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CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Iowa Agribusiness Network!
CLICK HERE for the latest market quotes from the Brownfield Ag News Network!
The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, agreed to waive their right to appeal the issuance of a construction permit for Southwest Iowa Egg, near Massena. On May 11th, the Supervisors approved a Master Matrix scoring application for a construction permit. Southwest Iowa Egg plans to remove of two, older buildings and replace them with a larger, modern facilities that gives the chickens more room and is designed to considerably reduce out-gassing of odors from the manure.
The Board forwarded its recommendation of approval to the Iowa DNR, which, in-turn also approved the application. The DNR then created a draft permit for the Supervisors to either deny or approve. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman read a letter received from the DNR’s Senior Environmental Engineer, with regard to the application. The letter said Southwest Iowa Egg Cooperative has met the legal criteria to issue a construction permit for seven new poultry confinement buildings and one new dry manure storage building.
The Board of Supervisors, according to Sunderman, had the right to appeal the DNR’s statement of recommendation to issue the permit, or they could waive their right to appeal the permit, to expedite the permit process. They chose the latter.
In other business, the Board approved a Sheriff’s Deputies,’ Jailors’ and Sheriff’s Office Assistant bargaining unit agreement for Fiscal Year 2017.
A bridge that was closed in northern Cass County early last month, is once again open to traffic. On April 6th, Cass County Engineer Charles Marker told the Board of Supervisors high truss bridge #440, located a couple of miles south of Interstate 80 in Pymosa Township near the Buck Creek Church was closed, after an inspection revealed a wooden “pile cap” on the northeast corner of the bridge had shattered, making it unsafe. The repairs to that bridge have since been completed.
Marker told the Board of Supervisors during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, inspections have revealed two other bridges, however, must be closed. One of those is Bridge #17, which is located about 5-miles south of Massena on Highway 148 and three-quarters of a mile west, on Yankton Road. Marker said the wood bridge pilings are continuing to decay. The bridge is posted for vehicles with a maximum gross weight of three-tons, but Marker says he’s heard from residents in the area, semis are crossing the bridge. He said they’re concerned if it continues to be used in that manner, a vehicle may end-up in the creek.
Bridge 17 is one of two bridges in the County scheduled to be repaired, with the bid-letting to take place in August. The other is Bridge #42 near the Cass/Adams/Montgomery County corner. Marker says the pile cap has begun to rotate, or twisted to the point where it is in danger of collapsing. The bridge is located along a Level B road.
He said also, Gus Construction has completed the concrete pour on a culvert for Bridge #20, located about two-miles south of Highway 92 on County Road N-28, south of Cumberland. Weather permitting, the project, including paving, should be completed by mid-July.
Governor Terry Branstad says he hopes some other Iowa city is able to land a new Prestage Farms pork plant after Mason City took itself out of the running. “I think they made a mistake,” Branstad says. “…First of all, Iowa is a leading pork producing state. It makes sense to process those pigs in Iowa.” The Mason City Council cast a tie vote on a development deal with the company in early May, rejecting the proposed 240-million dollar pork processing plant.
Branstad says he “was impressed” with Prestage when he met with the company’s executives. “It’s a family-owned business. They’ve had a great reputation in North Carolina,” Branstad says. Critics raised environmental concerns about wastewater from the plant and the odor from hog confinements that likely would be built or expanded to supply the plant. Others cited extra costs for the community, including the hiring of new school staff to teach the children of plant employees who do not speak English.
The C-E-O of Prestage says as the company examines other locations, he’ll be better prepared to deal with critics of the project, who he calls “kooks”. “What I’m concerned about is South Dakota and other states would like to have them,” Branstad says. “We hope that we could get this in Iowa because I think it would be good for the Iowa independent pork producers and good for the Iowa economy.”
Prestage Farms officials say “dozens” of cities in Iowa and elsewhere have expressed interest in their project. The Prestage Farms C-E-O says he’s open to building anywhere in the upper Midwest, but Iowa is still his “preference.” Mason City officials initially offered a more than 11-million dollar package of local incentives to land the deal. A petition drive is underway in the community to try to get the city council to reverse its rejection of the project.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement led the lobbying effort against the deal and the group vows to organize in other Iowa cities where Prestage might consider locating.
(Radio Iowa)
@ 7:00 am:
Corn planting in Iowa is getting close to being done. The latest U-S-D-A report shows 96 percent of the corn crop has been planted — which is two days ahead of last year and six days ahead of the five-year average. Seventy-five percent of the corn has emerged from the ground — which is four days ahead of normal. The first corn condition rating of the season showed 73 percent was in good to excellent conditions.
Soybean planting is now reported to be 74 percent complete, almost one week ahead of last year. Twenty-one percent of the soybeans have emerged — which is two days behind last year — but equal to the five-year average. Iowa State University extension agronomist Joel DeJong says farmers in northwest Iowa are contending with too much rain.
He says about 10 days ago they had some very heavy rains, including four to six inches in one area that pounded the ground and caused some emergence problems. He says field flooding was an issue too. DeJong says some of the early corn got drowned out and farmers are looking at replanting. He says there are some acres on the Missouri River bottom south of Sioux City where it’s going to be tough to get the water off of it. De Jong says in some areas of O’Brien, Cherokee and maybe in Osceola County, it will be hard to find a window to replant.
(Radio Iowa)
MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a special turkey hunt this month. The hunt will take place Saturday and Sunday. Other activities such as mushroom hunting will be prohibited during the turkey hunt to ensure public safety.
The refuge is located north of Omaha, Nebraska, along on U.S. Highway 30 near Missouri Valley, Iowa. An entrance permit is required for all vehicles. The daily entrance fee for private vehicles is $3. Permits are available at pay stations near the entrances or at the Visitor Center. The charge for commercial vans and buses is $20, or $30 if 21 or more people are aboard.
Annual permits are available at the visitor center.
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