I N T H I S I S S U E
1^ Hogs to Hazelnuts! Four Months of Field Days
4^ Rollin' the Cob
_ Frantzen, Rosmann, Schlitter, Smith
6^ Shared Visions
_ Community Group Projects
_ CHARM Group
_ Prairie Talk Open House
_ Farms Forever Workshop
_ Loren Kruse at Group Net Mtg.
_ N. Carolina IFS Conference
15^ Notes and Notices
_ 1996 Member Directory
_ An Event at Sinsinawa
_ A New New Farm?
_ Wanted! Ideas for Winter Mtg.!
_ Wanted! Composters!
_ PFI Joins Iowa Enviro. Council
_ Booklet for Land Preservation
_ S. Iowa Cultivator Field Day
_ Better Row Wins Award
_ FFA Award Winners
18 Scenes from 1995 PFI Camp (not available online)
19^ PFI Weekend Camp Plans
20^ PFI 1996 Women's Gathering
_ Margaret Smith
21^ Energy Issues in NW District Mtg.
22^ Stauber Returns to Foundation
22^ Illinois Soil Quality Initiative
_ Rick Exner
23^ Soil Quality Workshop July 17-18
24^ Soil Life: Heart of Sustainability
_ Ray Weil
25^ PFI Library Update
26^ Family Farming: A Review
_ Mark Runquist
26^ Nitrate Test for Manured Soils
_ Rick Exner
31^ Crop Diversification Initiative
32^ Soybean: A Case in Diversification
_ Rick Exner
34^ Hay! That's My Nest!
_ Rick Exner
34^ Oregon Pesticide Residue Study
_ Rick Exner
36^ Pasture Pork System
_ John and Beverly Gilbert
40^ Footprints: Ideas for Roller Coaster
_ Tom Frantzen
41^ From the Kitchen
_ Marj Stonecypher
42^ Correspondence to the PFI Board
43^ PFI Membership Application and Renewal Form
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1^ HOGS TO HAZELNUTS! FOUR MONTHS OF FIELD DAYS
PFI field days start earlier than ever this year, so the events
booklet went to the printer before many farmers were even done
planting. If you get the newsletter, you should by now have
received the field day guide. As you would expect, there are
plenty of pasture walks, deep banding and strip intercropping
demonstrations scheduled. And the field days don't stop there.
These events reflect responses to weather, markets and the
evolving goals of the producers. Pasture winterkill and high hay
and corn prices are motivating a number of strategies for
short-term feed - whether it's barley, berseem clover, turnips,
"grazing maize," or Japanese millet. Barley and alfalfa are also
being investigated as feed supplements for producing leaner hogs.
PFI cooperators are evaluating the economics and management
possibilities of Bt corn, hoophouse hog production, the
"Swedish-style" deep-bedded farrowing/nursery setup, the
effectiveness of a soybean seed fungicide treatment, and new
guidelines for the late spring soil nitrate test specific to
manured soils. Integrated pest management (IPM) will be a part
of at least half a dozen field days, thanks to two research
grants and the initiative of ISU entomologists. These
demonstrations take IPM to a new level for managing corn borer,
alfalfa weevil, leaf hopper and stalk borer. Cooperators and
scientists are using experimental biological controls for these
pests.
Reflecting increasing awareness of the consumer, farmers around
the state are growing for niche markets of one kind or another.
Tofu beans, natto beans, pesticide-free or organic, blue flour
corn, high-oil and high-lysine corn: these are some of the
possibilities being explored. Another approach relates to
marketing, and a growing number of producers are interested in
learning what it takes to get their meats into the refrigerators
of consumers.
Environmental soundness is a criterion for most of what PFI
farmers do, and the field days reflect this with farm ponds,
streambank projects, warm season prairie grasses, biodiversity
plantings and windbreaks, and bird counts. These projects are
not just "the right thing to do," they make life on the farm much
more pleasant.
Below are the dates for PFI field days. Included besides
cooperators are several producers who are carrying out on-farm
research under special funding or are part of a Shared Visions
community group. Call the individual cooperators or check the
field day guide for details. Check with your local Shared
Visions group for events that were scheduled after this
newsletter went to press.
