Authorities in Montgomery County are investigating a break-in and theft from Sunbest Papetti Farms, on the southwest side of Villisca. Officials say the incident happened sometime between 4-p.m. Friday, June 6th, and the early morning hours of Saturday, June 7th. Officials say a person or persons unknown broke into the maintenance shed at the egg business, located at 2975 265th Street.

Once inside, more than $3,000 worth of tools were loaded into a Kubota utility vehicle and driven to T Avenue, where they were off-loaded into another vehicle. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has looked through more than four-thousand samples and did not find any news cases of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer. D-N-R Wildlife Research Supervisor, Willie Suchy, a deer shot in Allamakee County remains the only positive case in the wild deer population. “It’s good news, we wish there were zero, but we knew the day would come when we would end up with a positive given the proximity of C-W-D in other states,” Suchy says. It’s pretty likely since the deer was shot in a border county that the animal was visiting Iowa from one of those other states.

“We think that the most likely scenario is that this is a deer that was probably in Wisconsin — or it could have been Illinois or Minnesota — and migrated over and showed up in Iowa. It was a mature adult buck and those are — when they’re yearling, some of the animals that travel the furthest,” according to Suchy.  Suchy says. “If we don’t detect any new cases, then we would conclude that we are back to just normal surveillance.” The D-N-R held three public meetings in Allamakee And Clayton County on C-W-D, and Suchy says those residents appear willing to help.

“People are very willing at this point to work with us to get more samples and find out more and then down the road someday there may have to be some harder decisions if we find more,” Suchy says. He says controlling the spread of C-W-D all depends on how large an infestation there is.  Suchy says it’s possibly that natural mortality and the annual hunting seasons could wipe out the infected deer if the infestation is at a low level.

The D-N-R has taken samples from nearly 51-thousand wild deer and 35-hundred captive deer and elk for C-W-D since 2002. Most of the samples are taken in the 11 counties in northeast Iowa which is the area closest to states that have C-W-D infestations.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Congressman Steve King is raising concerns about the U-S-D-A’s plans for the mandatory reporting of a virus that’s striking hog herds called P-E-D-V, or porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. King, a Republican, says he’s not sure the federal reporting program will achieve the desired results or that all producers will comply. King says, “The regulation has been brought down and to the extent that we can work with our state veterinarian and our vets within the state and to the extent that they can sell this to our producers is the extent it’s going to be effective.”

Producers have supported reporting and control programs for other diseases, like psuedorabies, and the end result was eradication of the disease, so King remains hopeful. He says another concern is the possibility producer confidentiality will be breached and the information collected by the U-S-D-A could be used against the pork industry.”I’m also concerned about the federal records that might be compiled by this order,” King says, “and do we have protection for our producers or are we going to see animal rights people come in here and capitalize on this particular disease.”

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is talking about the need for heightened border security, which King says may hint that the agency believes that’s how P-E-D-V was introduced into the U-S. King spoke at the World Pork Expo this week in Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The debate between urban and rural interests in the state continues to play out as hog farms expand to keep up with strong demand for pork and manure. The Des Moines Register reports the debate may intensify in the next year because hog producers may expand herds to replace hogs lost to a deadly disease and take advantage of higher.

At the same time, activist groups like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement will continue protesting hog farm expansions because of concerns about the environment and impact on neighbors. In rural Dallas County, Rob Manning is building a barn to hold 2,500 hogs.

Manning’s neighbor Eric Wessels worries about what the new hog barn and its odor will mean for his family’s quality of life.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says hog producers will be required to report a deadly pig virus to veterinarians as part of an increased effort from the federal government to fight the disease. Vilsack said Thursday at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines that the federal government would pump $26 million into fighting PEDv, also known as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. The disease has killed about 10 percent of the country’s hog inventory over the past year.

The Des Moines Register reports producers will be required to report when they’re affected by the disease. They’ll also be expected to develop a biosecurity management plan to monitor and control their respective farms. The funding could include an additional $4 million to research a vaccine for the disease.

Officials with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) say Greenfield native Jared Baier will be spending his summer outdoors, helping to preserve and restore Iowa’s natural beauty through a unique internship program. The INHF selected Baier and nine other students from Iowa colleges as statewide land stewardship interns for the summer of 2014. Baier is a graduate of Nodaway Valley High School. He is majoring in forestry at Iowa State University and expects to graduate in December 2014.

INHF looks for college students who possess a passion for conservation and a desire to learn hands-on techniques for preserving Iowa’s natural areas. Baier said “This is a great hands on experience that will help further my career in the future.” INHF chooses its land stewardship interns based on their dedication to conservation and their devotion to restoring the state’s natural places.

Erin Van Waus, INHF land stewardship director, said “The interns help INHF achieve its goal of restoring rare and special native habitats throughout Iowa, and the enthusiasm and expertise each intern brings to the position is priceless.” The internship program allows INHF to increase its capacity to do high-quality restoration while offering the students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience.

Baier’s internship is sponsored by the estate of Richard “Sandy” Rhodes II, an INHF member from eastern Iowa known as a prairie restoration enthusiast. INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 130,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has 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 31st, 2014.

Northey says “Iowa has great fresh fruits and vegetables that can be found at farmers markets throughout the state and these programs are designed to give WIC participants and low-income seniors better access to these fresh and nutritious foods.”  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.

The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides eligible WIC recipients with nine checks valued at $3 each. The program is implementing two changes for the 2014 season. This year 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. A second change this year is that checks will be distributed on a statewide basis. Previously, checks were only distributed in 68 of Iowa’s 99 counties, but this year the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Department of Public Health have broadened the distribution to include the entire state.

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 20,000 eligible seniors this year.

Eligible seniors must be sixty years of age or older with a household income less than $21,590 if single or $29,101 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.

w/ Dave York

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