manure applicators and homeowners to be extra careful when using chemicals, fertilizers and manure,” he added.
The dog days of summer, when heat and algal blooms cause oxygen levels to drop, cause fish and other aquatic organisms like crayfish and dragonfly larvae to be especially vulnerable to pollutants.
Anyone who handles chemicals or animal manure can take a few simple precautions to prevent downstream impacts.

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

The next Allamakee County Committee meeting will be Thursday, August 27 at 9 a.m. at the Allamakee County FSA Office conference room.

Reminders
June 15 - August 3: Nominations can be received for the COC elections.
June 15 - September 30: ARC/PLC sign-up for 2014/2015 program.
July 1 - September 30: 2016 MPP (Dairy) Program sign-up period.