June 10 Davidson, Grundy Ctr., 319-824-6347
June 14 Olson, Mt. Pleasant, 319-257-6967
June 19 Rosmann cultivation field day, Harlan, 712-627-4653
June 20 Neely-Kinyon, Greenfield, 712-769-2402
June 23 Magic Beanstalk Community Supported Agriculture Project
producer tour, Ames, 515-232-8961
July 8 McLaughlin, Cumming, 515-981-9684
July 9 Brunk, Eldora, 515-858-3239
July 12 New Melleray Abbey, Peosta, 319-588-2319 ext. 171
July 20 Dubuque Area Shared Visions group organic gardening
field day, 319-925-2962
July 30 Klinge & Tidwell/Specht (Dan), McGregor,
319-536-2314/319-873-3873
July 31 Recker/Frantzen, Alta Vista, 515-364-6952/515-364-6426
Aug 1 Natvig, Cresco, 319-569-8358
Aug 5 Alert-Smith, Hampton, 515-456-4328
Aug 8 Lubben, Monticello, 319-465-4717
Aug 13 Stonecypher/Stonecypher, Floyd, 515-398-2417
Aug 15 Roose/Hughes, Pella/Searsboro,
515-625-4227/515-593-6378
Aug 23 Wilson/Mugge, Paullina/Sutherland,
712-448-2708/712-446-2414
Aug 29 Rosmann/Madsen, Harlan/Audubon,
712-627-4653/712-563-3044
Sept 5 Thompson, Boone, 515-432-1560
Sept 10 Zahrt, Turin, 712-353-6772
Sept 18 Stewart, Oelwein, 319-283-1337
Sept. 20 Musser/Cowles, Milton/Bloomfield,
515-656-4663/515-675-3414
Sept. 21 Rosmann (Ken), Harlan, 712-627-4217
Sept. 22 Audubon Graziers Shared Visions group pasture walk,
712-563-2464
Northeast Iowa Pasture Walks
The grazing momentum in the tri-state area hasn't slowed this
spring. Again this year PFI, Extension, the NRCS, the Northeast
Iowa Demonstration Project, and other groups have put their
calendars together into one master listing of events (Table 1 on
page 3). The Leopold Center has helped with the cost of mailing
out the listing. If you received the schedule from an agency in
northeast Iowa, note that some of the PFI dates have since
changed. The Frantzen field day, for example, has been moved to
July 31. ]
4^ ROLLIN' THE COB
Tom Frantzen, Alta Vista
Ron Rosmann, Harlan
Roger Schlitter, Mason City
Margaret Smith, Hampton
As promised in the last newsletter, this issue marks the
appearance of a new column, Rollin' the Cob, in which four PFI
members share their thoughts on some timely topics. Margaret
Smith farms near Hampton with her husband Doug Alert, and she's
the new Extension director for Hardin County. Tom Frantzen and
his wife Irene farm near Alta Vista, in northeast Iowa. Ron
Rosmann farms with wife Maria near Harlan, in western Iowa, and
Roger Schlitter works with Farm Credit Services in Mason City.
They hope this can become a column to respond to your comments
and questions. Meantime, they got the ball "rolling" with some
ideas and information that came up in discussion. They'd love to
hear from you (addresses below).
And what about "Rollin' the Cob"? Ron Rosmann says that's when
someone comes into the yard and a discussion gets going. While
you're talking, maybe you've got one foot up on the bumper of the
pickup, or you're tossing sticks for the dog. If there are a few
corncobs lying around, you may absentmindedly toe them about
during the conversation. And that, says Ron, is "rollin' the
cob." We appreciate the willingness of Tom, Margaret, Ron and
Roger to roll the cob with you here.
Planning Now For Fall Forage Shortage
Ron Rosmann
The winter of 1995/1996 was harmful for forages of all kinds over
the state of Iowa. Especially hard hit were alfalfa fields, and
even some perennial grasses like orchardgrass suffered damage.
The extremely cold temperatures, lack of snow cover, rapid
temperature fluctuations, frost heaving, aspect and slope, degree
of wind protection and height and date of last harvest all
contributed to the problem.
With producers disking up headlands and putting some CRP ground
into crop production, the poor growing conditions for much of
this spring, and the present scarcity of affordable corn for
feed, the stage is set for possible severe forage shortages later
this season and into next winter.
