Iowa is distinctly agriculture. Eighty-six percent of its land area is devoted to farming, the most of any state. Yet many Iowans admit to having little understanding about the origins of their food and what farmers do. As a result, they have sincere questions about agriculture as it relates to food safety, affordability and choice, livestock well-being and environmental quality.
Farm families welcome this interest. Farmers — many second, third and fourth generation — respect the land, treat their livestock with dignity and honor an ethical obligation that’s been handed down from generation to generation to produce safe and wholesome food.
Bottom line: Farmers have a story to share and consumers want to hear it. The time is now for the Iowa Food & Family Project!
The mission of the Iowa Food & Family Project is to inspire positive and enduring relationships between farmers and consumers through personal engagement, advocacy and education. To help carry out this mission, today the Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP) will be announced as the presenting sponsor of the Iowa Games and supporter of the Live Healthy Iowa program.
The Iowa Food & Family Project is a collaborative organization created by the Iowa Soybean Association involving the participation and guidance of Iowa families, farmers, food retailers, commodity and food relief organizations, civic and community leaders.
Iowan, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Norman Borlaug, whose pioneering work in agronomy helped billions avert starvation, once said, “The first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind.”
As we look to the future, Iowa’s farmers and America’s farmers stand ready to answer that call by providing healthy, abundant and affordable food. That indeed is a miracle, one that will be celebrated and championed by Iowans and the Iowa Food & Family Project.
While there are many benefits to planting early, planting too early can have negative impact on yield. Planting in soils that are too cold or too wet will cause seeds to sit dormant and become more vulnerable to diseases, insects and animal predators.
Let soil temperatures and soil conditions – not the calendar – dictate your planting date. For a map of current soil conditions throughout Iowa, click here. We recommend waiting until soil temperatures in a region reach between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit before you plant soybeans or 50 degrees before you plant corn. Remember, soil temperature for soybean planting is more critical than for corn. The main reason for this is because soybeans can germinate in a soil environment of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, but if the air temperature after germination hits 28 degrees Fahrenheit or less, the young seedling can be killed with the growing point of the plant right at emergence. Adversely for corn, the growing point stays under the surface until much later.
If planting conditions aren’t fit for planting, yield may be sacrificed due to:
Chilling Injury – Imbibitional chilling can negatively affect both corn and soybeans.This happens often when farmers jump the gun and plant in soils that are too cold. For a seed to germinate, it must absorb water, which usually happens within a few hours of planting. If the water is too cold, tissue damage will occur within the seedling and will either kill it or drastically slow down emergence. This can allow diseases and other problems to enter. Typical symptoms of chilling injury may include a swollen seed that has not germinated, as well as a fragile or absent primary root.
Soil Compaction – If mud sticks to your tires and ruts are deeper than an inch, the field is too wet to work. Compaction will likely result, causing decreased germination, root and plant growth, as well as nutrient uptake.
Soil Crusting – Wet soil at planting can cause a crusted layer to form, which may delay or prevent seedling emergence. Soybean hypocotyls can easily break as they push through the crust, which may result in significant stand reductions and lower yield potential.
Upon entering a store recently, the owner greeted me with a friendly smile and excitedly told me about the new grain-based snack food that she wanted me to try. “It’s all natural and 100% organic,” she explained and gave me a look implied it had to be better for you if it was organic.
Honestly, my purchase decisions are not at all affected by whether or not a food item is certified “USDA organic.” It concerns – and even frightens – me that so many well intentioned and well meaning people are getting the idea that “organic” means that these foods are better or safer. It’s of even greater concern to me that they believe organic or non-genetically modified (Non-GMO) foods are a realistic way to feed the world’s growing population.
Modern production practices have led to increased production and efficiency. Crop yields continue to increase and innovations continue to be made to make today’s products even more environmentally friendly. For example, farmers in India are buying BT cotton even though the seed is more expensive because it requires less spraying and consumes fewer fossil fuels.
In addition, today’s seed technologies offer even more benefits. A GM-breakthrough has saved the Hawaiian papaya crop. The fruit was being destroyed by papaya ringspot virus, which resisted all attempts to control it, until researchers at the University of Hawaii bred a variety that is resistant to the virus. Transgenic papayas now make up 75% of the total Hawaiian papaya crop.
It’s unfortunate that resistance to GM foods is keeping many populations from experiencing similar benefits. According to a recent article in Seed World, the release of GM eggplant has been blocked in India. This eggplant variety could help stabilize food prices, as well as increase Indian food crop yields by mitigating the effects of climate. Another GM breakthrough that has yet to be accepted is inserting vitamin A in rice.
