Agriculture

Do you know someone who deserves to be considered for the Iowa Master Farmer Award? Nominate them. Nominations for the 2025 Award are due September 6, 2024.

Maybe it’s your parents, a sibling, your neighbors, a friend or a colleague. Perhaps its someone you’ve served with on a board, or someone you’ve long looked up to. Candidates may also nominate themselves.

Henry A. Wallace started the Master Farmer Award program in 1926 to recognize “Good Farming, Clear Thinking, Right Living.” A panel of judges selects the winners each year. Wallaces Farmer recognizes the winners in the magazine’s March issue.

Planter University improves farmer knowledge and profitability with planters

Planting season varies wildly from year to year and technology is always changing. Cool and wet conditions can dramatically delay planting. When soil conditions are remarkably dry, getting seed in the soil at the correct depth is a challenge. But just as each planting season is different, so too are the decisions for optimizing the planting technology.

Farmers and ag industry professionals who spend a day indoors learning to optimize their machinery for conditions in the field are reaping dividends – for their own operations, their communities, and Iowa. When they participate in Planter University, they consider their time well spent and they anticipate greater planting efficiency and farm profitability.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 29: Deadline to sign up for General CRP
April 29: Deadline to sign up for Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)
May 14: Deadline to complete CRP Management Activities
May 15 - August 1: CRP Primary Nesting Season
May 31: Deadline to apply for a Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) for 2023 crops

A unique group of specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is organizing a new program to help landowners incorporate soil health principles into their farmland. The program brings together specialists in agronomy, conservation, finance and law to assist landowners in making beneficial decisions for their land.

The Landowner Education Program is intended for Iowa landowners who want to learn about soil health practices, understand relevant financial and legal considerations, and build a supportive network of peers and experts.

Landowners can apply through April 19 to be part of the first cohort. Participants will be organized into small groups according to their awareness, motivations and challenges to conservation adoption.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 29: Deadline to sign up for General CRP
April 29: Deadline to sign up for Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)
May 14: Deadline to complete CRP Management Activities
May 15 - August 1: CRP Primary Nesting Season
May 31: Deadline to apply for a Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) for 2023 crops

Taking Second Round applications
Although NRCS takes program applications on a continual basis, we are still taking applications for the second round of funding and have a new way of processing applications more efficiently through ACT NOW.

The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, a leading agricultural ecosystem services program, is excited to announce that farmer enrollment for 2024 is now open across 28 states, with new areas of cropland eligibility in 23 states. The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund provides payment to farmers for environmental outcomes that result from implementing conservation practices.

As an inset program, the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) continues to grow its opportunities for farmers and environmental impact through supply chain partnerships. The program enrolled over 300,000 acres and paid more than $10.5 million to farmers in 2023. Farmers enrolled in the program implemented conservation practices such as reduced tillage, cover crops, extended crop rotations, and fertilization management to improve soil health, reduce erosion, and more.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: Deadline to sign up for the ARC PLC program
March 29: Deadline to sign up for General CRP
April 29: Deadline to sign up for Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)
May 14: Deadline to complete CRP Management Activities
May 15 - August 1: CRP Primary Nesting Season
May 31: Deadline to apply for a Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) for 2023 crops

Dairy Producers Can Enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage Beginning February 28
Starting February 28, dairy producers are now able to enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup begins Feb. 28, 2024, and ends April 29, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting March 4 and running through March 29 of this year. This conservation opportunity gives producers tools to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health.

“Historically, CRP has been important to us but it has become more important through time,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “As a percentage of habitat on the landscape, CRP has grown from 42 percent in 1990 to 62 percent in 2023. As CRP goes in Iowa, so goes Iowa pheasants, and that’s why the Farm Bill is so important to us.”

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: Deadline to sign up for the ARC PLC program
May 15 - August 1: CRP Primary Nesting Season

Taking Second Round Applications
Although NRCS takes program applications on a continual basis, we are still taking applications for the second round of funding and have a new way of processing applications more efficiently through ACT NOW.

How can a dollar value be put on soil health? That will be the topic of discussion during a “Soil Health Economics: Learn the Value of Low-Input, Soil-Building Farm Systems” workshop Tuesday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Ridgeway Community Center, 690 County Street.

Sign-in for this Land Stewardship Project (LSP) event begins at 8:30 a.m.; pre-registration is required and financial assistance for the workshop registration fee is available upon request, which includes lunch by Estelle’s Eatery. For details and to register, see https://bit.ly/LSPRidgeway. For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Romano at aromano@landstewardshipproject.org. The snow date has been scheduled for Thursday, March 21.