The legislature is passing new liability protections for county landfills that accept the dead carcasses from poultry operations that have been hit by bird flu. Senator Mary Jo Wilhelm, a Democrat from Cresco, says it’s a protection for county taxpayers who would have to pick up the tab if their local landfill is sued. “If they take on the responsibility of accepting these birds, that if they follow Homeland Security, DNR, federal regs, if somebody wants to sue them for whatever reason, they’re not going to be held responsible because they’re following all the rules,” Wilhelm says.

The issue is being addressed in a budget bill that outlines spending for the Iowa Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Legislators are also asking landfills to submit a report to the state next year, detailing the volume of bird carcasses buried and the fees charged by the landfill. Wilhelm says it’s a check against excessive landfill charges. “The feds are paying for the tipping fees,” Wilhelm says, “and so we don’t want to have them take advantage of, drastically increasing the tipping fees.”

More than 30 million chickens and turkeys have had to be killed in Iowa due to the bird flu outbreak. All of the turkeys and some chickens are being composted in their barns. Some dead chickens are being buried just outside on the farms. Some are being burned and others are being shipped to landfills. A large incinerator at a landfill near Cherokee is currently burning about seven loads of dead birds a day, with plans to increase capacity in the coming days.

A privately-owned landfill near Malvern and a county landfill near Sheldon are burying “bio-secure” bags of the dead chickens. Officials with Polk County’s landfill have indicated a willingness to make bird burials, too, but to date none have been taken there. The legislature’s new liability protection for landfills would not apply to the landfill near Malvern, but would apply to the other two county-owned landfills.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today (Thursday) announced that Farmers Market Nutrition Program applications are now available for eligible WIC recipients and low-income older Iowans.

The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs provide eligible Iowans with checks that can be redeemed for fresh, locally grown produce at authorized farmers markets and farm stands from June 1 through October 31, 2015.

The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides eligible WIC recipients with nine checks valued at $3 each. Again this year, sets of WIC FMNP checks will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Eligible individuals may pick up checks at arranged appointments or at regularly scheduled clinic appointments. The checks will be distributed on a statewide basis.

A combination of state and federal funds will be used to make benefits available to more than 23,900 eligible WIC recipients this year. Eligible individuals include children ages 1 through 4, and pregnant, breast-feeding, and post-partum women that participate in Iowa’s WIC Program.

The state’s twenty local WIC agencies have begun to distribute checks and nutritional education information. WIC recipients interested in obtaining the benefits are encouraged to contact their local WIC clinic or visit www.idph.state.ia.us/wic/ for more information.

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides eligible seniors with ten checks for $3 each. Applicants throughout the state are offered the checks on a first-come first-served basis and the checks are available through Area Agency on Aging offices. A combination of state and federal funds will be used to make benefits available to more than 19,700 eligible seniors this year.

Eligible seniors must be sixty years of age or older with a household income less than $21,775 if single or $29,471 for a married couple. Iowa seniors will be asked to complete a one page application verifying their eligibility, by providing their birth dates and the last four digits of their social security numbers.

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) have begun to distribute checks and nutritional education information. To find an Area Agency on Aging near you, contact the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) toll free at 866-468-7887 or at www.i4a.org.

The Farmers Market Nutrition Programs are administered through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Public Health and Iowa Department on Aging.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says there are ongoing concerns with the U-S-D-A’s response to the bird flu outbreak in the state. Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, was asked about the issue during a conference call with reporters. “I can only answer in what I have heard from various producers, and those producers have reported to me that they do not believe that the U- S-D-A is as responsive as they should be, “Ernst says. Ernst says she is concerned federal officials have not developed a plan to deal with the issue.

“In the beginning it was very difficult to respond because there were so many cases of the bird flu that were appearing in all of these various states,” Ernst says. “However, many months have gone by now, and the U-S-DA has had time to implement a stronger strategy. I have not seen that yet, or heard that from those producers who have been affected.”

There have been 73 probable or confirmed cases of the bird flu in Iowa thus far, with some 30 million birds in 17 counties impacted. Ernst says one of the biggest concerns is the response time when producers believe their flock is infected. “In one case it took nine days for the U-S-D-A to respond from the time the initial call was made to the time when they actually showed up on the farm,” according to Ernst. “Nine days is too long when it only takes 48 hours for the infected bird to die. That is way too long.”

Ernst says Iowa producers have also raised concerns about differences in payments made to them for the dead animals. “There is nowhere on-line that they can find out exactly what type of payments are made, what the payments are for, there’s no breakdown,” Ernst explains. She says producers want to know why payments at one facility can be different from another. “So many of the farmers who have the same types of flocks — maybe the same age of birds — are being paid a different rate than another flock. So, there’s a lot of inconsistency there,” Ernst says. “What we are asking the U-S-D-A for is a transparency, a break out of what the farmers are being paid for and why it might differ from another farmer on a nearby production facility.”

