(Atlantic, Iowa; reporting by the Atlantic FFA’s Charli Goff) – The Atlantic FFA Chapter competed in the Iowa FFA Livestock Career Development Event held at Iowa State University on August 27, 2022 placing 15th and earning a Gold medal. Team members included Brett Dreager, Dylan Comes, Joaquin Walies and McKenna Sonntag as they competed against 47 other teams during the contest. Sophomore McKenna Sonntag led the way with earning 4th place individual. McKenna placed 3rd in Beef, 2nd in the Swine division, 3rd in the Sheep & division and 6th in Oral Reasons. Dylan was 2nd on the team placing 69th, Joaquin placed 121st and Brett placed 129th out of 159 individuals.

The FFA Livestock Evaluation Career Development Event provides an opportunity for FFA members to display their agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of Livestock Evaluation. Activities included: placing breeding and market classes of beef, swine, sheep and goats; keep/cull and oral reasons classes; and a general knowledge test.

Left to right
Brett Dreager, Dylan Comes, Joaquin Wailes, Mckenna Sonntag (Photo submitted) Click to enlarge

There were 159 members participating from 47 chapters. Dylan Comes said “It was really fun to spend the day at ISU. The classes were challenging, and touched most aspects of livestock, and I learned a lot.”

The Iowa FFA Livestock Evaluation Career Development Event was made possible with support from the Iowa State University Block and Bridle Club through the Iowa FFA Foundation. The Livestock Evaluation Career Development Event was coordinated and conducted by Will Taylor and other faculty and staff with the Animal Science Department at Iowa State University.

(Cass County, Iowa) –  The Cass County Local Food Policy Council reminds residents that Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) senior vouchers remain available. The senior voucher program provides $30 in farmers market fresh produce vouchers to adults age 60 and older with annual incomes less than $25,142 (single) and $33,874 (married). To apply for the FMNP senior vouchers, individuals over age 60 should call the Connections Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-9209 (extension 8888) and leave a message with their name and phone number.

While all Cass County farmers markets are certified to accept the vouchers, only the Lewis Farmers Market and Produce in the Park remained open past August. Both markets will be open until October 13, 2022.

Cass County Farmers Markets Fall 2022

• Lewis Farmers Market:
  Location: 3HO (201 1st St., Lewis, IA 51544)
  Time/Dates: Tuesdays 4:00-6:30 PM, Thursdays 4:30-6:30 PM, May 31– October 13
  Highlights: Fresh produce, baked treats, crafts, and pallet wood creations.
  $: Some vendors accept Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior vouchers and WIC checks.
  Contact: (712)789)-9455
• Produce in the Park:
  Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W 7th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)
  Time/Dates: Thursdays 4:30-6:30, June 2– October 13
  Website: www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com
  Highlights: Fresh, local produce, baked goods, farm-fresh eggs, honey, local meat, soaps, candles,
  additional crafts and art, and weekly food truck. Live music, Guest Chef, Free Samples, and Activities.
  $: Some vendors accept Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior vouchers and WIC checks. All
  qualifying food vendors at Produce in the Park accept SNAP/EBT (“food stamps”). All produce vendors at
  the market both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks ($1 coupons for fresh produce provided
  for every dollar spent on fresh produce with SNAP/EBT up to $10 per transaction).
  Contact: (712) 249-5870

For more information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

The Cass County Local Food Policy Council is a Cass County Government advisory body that promotes local foods and food access. The Council facilitates networking among people and groups who are involved in all aspects of the local food system—from growing and processing, to selling and eating. In its work, the Council gathers information about local food-related needs and considers what might be done to make sure everyone in Cass County has access to healthy food.

The Council then makes recommendations and supports organizations working toward that goal. To learn more about the Council, contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or (712) 249-5870. The next Council meeting is September 13 at 2:00 PM at the Cass County ISU Extension Office (805 W. 10th St. Atlantic, IA 50022). Meetings are open to the public.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Interstate 80 bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Le Claire, Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois needs to be replaced, but instead of demolishing the structure, an innovative proposal is emerging. The Bison Bridge Foundation wants to repurpose the bridge, opening it to pedestrians and wildlife, including a herd of American bison. Alexis Banks of Dyersville, a landscape and architecture student at Iowa State University, was part of a group that drafted design ideas for the proposed bridge.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is considering seven potential locations for the interstate’s Mississippi River crossing. A study on the existing bridge’s future is expected to be completed in 2023. The bridge opened in 1966.

(reporting by Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa (Sept. 6, 2022) — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented today (Tuesday) on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November.

“The weather could not have been better for Farm Progress Show attendees last week as exhibitors highlighted and demonstrated the latest innovations across the ag sector,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “Now that we are past the Labor Day holiday and the days of summer dwindle, farmers are keeping a close eye on outlooks in preparation for harvest. With the potential for warm and dry conditions through fall, we need to remain vigilant for potential fire hazards as combines start to roll.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Continuing mostly dry conditions across most of the State resulted in 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 4, 2022, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork included harvesting corn for silage, cutting hay, seeding cover crops, and preparing equipment for harvest.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 16 percent very short, 30 percent short, 53 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 19 percent very short, 31 percent short, 49 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. Moisture levels in the Northwest, West Central, Southwest, South Central and Southeast Districts of Iowa continued to be a concern with over 50 percent of both topsoil and subsoil considered short to very short.

