National Ag Week is a time for people across the country to celebrate all things agricultural.

The Marshall County Iowa State University Extension likes to place focus on certain aspects during the annual week. This year, they focused on education.

As part of Ag Week education, Program Coordinator Chelsea Llewellyn took 25 4-H kids to Kinze Manufacturing in Williamsburg on Wednesday. The family-owned business produces agriculture equipment such as planters, grain carts and tillers.

“We toured the manufacturing plant and the innovation center,” she said.

The tour was part of the importance of ag education. Right now, Llewellyn said it’s a good time for anyone to get involved with agriculture. It is also a good time for urban residents to learn about the importance of what people who work in the industry do, she said.

“People in the ag industry work hard to feed people,” Llewellyn said. “”Even with the drought, they are worried how they will figure it out, get through this difficult time that everyone is facing with the economy.”

The drought has gradually gotten worse during the last two years, she said. The U.S. Drought Monitor indicates the vast majority of Marshall County is in a severe drought. In a severe drought, corn crops will provide low yields, the livestock are stressed and voluntary water conservation is requested.

However, the northeast corner of the county is in extreme drought. In extreme droughts, pastures are dry and cattlemen are more likely to sell heads to reduce the herd. Crops are likely to be infested with pests and higher feed prices cause stress.

Llewellyn, who raises cattle in Tama County, said grass shortage is an issue. Cattlemen need to get a hold of bales of hay earlier to ensure they have enough to feed their herd.

“The year after is a sticky situation because they don’t have enough hay,” she said.

The majority of Tama County is in extreme drought.

“We are looking at water in general,” Llewellyn said.

She uses the Poweshiek Water Association, which has issued a mandatory water conversation. Last year, voluntary conversation was requested due to the dry conditions. Since then, three good wells were identified and are scheduled to be in operation by June 1. Until then, Llewellyn said they cannot water gardens or yards, farm equipment can only be washed when necessary and private wells should be utilized for livestock.

“Our creeks are running dry,” she said. “Not all of the cattle have easy access to water. We need to haul water in.”

As far as crops go, Llewellyn said if the drought continues, seeds will not germinate as well and the corn and soybeans will not have optimal growth.

“So, the harvest may be early,” she said. “There will not be as many bushels, and everything goes down from there. There will not be as much corn to feed the cattle. It all comes back to cattle in a way.”

The hardships of the drought on ag might be passed to consumers in town. While the prices of food in the grocery stores have increased, she said the dry conditions might make prices rise even further. Llewellyn stressed if that happens, the farmers are not responsible.

“Farmers don’t set the prices,” she said. “Non-ag people should realize that. In the drought, they might not get as many bushels. They might sell off cattle. Unless things change, prices will go up.”

Even though the conditions are not great, Llewellyn still wants to get agriculture education to the public. There are two websites she said are excellent sources for further information:

https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/

https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/drought-resources

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.