Farm Bureau excited about new gauge

With the very eventful off and on rainfalls around the area lately, Chickasaw County Farm Bureau would like to get you more information on the rain gauge in which we had installed at the Norman Borlaug Boyhood Farm on 200th St., north of New Hampton.It is powered by the Iowa Flood Center.You can find the rain gauge when you go to their website ifis.iowafloodcenter.org and click on Launch IFIS.  Along the right side, hover over the picture that looks like a satellite and select "rain gauge.” Many stations across the state will appear on the map. Then, you can click on each station and see how much rain there was and the soil temp and moisture at that site.  To better find the exact station you are looking for you can zoom in for better details on the area.This is a great tool for local farmers and agronomists to know exactly how much rain we received and what soil conditions are like. Overall the program is used to monitor expected rising waters in Iowa’s rivers and to be a warning system for people. The Iowa Flood Center works locally with RC&D of Postville to encourage landowners to implement gauges and ponds.  Eventually they'd like to see a network of farmers that have ponds that can be held or released to prevent flooding downstream. Chickasaw County Farm Bureau is proud to do this project and hope that many people can benefit from it and use it as a tool and reference.Enjoy the remaining summer months evaluating the rainfall and soil temperatures with the click of a button.