With time, I believe the benefits of such technologies will lead to their acceptance. Transgenic crops will become an important – and necessary – part of sustainable agriculture. With that said, however, I won’t refrain from buying organic products. While I believe organic food production has its niche, I won’t buy something merely because has been organically produced. I merely want to choose foods – and to teach my kids how to make food choices – that taste good and offer nutritional value.
Fresh Catch of the Day: Walleye from the Northwoods
The Gor-tex® / Thinsulate® boots that had been back-ordered for months finally arrived in March, just in time for my Spring Break trip. While many females would prefer to pack their swimsuits and head south, I chose to pack my snow gear and head north. (One compelling reason to head to a colder climate is there’s no need to lose those unwanted 10 pounds!)
My brother, Rod, and I spent about nine hours on the road, Sunday, March 20, before we arrived at Sportman’s Lodge. The farther north we drove, the deeper the snow drifts. There were also fewer farmsteads and more forests dotting the countryside. By the time we reached Baudette, Minnesota, we had entered the frozen tundra.
Upon checking into a two-bedroom cabin at Sportman’s Lodge, we made our way to the Riverside Dining Room. There we enjoyed the most delicious meal while overlooking the frozen Rainy River and the Canadian border. Topping off our dining experience – like the cherry on top of a sundae – was the company we kept. We met three of the nicest and most entertaining gentlemen, who were embarking on their annual Lake of the Wood fishing expedition. They gave us some much needed advice and even shared some of their favorite jigs with us. We also shared lots of laughs. Oh, the stories they could tell!
Wayne Sletten pictured with his 32-inch walleye
“The fish tales are true,” said Wayne Sletten of Two Harbors, Minn., as he pulled from his wallet a business card-sized ID that showed him proudly holding the 32-inch walleye that he caught on a trip last winter.
The hope of catching my own trophy walleye is what brought me to the Walleye Capital of the World in the first place. Fishing Lake of the Woods was on my Bucket List, and at last, I was living the dream! It was 7:45 a.m. on Monday, March 21, when our group first loaded into a bombardier and took a bumpy 45-minute ride across the ice and through the slush to our fishing site.
My brother’s first catch was good for a laugh. It wasn’t much bigger than his jig!
My first catch of the day was a keeper walleye, which is more than I can say about my brother’s. He was a good sport, however, and let me photograph his first catch. But by the end of the day Tuesday, it was a different story. Rod had put more “keepers” in the pail than I had, and he even had bragging rights to the “biggest fish.” Even though none of our fish were big enough to mount, they’ll make good eating. I’m looking forward to trying these two recipes that Wayne was kind enough to share.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy the “fresh catch of the day”?
Ranchero Walleye
Serves Four
Ingredients:
4 – Walleye fillets (about 8 oz. each)
1 c. finely crushed tortilla chips
2 tsp. chili powder
3 T. lime juice
1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. salsa
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking pan.
Mix crushed tortilla chips and chili powder in a shallow dish or on a piece of wax paper.
Mix lime juice and oil in another shallow dish.
Dip walleye in the lime juice mixture, then immediately dredge in the seasoned tortilla crumbs to coat.
Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Sprinkle walleye with remaining tortilla crumbs.
Bake 10 minutes or until crisp and golden, and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Warm salsa in a small sauce pan over low heat.
Arrange walleye on serving plates and spoon salsa across the center.
Farmers are continually working to increase their soybean yields. The statewide average in Iowa is now more than 50 bushels per acre, but last year several farmers broke the 80-bushel yield barrier with Latham soybean genetics and the Genuity® Roundup® Ready 2 technology.
Raising record-breaking soybeans begins before the seed even hits the soil. Mark Grundmeier, Latham’s product manager, recently contributed to a Wallaces Farmer article with tips on how to establish a good soybean stand.
In the article, Mark says the first step to establishing a good soybean stand starts with treated seed. The benefit from seed treatments far outweigh the costs. He adds that fungicide-treated seed is a must to prevent damping off from Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Phytopthora and Fusarium. It’s no secret soybean plants are subject to thousands of variables throughout the growing season.
Proper planting conditions are crucial, and Mark says it’s important to remember that it’s much better to plant correctly than to plant quickly. Soil temperature sets the stage for healthy growth, and he recommends a temperature of 50 degrees or more at planting. It’s also important to wait for soils to dry. Wet soils cause trouble from the beginning, and compaction resulting from wet soil can kill root growth.
For Mark’s full list of tips to establish a good soybean stand, click here to read the article in Wallaces Farmer.
There’s nothing quite like sunshine and the 70-degree temperatures we experienced last weekend to get a farmer thinking about planting! As you prepare for the upcoming planting season, remember to also update your monitors. Monitor updates are especially important for Variable Rate Planting.
