Garden Art Classes
On June 4th 2016 the Scott County Master Gardeners are offering 4 garden art classes in the Cyclone Room at the Scott County Extension Office located at 875 Tanglefoot Lane, Bettendorf Iowa.
Registration will be accepted at the Scott County Extension office by calling 563-359-7577. Classes need to be paid for in advance by dropping off the fee at the Extension office or by mailing payment.
Only cash or checks will be accepted. Checks need to be made out to ISU Scott County Extension. Registration will end on May 20, 2016. Sign up for one or all of our educational and creative classes to personalize your garden.
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9am to 10am Terra Cotta Pot people fee $30.00
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10:30am to 11:30am Paper Crete Mushrooms – Fee $20.00
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1-2pm Wren Gourd Birdhouses – Fee $25.00
- 2:30pm to 3:30pm Shoe Garden Fee $20.00
Scott County Extension Offers Master Gardener Classes, Fall 2016
Scott County residents can become an Extension Master Gardener by completing the core training course this fall. Gardeners will learn best practices for choosing plants, designing gardens and managing pests. Classes start in September 2016 and continue through the fall. Classes will be held at the Scott County Extension Office, 875 Tanglefoot Lane, Bettendorf. There is a Saturday trip to Iowa State University in Ames for numerous topics taught in the labs.
Those interested in the course can apply at http://mastergardenerhours.hort.iastate.edu/application-form.php. Fee for the course is $195 and financial assistance is available. Questions can be directed to the Scott County Extension office at 563-359-7577.
“Starting this fall, people can begin their journey to become a master gardener volunteer,” said Susan DeBlieck, program assistant in the Master Gardener program at ISU Extension and Outreach. “The training course includes lectures on gardening subjects, from growing vegetables and fruits to designing gardens with native plants.”
After completing the course, master gardener trainees start their work as volunteers within the community. Upon completion of 40 hours of volunteer service, the master gardener title becomes official and they join thousands of other Iowa volunteers. Master Gardeners in Scott County work to answer questions from homeowners, participate in gardening projects throughout the community and provide speakers for various groups. In 2015, over 700 volunteer hours were logged by Scott County Extension Master Gardeners.
Cash Rent Prices Decline for Third Consecutive Year
Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey shows falling rental prices across the state
Article | Mon, 05/09/2016 - 13:06 | By Alejandro Plastina, Ann Johanns
AMES, Iowa – For the third consecutive year rental rates for Iowa farmland declined, according to results from the 2016 Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey conducted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
After 15 consecutive years of rental price increases (1998-2012), prices have now gone down for three straight years. Prices dropped by 6.5 percent in 2015 after a five percent decrease the year before.
“Cash rents are declining but not as fast as crop prices,” said Alejandro Plastina, assistant professor in economics and extension economist at Iowa State University. “Prices have dropped for cash crops by between 50 and 60 percent in the last three years and rent has gone down 15 percent. Profitability in cash rented acres will still remain tight despite lower cash rents in 2016.”
Rental rates are $230 per acre statewide, with a dip in prices shown in all nine of the state’s districts. The state average rate was $246 last year and was $270 just three years ago. The largest drop in prices came from District 3, a $23 drop in the counties making up the northeast corner of the state. Regions 4, 5 and 7 all saw decreases of $20 or more as well.
Despite its drop in rental price, District 3 also had the highest cost in the state for the second consecutive year, averaging $273 per acre.
The district with the lowest cost per acre, also saw the smallest drop in rental price. Cost per acre in District 8 (south central Iowa) went down just $4, falling from $187 per acre to $183.
“I don’t expect crop prices to improve a lot over the next year,” Plastina said. “With profitability of cash rented acres remaining tight over the course of 2016, I do not anticipate seeing an increase in cash rent prices either.”
Rental values were estimated by asking people familiar with land rental markets what they thought were typical rates in their county. Of the 1,585 responses received, 47 percent came from farm operators, 25 percent from landowners, 14 percent from agricultural lenders, 12 percent from professional farm managers and realtors and 2 percent from other professionals. Respondents indicated being familiar with a total of 2.5 million cash rented acres across the state.
Cash rent survey results can be used as a reference point for determining an appropriate cash rental rate for a particular farm, but a number of factors (such as small size or unusual shape of fields, terraces or creeks that affect the time it takes to plant and harvest crops, high or low fertility levels or pH index, or longevity of the lease) may justify a higher or lower than average rent.
The Cash Rental Rates for Iowa – 2016 Survey is available online from the Extension Store and Ag Decision Maker.
Other resources available for estimating a fair cash rental rate include the Ag Decision Maker information files Computing a Cropland Cash Rental Rate (C2-20), Computing a Pasture Rental Rate (C2-23) and Flexible Farm Lease Agreements (C2-21). All documents include decision file electronic worksheets to help analyze leasing questions.
