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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
Iowa ranks in the top ten states in all things beef. On Thursday, June 16th, join Women, Land & Legacy of Southwest Iowa in learning details about different kinds of cattle operations and where your beef products come from. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a supper served by the Mills-Montgomery County Cattlemen. The meal will be held at the Will & Deb Frazee Century Farm at 1080 230th St., Emerson. Following supper, The Frazee family will present information about their cow-calf operation.
As a group, they will then caravan to Gregory Feedlots, located on J-18 between Randolph and Tabor. David Trowbridge will give a presentation and a tour of the feedlot operation beginning around 7:45 p.m. The event is expected to conclude at approximately 8:30.
Not only will this be a wonderful learning opportunity for women interested in learning more about varying aspects of ag production, it will provide excellent information to youth who might be contemplating a career in beef production, or 4-H and FFA members enrolled in either market or breeding beef projects.
This event is open to anyone, with pre-registration required by Monday, June 13th. To register, call Iowa State University Extension & Outreach-Mills County at (712) 527-3316, Fremont County at (712) 374-2351, or Montgomery County at (712) 623-2592. Special accommodations may be requested by contacting these offices. The cost is $5 per person, including the meal, payable at the door. Proceeds will be used to offset the cost of the program. Participants should dress casually and appropriately for the outdoors, and wear close-toed shoes.
This event is sponsored through a partnership of Fremont, Mills and Montgomery counties Farm Service Agency, Soil and Water Conservation District, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, and Women, Land & Legacy of Southwest Iowa. Women, Land & Legacy is committed to offering learning opportunities for rural women in areas such as business, management, agriculture and family.
(Press Release from Montgomery County Extension)
Iowa is the nation’s top pork producer and the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has killed more than six-million piglets nationwide since 2013. The virus likely originated in China, but no one has determined how it got to the U-S. A new study simulates the trip pig feed ingredients make on the way from production in China to an American hog farm. Lead author Scott Dee says the P-E-D virus survived on one-third of the tested ingredients after a 37-day experimental journey.
“It’s not the container that these things are traveling in,” Dee says. “It’s potentially the ingredient or the contents of the container that allows the virus to survive.” An earlier study from the U-S Department of Agriculture suggested fabric shipping totes were inadvertently offering the virus a free ride. Dee says he’s shown imported ingredients may have brought the virus here from China.
Dee says, “Contaminated feed ingredients, if they’re the right ones, could have certainly supported virus survival throughout this entire 37-day trip.” Dee’s research also showed two treatments successfully killed P-E-D in contaminated ingredients. He says he hopes the findings will lead to more research on animal diseases that have not yet arrived here from other continents. Dee is director of research at Pipestone Veterinary Services in Pipestone, Minnesota.
(Radio Iowa)
Iowa’s third largest recreational area has a host of family-friendly events planned for this Memorial Day weekend. Conrad Kramer, executive director of the Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, says a Slow Sunday Drive is planned for tomorrow. Folks can bring an A-T-V or utility vehicle for a 13-mile guided tour through the forest, pastures and prairieland.
“We thought it would be great if people could just bring their vehicles and drive our new main loop trail,” Kramer says. “It circles our entire 5,000 acre landscape. It’s a double track and we lead you through with a pilot Gator. It’s a nice, slow 3-hour roll through some absolutely beautiful landscape, through the prairies, through the savannah, with some great scenic overlooks.”
It’s a particular treat as Whiterock is usually closed to private motorized vehicles. On Monday, events will include a fishing derby at the Garst Home Farm. The derby will be held at the old Garst family pond which has some seven decades of history. A few years back, the pond was cleaned completely out and restocked.
“It’s got all kinds of great fish in it, some great panfish, bass, catfish, and this particular pond even has some nice little surprises,” Kramer says. “It has walleye and even some northern pike in it.” Each participant will receive a dozen worms and there will be prizes with experts on-hand to guide angling novices. For more information on the weekend’s events, visit: www.whiterockconservancy.org
(Radio Iowa)
Many Iowa boat owners will be hitting a lake or river for the first time this year over the Memorial Day weekend. Susan Stocker, a boating law administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is hoping it’ll be a safe season on the state’s waterways. “Our boat accident rate has been going down,” Stocker says. “It all has to do with education and making sure everybody is safe out there.” Iowa’s late spring has probably kept many boats in storage later than normal, increasing the likelihood that Memorial Day weekend will be a busy one on the water.
