Gov. Branstad hosts forum to discuss drought issues

MOUNT PLEASANT ? ?It will get very quiet in Iowa. People who have a crop will not gloat, will not revel in their luck,? said Wayne Humphreys, former national vice president of Future Farmers of America. ?And people who have a problem, they will internalize it and they will get despondent and withdraw.?

Humphreys farms corn near Columbus Junction and brought stalks from his fields to the Tuesday morning forum at Mount Pleasant Community High School to show that the stalks are in a poor state.

Humphreys warned of the stress farmers will feel, the possible medical problems that may arise as a result and other factors farmers may have to deal with at home.

Governor Terry Branstad hosted a public forum Tuesday to discuss the drought across the Hawkeye state. Representatives from various government agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources spoke to the crowd.

The public was also given a chance to address the governor and the panel with concerns and recommendations.

Harry Hillaker, state climatologist, explained that he believes this summer?s drought is the worst the Hawkeye State has experienced since 1988.

?The hot dry weather we experienced last week was a real challenge and showed as the condition of both the corn and soybean crop deteriorated. Less than half of the corn and soybeans are in good to excellent condition now and need more moisture. The high temperatures have also presented challenges for livestock producers as they seek to keep their animals cool,? said a release from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who was absent from the meeting.

Branstad stated that he formed a task force in December to begin addressing the possible drought conditions due to low amounts of snowfall.

?While we are not at a critical state in every county in Iowa, we certainly have some counties that already are in a dire situation,? said Branstad.

Many in the audience expressed concern of rising prices of feed in addition to keeping livestock cool despite the triple-digit temperatures.

?There?s a lot of cattle here in southeast Iowa,? said Andy Hora, on the state farm bureau board, representing southeast Iowa. ?There?s an inverse relationship for feeder pigs and cattle, as the grains go up their prices go down, so that affects the financial ability of those producers to turn around and buy the inputs that they need.

?And for the national audience next year you?ll pay a lot more for a steak, if you can get it.?

?Agriculture has been a bright spot in the economy and done quite well,? said Branstad. ?Now this really threatens the livestock side in particular. If these livestock producers get hurt, this could hurt the entire Iowa economy.?

The governor recommended that constituents reach out to their legislators to help move along a bill that is Congress.

?There is a farm bill pending in the congress and it?s passed the senate; its out of committee in the House,? Branstad said. ?We need to work with our congressional delegation to do all we can to encourage them to address the issue you?ve talked about; especially, those affecting state crop insurance and the livestock industry in the farm bill.?