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In this issue
Estate Planning Workshop
by Ron Hook, ISUE Farm Management Field Specialist
Farm business owners face
major decisions when it comes to planning for the future. How do we bring
the next generation into the business in a desirable manner? What tools are
available to help us accomplish the transition in a smooth, efficient
manner? These are some of the questions that Iowa State University
Extension is attempting to answer in a Farm Estate and Succession Planning
Workshop being held at various locations around northwest Iowa. The
workshop features John Baker, the staff attorney for the Iowa Concern
Hotline and director of the Beginning Farmer Center.
The topics to be covered
in this year’s workshop include how to use gifts and buy/sell agreements in
transition planning, the importance of wills and trusts and using them
properly, an update of estate tax law changes and the impact that proper
planning can have on taxes, the use of power of attorney, and when one
should use a living will.
The Estate and Succession
Planning workshops will be held at the Extension office in Cherokee on
February 26,1:30 pm; at the Public Library in Sioux Center on February 26,
7:00 pm; and the Extension office in Spirit Lake on February 27, 1:30 pm.
The registration fee prior to the day of the workshop is $20 per individual
and $30 per couple. Fees increase by $10 for registration the day of the
workshop. A request for a private session with John Baker can be made when
registering. Registration forms are available at your local Extension
office.
Lambing Time Workshop
by Dennis DeWitt, ISUE Livestock Field Specialist
We have arranged for two
new locations for this year’s “In the Lambing Barn Management Workshops.”
This is a great hands-on educational opportunity for you to update and ask
those tough questions. The entire time is spent in the lambing barn so
there are no slide presentations or lecturing.
Dates, times & locations
are Wednesday, February 12 at Gary & Sharon Erickson farm, Humboldt and
Friday, February 14 at Dave & Julie Hofland farm, Hartley. Time choices are
10:00am, 1:30pm or 6:30pm. There is room for 15-20 people at each session
on a first reserved basis.
You must pre-register and pay your
$5/person so you are assured a spot in your session.
Reservations are required
by February 10 for the Feb 12 meeting by contacting John Eveland, Humboldt
County Extension, P.O. Box 158, Humboldt, IA 50548 or phone 515-332-2201.
Reservations are required by February 12 for the Feb 14 meeting by
contacting Terry Janssen, O’Brien County Extension, P. O. Box 99, Primghar,
IA 51245; telephone 712-757-5045. If you cannot attend, please call 24
hours before the meeting so someone on the waiting list can replace you!
Questions contact: DeWitt at
dewitt@iastate.edu
It is a must that you come
in clean clothes and overboots. We will provide plastic boot covers at the
site. If there are last minute weather concerns, listen to radio KICD
1240am and KWMT 540am for weather announcements.
We are assembling an email list of sheep
producers so important information can be quickly passed on to you. If you
want to be placed on the sheep email list just email
dewitt@iastate.edu If we do not see you at one of these lambing time
workshops, have a safe lambing season.
New Soil Test
Recommendations
by Joel DeJong, ISUE Crops Field Specialist
ISU Extension recently
revised “General Guide for Crop Nutrient Recommendations in Iowa,”
publication PM 1688. What changed? Here are the main points.
ISU’s phosphorus
recommendation did not change, for the most part. Soil test category levels
and recommended application levels remain the same – and the Mehlich-3 test
added for analysis a few years ago to help identify soil P levels in high pH
soils is still a good option. However, in recent years some soil test labs
have been using a different step in determining P level in the Mehlich test
– called the ICP method. This method seems to find higher amounts of P in
the sample – and using these results can give a misleading answer if you
assume that the old colorimetric analysis was used. ISU researchers have
gone back to the field and researched yield responses in a lot of fields to
see how this method of analysis relates to yield responses. Since it is
different for the Mehlich-3 test using colorimetric analysis when compared
to the Mehlich-3 with ICP analysis – another line in the soil test
interpretation table needed to be added. It also points out the importance
of knowing which test is being used to analyze your soils!
ISU also noted in some
parts of Iowa, particularly when spring rainfall was below normal, some
fields showed K deficiency symptoms even when soil tests were in the optimum
range. Why? There might be several reasons, but one very likely factor is
that prior to 1989 ISU did soil test K analysis from field moist samples – a
practice labs that analyzed soils did not find very efficient. So a
conversion was made to testing dried soil samples. However, the correlation
between those numbers and yields was not as good as when field moist samples
were used. It is thought that this has caused some of those deficiency
problems in Optimum testing fields. As a response, ISU has moved up the
soil test categories one notch – what used to be High is now Optimum, and
etc.
Recent research has also
shown that K placement can make a difference in ridge-till fields, and might
make a difference in no-till fields. Recommendations on these practices are
now included, also. Maintenance rates for additional crops than appeared
previously have also been added.