Ernst says they need answers to those questions to ensure everything is being handled properly. “We need to get to the bottom of it. We need to be sure that we are protecting our Iowa producers,” Ernst says. Senator Ernst says she continues to remind her colleagues about the issues as she says very few people outside the impacted states are knowledgeable about the problem.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Corn and soybean producers are keeping a close eye on the bird flu outbreak, concerned that the loss of nearly 45 million birds might reduce demand for poultry feed made with the grains and send prices lower. Todd Hultman, a grain market analyst for DTN, an Omaha, Nebraska-based agriculture market data provider, says there appears to be no significant impact to commodity prices in part because demand remains strong from other sources, such as hog and cattle producers.

The amount of grain fed to chickens and turkeys is relatively small compared to how much is harvested. About 1 billion bushels each of corn and soybeans went into turkey and chicken feed last year. That’s out of 14 billion bushels of corn and nearly 4 billion bushels of soybeans.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a bird flu vaccine doesn’t work well enough to approve it for emergency use against the current outbreak that’s shaken the Midwest poultry industry. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement Wednesday that the current vaccine is not well matched against the H5N2 virus and don’t provide enough protection.

It says the vaccine offers just 60 percent effectiveness in chickens, leaving four in 10 birds unprotected, while the vaccine’s effectiveness in turkeys is still being studied. The USDA says it will continue to support efforts to develop a more effective vaccine. The agency says bird flu outbreaks have cost chicken and turkey producers more than 45 million birds so far, mostly in Iowa and Minnesota.

West Central® Cooperative today (Wednesday) announced its plan for a $27 million, multi-year project to increase soybean processing capacity by 50 percent and build additional grain storage at its Ralston, Iowa complex. At full capacity, the expansion would create demand for an additional six million bushels of soybeans each year and create more than 11 full-time jobs. Like the current plant, the expansion will produce SoyPlus®, an industry-leading high bypass protein dairy feed ingredient used across the world.

The company plans to increase the current plant’s capacity by up to 50 percent with actual production coming online in phases. When complete, the construction project would include an additional line of mechanical presses, soybean oil treatment, load-out access, and nearly three million bushels of additional soybean storage. New production volumes are slated to be available as early as fall 2016.

At full capacity, ten of the 11 new positions will be manufacturing roles. Company officials are looking to begin the hiring process for those jobs as early as this summer.
To introduce potential applicants to the company, West Central will host a job fair for SoyPlus manufacturing positions, as well as other company positions, at their main office in Ralston on Thurs. June 11, 2015 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

During the event, staff will offer plant tours, accept applications, and conduct instant interviews. Applications are also available online now
at http://west-central.com/about/careers/.

w/ Kate Olson

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The Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are teaming up to provide training for pork producers and others who need certification in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus(r) v2.0 (PQA Plus(r) v2.0) and/or Transport Quality Assurance program. The certification sessions have been set for Wednesday June 24th, at the Guthrie County Extension office in Guthrie Center, and Thursday June 25th, at the Cass County Extension office in Atlantic.

Updated in June 2013, the revised in PQA Plus(r) v2.0 provides a framework for significant, relevant food safety standards and improved animal well-being. Pork producers pride themselves on the commitment to continuous improvement and the PQA Plus is regularly revised to increase its effectiveness, incorporate new research information, and ensure the program’s validity.

ISU Extension Swine Specialist Matt Swantek will be offering the TQA training both days from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. and the PQA Plus(r) v2.0 training from 3:15 – 6:00 p.m. Training sessions are limited to 30 persons, but requires at least 5 participants are needed to hold the training sessions. All training events are sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association and are free for all Iowa pork Producers.

Pre-registration is requested to dricheson@iowapork.org or (800) 372-7675. There is an on-line recertification option for those who have current PQA Plus(r) certification. Contact Matt Swantek (mswantek@iastate.edu) or any other PQA Plus(r) v2.0 certified advisor for additional information and setting up the ability to test on-line. New certification or producers with expired certification will require a face-to-face training.”

Council Bluffs Fire Department spokesman Justin James reports 15 members of the Iowa Hazardous Materials Task Force were activated this past weekend to assist the USDA with the monitoring of bio-security, cleaning and decontamination activities at infected premises and landfills impacted by the Avian Influenza outbreak. Members of the task force are employed by fire departments from the Cities of Council Bluffs, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Muscatine, and Sioux City.

James says in addition, Capt. Mike Cheney, of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department HazMat and Special Operations provided technical assistance to the USDA in the development of cleaning and decontamination procedures, for use at impacted sites and landfills. Nine Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship staff are also assisting at infected premises to help monitor bio-security, cleaning and decontamination activities.

On a related note, officials with the Mills County Emergency Management Agency said Monday, government officials in the County are closely monitoring the arrival of bird waste at the Loess Hills Landfill, which began last Saturday, with 11 trucks bringing 21 loads for burial. The transport and burial processes were completed according to protocol developed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Officials say there were reports that three trucks bringing empty containers were incorrectly using several gravel roads for access, rather than staying on Highway34, however, the issue has since bee corrected.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Wet weather kept farmers out of fields last week, but most of the corn crop is planted and doing well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says cool and wet condition made for only 2.3 days suitable for fieldwork last week.

About 97 percent of the corn crop has been planted and 78 percent of soybeans have been planted. Both are slightly behind last year’s progress at this time. The USDA says 80 percent of the corn crop was rated good to excellent