IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Tyson Foods announced that it is suspending operations indefinitely at a large Iowa pork processing plant linked to a growing coronavirus outbreak. The company warned that its closing of the Waterloo, Iowa, plant would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson had kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs nearly 3,000 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, about 4% of the U.S. pork processing capacity. The announcement comes as employers have struggled to contain the virus in large meatpacking plants. Several other packing plants have temporarily closed.

If you are interested in, or have a need to plant a tree on your property, Atlantic Trees Forever has just the deal for you. Spokesperson Dolly Bergmann said Spring tree vouchers are now available. The vouchers are worth $30 off the cost of a tree, and can be obtained at Pymosa Farms (50979 Buck Creek Road), north of Atlantic.

Bergmann said there are a limited number of vouchers available. She said also, Pymosa Farms can help you determine what kind of tree would work best in the location you would like to plant a tree. Call Pymosa Farms owner Tim Reavis at 402-659-1213, before you head out to the farm, to ensure someone is available to help you.

Officials with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association report the Euken-Myers family from Cass County, have been selected as the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Program Award Winners. The ICA chooses an outstanding cattle operation to nominate for the regional award each year. The regional winners for the national award will be announced in late July. The Eukens and Myerses will compete against nominees from Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Euken-Myers families from Cass County (Photo courtesy ICA)

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Environmental Stewardship Awards Program (ESAP) began 28 years ago, long before sustainability was a buzz word. The ESAP program was meant to highlight conservation efforts and recognize outstanding beef farmers who care for the land with as much dedication as they care for their livestock. Six regional winners are recognized at the national level, while one of those is selected as the winner.

Beef production has been a life-long learning opportunity, passion and revenue stream for the Euken-Myers family. Randy and Jill Euken grew up with cattle on family farms and showed cattle as 4-H’ers. Their own farming operation was launched in 1978 when Randy started his farming career and purchased half of the cow herd from his landlord. Over the past 40 years, they have continued to grow and improve their cattle herd by carefully selecting replacement heifers and bulls, keeping and utilizing an extensive set of records, implementing the best practices for environmental stewardship and carefully tending to beef nutrition and herd health. These efforts have resulted in continued improvement in the performance and ROI for their operation and their reputations as good stewards of natural resources, life-long learners and good neighbors.

(Radio Iowa) — Pork producers from across Iowa are donating several thousand pounds of meat to the state’s five main food banks. Trish Cook, a member of the Iowa Pork Producers Association board, says it’s a win-win since there’s a surplus of pork due to plant closures and an increase in demand at food banks because of the pandemic. “Pork producers decided to do what they can,” Cook says. “There’s a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs. They wanted to help out by donating ground pork to food banks in Iowa. They have 8,500 pounds of ground pork that they are distributing to food banks around state.”

Cook says its simple to cook pork and it helps to meet consumers’ protein needs.  “It’s easy to prepare, it can be used in so many different ways,” Cook says. “It’s just a versatile item that people can quickly cook up and use in their day-to-day meal preparation.” With many restaurants closed and so many people staying home from work and school, Cook says the pandemic has radically changed what and how we eat. “There’s people probably cooking things they never thought they would ever cook before just because we’re such a society — about half of our food budget is dining out,” Cook says. “It’s a really different scenario for everybody these days.”

Each food bank is getting 17-hundred pounds of pork divided into one-pound packages. The food banks receiving the donations include: The Food Bank for the Heartland serving 93 counties in Nebraska and western Iowa, as well as the food banks in Des Moines, Sioux City, Hiawatha and Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa) — Redwood Farms Meat Processors of Estherville is suspending operations until further notice after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. In a news release, Redwood Farms said it’s making the move to ensure the safety of company employees and the community in which we work. The company says it’s only aware of the one case and the individual does not live in Emmet County.

Due to the recent increase of COVID-19 cases within the meat processing industry, Redwood Farms had implemented additional cleaning practices and was screening employees upon arrival to the company’s facility. The company has been communicating with Emmet County Public Health to gain resources and advice on how to educate employees and promote a safe working environment.

