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NEWS BULLETIN
ISA News & Updates
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Inside This Issue:
- ISA Golf Tournament & Education Registration
- Seed Health Testing On Campus Workshop
- Dicamba Cutoff Date in Iowa: June 20
- A Team Effort For The Cyclones' New Grass Field - Seed Today
- USDA to Allow Producers to Request Voluntary Termination of Conservation Reserve Program Contract
- ASTA: Updated Conservation, Environmental, and Cover Crop Seed Resource Guide
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ISA Golf Tournament & Education Registration |
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Join us on June 22 in Ames!
Seed Golf benefits students - the future of the seed business in Iowa.
Register your foursome now and help fund Iowa Seed Association Scholarships
Golf Event - $90 per person
Golfer Registration Includes: morning learning session, individual luncheon, individual green fees for 18 holes, shared golf cart with teammate & drink tickets.
Education Event - Free
Non-Golfer Lunch - $15
Thank you to our Beverage Cart Sponsor!
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Seed Health Testing On Campus Workshop |
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Seed Health Testing Workshop to be Held October 4-7, 2022
AMES, Iowa - The National Seed Health System (NSHS) and the Online Graduate Program in Seed Technology and Business (STB) at Iowa State University are excited to offer a three-and-a-half-day hands-on seed health testing workshop in October.
“After conversing with our NSHS and America Seed Trade Association (ASTA) stakeholders, we recognized a need for additional hands-on learning in seed health testing,” says Gary Munkvold, Co-Director of NSHS and Director of the STB program. “Our STB graduate program already offers in-person short courses, so it seemed like a natural fit to partner our programs together to bring a new training opportunity to the industry.”
This workshop is designed for seed laboratory technicians, particularly those who work for companies looking to be, or already are, NSHS-accredited.
Workshops will emphasize hands-on laboratory practices, combined with lectures and classroom discussions.
Save the dates for this inaugural workshop held October 4-October 7 in Ames, Iowa. Friday, October 7 will conclude around noon, CDT to give attendees an opportunity to travel home before the weekend. Registration will be $1,895 for non-accredited NSHS companies, and $1,795 for NSHS accredited companies. Space is limited.
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Dicamba Cutoff Date in Iowa: June 20 |
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The following note comes from Deputy Secretary Julie Kenney at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Please note the June 20 cutoff for application of dicamba products.
Iowa Crop Industry Stakeholders,
As you know, EPA approved label amendments to implement a June 20 application cutoff date for dicamba herbicide application for the 2022 growing season in the state of Iowa. The cutoff is aimed at preserving long-term access and post-emergence use of dicamba herbicide products.
Additional details are included in a news release that was issued in March (Click Here for referenced news release). Of note, the June 20 cutoff date was submitted by registrants for EPA review in January and was not approved until March.
We are receiving some inquiries about the June 20 cutoff date. The June 20 cutoff date is part of the federal product label for the state of Iowa. Extending the application deadline beyond the current label would require action from EPA and the product registrants. Applicators should not expect an extension of the application deadline and should read and follow label directions.
Julie Kenney
Deputy Secretary
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
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A Team Effort For The Cyclones' New Grass Field - Seed Today |
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Ames, IA (May 5, 2022) - Along with a new stadium east access bridge for spectators and some new faces in the Cyclone starting lineup, the 2022 football season will feature a new playing surface.
The Kentucky bluegrass installed Tuesday inside Jack Trice Stadium was grown at the university's horticulture research farm north of Ames by horticulture students and faculty turf extension specialists. Crews from Iowa Sports Turf and Stensland Sod cut the sod in 4-by-85-foot rolls -- about 280 total -- and transported them to the stadium on flatbed semitrailers. The whole process took less than two days.
See the full story at:
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USDA to Allow Producers to Request Voluntary Termination of Conservation Reserve Program Contract |
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WASHINGTON, May 26, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants who are in the final year of their CRP contract to request voluntary termination of their CRP contract following the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022. Participants approved for this one-time, voluntary termination will not have to repay rental payments, a flexibility implemented this year to help mitigate the global food supply challenges caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other factors. Today, USDA also announced additional flexibilities for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
“Putin’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine has cut off a critical source of wheat, corn, barley, oilseeds, and cooking oil, and we’ve heard from many producers who want to better understand their options to help respond to global food needs,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “This announcement will help producers make informed decisions about land use and conservation options.”