Corn in or beyond dough stage was 96 percent. Seventy-one percent of Iowa’s corn crop reached the dent stage or beyond, 3 days behind last year but 1 day ahead of average. Ten percent of the State’s corn crop was mature, 2 days behind both last year and the 5-year average. Corn condition remained 66 percent good to excellent. Ninety-seven percent of soybeans were setting pods. Soybeans coloring or beyond reached 20 percent, 5 days behind last year and 4 days behind the 5-year average. Soybeans began dropping leaves at 2 percent, 1 week behind last year and almost a week behind the average. Soybean condition rated 66 percent good to excellent. Oats harvested for grain neared completion at 96 percent.

Seventy-six percent of the State’s third cutting of alfalfa hay was complete, 5 days behind average. Pasture condition rated 32 percent good to excellent. Producers were supplementing short pastures with hay and grain.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss a busy Labor Day weekend on the water, Teal and Dove season opening, Squirrel and Rabbit season opening, Pheasant numbers, and deer tag availability.

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(Radio Iowa) – The grounds of the Farm Progress Show near Boone are quiet today (Friday) after three days of demonstrations, machinery displays and everything about agriculture. The 2020 show was canceled by the pandemic making it the first time in four years that the exhibitors and visitors came to Boone Show spokesperson, Don Tormey, who says attendance numbers appeared to be good.

The show rotates between Boone and Dekalb, Illinois every other year. Tormey says people turn out in both places.

Tormey says they are already planning the next Farm Progress Show in Decatur next year and the show returns to Iowa again in 2024.

Friday, September 2, 2022 at Guthrie Center

Breeding Gilts:  Champion – Presley Buttler, Reserve – Ty Ganzer

Market Gilts:  Champion – Tessa Slaybaugh, Reseve:  Rylee Robson

Market Barrow:  Champion – Presley Buttler, Reserve – Blake Hodges

Overall Market Hog:  Champion – Tessa Slaybaugh, Reserve – Presley Buttler

Pen of 3:  Champion – Reagan Carney, Reserve:  Ryan Cogil

Senior Showmanship Champion:  Chase Slaybaugh

Intermediate Showmanship Champion:  Rylee Robson

Junior Showmanship Champion:  Blake Ganzer

Master Showmanship Champion:  Rylee Robson

(Radio Iowa) – Retail giant Walmart bought a minority share in a Nebraska beef packing plant on Wednesday, what an Iowa cattleman says is a “seismic shift” in the beef processing industry.

Chad Tentinger, principal developer of Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company, says the move is historic — and it was inevitable. “We’ve already seen it in other avenues, in pork and we’ve seen it in chicken, I think beef is just the next natural progression of that,” Tentinger says. “It also is going to be another playing field. I think anytime you can bring the farmer’s product closer to the end user — to retail — is a good thing long-term.” 

Cattlemen’s Heritage is planning to build a $325 million beef packing plant in southwest Iowa’s Mills County. Tentinger says Walmart’s move this week is what he sees for the future, which he says represents a “massive, fundamental change” to the beef industry. “It started out as stockyards and stockyards sold to packing plants, and then the stockyards went away and then farmers sold directly to the packing plant. Packing plants got consolidated into what we call the Big Four today and for the first time in a very long time, now there’s other industry that’s getting into this process,” Tentinger says. “So to have retailers enter the processing business is a drastic shift than what we’ve ever seen before.”

Tentinger sees Walmart’s investment in the North Platte property as the first step by retail into beef production, which he predicts will be good for the consumer and good for the cattle producer. “Retailers, at the end of the day, they want to know where their meat’s coming from. They want to know exactly, down to what farm it came off of, potentially, where it came from, animal health, wellbeing, all these things are becoming more and more important to the consumer,” Tentinger says. “And when you have that, it automatically draws off smaller producer farms and smaller family farms.”

It may only be a matter of time, he says, before Iowa-based grocery chains like Hy-Vee or Fareway make a similar move to Walmart by investing in localized meat processing. “I think every retailer nationwide today is taking note of this and looking at the opportunities going forward in the processing business, for sure,” he says.

Tentinger is founder and owner of TenCorp, a cattle industry construction firm with offices in Des Moines and Marcus. The planned beef plant in Mills County is on target to begin construction late this fall, Tentinger says, with the opening scheduled for late 2024. It will employ up to 750 workers and at capacity, will be able to process up to 1,500 head of cattle per day.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds, Thursday, issued a Harvest Proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of agricultural commodities on state highways during the fall harvest.

The proclamation is effective immediately and continues through October 1, 2022. The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage and stover to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

This proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (6) (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

See the proclamation here.