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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
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About 10 percent of area
corn crop still in the field
About 10 percent of the area corn crop is yet to be harvested, according to a response to a crops questionnaire by Mark Licht, Northwest Extension Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension. Licht serves Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Ida, Monona and Sac counties.
Licht said more corn remains to be harvested in the western part of the area he serves than in the eastern part. — Full Story »
Ethanol vs. Environment:
How's the balance?
Critics of the ethanol industry question its environmental effect, especially regarding land and energy usage.
Of concern to some conservationists is the effect of the ethanol industry on the number of acres of cropland put into or taken out of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) set-aside. The CRP program was established by the 1985 Farm Bill and is administered by the Farms Service Agency (FSA) with technical assistance from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), all under the umbrella of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). — Full Story »
Prairie Pedlar blooms
Jack and Jane Hogue started planting flower gardens at their Odebolt home in 1985.
The Hogues got their parents and their three children, Janna, Tyler and Emily, involved in growing the flowers. Seven acres of land, west of their home, became available for sale in 1995 so the Hogue family purchased the land to expand their flower gardens. They spent two years restoring the bow-truss barn and school, landscaping and adding theme gardens. The gardens became known as "Prairie Pedlar" and officially opened to the public in 1997 for viewing. "The word 'pedlar' is an old English spelling," explained Jack Hogue.
— Full Story »
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