FSA is mailing letters to producers with expiring acres that detail this flexibility and share other options, such as re-enrolling sensitive acres in the CRP Continuous signup and considering growing organic crops. Producers will be asked to make the request for voluntary termination in writing through their local USDA Service Center.
If approved for voluntary termination, preparations can occur after the conclusion of the primary nesting season. Producers will then be able to hay, graze, begin land preparation activities and plant a fall-seeded crop before October 1, 2022. For land in colder climates, this flexibility may allow for better establishment of a winter wheat crop or better prepare the land for spring planting.
Organic Considerations
Since CRP land typically does not have a recent history of pesticide or herbicide application, USDA is encouraging producers to consider organic production. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and financial assistance to help producers plan and implement conservation practices, including those that work well for organic operations, such as pest management and mulching. Meanwhile, FSA offers cost-share for certification costs and other fees.
Other CRP Options
Participants can also choose to enroll all or part of their expiring acres into the Continuous CRP signup for 2022. Important conservation benefits may still be achieved by re-enrolling sensitive acres such as buffers or wetlands. Expiring water quality practices such as filter strips, grass waterways, and riparian buffers may be eligible to be reenrolled under the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rivers (CLEAR) and CLEAR 30 options under CRP. Additionally, expiring continuous CRP practices such as shelterbelts, field windbreaks, and other buffer practices may also be re-enrolled to provide benefits for organic farming operations.
If producers are not planning to farm the land from their expiring CRP contract, the Transition Incentives Program (TIP) may also provide them two additional annual rental payments after their contract expires on the condition that they sell or rent their land to a beginning or veteran farmer or rancher or a member of a socially disadvantaged group.
Producers interested in the Continuous CRP signup, CLEAR 30, or TIP should contact FSA by Aug. 5, 2022.
NRCS Conservation Programs
USDA also encourages producers to consider NRCS conservation programs, which help producers integrate conservation on croplands, grazing lands, and other agricultural landscapes. EQIP and CSP can help producers plant cover crops, manage nutrients, and improve irrigation and grazing systems. Additionally, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), or state or private easement programs, may be such an option. In many cases, a combination of approaches can be taken on the same parcel. For example, riparian areas or other sensitive parts of a parcel may be enrolled in continuous CRP and the remaining land that is returned to farming can participate in CSP or EQIP and may be eligible to receive additional ranking points.
Other Flexibilities to Support Conservation
Additionally, NRCS is also offering a new flexibility for EQIP and CSP participants who have cover cropping including in their existing contracts. NRCS will allow participants to either modify their plans to plant a cover crop (and instead shift to a conservation crop rotation) or delay their cover crop plans a year, without needing to terminate the existing contract. This will allow for flexibility to respond to market signals while still ensuring the conservation benefits through NRCS financial and technical assistance for participating producers.
More Information
Producers and landowners can learn more about these options by contacting FSA and NRCS at their local USDA Service Center.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
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ASTA: Updated Conservation, Environmental, and Cover Crop Seed Resource Guide |
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New Resource for Locating Local, Professionally-Produced Environmental, Conservation, and Cover Crop Seed
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has launched a newly-redesigned, updated guide that allows farmers, land owners, and others to easily locate and contact professional seed suppliers for quality environmental, conservation, and cover crop seed. The interactive Conservation, Environmental, and Cover Crop Seed Resource Guide allows buyers to find lists of specific seed types by geographic location to support production and sustainability goals.
"It’s important to always buy seed from a professional seed dealer," said ASTA President & CEO Andy LaVigne. "Professionally produced and processed seed is designed to help farmers achieve success through managing the use of the right seed, at the right place, at the right time. It has been selected, harvested, cleaned, analyzed, processed, and packaged for performance; and it has been tested for purity and germination. All of this helps ensure you get the best quality seed to meet your production and sustainability goals while minimizing the presence of invasive and other weeds."
We hope this resource will be helpful to you. If you have any questions or comments, please contact ASTA at info@betterseed.org.
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