An Atlantic teen working to receive his Eagle Scout badge has completed a project at Sunnyside Park to earn the award. Grant Podhajsky recently completed his Eagle Scout Service project with the help of Troop 54 and others in the community. He designed and helped to build a fire pit surrounded by log benches near the Camblin Shelter at Sunnyside Park.

On May 19th, Grant approached the Atlantic Park and Recreation Board with his proposal to replace the existing deteriorated fire pit.Soon after Grant was given approval to proceed, it was discovered that the original fire pit was constructed by the Atlantic Lions Club. For many years it was used for the Lions’ annual steak cookout.When the Lions Club learned of the project the offered their full support.

Grant Podhajsky recently completed his Eagle Scout project. He is shown accepting a donation to cover expenses from Merle
Elsberry,representing the Atlantic Lions Club.

Oversight of the project was provided by Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Roger Herring.The Parks and Recreation Department was also a main supporter of the project.Most notably they provided the pea gravel and the timber boarder.

Grant says he’d like to thank Rob Stamp for helping with the demolition after the scouts uncovered four very large footings.Also, thanks to Ashton Ellingson of Brayton for cutting the log benches with his portable saw mill.Over 150 hours of work when into planning and constructing the project.

w/ Kate Olson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Northwest Iowa farmer Bill Northey has been elected to a third term as Iowa’s agriculture secretary. Voters Tuesday elected the Republican Northey over Democrat Sherrie Taha, a sculptor from Des Moines. Northey, who farms near Spirit Lake, has served as agriculture secretary since 2008.

In his campaign, he called for continued implementation of a voluntary water quality initiative that encourages Iowa farmers to prevent erosion and minimize fertilizer and manure runoff. He also supports promoting technological advances to farmers that will make them more efficient and able to use less fertilizer.

A Cass County man has received a special thank you for her contributions to the community. Win LaMaster of Atlantic, was selected to receive free fuel from Tanks of Thanks®, a program that rewards people who do good deeds to help make their community just a little bit better. The Tanks of Thanks program from CHS and Cenex® retailers encourages people to nominate friends, family and neighbors for free fuel as a way to say thank you for doing good in the community.

Each month, CHS and Cenex retailers give away more than $5,000 in free fuel through the Tanks of Thanks program. LaMaster was nominated for making hats and scarves for the American Cancer Society in Omaha, Nebraska. Recently, LaMaster was selected to receive a $50 Tanks of Thanks gift card, redeemable at any Cenex location.

Tanks of Thanks is a multiyear program, so there is plenty of time to nominate someone for free fuel. “Nominating someone for Tanks of Thanks is easy, and anyone can nominate or be nominated for any act of kindness – big or small.” To make a nomination, visit http://www.cenex.com/tanks-of-thanks and briefly describe why someone deserves a Tank of Thanks.

By Haley Carlson
Atlantic FFA Reporter

Atlantic FFA members were very excited about Halloween this year so the chapter decided to share this excitement! Sunday afternoon FFA members Garrett Schwanke, Clayton Saeugling, and Emily Saeugling went to McCurdy’s pumpkin patch and picked 135 pumpkins to carve with Washington Elementary second graders. During the day almost every class was brought a batch of second graders. Members helped them pick out a pumpkin, design a face, and carve it out. Sophomore Gabby Jordahl said her favorite part was “Getting to interact with the kids and getting out of class.”
The idea for pumpkin carving came from FFA member Lindsey Keltch, who is also planning out more fun events like this for future months and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Atlantic FFA hopes these events encourage younger kids to learn more about agriculture and hopefully join the FFA when the get to high school.

Programs being offered in the new farm bill are complex and the experts say it’ll require some education for Iowa’s farmers to take part. Steven Johnson, a farm management specialist with the Iowa State University Extension, says the process starts with farmers updating their base acres and yields, which must be done by February 27th. Johnson says farmers will have to either retain or reallocate base acres on their farms.