Through Latham’s hallmark Seed2Soil® program, we can write prescriptions for your planter and seed variety, on an individual field basis. We can write population prescriptions using information about past yield history from a yield monitor, soil types within the field, hybrid variety selection, tillage practices, fertility levels and more, with special consideration.
Even if you’re not interested in or your current equipment isn’t capable of planting variable rates, it’s still important to keep up-to-date on planter technology. Below is a brief summary of updates available to some of the more popular models. Also included are links that will direct you to the Internet sites where you can either download the upgrades yourself or have your dealer assist you.
Ag Leader In February, Ag Leader Technology released Advanced Seed Monitoring through the SeedCommand™ system. Available on the INTEGRA™ display, Advanced Seed Monitoring provides planter performance monitoring of seed meter singulation, skips/doubles and spacing quality, along with population and spacing information for all rows when planting corn. All of these features are available while the display is simultaneously performing guidance, mapping and autosteer functions.
Case Case IH on March 17 announced the release of Version 26 (v26) software for the Advanced Farming System (AFS) Pro 600 and new AFS Pro 700 color touchscreen displays. A few changes and new features available in v26 include:autoguidance optimizations for Case IH Patriot self-propelled sprayers; improved user-interface for adjusting overlap control settings; and support for up to 3 clutch ECUs, allowing single-row AFS AccuRow clutch control even on 36-row planters
John Deere Updates are available for the 1800 Displays and GS2. The new GS3monitor will be shipped with the right display, but there are controller and receiver updates. For additional information, contact a John Deere dealer or visit http://stellarsupport.deere.com/en_US_new/ where you’ll get product information and can participate in on-line forums and discussions.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its eagerly awaitedProspective Plantings report March 31, revealing U.S. farmers intend to plant 92.2 million corn acres (4.5% increase from 2010), 76.6 soybean acres (1 percent decrease), 12.6 million cotton acres (15% increase), and 58 million wheat acres (8.9% increase), in 2011.
USDA Chief Economist Joseph Galuber stated that while there were increases in most major field crops, the March 1 Grain Stocks report indicates continued strong demand and usage of each of these commodities, suggesting the current tight supply situation will continue into 2011 and 2012.
If realized, this corn crop will be the second-highest planted acreage in the U.S. since 1944. Acreage increases of 250,000 or more are expected in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. South Dakota captured the largest intended increase with 850,000 additional acres, while Texas marked the largest decrease (150,000 acres), due to an increase in cotton exchange.
Intended soybean acres mark the third largest soybean crop on record. Compared with last year’s record planting intentions, declines of 100,000 acres or more are expected in Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska and Ohio. If realized, the planted area in New York and North Dakota will be the largest on record with 1.5 million and 4.35 million respectively.
Sources: USDA news release, Business Insider, Dairy Today
April is National Garden Month. Although it might be a few weeks before I actually till the soil, planting preparations are underway. I’ve already purchased the seed packets that I need. Now I’m eagerly awaiting a trip to the Mennonite greenhouses where I’ll pick out tomato and pepper plants, as well as my annual flowers.
Edamame Plant
Each year I look forward to trying something new in my little garden. Last year it was sweet potatoes, and the year before I grew three types of potatoes: red, white and blue ones. This year I’m trying my hand at growing edamame. (Pronounced “ed-a-mommy.” If you don’t like my phonetics, you can listen to a pronunciation here. I had so much fun listening to it that I saved the link in my favorites!)
Edamame are green soybeans that are harvested at the peak of ripening, right before it reaches the hardening stage. Because they grow in clusters on bushy branches, they’re aptly named: eda means “branches” and mame means “beans” in Japanese.
These “bush soybeans” grow larger than bush green bean plants and tend to flop, according to the limited research I conducted online. Since I like my garden to look as neat as possible, I’ll probably put up a few stakes and strings to keep my edamame upright. I’ve also read that edamame is great for container gardens, so encourage your non-farming friends and relatives to also give it a try! Growing edamame is also a great children’s activity, and research shows children are more apt to eat what they helped grow or make.
It seems only fitting to promote soybean consumption as April is also National Soyfoods Month. Send me your soyfood recipes, so we can feature them this month.
The official start of the grilling season may still be two months away, but that’s not going to stop Tom and Teresa Price from enjoying tender, corn-fed beef or succulent chicken kabobs.
The Prices recently returned home from a week-long vacation in Hawaii where they “got a taste of summer.” They enjoyed walking along the white sand beaches, relaxing at the beach, surfing and observing local flora and fauna.
