w/Max Dirks.

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Tyson Foods says it plans to administer thousands of coronavirus tests per week at its U.S. facilities under an expanded effort to protect its workers. The Arkansas-based company will randomly test employees who have no symptoms, as well as those with symptoms. The tests are on top of daily screenings when workers arrive at Tyson’s 140 U.S. production facilities. Meatpacking plants have been particularly susceptible to the coronavirus because of their often crowded conditions.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents many of Tyson’s 120,000 U.S. workers, says other meat processing companies should follow Tyson’s lead.

FFA Awards:

• Grand Champion Market Hog: Paige Jensen, CAM FFA (Parents Eva & Ryan Jensen) – Trophy Sponsor: Gary & Shelly Miller.
• Grand Champion FFA Market Barrow: Paige Jensen; Trophy Sponsor: Stine Seeds.
• Reserve Champion FFA Market Barrow: Paige Jensen; Trophy Sponsor: Rolling Hills Bank and Trust.
• Grand Champion FFA Market Gilt: Logan Eilts, Atlantic FFA (Parents Tim & Karla Eilts) – Trophy Sponsor: J6 Ranch.
• Reserve Champion FFA Market Gilt: Logan Evans, Griswold FA (Parents Jessie & Ryan Evans) – Trophy Sponsor: Andy & Jody Steffen.
• Grand Champion FFA Swine Pen of 3: Logan Evans; Trophy Sponsor: Sandbothe Firestone.
• Reserve Grand Champion FFA Swine Pen of 3: Kacey Danker,  Griswold FA (Parents Jody & Ryan Danker) – Trophy Sponsor: First Whitney Bank.
• Champion FFA Swine Showman: Logan Eilts; Trophy Sponsor – Renew Ag Supply.
• Reserve FFA Swine Showman: Trista Swain, Griswold FFA (Parents Doug & Sarah Swain) – Trophy Sponsor: In Memory of Bill Murphy.

4-H Awards

• Grand Champion 4-H Pen of 3 Market Swine: Seth Hensley, C&M Champions (Parents Mark & Jolene Hensley) – Trophy Sponsor: Shane & Tammy DeBord.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Pen of 3 Market Swine: Carter Witzman, Bear Grove Blazers (parents Stephanie & Chris Witzman) – Trophy Sponsor Ryan & Jessie Evans Family.
• Grand Champion 4-H Individual Market Gilt: Gracie Venteicher, C&M Champions (Parents Doug & TJ Venteicher) – Trophy Sponsor: Cass County Farm Bureau.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Individual Market Gilt: Seth Hensley; Trophy Sponsor: In Memory of Kenny Evans.
• Grand Champion 4-H Individual Market Barrow: Grant Petty, Washington GEM (Parents Darrin & Melanie Petty) – Trophy Sponsor: Hubbard Feeds.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Individual Market Barrow: David Retallic, Bear Grove Blazers (Parents Troy & Laura Retallic) – Tropher Sponsor: Cass County Fairboard.
• Division 1 Winner/4-H Market Barrow: Grant Petty; Trophy Sponsor: Rex Pharmacy.
• Division 2 Winner/4-H Market Barrow: David Retallic; Trophy Sponsor: The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund.
• Division 1 Winner/4-H Market Gilt: Seth Hensley; Trophy Sponsor: Armour Insurance.
• Division 2 Winner/4-H Market Gilt: Gracie Venteicher; Trophy Sponsor: Armour Insurance.
• Supreme Champion 4-H Market Hog: Grant Petty; Trophy Sponsor: Cass County Fairboard.
• Reserve Supreme Champion 4-H Market Hog: Gracie Venteicher; Trophy Sponsor: E&E Fine Swine.
• Grand Champion 4-H Senior Showman: Kacey Danker; Trophy Sponsor: Sandbothe Firestone.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Senior Showman: Paige Jensen; Trophy Sponsor: Hubbard Feeds.
• Grand Champion 4-H Intermediate Showman: Kailey Swain, Pleasant-Noble United (Parents Doug & Sarah Swain) – Trophy Sponsor: In Memory of Joe Dimig.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Intermediate Showman: Coby Venteicher, C&M Champions (Parents Mark & Staci Venteicher) – Trophy Sponsor: Atlantic Rotary Club.
• Grand Champion 4-H Junior Showman: Brooklyn Steffen, Benton Franklin (Parents Nathan & Andrea Steffen) – Trophy Sponsor: Armour Insurance.
• Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Junior Showman: Collin Rudy, Cowpokes (Parents Jill & Chuck Rudy) – Trophy Sponsor: Atlantic Rotary Club.
• Overall Supreme Champ. Market Hog: Grant Petty; Trophy Sponsor – In Memory of Matt Rogers.
• Overall Supreme Champ. Market Hog: Paige Jensen; Trophy Sponsor – E&E Fine Swine.

