A five-minute summary of AAI, regulation, and industry activities for members of the largest state agribusiness association in the nation.
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REMINDER:
The main office in Des Moines is closed to visitors. AAI staff is still available to help you with your member needs via phone or email. Phones are still being answered during normal business hours. If you'd like to reach a specific member of the staff please visit our
staff listing
online.
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Drive-Up Testing for Commercial Applicators to Continue Through June
AAI Encourages Members to Take Advantage of Testing to Meet Business Needs
The Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be holding the drive-in testing sessions for Commercial Pesticide certification every Wednesday in June. Sessions will take place in Fort Dodge and Des Moines. An additional location is in the works for eastern Iowa.
Members with staff who need commercial pesticide applicator certification are encouraged to take full advantage of the drive-up testing option.
The next set of sessions will take place next week on Wednesday, June 3.
- Fort Dodge: 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM
- Des Moines: 9:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM
The testing sessions provide the opportunity to acquire any of the certifications needed for commercial pesticide applicators including aerial applications and crop applications.
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FSA Busy With CFAP; Grain Handlers See Looming Issues This Fall
The open application period for the Coronavirus Food Aid Program (CFAP) this week has been keeping US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices busy and generating some questions about eligible contracts. During the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Crop Production Teleconference, USDA FSA State Executive Director Amanda DeJong shared that one small FSA office in eastern Iowa had handled 126 phone calls and received 136 voice mails in one day.
DeJong emphasized during the call that there is ample funding available to pay all eligible CFAP claims. Additionally, final coverage for eligible contracts has yet to be determined. Any information currently circulating about eligible contracts is not valid as official rules for eligible contracts have not yet been determined.
DeJong also said FSA offices will continue to be closed to the public with phone appointments being the only way to interact with the FSA offices for at least the next few weeks. Some offices may open to the public later in June, and others likely will not open to the public for the foreseeable future.
Looking Ahead
With planting mostly in the rear-view mirror, ag retailers are looking to the fall. Member companies on the call continue to be focused on a potential bumper crop that has limited storage options and the continuing concern about getting paid for storage and conditioning of grain in the event of a perfected loan. Also on the radar is the potential for a fall shortage of propane as a result of low oil prices and reduced fracking. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Kenney said IDALS will be convening a group next week to discuss issues around propane supply.
The weekly Crop Production Teleconference takes place on Thursdays and includes AAI staff, AAI members, and other drop production related associations. If you have questions or concerns that need to be addressed, contact the Home Office at 515-262-8323.
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Governor Extends Emergency Declaration To June 25
A new State Public Health Emergency Declaration was enacted Tuesday by Governor Kim Reynolds. The new declaration extends the current regulatory relief for truck weights, motor vehicle licensing, pesticide certification, and other regulatory relief until June 25, 2020.
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CFAP Has Ample Funding; Packing Plants Continue To Increase Capacity
An important message was shared on Tuesday morning during the Secretary of Agriculture Livestock Call.
“There is ample funding for all producers who qualify for the CFAP funds,” said United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Amanda DeJong.
During the call, DeJong outlined some specifics about how the program will work. The payouts will be limited to 80 percent of any funds a producer qualifies for with the possibility of the remaining 20 percent to paid at a later date.
“The 80 percent is more than enough to cover all qualifying claims,” said DeJong.
The application for funds through the CFAP program is available online and includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet calculator to help estimate the payment farmers may receive. The application and other CFAP resources can be found at:
farmers.gov/cfap
.
Offices are accepting appointments by phone only and will not be open to the public, said DeJong, though staff and many offices will begin a phased return of employees.
Producers will need to call to schedule time if they need to work with their local FSA office.
Livestock Update
Livestock producers continue to receive positive news as packing plants work to close the gap between a backlog of animals available for processing and a diminished supply of processed meat products. Pork production last week was at 92% of production compared to this time last year, and extra weekend slaughter also helped, though there continues to be a glut of hogs which are carrying as much as nine pounds extra per animal.
