HARVEST BEGINS
Harvest is beginning around northwest Iowa. ISU Extension Area Agronomist Leah Ten Napel says it’s off to a good start.
Weather conditions this crop season were variable, and so are the yields.
A 200 bushel average was predicted for Iowa’s corn crop. Ten Napel agrees with that assessment.
One area south of Sioux City was one of the driest in the state.
Ten Napel’s district received adequate moisture this season, but there are some disease issues in late planted soybean fields.
More silage is being harvested this year, as livestock numbers grow across the area. Ten Naple says silage brings its own concerns for producers.
While northwest Iowa received adequate rain during the growing season, there was little subsoil moisture to fall back on, and that may lead to some sporadic yields in northwest Iowa.
LE MARS HOMECOMING WEEK
Le Mars Community High School is ready for homecoming. KLEM intern Luke Larson reports:
LCHS Homecoming :soc :43
STREET REPAIR
The Le Mars Street Dept. has closed 4th St. S.W. between Bus 75 and 4th Ave. S.W. starting today. The contractor will be doing some street repairs there. This project will last about 10 days weather permitting.
MENUMASTERS
LeMars Community Education Enhancement Project or LEEP brought back MENuMASTERS last weekend. The event raised over 31-thousand dollars. MENuMASTERS is the primary fundraiser for LEEP. It raises money to support many educational needs within the LeMars Community School District.
Saturday, 18 local businessmen volunteered to be chefs for the evening. The Chefs created samples of appetizers, main dish, sides, or desserts. During the event guests voted on the Best Appetizer, Best Side Dish, Best Main Dish, Best Dessert, Best Theme, and Best Overall winner.
The event itself is a fun evening to benefit LCS teachers and students. In addition to chefs, people throughout the community are also able to donate their money through sponsorships.
MENuMASTERS was held in Century Hall at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds.
AG EXPERT SAYS MILLET AN IDEAL ALTERNATIVE CROP
A grain that millions of people in Asia and India eat every day is almost unheard-of in Iowa, but a researcher at Iowa State University says it has the potential to make Midwestern agriculture more resilient, more profitable and more earth-friendly. Pat Schnable, director of I-S-U’s Plant Sciences Institute, says proso millet is an ideal alternative crop to corn and soybeans, especially as water becomes more scarce, both in drought-stricken Iowa and globally. Proso millet is probably the most water efficient grain on the planet, Schnable says, and it can be grown without having to apply nitrogen fertilizer. He says proso millet can be substituted for corn in the ethanol-making process, as it has a low carbon intensity score. It’s a very easy crop to grow in Iowa, he says, and uses exactly the same equipment for corn and beans. One last plus, Schnable says, millet is gluten-free.
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT HOSTED BY IOWA AIR GUARD
The Iowa National Guard hosted Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam Veteran, Michael Fitzmaurice in Sioux City last week. The visit included a tour of the 185th Air Refueling Wing maintenance facilities, meetings with leadership and a flight on a KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft. Fitzmaurice joined the US army in 1969. He was presented the Medal of Honor on October 15, 1973, for his actions during a battle in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. While seriously wounded and partially blinded, he fought in hand-to-hand combat to overcome the enemy. During his Sioux City visit, Fitzmaurice witnessed aerial refueling operations from the boom pad in the rear of the KC-135. Once refueling of an F-16 fighter squadron was complete, Fitzmaurice sat in the flight deck for the landing into Sioux City.
GRASSLEY AND GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says he’d support a bill that would essentially outlaw government shutdowns. The law would automatically extend spending if an agreement isn’t reached by midnight on September 30th when the federal fiscal year ends — and eventually it would force Congress to work seven days a week until they come up with a budget plan. A small group of House Republicans are refusing to support a short-term spending bill and are ready to force a government shutdown to secure deeper cuts in the federal budget. Grassley says it costs money to close the government down. And Grassley warns spending critics didn’t achieve their goals in previous shutdowns before public pressure led to a deal to reopen the government.
SHARE THE ROAD DURING HARVEST
Autumn arrives Saturday but many Iowa farmers are already starting the fall harvest, and motorists in rural areas will need to share the roads with large, slow-moving farm equipment for the next several weeks. Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd says he’s already spotted drivers taking big chances when they shouldn’t, like trying to pass tractors on a hill. Dodd says that action puts everyone involved at risk and it could result in a collision — or at least a citation. From 2017 through June 30th, 2022, the Iowa Department of Transportation reports 30 people died in crashes involving farm equipment in the state.