Recommendations for a Snake-free House
ISU Extension and Outreach provides tips for making a house unattractive to snakes
Article | Mon, 05/09/2016 - 08:37 | By Adam Janke
AMES, Iowa – Warm spring temperatures bring to life many plants and animals that have been in hiding or far away from Iowa during the cold winter months. These warm temperatures raise the body temperature of Iowa’s 28 species of cold-blooded snakes, allowing for an often conspicuous departure from their winter hibernations.
Although the sounds and sights of spring’s return are always a welcome sight, for many homeowners finding a snake in their garage or slithering across the back deck is less desirable. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers the following recommendations for making your home as unattractive to snakes as possible.
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Do not feed birds from April to October. Birds do not need supplemental food during the growing season and feeders draw in rodents and other small critters, which can draw in snakes. Snakes will hibernate from November until March, meaning homeowners don’t have to worry about encountering any in the yard.
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Keep the lawn mown short. By keeping the lawn very short, snakes are at an increased risk of being eaten by a hawk. Snakes do not like to put themselves in such situations and will generally avoid such areas, thus keeping them away from the house.
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Keep landscaping near the house simple. Avoid rock walls and similar features that draw small animals that snakes like to eat into the area. Also avoid “ponds” and similar features that attract frogs, or that hold small fish that garter snakes like to eat. Keep plantings to a minimum, particularly around buildings, as these provide shelter for both snakes and the prey items they eat.
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Keep areas around the house free of wood piles, debris, etc. Snakes can use these to avoid hawks and other predators and to control their body temperature.
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Install rubber seals on the bottom of any garage or shed doors. This will help keep snakes out of those buildings.
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Check the foundations of buildings and structures. Snakes will often use people’s basements or old cisterns as places to hibernate, and snakes have a tendency to be faithful to those sites. Make repairs between May 1 and October 1 so snakes are out and active and not trapped underneath.
The best recourse when you find a snake in a dwelling is to direct it into a container with a broom and then release it on another area on your property away from your house. Then consider the recommendations above to reduce the attractiveness or accessibility of your home to snakes and other unwelcome critters.
The most common snake in Iowa, the garter snake, is easily identifiable by its light, horizontally stripes and is harmless. In fact, only four of Iowa’s 28 snake species are dangerous to pets or humans. These venomous snakes, which include two species of rattlesnakes, the eastern massasauga and the copperhead, are all large and rarely found outside of large tracts of their natural grassland, wetland or forested habitats. The prairie rattlesnake, copperhead, and massasauga are all listed as endangered species in Iowa and cannot be lethally removed.
Snakes don't do any direct damage to buildings because they don't dig their own holes, instead using holes other animals have made. Although snakes elicit strong negative reactions among many, Iowa’s native snakes play important roles in the state’s ecosystem, often doing more good than harm for a homeowner through their appetite for more problematic rodents and insects. Managing property to reduce potential attractiveness for snakes is the best way to ensure they play this important role where they belong - outside the home.
Tiny Insects Can Cause Substantial Damage to Ornamental Plants
Identifying and controlling scale insects focus of ISU Extension and Outreach publication
Article | Mon, 05/09/2016 - 11:08 | By Donald Lewis, Laura Jesse, Mark Shour
AMES, Iowa – They may be small, but scale insects can have a sizeable negative impact on landscape plants. These tiny insects are usually no more than 1/8 inch in diameter but have the ability to weaken and kill ornamental plants by sucking sap from the plant and using it as food.
The different types of scale insects, as well as management options are discussed in a new Iowa State University Extension and Outreach publication titled “Scale Insects on Ornamental Landscape Plants” (ENT 0047). The publication is written by Donald Lewis, Mark Shour and Laura Jesse, ISU Extension and Outreach entomologists, and is available online through the Extension Store.
“Scale insects are common on landscape trees and shrubs,” Lewis said. “Fortunately they are usually at low levels that do not seriously affect the plants. However, exceptions do occur and scale insect outbreaks can reduce plant health considerably.”
Yellowing or wilting of leaves, stunting the plant’s growth and ultimately death of all or part of the plant can be caused by a scale insect infestation.
Because of the waxy coverings and shells that scale insects employ, removing them from ornamental plants by using traditional contact insecticides can be difficult. The publication discusses management techniques, providing alternate control methods for dealing with scales.
“Scale insects are difficult to control because of the shell, for which they are named, covers the insect,” Lewis said. “Timing of scale treatment is critical and covered in detail within the publication.”
There are some natural ways to remove scales, with weather conditions or predators (lady beetles, lacewings and mites) providing some protection. Small infestations can also be manually removed from plants.
When other means of control fail, using chemicals can be an option for removing scale insects. Applying horticultural oil while the plant is dormant may control the insects on trees and shrubs.
Because insecticides do not penetrate the protective covering of most scales, chemical treatments are only effective when crawlers are active immediately after egg hatch. Using home lawn and garden insecticides at this point will rid the plant of the young scale insects.
The publication also contains descriptions of scale insects commonly found in Iowa, along with their approximate crawler time and the plants they traditionally infest. Color photos of common scales are also included.
