Corn and soybeans have rallied in recent weeks, and an Iowa State University Agriculture Economist says farmers should take advantage that increase. Chad Hart says the price rally is due to a combination of factors. “The dollar has gotten weaker, made our corn, soybeans, even our livestock products a little cheaper to the rest of the world, so we’ve seen more sales that way,” Hart says. “The weather problems in South America not only delayed their harvest, but destroyed some crops down there. Again, opening up a few more export markets for us at a time when typically when the world is sourcing more out of South America.”

Hart says July 4th is typically a time when farmers can see what the markets will do for the remaining crop season. However, he believes that time frame may have been pushed up a little. He says this year’s price trends looks familiar to a rally early in last year’s planting season. “And I am wondering if we are going through that same process this year, but if you will, a little longer, a little stronger this year than we saw last year,” Hart says. The Iowa State University Agriculture Economist says farmers may want to look at selling some of their stored grain during this rally. He also says farmers may want to look at ways at protecting themselves from any price decline as it relates to their new crop that is still in the fields.

He says the new crops represent a marketing opportunity and farmers may look to put in some price floors or option contracts. Hart says the length of the rally depends on Mother Nature and how quickly the El Nino weather pattern turns into a La Nina weather pattern.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the D-N-R can’t be sued for a boating accident on Storm Lake. The accident happened on Memorial Day weekend in 2010 as Jamie Laass of South Sioux City, Nebraska and her four kids were riding in a speedboat driven by her boyfriend Harry Foote. Foote was doing around 30-miles-an-hour in the boat when it hit a submerged dredge pipe and flipped over. Laass’ 10-year-old son David died in the accident.

Laass filed a lawsuit against the D-N-R. The D-N-R lawsuit was dismissed by the district court based on several issues including what’s called the public duty doctrine. It says the government has the duty to inform the public at large about safety issues, but is not liable to individuals.

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld that district court ruling. Court records say a lawsuit against the city, county and lake improvement association in the case was settled for one-point-two million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Murray reported Thursday morning, that sometime over the past few weeks, 18 cows and 19 calves have come up missing from his farm in Union County. Larry Schultes said the estimated value of his missing cattle is $37,000.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Missouri River Historical Development Board has approved a $1 million grant for a proposed agricultural expo center in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that the grant from the nonprofit group could help leverage state funds to help build the $6.7 million Ag Expo & Learning Center.

Plans call for the center to include a 3,000-seat arena, a warm-up arena, livestock pens and a stockyards hall of fame. The proposed center would host equestrian competitions, livestock shows and other farm and agriculture-related events.

The board is set to formally present the grant to expo center leaders at a ceremony Thursday. The development board’s president, Mark Monson, said he hopes the grant will help kick-start additional private contributions for the center.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Three finalists have been announced for the New Food Contest at the Iowa State Fair.  Fairgoers can vote on them Aug. 11-15. The winner will be announced Aug. 16. The finalists are Ice Cream Nachos, Not Your Mamma’s Taco and Pride of Iowa Wrap.

The nachos are described as crisp cinnamon sugar chips covered with cinnamon ice cream drizzled with hot fudge and caramel and sprinkled with chocolate, caramel and strawberries. It’s topped with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. The taco is made from a deep-fried flour tortilla that’s layered with shredded turkey and veggie slaw and topped with mango salsa. The wrap uses a jalapeno-cheddar tortilla with pork shoulder, corn salsa and bacon bits. It’s layered with cheddar jack cheese, avocado relish, chipotle aioli and crispy tortilla bites.

w/ Extension Program Coordinator Kate Olson.

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The owners of a company that wants to build a massive pork processing plant in Iowa are looking at multiple Iowa communities after the project failed to win approval in Mason City last month. Ron Prestage, president of of Prestage Farms, says he’s gotten interest from nearly 20 other Iowa cities and is giving each of them fair consideration. “We had 19 communities in Iowa that contacted us after the Mason City vote,” Prestage says. “We’ve gotten through eight or nine of those communities that we have looked at their sites. We intend to look at all of the sites where people have expressed an interest in talking to us about locating the plant there.”

