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(Ankeny, Iowa/KCCI) —More than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers went on strike after negotiators couldn’t deliver a new agreement. KCCI says in a statement, The United Auto Workers said “members struck at midnight October 14, after the company failed to present an agreement that met our members’ demands and needs.” The vast majority of the union rejected a contract offer earlier this week that would have delivered 5% raises to some workers and 6% raises to others. Thirty-five years have passed since the last major Deere strike, but workers are emboldened to demand more this year after working long hours throughout the pandemic and because companies are facing worker shortages.
UNION DEMANDS:
The workers at the Ankeny, Iowa, plant are asking John Deere for a raise and better retirement benefits. John Deere is expected to post record profits this year. The average production worker at Deere made about $60,000 last year but could see up to $72,000 by the end of negotiations.
HARVEST IMPACT
Farmers say their future is uncertain as those John Deere workers go on strike. One Linn County farmer told KCRG the impact goes beyond workers, stockholders and the company. If they don’t have a part that’s usually in stock, the harvest season could come to a halt.
(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is rolling out a new insurance option designed for producers with small farms who sell locally. It’s called the Micro Farm Policy and it simplifies record-keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added programs. Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman (LAY-mun) sees this as a great option for beginning and small-to-medium-sized farmers. “For that type of farmer, there tends to be a lack of support mechanisms that are in place for more traditional farmers,” Lehman says, “and it’s a big barrier for our next generation of farmers and our farmers who want to connect with their local communities through growing local and regional food.”
Lehman says the Micro Farm Policy promises to fit well with producers who are looking to grow their operations in new directions. “It’s not just those who are new to farming,” Lehman says. “It’s for farmers who want to diversify their farm operation and branch into different operations. A modified whole-farm policy that is more accessible, is certainly a big part of it.” Lehman says a wide range of Iowa farmers can use this type of insurance program. “We have a lot of farmers who need the enhanced services that this might provide,” he says, “so we’ll see how the roll-out goes and how it comes from here.”
The Micro Farm Policy will be available beginning with the 2022 crop year through Whole Farm Revenue Protection.
(Radio Iowa) – A proposal to build what’s called the world’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline is drawing opposition from Iowa farmers and environmentalists. Summit Carbon Solutions plans to build 700 miles of pipeline across Iowa to capture carbon from ethanol plants and bury it deep underground in North Dakota.
Beth Richards’ family farms in Hardin County, which is in the proposed path, and she questions how landowners would benefit from the project. “Why should landowners welcome encroachment on their land for a project that doesn’t pay direct dividends to them other than a vague promise that ethanol is good for corn prices,” Richards says. “And why isn’t rent going to be paid for the land or profits shared with farmers?” Summit officials say they see the project as a way to keep ethanol viable and secure a market for Iowa corn. In a public meeting Tuesday, Iowa resident John Norris said the project is a false solution to climate change.
“As much as the ethanol industry is important to Iowa, it is an industry that’s on the decline,” Norris says. “The next two decades we will see a continued decrease in the demand for ethanol. We need to start planning for what’s next.” Summit is in the process of holding public meetings in the 30 Iowa counties the pipeline would pass through. After the meetings are held, the company can petition state regulators for a permit.
(by Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – A Jackson County man who used a government cattle loan for his personal expenses will spend ten months in federal prison. Twenty-six-year-old Brian Robert Detwiler of Bellevue pleaded guilty to one count of conversion of property pledged to a farm credit agency.
In his plea agreement, he admits he got a 50-thousand dollar U-S-D-A loan to buy cattle and then used some of the money for work on his house, gambling, food, and alcohol. He did buy 35 head of cattle for 32-thousand dollars — then sold 22 head for a profit — and used the money in casinos and bars.
(Radio Iowa) – Bugs are starting to become more of a nuisance as we head into fall. Iowa State University Entomology Professor, Donald Lewis, says minute pirate bugs help the environment until this time of year when they can cause humans pain.
Pirate bug (ISU Extension photo)
“Now there’s not much out in the field for them and they wander around looking for something moist,” Lewis says. “And if you happen to be on your ladder in your short-sleeved shirt painting the white side of your house — they’re going to find you, and they’re going to be attracted to the reflective light. They are going to taste you to see if are you an insect egg, or are you a source of moisture. And that’s why they bite.”
Lewis says boxelder bugs can also cause nuisances this time of year as they prepare to hibernate during the winter. “One cheap and easy way to control boxelder bugs outdoors is to spray them with soapy water,” he says. That keeps them under control in the short term. “Now that has no residual. That will not control the boxelder bugs that come an hour later. But the ones that are there now, the ones that are massed in the late afternoon, you can kill them with a soapy spray, but you are going to have to do it probably every day for best results,” according to Lewis.
Lewis says the Minute Pirate Bugs will die once the freezing temperatures come.
Boxelder bug (ISU Ext.)
(Anita, Iowa) – In about two-weeks, the Food Bank of the Heartland’s Mobile Food Pantry will be coming to Anita. Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoege says anyone, including people from the surrounding communities, are welcome to visit the mobile food pantry, with no documentation is needed. The drive-through mobile food pantry will be at 208 Chestnut Street in Anita on October 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., or as long as supplies last.
The mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry delivering food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. It is free of charge. Visitors are asked to stay in their vehicles with the trunk open, so volunteers may load the food items into your vehicle.
For more information on local food, farmers’ markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood or contact Food Bank for the Heartland at 402-315-2555.
(Radio Iowa) – Harvest is progressing quickly in Iowa with mostly fair weather, though yield reports are varied on soybeans. Jeff Frank, who farms in north-central Iowa near Auburn, says he ran a soil moisture deficit of ten inches this season but caught a few timely rains in August that benefited the soybean crop. Frank says his yields are better than expected. “Most of mine have been running right around 70 (bushels per acre), which is really a good yield for our area,” Frank says. “It’s amazing. The beans look great and they’re pretty much weed-free. We threw everything at them. We put fungicide on and we put insecticide on and we treated them with Ilevo, so we threw the book at it.”
Brent Renner also farms in north-central Iowa near Klemme, and says he’s seing huge variability in the early beans he’s combining. “There’s a lot of variability not only in yield but moisture and plant stage. There’s a lot of green stems. It’s just all over the place,” Renner says. “We had some areas that got affected by frost and replants. Two fields that I’ve done so far, one is in the high 40s and the other one is in the mid 60s, so again, very variable.”
Renner says with the limited moisture he had this season, some of higher-end yields are a welcome surprise. Frank and Renner say both soybeans and corn have been drying down fast and some corn has stand-ability issues, which will make harvest scheduling a challenge.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is facing a potential strike. Unionized John Deere workers voted Sunday night to reject the company’s latest contract offer. The unions say 90-percent of members voted against the six-year offer which was for more than 10-thousand workers at 14 Deere factories, including those in Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo.
A news release from the Quad Cities-based Deere says the offer “would have made the best wages and most comprehensive benefits significantly better for our employees.” The deadline to reach a new accord and avoid a strike is midnight Wednesday.
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