Stocker is reminding boaters that a life jacket may be the key to survival in the event of an accident. “Make sure that when you are out there boating that you have a wearable life jacket for every person on board and make sure they fit the intended user,” Stocker says. The boat should also be equipped with fire extinguisher and a horn or whistle. Stocker says getting used to the water each spring is much like re-learning winter driving skills after the first snow fall.
Lake Okoboji
She says with a little practice the good habits often return quickly. Stocker adds, if there’s alcohol on the boat, there should also be a designated driver. In 2014, more than 70-percent of the boating fatalities in Iowa involved alcohol, according to Stocker.
(Radio Iowa)
Whether they’re baked into pies, sprinkled over ice cream, blended into margaritas or eaten fresh right off the plant, strawberries are ripening in Iowa and in most regions, they’re ready for picking. Tami Stotts, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says the weather is finally cooperating for strawberry growers statewide.
“I’ve heard that the crop looks really good,” Stotts says. “They were in need of a little rain in some areas and a little heat and this week we’ve had both. I’ve had a few reports that they’re ripening just a little behind schedule but many of them are opening this weekend.” Fresh-picked strawberries are a tasty, fat-free treat and they kick off the growing season in Iowa. She says visiting a local farmers market or going to a you-pick farm is a great way to find fresh berries.
“I would suggest that before you head out to a strawberry patch you contact them because it can vary so much around the state,” Stotts says. “Before you pack up the family and head out, make sure the place you want to go is open.” Once picked, strawberries don’t continue to ripen like some fruits and vegetables, so select vibrant red berries. Also, strawberries have a short shelf life and should be eaten within a few days of being picked. You can find strawberry growers by visiting the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association’s “Farm Search” website: www.ifvga.org/en/about_us/farm_search
(Radio Iowa)
Iowa artists who want to work on a grand scale are urged to apply for the opportunity to paint a large mural highlighting conservation and water quality efforts in Iowa. The mural will be created during the Iowa State Fair in August. Dustin Vande Hoef, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, explains the goal of the project:
“We really want to showcase all of the aspects of Iowa agriculture,” Vande Hoef says. “Certainly, the livestock production, the beef and pork and dairy, the turkey production, the eggs as well, but also, the corn and soybeans as well as the specialty crops like grapes.”
The mural should serve as a visual representation of the commitment by Iowa farmers to protecting the land and improving water quality. It will be created on a six-panel, eight-by-24-foot wall in the Agricultural Building during the state fair.
Vande Hoef says, “We see it as an opportunity to highlight Iowa agriculture and the conservation and water quality efforts that are underway on our farms, in our rural small towns and in our cities.” At least a portion of the mural must be painted during the state fair, which runs August 11th through the 21st, including at least two hours each day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Artists need to apply by July 1st. In addition to being seen by perhaps hundreds of thousands of fairgoers, there’s cash compensation, too.
“The ag groups have provided $1,500 to support the artist and an additional $500 to purchase supplies, so we want to encourage artists to apply,” Vande Hoef says. “We have all of the information on our website at IowaAgriculture.gov under ‘Hot Topics.'” Besides the state ag department, the project is being sponsored by: the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Turkey Federation, Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Midwest Dairy Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Soybean Association.
(Radio Iowa)
Forbes magazine is out with its list of the richest residents in each state and an agri-businessman from Adel is listed as Iowa’s richest person. Seventy-four-year-old Harry Stine is the founder of Stine Seed. He started experimenting with corn and soybean genetics in the 1960s and got patents on key soybean genetics in the 1990s. Forbes pegs Stine’s net worth at three-point-six billion dollars. The magazine’s website says Stine drives a Ford F-150 pick-up and lives in a small home near the Stine Seed headquarters.
Investment guru Warren Buffet is the richest person in Nebraska. South Dakota’s richest resident is a banker. The part-owner of Cargill is the richest person in Minnesota. Wisconsin’s richest person founded the Menard’s chain of home improvement stores. The richest person in Illinois is a hedge fund manager and Missouri’s richest person owns the St. Louis Rams, but recently struck a deal to move the team to Los Angeles.
(Radio Iowa)
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