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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!
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Prestage Farms is pressing forward with plans to build a hog processing plant somewhere in Iowa, now that Mason City has said no. The City Council rejected an agreement Wednesday with Prestage to build a $240 million plant that the company says would have employed around 1,800 people.
Prestage spokeswoman Summer Lanier says the company is considering other Iowa locations but wouldn’t name them. Officials in Fort Dodge and Webster City both had been in talks with Prestage before the company chose Mason City. Fort Dodge officials say the city couldn’t afford the incentives Prestage wanted. Webster City Mayor John Hawkins says city officials will be reaching out for Prestage’s reconsideration.
Mason City residents who opposed the plant raised environmental issues and expressed concern about possible harm to property values.
The Shelby County Trails Committee will be gathering to bike / walk / run at numerous venues throughout the county in 2016. They invite you to join them to show your support and desire for trails in Shelby County. In the process you’ll get some exercise, good company, the opportunity to sample some refreshments and to learn what needs to be done to make a trail system in the county a reality.
The first event takes place beginning 6-p.m. Thursday, May 26th, at Pauley’s Pub in Panama (IA), and will conclude at Norma Jean’s. The final destination is the Bent Rim Fermentation Project at the intersection of Main Street & Highway 191, in Panama.
Runners and Walkers will travel south along Highway 191. Each individual will decide when to turn around and return to Panama. Bikers will ride south on Highway 191 to Portsmouth. Those riders who want to experience hills will continue to Westphalia via Highway 44, Highway M16 and Highway F32. From Westphalia, riders will return to Panama via Highway F32. Riders who want to stick to the flat roads will return to Panama from Portsmouth on Highway 191.
For additional information, please contact Dean Kloewer (panamadean@panamatransfer.com) or Patrick Stessman (patrickstessman@yahoo.com).
More than half of the state’s corn crop has been planted, but some Iowa farmers are waiting to see if they’ll be forced to do some replanting. Paul Kassel is Iowa State University Extension Crops Specialist for northwest Iowa. A large part of my area is really wet,” Kassel says. His area includes Clay, Dickinson, and Buena Vista Counties – where several fields remain under water after heavy rains last week. There’s a chance recently planted corn will survive.
“There’s a possibly with corn planted a week ago, it was cool enough that maybe it didn’t germinate and it will withstand the flooded conditions,” Kassel says. The bigger concern is with the corn planted two to three weeks ago. “If that’s under water very long, that will suffocate and die. There will be some (plants) that miraculously survive and there will be some that should survive but won’t,” Kassel says.
Farmers are going to be busy, at an already very busy time of year, finishing their corn, starting their beans, and then evaluating what they’ve already planted. Monday’s USDA crop report listed 57 percent of Iowa corn crop planted, eight days ahead of the five-year average. Seven-percent of Iowa’s soybean crop was in the ground, five days ahead of the five-year average.
(Radio Iowa)
The Iowa legislature adjourned this year’s session without taking much action on improving the state’s water quality. Now, an Iowa City based research organization has released a report suggesting the state follow changes made in Ohio. David Osterberg, with the Iowa Policy Project, claims there are several problems with Iowa’s current laws dealing with large livestock operations and manure reaching lakes and rivers.
“First of all, the limits. For some reason, we set our limit at 500 animal units, which is very, very large,” Osterberg said. “Ohio has recognized, as most states have, that you need to go down to facilities much smaller than that.” Ohio’s limit is 300 animal units. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, introduced a bill this year that would have copied Ohio’s regulations here in Iowa, but it was never brought up for consideration. Osterberg is hoping this I-P-P research will reach all Iowa legislators before next year’s session.
“We do a study like this, we find out what the evidence is out there — in this case, from other states — and ask the question ‘why can’t we do that in Iowa?’ Hopefully, we’ll move towards a discussion, so if Senator Bolkcom files his bill again, it will get a hearing,” Osterberg told reporters Wednesday in a conference call. You can check out the full report at iowapolicyproject.org.
(Radio Iowa)
The Loess Hills Prairie Seminar, sponsored annually by the Northwest Area Education Agency, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Monona County Conservation, is June 3-5, beginning at West Monona High School, in Onawa, and then moving to the Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area campground, near Castana.
Now in its 40th year, the popular seminar has programs and activities for every age and all levels of physical abilities. Participants may choose among field sessions covering plants, insects, birds, explore nature photography or writing, prairie management and ecology, and more.
There is no cost to attend and registration is not necessary, unless participants plan to order meals. Educators may register for credit through the Northwest AEA at a reduced fee. There are special programs for children and families, and for adults and older students. More information is available online at http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/educators/loess_hills_prairie_seminar/
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reporting that a 25-year-old fish has been found living in West Okoboji Lake. Jonathan Meerbeek, a DNR fisheries research biologist, says the male musky was marked with a freeze brand and stocked in the Iowa Great Lakes in 1993. It was caught during the gill netting season last week.
“I think 21 was the oldest fish we captured in the past,” Meerbeek said. “So, this one beats it by a few years. This is probably one of the oldest fish of known age that has been recaptured, in terms of muskies, so it’s a pretty unique fish.” The last time this particular fish was caught by the DNR was in 2006. According to Meerbeek, after age four, muskies have an annual mortality rate of around 25-percent.
“That’s not from angling mortality, per se…fish die, everything dies at some point. Muskies get old or they get sick. This one just happened to avoid all of those potential harms over time and made it to a fairly substantial age, considering most fish,” Meerbeek said. The 25-year-old musky was documented and released back into the lake. The 17.5 pound fish was 41.6 inches in length.
(Radio Iowa)
Wet weather slowed the planting process last week. The U-S-D-A crop report shows 57 percent of the corn crop is now planted, which is just 17 percent ahead of the report from last week. Planting had been six days ahead of last year, but the slowdown last week now has farmers just one day ahead of last year at this time. The overall planting is still eight days ahead of the five-year average.
The report finds farmers in north-central and central Iowa making the most headway, with more than three-quarters of their corn crop in the ground. Soybean planting showed up on the report this week, with seven percent of that crop planted. That’s five days ahead of the five-year average.
(Radio Iowa)
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