Prestage says there are several Iowa communities that look to be a good fit for their project, but that they want to avoid the opposition they faced in Mason City by the activist group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “We’ve already seen some sites that appear to be very attractive,” he says. “We’ve made it very clear to everybody that we do not want to see a repeat of what occurred in the circus in Mason City. The Mason City people we were dealing with were very, very professional and respectful. We really are unhappy about how that got somewhat hijacked by ICCI.”

Prestage says for the most part, his company has gotten a good reception from Iowa officials, and that’s part of the reason the state is the company’s first priority for the processing plant. “We’ve been treated very well in Iowa by the state government and all of the regulatory agencies we obviously have to deal with,” Prestage says. “If possible, we would prefer to build this plant in Iowa and I’ve been very honest with the adjoining states that have expressed an interest in the plant as well.”

The North Carolina-based Prestage Farms pork processing facility is a 240-million-dollar project that would employ up to 2,000 workers and process 10,000 hogs a day.

(Radio Iowa)

Area residents interested in food preservation are invited to Food Preservation 101, a two-hour overview of general food preservation principles. The class includes current recommendations for canning, freezing and drying, display of equipment and utensils and sources for safe and tested food preservation information.  The course will be held Tuesday, June 28th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Cass County Extension office in Atlantic. Fee for the course is $5 per person, and includes all materials, recipes, etc. Pre-registration is requested by Monday, June 27 by calling 712-243-1132 or emailing xcass@iastate.edu.

Preserve the Taste of Summer is a longer, more in-depth course that combines educational classes and hands-on food preservation workshops, and is a great opportunity for those who want to go beyond the basics. The educational classes can be done online anytime by registering at www.extension.iastate.edu/registration/events/conferences/preservation/ or they can be viewed in a group setting by making arrangements in advance (call 712-243-1132). The classes are required to be completed before participating in the hands-on workshops. Two workshops will be hosted later this summer, at the Cass County Fair Food Stand. A workshop on salsa making (hot-water bath canning) and freezing food will be held on Saturday, July 30 from 9 am to 1 pm, and a workshop on pressure canning will be held on Saturday, August 1, from 9 am to 1 pm. Fees for this program start at $25, depending on the number of courses and workshops you plan to attend. All participants in hands-on workshops will leave with several jars of freshly canned goods to take home and enjoy!

Updates for Home Food Preservers

Look to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for up-to-date, accurate and safe information on home food preservation.  Publications and programs are under regular review and revision and some important changes have been made for this year’s gardening and preserving season, according to Barb Fuller, local human sciences specialist in nutrition and wellness.

“If you have older versions of these publications, throw them away and replace them with the revised versions to be sure you are using current recommendations,” says Fuller. “Home canned food is a great way to have fresh summer produce available all year, but safety is key to enjoying that food year round.”

Cass County Extension also offers pressure canner dial gauge testing by appointment.  Dial gauge pressure canners should be tested annually for accuracy. Dial gauges will also be tested at the end of the Food Preservation 101 program on June 28 for any participants interested.

If you get stuck or have a question about a recipe, you can get answers to food preservation questions by calling ISU Extension and Outreach’s toll-free AnswerLine. Experts answer questions Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and from 1– 4 p.m. In Iowa, call 1-800-262-3804; Relay Iowa phone linkage for deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals, 1-800-735-2942. Questions can also be emailed to answer@iastate.edu.  Frequently asked questions and other resources are available at the AnswerLine website, www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/answerline.

The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) is partnering with the Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, to offer FREE Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) programs, for Iowa Pork Producers. PQA Plus and TQA training session will be offered in each of the eight IPPA districts throughout the summer. Locally, the District 5 session takes place Monday, June 27th, at the Cass County Extension and Outreach office (at 805 W. 10th St.). with the TQA session from 9:30-a.m. until Noon, and the PQA Plus session from 1-until 5-p.m.

Producers are encouraged to pre-register in order to allow adequate space and materials. To do so, or to get more information, contact the IPPA at 515-225-7675, or email bmeyer@iowapork.org.