All results from the Swine Program can be found HERE

Other results from the 2020 Cass County Fair can be found HERE.

w/Kate Olson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (July 28, 2020) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig confirmed today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is aware that individuals in Iowa have received unsolicited seed shipments from China and other countries.

The Department is asking anyone who receives unlabeled seed from an unknown origin to retain the original packaging and report it immediately at 515-281-5321. Recipients should not open the seed packet, plant the seed or attempt to destroy it. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will collect, analyze and properly destroy the seeds.

“The Iowa Department of Agriculture is working closely with the USDA to trace, collect and properly destroy these unknown seeds to protect our agriculture community from plant and seed-borne diseases,” said Secretary Naig.

Unlabeled seeds and seeds from unknown origins should never be planted. They pose the risk of introducing an invasive plant species or seed-borne diseases that do not currently exist in the United States. APHIS is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and State departments of agriculture to prevent the unlawful entry of prohibited seeds and protect U.S. agriculture from invasive pests and noxious weeds.

The USDA APHIS issued a news release stating this may be a “brushing scam,” where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost online sales.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Unions representing workers at 10 chicken processing plants in six states are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to challenge a policy that allows companies to increase production speeds that the unions say puts workers at risk. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and local unions representing plants in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri joined with nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen to file the lawsuit in federal court in Washington.

The lawsuit alleges that the waivers first allowed in 2018 violate the Administrative Procedure Act, endanger worker health and put them at risk during the coronavirus pandemic by making adequate distancing nearly impossible.

DELAWARE COUNTY, Iowa – Iowa DNR officials report that at around 7:30-p.m. Sunday (July 26), DNR Conservation Officer Dakota Drish responded to a personal injury accident involving a water craft (PWC) on Lake Delhi. Authorities say Gavin Cooper, of Monticello, was operating the PWC, when he hit a wave. The impact caused Cooper’s face to hit the handlebars causing facial injuries. The impact also knocked him off of the PWC, landing face down and unconscious in the water. He was rescued by nearby witnesses and pulled from the water.

Cooper was wearing a life jacket. He was transported to a Manchester hospital for treatment of his injuries. The Iowa DNR continues to investigate and was assisted by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office in response.

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say the Wilson Island State Recreation Area near Missouri Valley, will remain closed through 2020 while the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to outline the cleanup and repair plan for the popular public area, north of Council Bluffs. Wilson Island was closed in March 2019, when Missouri River flood waters covered the area, then stayed for more than nine months. Once the waters receded, state park officials found the area covered under a blanket of silt ranging from inches deep in some locations to more than eight feet in others and the equivalent of hundreds of dump truck loads of debris that had washed in to the park.

Chris Anunson, state park ranger with the Iowa DNR, said while there was some damage to the electrical system, most of the infrastructure survived the flood. “Following the high waters in 2011, we redesigned much of our park infrastructure based on minimizing flood damage and that paid off,” he said. “Our biggest issue right now is dealing with silt deposits. We hope to get the majority of the work done this fall and winter, then get the area reseeded this spring. This is a tentative timeline, but I believe it is obtainable.  We know people want us to reopen – we do too – but we have to do that responsibly, for the resource and for our visitors.”

While Wilson Island is closed, the DNR has been reviewing the layout of the 550-acre area that sits on the inside curve of the Missouri River, for opportunities to further reduce the impacts of flooding from Big Muddy.  State park officials are considering different clean up and redevelopment plans based on what FEMA provides as its costs estimates and guidance. “We are taking a hard look at our campground footprint to determine what should be where, to minimize damage from future flooding. Hopefully what comes out of this is a plan where the campground and the park as a whole, can live with the river,” he said.