Redwood Farms is owned by Farmers Union Industries. The minutes from an Estherville City Council meeting in December indicate the Estherville facility has the capacity to process between 14-hundred and 24-hundred hogs a day.

(Radio Iowa) — The U-S-D-A crop report released Monday shows snow and rain have slowed the start of the planting season — but two percent of the projected corn crop has been planted. Iowa State University Extension crops specialist Joel DeJong, says farmers in his northwest Iowa region are still mostly preparing fields for planting.

“There was some work done before that Easter snow came through — a handful of planters were in the fields doing a little bit, making sure the planter was set, doing a few acres. Not very many did that,” DeJong says. “However, the manure and fertilizer got a good start. We are now as we dry out — we are seeing that again. WE’re seeing a lot of the prep work continuing.” DeJong says the soil temperature has not yet consistently been at or above the 50 degrees needed for planting.

“We’re getting really close and if the forecast I see is right even with the rain and a little cooler temperatures in the weekend — the average daily temperature should still be around 50,” he says. “If the soil is set, I think we are going to see more and more people putting some seed into the ground as we move into the week.”

Wet weather kept farmers from planting for much longer than they would have liked last year. DeJong says things are drying out nicely now and that shouldn’t be an issue in most areas. “Even though there is a lot of water in the subsoil, the surface actually is drying out pretty well. And yeah, there’s still problem spots in fields, but I think it is looking a little better now than most times we had a chance to be out there last spring,” according to DeJong.

The corn planting progress at two percent is one week behind the five-year average.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One Iowa pork plant at the center of a major coronavirus outbreak is reopening as another began testing all employees to learn the scope of their infections. Tyson Foods resumed limited operations at its pork processing plant in Columbus Junction, where more than 200 workers have become infected and at least two have died. The plant, which has about 1,400 employees, had been shut down for two weeks after reporting the outbreak.

In northern Iowa, Wright County officials reported that 16 employees at a pork processing facility run by Prestage Foods of Iowa have tested positive. Mass testing at the plant began Monday.

MAY CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — Authorities in northwestern Iowa say a Hartley man has died after a tractor he was driver rolled into a ditch on top of him. The Sioux City Journal reports that the accident happened around noon Monday, while 77-year-old Kenneth Boernsen was operating the tractor southwest of May City.

The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says it appeared Boernsen was transporting a section of an old loader with his loader bucket raised, when the tractor tipped over into the ditch. Boernsen was found by deputies under the tractor, and pronounced dead at the scene.

(Updated 10-a.m.) – The Griswold FFA Greenhouse will soon be open three days each week beginning Thursday, April 23rd. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said there will be many beautiful flowers, 157 hanging baskets and veggies, including tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. For the safety of everyone involved, there will be a limit as to the number of customers in the greenhouse to two people at a time. Persons entering the greenhouse must use hand sanitizer provided outside, before they enter. Customers will go through the greenhouse in a clockwise direction. The checkout stand will be set-up outside.

Henrichs said “It’s certainly not all about the money by any means, but just for perspective purposes, we have about $3,500 in product right now as far as the school’s cost. We’re hoping to recoup at least some of that anyway, and have a bigger and better greenhouse even, next year.”

More information is available on Facebook at Griswold CSD.

Contrary to some rumors circulating recently, the Cass County Fair in Atlantic is still set to take place July 22nd through the 28th. According to officials with ISU Extension in Cass County, nothing has been decided yet. Concerns over whether the Fair would go on were raised by some, over the uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the highlights of this year’s Fair include:

July 23rd – The Little Miss & Little Mister Contest; King & Queen Contest; Senior Recognition.

July 24th – Mutton Busting for the kids, and Bull Riding.

July 25th – The County Fair Church Service.

July 27th – Grand Champion Beef Selection

July 28th – The Livestock sale.

Learn more by following The Cass County Fair (IA) on Facebook.