“I’m suggesting that the producers and the landowners get this done early, as this is easy in most of the corn belt,” Johnson says. “If you can create more corn base by reallocating, do it. If your corn base would be higher by retaining the old corn base, just retain. So, don’t make this that difficult decision.”He says farmers can update to a new Price Loss Coverage, or P-L-C, yield using production records for the 2008 to 2012 growing seasons, or they can keep the old counter-cyclical yield.

“Update the yields if you’ve got the production evidence,” Johnson says. “If not, the plugs will be 75% of the county yields and those are posted on the FSA website. If we can get there by Christmas, we’ve got plenty of time to make a decision.” Johnson says farmers will have until March 31st to make either a P-L-C or and Agricultural Risk Coverage (A-R-C) election for their farm for the next five years.

“I think they’re probably more complicated now than they were six months ago with these low national prices,” Johnson says. “For 2014, we’re probably going to trigger both county ARC and PLC payments on a farm for corn base. I think there’s going to be a lot of interest in this whole ARC-PLC program.” The actual program enrollment will begin in mid-April and run through the summer months.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County chapter of Pheasants Forever will hold a youth pheasant hunt on Sunday November 16. The event is open to Cass County youths who have completed hunter safety training. The hunt will take place in the afternoon from 1 pm until 5pm. Participants will be provided a box of either twenty gauge or 12 gauge ammunition. If there are youth who would like to attend, but don’t have a shotgun, the PF chapter will provide one.

Parents or guardians of youth who want to participate need to contact Tom Hurford, Cass County PF Youth Coordinator prior to Friday the 14th @ 712 249 5356. The youth will meet at the Atlantic Hy-vee parking lot at 1pm.

AMES, Iowa—Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) and Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), as part of the Iowa Cover Crops Working Group, will host a cover crop workshop at the Wallace Learning Center on the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis, from 10:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The event is free, open to the public, and includes a complimentary lunch.

The workshop speakers include Taylor County farmer Kelly Tobin, an ILF farmer partner and PFI member. Tobin has incorporated cereal rye into his corn-soybean rotation and is participating in an Iowa Cover Crops Working Group long-term rye study. Also speaking is Mark Hanna, Iowa State University Extension Agricultural Engineer, who will discuss different methods for seeding cover crops and tips for planting into cover crop residue the following spring. Stefan Gailans, PFI research scientist, will review their cover crop varieties trial. Tom Kaspar, plant physiologist with the USDA National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, will share how cover crops help with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and answer audience questions.

After lunch, attendees may visit the Iowa Cover Crop Working Group mixtures plots at the research farm, weather permitting. RSVPs are requested for the meal: please contact Iowa Learning Farms, 515-294-8912 or email: ilf@iastate.edu, by Nov. 10.

The Wallace Learning Center is located at 53020 Hitchcock Ave, Lewis. From Atlantic, take Highway 6 west out of Atlantic for approximately 12 miles, turn south onto Contrail Ave. (525th St.) for ½ mile, turn left (east) onto Hitchcock Ave. and travel east for ¾ mile. The Armstrong Research Farm and Wallace Learning Center will be on the north side of the road.

The Iowa Cover Crop Working Group’s goal is to increase the amount of living cover on Iowa agricultural lands. The group provides a unified voice from academy, non-profit and industry sectors on the importance of cover crops and the encouragement of their use in cropping systems across the state.

(Press Release)

An Ames man was hospitalized Saturday, after falling from a tree stand while hunting. The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources says 39-year old Michael Ylonen fell approximately 25 feet while climbing into a stand in the Skunk River Greenbelt south of Story City, shortly after 5 p.m.

Ylonen’s safety harness was on, but had not been attached yet. Despite suffering serious injuries to his upper body from the fall, he was able to walk to Interstate 35 and call for help. Ylonen was transported by ambulance to Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.

DALLAS CENTER – A Dallas Center teenager was injured Saturday while setting traps and squirrel hunting when the gun he was carrying discharged into his leg.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports 14-year old Benjamin Beavers was transported by ambulance to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines where he was being treated for a non-life threatening injury. The incident happened shortly before 10 a.m. on Saturday southwest of Dallas Center when the gun discharged as Beavers was coming out of a ditch.