The 2020 Cass County Fair Beef Show was held on Monday in the Outdoor Show Ring at the Cass County Fairgrounds in Atlantic. Morgan Will showed the Grand Champion Market Animal with her 4-H Purchased Market Steer that weighed in at 1,330 pounds. Jace Thomsen showed the Reserve Champion Market Animal with his 4-H Purchased Market Heifer that weighed in at 1,203 pounds.  Here is the list of full results from the Cow/Calf, Feeder Calf, and Beef Shows.

Cow/Calf Show

4-H Cow-Calf: Champion: Craig Alan Becker. Reserve: Brookelyn Steffen.
FFA Cow-Calf: Champion: Taylor McCreedy.

Feeder Calf Show

4-H Feeder Heifer: Champion: Morgan Will. Reserve: Craig Alan Becker.
4-H Feeder Steer: Champion: Ashton Hagen. Reserve: Craig Alan Becker.
FFA Feeder Heifer: Champion: Eric Plagman. Reserve: Craig Alan Becker.
FFA Feeder Steer: Champion: Carson Cary. Reserve: Colton Becker.

Beef Show

4-H British Breeding Heifer: Champion: McKenna Sonntag. Reserve: Colton Becker.
4-H Continental Breeding Heifer: Champion: Brock Henderson. Reserve: Carli Henderson.
4-H Commercial Breeding Heifer: Champion: Brant Will. Reserve: Craig Alan Becker.
4-H Supreme Breeding Heifer: Champion: Brock Henderson. Reserve: Brant Will.
FFA British Breeding Heifer: Champion: Ethan Steffensen.
FFA Continental Breeding Heifer: Champion: Walker McDermott. Reserve: Makenna Potter.
FFA Commercial Breeding Heifer: Champion: Eyon Steffensen. Reserve: Mallory Behnken.
FFA Champion Breeding Heifer: Champion: Walker McDermott. Reserve: Mckenna Potter.
4-H and FFA Supreme Overall Breeding Heifer: Champion: Brock Henderson.
4-H Market Heifer: Champion: Jace Thomsen. Reserve: Jake Oathoudt.
4-H Market Steer: Champion: Morgan Will. Reserve: Carli Henderson.
FFA Market Steer: Champion: Callee Pellett.
4-H Carcass Animal: Champion: Caroline Pellett. Reserve: Rachel Becker.
FFA Carcasss Animal: Champion: Caroline Pellett. Reserve: Tristen Becker.
Overall Market Animal: Champion: Morgan Will. Reserve: Jace Thomsen.
4-H Senior Showmanship: Champion: Carli Henderson. Reserve: Craig Alan Becker.
4-H Intermediate Showmanship: Champion: Brock Henderson. Reserve: Brant Will.
4-H Junior Showmanship: Champion: Morgan Will. Reserve: Jake Wailes.
FFA Showmanship: Champion: Walker McDermott. Reserve: Mckenna Potter.

(Radio Iowa) – The annual roadside survey for small game animals starts this week as staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources drive routes across the state, looking for a variety of critters. Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says they’ll be seeking pheasants, quail, Hungarian partridge, jackrabbits and cottontails. Bogenshutz says he’s particularly optimistic about the pheasant population. “Last year, the counts were down a bit. We had a tougher winter and it was a wetter spring,” Bogenschutz says. “Coming into this year, we had a fairly mild winter which means we probably had fairly decent hen survival through the winter.”

Bogenschutz says the year ahead may be particularly promising for hunters, especially when compared to 2019. “Spring was cool but it was also one of the driest in almost ten years, that’s usually a good sign in talking about our nesting wildlife,” he says. “A lot of folks are excited about what we’re going to see in the count. Everybody’s expecting things to be up.” Bogenschutz says the work of the counters in the survey should not be impacted by COVID-19 as they’re staff members, not volunteers, and they’ll be driving their routes themselves. He anticipates a busy fall hunting season. “I know our fishing license sales are up and our spring turkey hunting license sales were up,” he says. “I think it’s just because of the COVID thing. A lot of people aren’t working so outdoor recreation is one of the ways they fill the void and maybe that’ll continue this fall.”

The results of the roadside survey will be released by early September. The count started in Iowa in the 1930s.