Cattle processing has also increased and now stands at 86% of production compared to 2019. The increase comes amid a nationwide two week backlog of cattle, more than one million head that should have made their way to the packing plants, but remain in feed yards or otherwise unmarketed.
Turkey production was expected to see diminished processing in June, but has now been shifted to August, which is a good sign that the situation has improved for that sector.
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa is an invited member of the Livestock call and association staff take part in the call each week.
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Mental Health Resources
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has released two episodes in a
3-part podcast series on managing farm stress amid COVID-19. The series features Dr. Larry Tranel, an ISU Extension dairy specialist and a pastoral psychologist with 30-plus years working with farm families.
Additionally, resources are available to help those who are struggling in these challenging times, including those listed below:
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AAI Calendar of Meetings & Events
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AAI Board of Directors
Conference Call
June 10
1:00 PM
AAI Board of Directors
Conference Call
July 9
10:00 AM
Golf Tournament #1
July 21
Fox Ridge Golf Course
Dike, Iowa
(tentative)
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Golf Tournament #2
July 22
Emerald Hills Golf Course
Arnolds Park, Iowa
(tentative)
Golf Tournament #3
August 10
The Legacy Golf Club
Norwalk, Iowa
(tentative)
Golf Tournament #4
September 17
TBA Location
(tentative)
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Note:
Until further notice, all committee and board meetings will be held via conference call. Conference call access information will be listed in calendar invitations. View calendar online
here
.
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- Details from the crop progress report as Iowans finishing planting
- Equipment company sees 2019 losses in latest quarterly report
- Trade expected to help out the ag economy during the pandemic
- New program to teach Iowa's veterinarians to stop foreign animal disease
Watch episodes from the past week anytime online!
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Fifteen years of wetlands research by Iowa State University – a study thought to be the largest and longest running project of its kind in the country – clarifies their performance as highly beneficial systems for reducing nitrogen loading.
“Even under highly variable conditions over many years, the wetland systems we studied worked as expected and removed significant amounts of nitrate,” said William Crumpton, the lead researcher and University Professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology.
Now, during National Wetlands Month, it’s a good time to consider the benefits wetlands can provide. The Iowa State research outlines the potential of wetland systems to improve water quality in agricultural landscapes and provides extensive data to better assess their costs and benefits.
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Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is launching a disposal assistance program to help pork producers who are unable to harvest pigs due to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.
“COVID-19 has caused unprecedented, ongoing disruptions to the food supply chain,” said Secretary Naig. “Pork producers are going to extraordinary lengths to donate pork to food banks and identify other markets for their animals but, in many cases, it’s not enough to make up for the backlog happening on farms. Producers are being forced to make very difficult decisions and this is one way the state is working to support them during these extremely challenging times.”
COVID-19-related worker shortages are causing meat processing facilities to drastically reduce production. Iowa State University estimates that, as of mid-May, approximately 600,000 pigs in Iowa were unable to be harvested.
Producers are working with the Resource Coordination Center, operated by the Department, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, to explore every option to harvest livestock. This includes changing the animals’ diets to slow the rate of growth, contacting other meat lockers, and making donations to the Pass the Pork program.
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Non-operating landowners rate conservation and stewardship as a top priority – ranking closely with ownership of land being a source of income and a desire to keep the farm in the family, according to a Hertz Farm Management, Inc., survey of its clients. Landowners recognize farms that are managed using 4R Plus practices are more productive and valuable, said Ryan Kay, a farm manager with Hertz.
“When practices that impact nutrients, soil health and soil erosion are implemented properly, buyers take notice,” Kay said. “It’s important that permanent structures like waterways and terraces are kept up, that the health of the soil is managed and 4R nutrient management practices are used. When that’s accomplished, farmland is more productive and also more desirable to buyers.”
When Kay works with non-operating landowners, he outlines strategies to keep the farm productive for years to come and takes pride knowing conservation is one of their top priorities. With more than half of Iowa’s farmland owned by non-operating landowners, he says it’s important for tenants to keep in mind that farmland owners care how the land is managed.
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