Most farmers in Guthrie County have moved on from harvest, and are even doing work to prepare for next year.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist Mike Witt says that many individuals are doing tiling work to make sure they have proper drainage for next year. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio of a few other things farmers may be doing.

“We’re working on maybe some tillage, if tillage is what you were looking at doing. Also, some of the things we’re doing if you haven’t seeded any cover crops, or especially if you’re seeding cover crops, not looking for necessarily fall growth, but for some of that spring emergence, there’s folks that are out doing that as well. Another big thing that folks are working on is soil fertility. There is a lot of manure being applied, there’s a lot of anhydrous ammonia being applied and other things like that.”

Witt mentions that it is extremely important to take proper safety precautions with anhydrous ammonia, citing the shelter in place residents of Madrid were put under earlier this week for an anhydrous spill. He explains that even in very small spills, the chemical can be dangerous, causing freezing and chemical burns to skin and clothing, and can cause respiratory issues. Witt adds that it takes a lot of water in anhydrous spills, as the chemical needs to be flushed from any runoff systems within the area of the spill.