Whale watching in Hawaii was a highlight for the Prices
“Whale watching was definitely our favorite activity. We went on a large catamaran and just had a blast,” says Teresa, who enthusiastically shared the highlights of the time they spent on Maui. “We also got to watch whales each morning while we had coffee together on our patio. We are in awe of those huge, beautiful creatures!”
Now that they’ve returned to their rural landscape, the Prices are looking forward to the return of spring and the anticipation of warmer days ahead. Teresa, who has worked since 1983 as a loan assistant at Farmers Trust & Savings Bank in Buffalo Center, is eager to take her morning coffee on the patio. Meanwhile, Tom is busy preparing for the upcoming planting season and delivering seed to his customers.
Tom became a Latham® dealer in 2009 when his sister and brother-in-law, Connie and John Pederson of Ledyard, retired after 25 years in the seed business. He says it’s been a good complement to his own farming operation and trucking business.
Partnering with farmers to increase their productivity and profitability is important to Tom. He’s most excited about the new seed technologies, including Latham Hi‑Tech Soybeans with the Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® (RR2) technology. He saw a five-bushel advantage with the RR2 beans he produced in 2010 and is eager to plant even more acres to RR2 soybeans this year.
Tom and Teresa Price and family
Once the 2011 crop is in the ground, Tom and Teresa look forward to relaxing with their friends and family. They’re the proud parents of three sons and the proud grandparents of five – with grandbaby #6 scheduled to arrive on April 7. The Prices’ oldest son, 35-year-old Derick, and his wife, Kim, eagerly await the arrival of their new little bundle of joy who will join their 4 ½-year-old son, Landon, and 2 ½ year-old daughter, Olivia. The Prices’ middle son, 32-year-old Lucas, and his wife, Ileana, are the parents of 10-year-old Isaiah and two daughters, Amilicia, 2 1/2, and Tatiana, 1. The Prices’ 19-year-old son, Brent, is currently a freshman at Iowa State University.
These new “empty nesters” look forward to the end of the school year when Brent returns home for the summer and their older children return home for a visit. When they all gather, they’ll enjoy a home-cooked meal. One of Teresa’s favorite go-to recipes is kabobs. Meal prep is quick and easy, which allows more time to enjoy family time.
“Many years ago, Tom and I tried shish-ka-bobs from a stand at the Renaissance Festival. They were so good that we went home and experimented until we found something that we liked equally as well,” she says. “After several tries, we found an easy fix. It’s so easy that I can’t really call it a recipe, but it is something that our whole family loves.”
After their recent trip to the Hawaiian islands, the Prices are looking forward to trying a “taste of Hawaii” in their own backyard. Below is a new recipe they’re eager to try.
Determining the Correct Nitrogen Rate for Your Field
Spring planting is just around the corner, and with it comes the age old question, “What is the right rate of Nitrogen for my field?”
A recent research paper published by Purdue University sums up Nitrogen (N) management succinctly: Nitrogen fertilizer costs remain volatile but continue to be one of the most expensive variable costs for corn. Applying “more than enough N” is no longer cheap “insurance” as it once was many years ago. Applying “more than enough N” is also not environmentally friendly.
High fertilizer costs and environmental impacts should encourage growers to critically evaluate their N fertility program, including application rate, fertilizer material, and timing.Here are a few tips for you to consider the right Nitrogen rate for your field this spring:
Customize applications. Tailor Nitrogen applications to each individual field. Because farmers are constantly striving to achieve higher yields, it’s not effective to try and use a general “one size fits all” recommendation. That’s why it’s so important to first determine your needs with a soil test.
Soil test. Conduct a soil test to obtain a guideline of soil nutrients and needs. Purdue’s research paper stated some soils provide as little as 25% of the crop N requirement, the remainder coming from fertilizer N, while other soils provide in excess of 50% of the crop N demand, with a lesser amount needed from applied N. Thus, it’s vitally important to first determine soil needs before application. Through Latham’s Seed2Soil®program, we work with customers to conduct an Amino Sugar Nitrogen Test to help determine where Nitrogen rates need to be increased, maintained, or decreased.
Recognize timing differences. Certain hybrids respond better to Nitrogen at different times of the growing season. For instance, some hybrids will require an extra shot of Nitrogen when they begin the grain fill period directly after pollination. Work with your seed representative to determine the best timing for the products in your field.
Better for your pocketbook and the environment. The goal with Nitrogen management should be to place the right amount on the right acres at the right time. Latham’s Seed2Soil program helped reduce Nitrogen needs by 20-25 pounds, according to four years of research and in-field studies. Learn more about Latham’s Seed2Soil program.
Do you have any questions regarding Nitrogen management for your field?
submitted by Aaron Putze