The updated publication
should be available soon for a small fee from your local Extension office –
or you can download it now at this web site: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1688.pdf
Beef & Horse
News
Beth Ellen Doran, ISUE
Beef Field Specialist
Cow-Calf
Refund - The Iowa
Department of Revenue and Finance is offering a cow-calf refund to Iowa
cow-calf producers. The refund applies to breeding bulls, bred cows and
bred heifers in inventory on Dec. 31, 2002 and is computed on the basis of
corn equivalents consumed. All claims must be filed within 10 months of the
end of the tax year with the taxpayer's income tax return. Refunds will be
issued by February 2004. Refund forms (IA 132 2002) are available from your
tax accountant, attorney, or the web at:
http://www.state.ia.us/tax/forms/0241132.pdf
Cornell
Study - Research at
Cornell University reveals that cattle are rarely responsible for
water-borne outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis in humans. The scientists
investigated several outbreaks across the country and concluded that in
every case, the only crypto genotype found during testing was one that only
infects humans. Cattle do not carry this genotype. That means the
outbreaks were caused by a breakdown in the city water-infiltration systems,
not from cows in the watershed.
EPA Rules
Released - In December
2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the Clean Water Act
regulation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The new rule
applies to about 15,500 livestock operations across the country.
Under the new
rule, all large CAFOs will be required to apply for a permit, submit an
annual report and develop and follow a plan for handling manure and
wastewater. Large CAFOs are defined in the rule as operations raising more
than 1000 cattle, 700 dairy cows, 2500 swine, 10,000 sheep, 125,000
chickens, 82,000 laying hens and 55,000 turkeys in confinement. The
nutrient management plans for large beef cattle CAFOs have more requirements
for production and land application areas. A brief 2-page summary of the
federal requirements for beef cattle CAFOs is available on the web at:
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/cafo_brochure_beef.pdf
Iowa
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) officials have told producers not to
expect any immediate changes in Iowa rules or legislation as a result of
federal changes. A group made up of producers and environmental and farm
group representatives will work with IDNR and ISU staff to study the rules
and determine how they mesh with existing Iowa law. Iowa has up to two
years to implement any changes.
Horse
Meeting - Horse owners
are invited to attend "The Healthy Horse" on February 24, 7:00-9:30 p.m., at
the Western Iowa Technical Community College auditorium in Cherokee. Dr.
Loretta Berkland, equine veterinarian in the Sibley Veterinary Clinic, will
be discussing West Nile Virus, and Dr. Steven Tornberg, equine veterinarian
at Dakota Large Animal Clinic, will visit about vaccination schedules,
de-worming programs and fly control for horses. Pre-registrations
($10/person) are due at the Cherokee County Extension Office by February
20. Registrations after Feb. 20 will be $15/person. To request a brochure,
you may contact the Cherokee County Extension Office at 712-225-6196.
Annual Manure Management
Plan Submission
by Kris Kohl, ISUE Ag Engineer Field Specialist
As part of last year’s new
regulations, producers are now required to submit manure management plans
annually. In mid-January the DNR sent letters to all manure management plan
holders requiring them to submit a plan and assigning them a due month
determined by a random computer generated number to divide the workload into
12 equal parts.
Producers with multiple
manure management plans can petition the DNR to have all their manure plans
due in one month. If the original plan was written prior to 1999, then
updated plans must be completed on the current DNR forms. All producers
will need to submit a copy to the county board of supervisors and submit
that receipt along with a second copy of the manure management plan.
Two new parts of the
submission will be a conversion from animal weight capacity to animal units
and the annual compliance fee. The annual compliance fee is 15¢ per animal
unit or $60/1000 head for swine over 40 pounds. This fee will be used to
hire new DNR staff to review manure management plans and enforce
environmental laws for livestock producers.
To help serve the
producers in NW Iowa, I will plan to hold workshops to update your plans.
For those with a due date of March 1, 2003 we will hold a workshop on
February 20 at 10:00 AM in Spencer at the School Administration Building.
There will be a $15 registration fee, which includes lunch. If you have
questions or want to register please call the Clay County Extension office
at 712-262-2264.
Swine update
by Dave Stender, ISUE
Swine Field Specialist
Herd
Health - Learn more
about PRRS, circo virus and much more at the Improving Swine Health
Conference Feb 17 at the Carrollton Inn, Carroll and Feb 18 at Cherokee WIT
auditorium from 9
am to 4 pm each day.
Cosponsored with Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa State University
Extension
Ventilation - Setting
and adjusting ventilation systems can be a huge factor in performance in
modern swine facilities. South Dakota Dr. Steve Pohl has developed a mobile
swine ventilation room for hands-on ventilation training. The unit has
controllers mounted on the wall and large windows so participants can see
the impact of ventilation adjustments. A special training will be offered
for producers in Northwest Iowa in Lyon County on March 3; Calumet, March 4;
or Sac City, March 5. Check with your County Extension Office for more
information.
The hands-on
demonstration will be comprised of experiences on setting fan controllers,
adjusting inlets, static pressure effects, dirty fan effects and other
real-life effects. Classroom sessions will include the basics of
ventilation systems, effective temperature requirements, troubleshooting
tools and techniques and other ventilation situations.
Food
Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS)
A new development in
meat inspection is in place. FSIS will begin posting the names and
addresses of the sellers of livestock and poultry who the FDA has determined
are responsible for the repeated sale of livestock or poultry that contain
violative levels of chemical residue, according to a Federal Register notice
published Monday, Jan. 6, 2003.
Producers
that have more than one confirmed residue violation will be listed on a web
site for 12-months. If a producer has more than two violations, the listing
will be extended for an additional year from the date of the last
violation. Knowing and following the information in the National Pork
Board’s Pork Quality Assurance workbook will become more important. Now
would be a good time to make sure your Pork Quality Assurance certificate is
up to date.
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