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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A federal appeals court has upheld jail sentences for two egg industry executives whose Iowa company caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010. In a long-awaited decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday backed the three-month jail sentences issued last year to Austin “Jack” DeCoster and son Peter DeCoster.
U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett sentenced them last year, citing a “litany of shameful conduct” that happened at their large egg-production company. But Bennett allowed them to their freedom they appealed the sentences, which the DeCosters argued were unconstitutional and unreasonable. Business groups took up their cause.
In a 2-1 decision, an appeals panel ruled that the DeCosters “are liable for negligently failing to prevent the salmonella outbreak” and that jail time is appropriate.
There’s been some cloudy and cool weather in some areas of the state to start the month of July, but there’s still a lot of summer left. Iowa Department of Public Health medical director, Patricia Quinlisk says you need to remember to use sunscreen when heading out. You can sometimes use the same sunscreen you had last year if it appears to still be good. She says the bottles usually have a date that tells you how long you should keep it around.
But doctor Quinlisk says there are some cases where that date might not be the best guide. “I think if it’s been there awhile — especially if you’re like me and you keep things out in your garage where it goes through the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer — that it probably is not a bad idea to just get new,” Quinlisk says, “that way you know that it is going to be working at its peak effectiveness and you will be protected.”
She says takes a look at your stock of sunblock to be sure it hasn’t expired before you head out, so you can stay protected from the sun.
(Radio Iowa)
Residents of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area who have breathing troubles like asthma may find it particularly difficult to be outside for very long during the day this week. Greg Youell, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, says there are higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, thanks to the steamy weather and pollution. “Ground level ozone is formed when you have the combination of emissions and sunlight and hot temperatures,” Youell says. “Our ozone season typically tracks with baseball season. It’s in the hotter months and these hot summer days is when the ozone could be really high.”
Health officials say readings in Omaha-Council Bluffs will be in the upper end of the moderate range of the Federal Air Quality Index. Despite the ozone issues, Youell says the air quality is usually quite good though the levels are now “teetering on the edge” of the limits. “We don’t want to go into what’s called non-attainment,” he says. “If we did that, it could end up being a big burden on our entire area. It could mean having to do inspections for our vehicles which can lead to more costly repairs for our cars. Also, it limits the ability to some of our businesses to expand and attract new businesses in the area.”
Youell says there are small things residents can do to help reduce the ozone levels. “Limit trips as you’re driving around,” he says. “Carpool or take the bus, walk and bike. Moving the lawn is one thing you want to avoid or at least do it during the cooler hours of the day. The same with refueling your vehicle. If you can do that at dusk or nighttime, that helps to reduce the amount of fuel that’s lost through evaporation.”
Other suggestions include: shutting off your car if you plan to idle it for longer than 30 seconds and sealing all containers that contain paint, cleansers, solvents and other chemicals.
(Radio Iowa)
The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a “Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop”, July 16th The free public program will be held at the Campground Shelter at Cold Springs Park in Lewis, from 9-a.m. until Noon. 
During the workshop, you’ll learn how to make a breakfast, lunch entrée, and dessert in a dutch oven. You’re asked to bring your own place setting for samples. A Free will donation for supplies will be accepted. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program.
ISU Extension and Outreach in Cass County will host and event for farmers and retailers at Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm. Farmers and retailers are encouraged to attend the second annual Weeds Week program on July 19th at the Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm near Lewis. The one-day, educational program, hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, will focus on herbicide resistance and weed management.
Aaron Saeugling, field agronomist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says “Sessions have been developed to provide tools that help farmers and agribusinesses work together to develop long-term weed management plans that identify sites of action, promote timely application of herbicides and avoid the expenses of dealing with herbicide resistance.”
Each session will include presentations, hands-on weed management planning, small group discussion and plot tours presented by extension field agronomists. Attendees will learn how to select herbicides from the herbicide effectiveness table, identify which herbicides to apply and develop their four-year weed management plans for their operation or for customers.
The Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm is located at 53020 Hitchcock Avenue. Check-in will begin at 9:30 a.m. The program will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m., with lunch served at noon. The pre-registration deadline for the Lewis location is July 14 at midnight. Attendees are asked to pre-register to assist with facility and meal planning. The $25 registration fee includes lunch, refreshments, and course materials and publications.
To register online, visit www.aep.iastate.edu/weeds. For more information, contact field agronomist host Aaron Saeugling, 712-769-2650, clonz5@iastate.edu.
A North Carolina company announced this morning it will build a large pork processing plant in north-central Iowa’s Wright County. Prestage Foods is heading to Wright County for its new, state of the art pork processing facility. Wright County Economic Development Director Bryce Davis says the county is excited to work with the company in constructing the $240 million pork processing plant, saying it will be a $43 million boost to the payroll of Wright County, and will have economic benefits to the surrounding counties as well.
Davis says agriculture is important to Wright County and they welcome the more than 900 new jobs to the area. Prestage has been looking at sites ever since the City Council in Mason City failed to approve a development agreement with the company.
Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, pending the finalization of county and state approvals, with first-shift operations starting in the middle of 2018. Prestage hopes to slaughter up to 10-thousand animals per day once the plant is fully operational.
(Radio Iowa)
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources turned 30 on July 1st, and one of the issues that has generated a lot of controversy has been large-scale animal confinement operations. D-N-R director Chuck Gipp says one of the things that’s brought the issue to the forefront is the change in the number of people involved in raising livestock.
“Part of it is the demographics that are living out in the countryside. Used to be as a kid when I was growing up, that the vast majority of people living out in the country in the unincorporated areas were people involved in agriculture. Today that is not the case,” according to Gipp.
He says people who are not involved in agriculture are more likely to raise concerns about farm smells, the operation of grain dryers and other things that come with an ag operation. There’s also been a change in how animals are raised, as he says in the 1990s there were mostly open feed lots where animals were raised and the manure was out on the ground. “Most of that was runoff, because there was no machinery there was not equipment and there were no facilities to capture all of the manure, including the liquid portion of it,” Gipp says. “And rain was your friend. It took that off, so it was runoff.”
He says the animal confinement operations led to more animals being raised, but also more control on the waste the animals produced. “In 1990 there were 14-point-one million hogs grown in the state and 2015 there’s 20 million hogs. Prior to confinement operations becoming the norm and way to do that, those 14-point-one million pigs were generating waste, a lot of which wasn’t captured and became runoff into the rivers and streams,” Gipp says. “Other than the odor issue there — other than the siting decisions made by some — actually the way we raise livestock today is much more environmentally friendly than it ever has been.”
Gipp says the D-N-R has to manage the issue without taking sides. “I think the biggest challenge is always going to be to find that middle ground to do what you need to do, regardless of who controls the legislature or anything like that, the department has a job and a responsibility to the people of Iowa to provide opportunities for the long run,” Gipp says.
Gipp says if everyone has to take a role in making things work in protecting the state’s natural resources. “We have to understand no matter who we are what we do. If the combined effort of somebody if they are rich or poor, rural or urban, or big and small. If they all work together to determine what happens on their particular piece of property, the combined effort of everybody doing a little bit, no matter what their condition is, is going to be immense. Rather than waiting for the other guy to be the solution — let’s just determine what we can do,” Gipp says.
He says getting everyone on board is not always easy. “Having that type of thinking process, how all of us individually can impact our surroundings, I think our the biggest challenge that we face,” Gipp says, “not only in the department, but across government in general.”
The D-N-R was created by combining four agencies in 1986. Gipp has led the department for the last five years.
(Radio Iowa)
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