The man at the State Fair who handed President Obama a pork chop says he asked the president to boost the amount of protein required in school lunches. Current U-S-D-A guidelines call for school lunches to account for one-third of the recommended daily intake of protein and Greg Lear of Spencer, the president-elect of the Iowa Pork Producers, says kids need more than that. “Because 1.5 ounces is not enough protein for grade school kids when, for 30-40 percent of these kids, it is their major meal of the day,” Lear says. Lear calls protein “brain food” and he says students need bigger portions of it in their school lunch.

“If he’s going to eliminate something, eliminate carbs or other processed sugars,” Lear says. “And I told him the future of our kids are at stake.” Lear was volunteering at the Iowa Pork Producers stand on the fairgrounds Monday evening when President Obama visited the Fair. Obama took one of the chops Lear offered him, then Lear got to talk to the president. “First thing I brought up I thanked him for the $100 million purchase of pork to use in school lunch programs and this kind of stuff,” Lear says. “…But also told him it was a drop in the bucket for the losses that appear to be coming at the independent hog producers in Iowa and the United States and that we needed more help.”

Lear also asked the president to support a temporary suspension of the Renewable Fuels Standard that requires a certain level of ethanol production. Lear says that would help pork producers struggling with high feed costs by freeing up some of the corn supply for livestock rather than ethanol.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Kansas City, KS, office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday, that EPA Region 7 representatives will meet with livestock producers on Thursday, August 30, at the American Legion Hall (210 W. Head St.), in the Carroll County community of Arcadia. During the meeting, which runs from 6:30-to 8:30-pm.,  the EPA’s inspection program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), winter feeding areas, aerial overflights, medium-sized CAFOs, nutrient management plans and manure stockpiles will be discussed.

EPA staff will also review the selection of CAFOs for inspection, flyover practices and details about CAFO on-the-ground inspections.  In addition, there will be an opportunity for attendees to interact with EPA officials during a question-and-answer session led by Shawn Shouse, of Iowa State University Extension. The EPA says it is working with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, Iowa State University Extension, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to encourage livestock producers’ attendance.

The Cass County Conservation Board says they will be holding a “Mysterious Monarchs” program at the Main Campground at Lake Anita State Park in Anita, on August 31^st. The free, public program begins at4:00 pm, and offers you a chance to discover the Monarch Butterflies before their journey south.

Conservation staff will tag monarchs, and show you how you can do the same. If you would like a home tagging kit, you must attend and pre-register for the Kit. Call 712-769-2372 to pre-register for your kit. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program.

w/ Denny Heflin

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Iowa State Executive Director for USDA Farm Service Agency, John R Whitaker today (Wednesday), announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated eleven Iowa counties as part of a Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation.  Farm operators who have suffered major production and/or physical losses caused by drought beginning July 31, 2012 and continuing may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

A Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation has been issued for four Iowa counties as the primary disaster area.  These primary counties are:  Lyon, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury.   Seven Iowa counties are contiguous to this designated disaster area, making these producers also potentially eligible for program based on this designation.  The contiguous counties are:  Cherokee, Crawford, Ida, Monona, O’Brien, and Osceola.  Harrison County is contiguous to a primary county in Nebraska.

The Farm Service Agency may make Emergency Loans to eligible family farmers which will enable them to return to their normal operations if they sustained qualifying losses resulting from natural disaster.  Physical loss loans may be made to eligible farmers to enable them to repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property, including livestock losses, essential to the success of the farming operation.  Examples of property commonly affected include; essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and harvested or stored crops.  For production loss loans, the disaster yield must be at least 30 percent below the normal production yield of the crop, on a crop or crops that make up a basic part of the total farming operation.

Applicant must be unable to obtain credit from other usual sources to qualify for the Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Program assistance.  The interest rate for emergency loans is 2.25%.  Each applicant applying for credit will be given equal consideration without regard to race, creed, color, marital status, or national origin.

w/ Kate Olson

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A company in western Iowa that makes corn-based products for cooking has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, citing high grain prices and transportation cost. Dave Hoffman of the Plymouth Oil Company says the board felt this was the best move to pay off their debts. He says they have put together a plan to make the company profitable and have changed the management. Hoffman says the problems are due in part to high grain prices, but more so due to the high cost of transportation. Hoffman says Plymouth Oil had hoped to obtain corn germ from their neighbors next door, Plymouth Energy, but those plans fell through. The company had to truck in the corn germ from Jefferson, Wisconsin to its plant near Merrill, which ended up being more expensive.

Hoffman says it is 380 miles or about 42-dollars a ton to truck in the material they need. “We makes it very tough for us to succeed,” Hoffman says. He says they are trying to get some new quotes from suppliers to cut the costs. Hoffman says the plan is to keep operating, and to keep paying bills. The plant started operations in February of 2010. It specializes in producing food grade products from corn, such as corn oil for cooking purposes. The plant employes 25 to 30 people.

(Radio Iowa)

Cass County: Corn $7.76, Beans $16.45