What options do producers have? For us - with 68 stock cows and
26 breeding heifers - this will be a challenge. Here are some
options we're considering or will be taking, in addition to
rotational grazing.
1) Patience. The orchardgrass crowns heaved by frost in our
pasture were showing some very slow regrowth as of May 15.
2) Strip grazing or cutting for hay a portion of our 48 acres of
oats.
3) Planting turnips on our 16 acres of barley after harvest in
July.
4) We're lining up additional acres of cornstalks to rent from
the neighbors later this fall and winter.
5) Stockpiling some of our cool season grass-legume pastures.
6) We have 11 acres of big bluestem and Indiangrass pasture for
use later in July and August.
7) We interseeded 7-8 pounds of berseem clover and 2 bushels of
oats per acre into bare spots of existing hay fields on May 6.
8) Chopping corn silage (10-15 acres). We have a very functional
silo and corn chopping equipment.
9) Planting rye on corn acres chopped for silage in September for
grazing later on.
Tom Frantzen
We grew Japanese millet for hay last year. Seeding cost was
$8.00 per acre. The yield was very satisfactory and it dried
very easily. When harvest was permitted on these diverted acres,
we took 55 large square bales (800 lbs each) from 11 acres. In
one strip I mixed berseem clover with the millet as I seeded it.
The combination looked very promising. Seeding can be done as
late as July 10.
Margaret Smith
We are still building our cow-calf herd and this spring seeded an
additional 30 acres with a mixture of alfalfa; red, alsike, and
ladino clovers; timothy; orchardgrass; and annual ryegrass for
hay/pasture. We will cut the oats for hay and then graze the new
seeding this fall. The seeding will remain for 2-3 years and
then rotate back to corn. We were fortunate to have only a few
small patches in last year's seeding suffer from winter injury.
We have a mixed bag of opportunities to increase our forage
supply this year. We are trading our labor for the use of a
neighbor's four acres of hay. It was seeded last year and should
produce 4-5 tons per acre this year, although the cool spring is
slowing hay development a bit. We have a couple of acres of crop
ground along a railroad bed which has been under construction.
We will plant sudangrass there when we are able to get in, and
plan for 3-4 cuts for hay. We are also going to seed our cattle
lot with Japanese millet and include that area in our summer
rotation schedule.
Peer Influence - Good or Bad?
Tom Frantzen
A holistic, three-part goal is the best way I know to decide
whether I am thinking for myself or letting my peers do it for
me. To develop that goal, we articulate 1) our values,
describing 2) how we will achieve those values and 3) the
resource base needed to sustain them far into the future. This
is part of the planning process in holistic resource management
(HRM). Every farmer needs a pickup truck, right? Well, we
decided we only used ours to take stock to market, a function we
can custom hire. We also off-loaded the gooseneck trailer, which
we no longer have to clean out or pay for. Once we got over the
mental barrier, life got a little more pleasant and we eliminated
an expense.
Ron Rosmann
This brings to mind our small, rural community and the farmers
around it. Many farmers gather for coffee and gossip - or is it
coffee and support - about 7:00 every morning. All are pretty
conventional farmers. Since our own farming methods are somewhat
unconventional, the few times I've been there I've felt quite
uncomfortable. Yet for them, I'm sure, it validates much of what
they are doing. No doubt over the past years our own farming
methods have been scrutinized a time or two. Unfortunately, I
think now we are pretty much ignored, which is far worse.
The other thought on peer influence is that we ourselves have
sometimes jumped on the "sustainable" bandwagon in little ways
partly because of the novelty and because they were "in." We
have learned that is not a good thing to do. Changes, even
sometimes little ones, can throw you for a loop if they're not
prepared for or thought out. Bigger changes - like remodeling
our farrowing house to incorporate Swedish methods - require even
more soul searching.
Roger Schlitter
Peer influence is a strong factor in decision making. From a
positive point I see it help farmers set production goals for
crop and livestock enterprises. When someone else can reach
certain levels of production, others are influenced and
encouraged to do the same or to exceed them. Usually these
results are easily observed and measured. There are numerous
record services available for livestock and crop enterprises to
assist the individual in knowing his own results and those of his
peers as a group. I grew up in dairy country and observed the
positive impact of DHIA records for many years. The availability
of swine records in recent years has encouraged individuals to
reach production levels they previously thought unattainable.