Agriculture

Wed
17
Mar

What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
April 9: Quality Loss Adjustment Program
May 15: August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Crop Certification

Wed
17
Mar

Volunteer corn and weed resistance highlight the 2021 Herbicide Guide for Corn and Soybeans

Timely guide helps growers plan weed management strategies

Following a year that included both drought and derecho, Iowa’s crop producers may face some unique challenges in 2021 related to weed management.

The recently updated 2021 Herbicide Guide for Iowa Corn and Soybean Production, published by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, offers some timely information and guidance.

The guide is updated every year, but this year’s version gives special attention to the issue of volunteer corn, which could be more severe in 2021 following the germination of storm-damaged corn from last year’s derecho.

Millions of acres of mature corn across Iowa were flattened or badly damaged, and the potential for volunteer seed germination remains high.

Wed
17
Mar

Fly control strategies the topic of upcoming dairy webinar

Learn about fly control strategies for dairy cattle

The I-29 Moo University 2021 Dairy Webinar Series continues Friday, March 26 from Noon to 1 p.m. This month’s topic is fly control strategies.

Roger Moon, retired veterinary entomology expert from the University of Minnesota, will identify common pest flies and how to manage them on confinement dairies.

“Different kinds of flies can bother your cows, workers and neighbors,” said Fred Hall, dairy specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “Stable flies bite, cause cows to bunch, reduce milk production, breed mainly in soiled cow and calf bedding, and pretty much stay on the premise. House flies breed in wetter manure, annoy people and spread off premise to bother neighbors.”

Wed
10
Mar

What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Crop Certification

Better Soil Health Means Less Fertilizer
by LuAnn Rolling, Allamakee County District Conservationist
One-third of the fertilizer applied to grow corn in the U.S. each year simply compensates for the ongoing loss of soil fertility, leading to more than a half-billion dollars in extra costs to U.S. farmers every year, according to new research from CU Boulder published in Earth’s Future.

Using fertilizer doesn’t just cost farmers money. It also comes at an environmental cost. A large portion of the global greenhouse gas emissions caused by agriculture - 24% of global emissions in 2010 and 10% of U.S. emissions in 2018 - comes from fertilizer production. This means that steps taken to reduce fertilizer use also helps address rising greenhouse gases.

Wed
10
Mar

ISU Extension and Outreach Monthly Dairy Webinar to focus on executive analysis reports; Waukon High School graduate will present free webinar session

Learn how to use dairy reports to the fullest advantage

The Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach Dairy Team will continue its monthly webinar series with a look at executive analysis reports Wednesday, March 17 from noon to 1 p.m. Executive analysis reports are made available through the Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA), including the transition cow management reports and the udder health monitor report.

Greg Palas, manager of support services at Dairy Records Management Systems at Iowa State University in Ames, will present the program. Palas, a 1978 graduate of Waukon High School, will provide a hands-on webinar that will review report generation and points on using the reports to tweak herd management.

Wed
10
Mar

Corn Rootworm Management Webinar to be held March 26

Farmers, other agricultural professionals and interested parties who work with corn following a previous corn crop can attend a corn rootworm management webinar on March 26 at 10 a.m., hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the University of Illinois Extension, and the University of Wisconsin Extension.

“The strong winds of last summer’s storms caused damage to many corn fields. Inspections of those fields revealed that many continuous corn fields had roots severely damaged by corn rootworms,” said Virgil Schmitt, field agronomist with ISU Extension and Outreach. “Those damaged roots have caused many growers, input suppliers and independent crop consultants to re-evaluate the corn rootworm management strategies in those fields.”

Webinar topics include a background and a research update on corn rootworms by Erin Hodgson, professor and extension specialist in entomology at Iowa State.

Wed
03
Mar

What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
March 5: WHIP Quality Loss Adjustment
March 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup
May 15 – August 1: Primary Nesting Season
July 15: Crop Certification

Enrollment Deadline Nears for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs for 2021
Agricultural producers can now make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2021 crop year. The signup period opened Tuesday, Oct. 13.  These key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety-net programs help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops, and more than $5 billion in payments are in the process of going out to producers who signed up for the 2019 crop year. Enrollment for the 2021 crop year closes March 15, 2021.

Wed
03
Mar

I-29 Moo University Dairy Beef Short Course planned

Annual event is being held by virtual webinar this year

Industry professionals and beef producers who are finishing and marketing dairy beef are invited to virtually attend the I-29 Dairy Beef Short Course. The webinar, offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, is set for March 23.

It features a morning session from 10 a.m. to noon and an afternoon session from 1-3 p.m. Participants may choose to attend one or both sessions.

The morning session focuses on factors affecting dairy beef performance. Tara Felix, extension beef specialist at Pennsylvania State University, will present information on the role of nutrition and implants in dairy beef health and animal performance. Following her is Phil Durst, field-based educator with Michigan State University with over 30 years of experience working with farmers. He will share how dairy beef employees influence animal health and performance.

Wed
24
Feb

What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
February 26: CFAP 1 & 2 Updates
March 5: WHIP Quality Loss Adjustment
March 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup

Grazing Cover Crops Increases Profits

by Jacob Hawes, Soil Conservationist

Farmers are good at producing a variety of crops, but one thing many farmers have been struggling to produce the last several years is a profit. The five-year average cost to produce a bushel of corn has exceeded the average price of a bushel of corn by five cents according to analysis from the Iowa Farm Bureau, leaving many Iowa farmers in the red or just breaking even. A recent climb in corn and bean prices should provide some relief for farmers, but even so farmers should be looking for alternatives to increase the profitability of their cropland acres and cover crops and cattle may be the answer.

Wed
24
Feb

Dairy Goat Webinar to focus on kid management strategies

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team will continue its quarterly dairy goat webinar focusing on “Strategic Kid Management” March 3 from noon to 1:15 p.m.

This webinar will focus on situating the next generation of replacement does for a successful future. Multiple contagious diseases are transmitted to young goats right around kidding.

During this webinar, Roselle Busch, assistant specialist in Cooperative Extension at UC-Davis, will discuss why recommended management practices help to control and minimize the spread of disease in your herd. “I will cover the basics for healthy kids in the first month, going over colostrum management, use of automated feeders, and then get into the role that different kid rearing strategies play in mitigating disease transmission,” Busch noted.

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