Summer starts today (Wednesday) and state health officials are reminding Iowans not to underestimate the power — and danger — of their lawnmowers. The number of mower-related injuries reported statewide took a big jump last year. Dr. Patty Quinlisk, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says push and riding mowers pose different types of risks to life and limb.

“One is if you’re on a riding mower, it could tip. For example, if you’re going sideways down a slope, it could tip and injure you,” Dr. Quinlisk says. “The next one is when that blade is going around, it could throw up rocks or other things in the area where you’re mowing and you could be hit by that. The third one is the blade itself.” That sharpened metal blade, spinning around at 200 miles an hour, can quickly slice off a finger or a toe.

While it’s hot and you may want to dress light for mowing, Quinlisk suggests you don’t skimp on footwear. “You should have sturdy shoes on. This is not the time to mow with sandals or even bare feet. You want good safety shoes on,” Quinlisk says. “You want to have something to protect your eyes, just in case it does throw some rocks or dirt or something up.” Many young Iowans make good money mowing lawns in their neighborhoods during the summer but Quinlisk says parents should give serious consideration to their child’s age and maturity level before letting them take off with the Toro.

“If it’s a push mower, usually we say somewhere around 12 to 14 (years old) with some safety instructions prior to using it,” Quinlisk says. “With the riding ones, usually most people say around 16 or older is when that becomes a little bit safer.” A state health department report says four people were killed in Iowa last year in lawn mower-related accidents and 156 were injured.

In 2015, six deaths were reported but only 108 injuries. In the past six years, a total of 20 Iowans have died in mower-related accidents.

(Radio Iowa)

w/Kate Olson.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Company officials say construction delays are pushing back the opening of a $300 million pork plant in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Seaboard Trump Foods plant was expected to begin production around July 31. But chief operating officer Mark Porter says more time’s needed to get equipment in place and finish the commissioning process before commercial processing can get underway.

Porter says the new potential startup dates under consideration are Aug. 25 and Sept. 4. The joint venture between Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods will have the capacity to slaughter 21,000 hogs a day. The plant is expected to employ around 2,000 people by the time a second shift begins operation in May 2018.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board met on Monday evening in the council chambers at City Hall and progress at the Shildberg Recreation Area was a big topic of discussion. Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Seth Staashelm said work is going on this week to plant trees, install fire rings, and begin sewer line installation for the campground.

Some shoreline stabilization work is being done around lake 3 at Shildberg’s and long term plans are in mind to eventually connect the lake 2 trail to a full circle.

The board also discussed the Sunnyside Pool Renovation plans and Staashelm is encouraging the public to comment on the project so the plans can be shaped by the community.

Discussion also began on forming a committee to look into improving the little league complex into a larger sports complex that other sports can take advantage of.

A summer series of Movies in the Park also starts up this Friday with some added fun activities for the kids.

DES MOINES – Last week over 60 federal, state and local agency, academic and industry professionals met to participate in a mock animal disease emergency response exercise. The exercise was hosted by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship with the support of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“Unfortunately, Iowa saw firsthand how devastating an animal health emergency can be with the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak that severely impacted our poultry industry in 2015.  The Department has made it a priority to take the lessons learned from that disaster and help us be better prepared should we have to deal with another event in the future.  This exercise was another step in that process and I greatly appreciate all the stakeholders from across the state that participated,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said.

The tabletop exercise was designed to help test response capabilities and review the Department’s updated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Response Plan that was completed this spring.  Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious viral disease of livestock that affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. This disease is not transmissible to humans and there are not food safety concerns with the disease.

This all-day exercise allowed leaders in industry, academia and government to talk through the plan and process of preventing, detecting, and responding to various scenarios involving an outbreak response.

“We greatly appreciate the leadership by the Department to develop this plan and continue the process by holding this exercise so we can continue to learn and improve,” said Pat McGonegle, CEO of the Iowa Pork Producers Association who participated in the exercise.

A Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak has the potential to be devastating to the Iowa and national economy. Iowa is the number one pork producing state in the nation and 4^th in beef production.  Iowa 3^rd in milk goat inventory and 9^th in all sheep and lamb inventory. Our state also has over 200,000 dairy cows and is in the top 15 nationally for milk production.  Livestock feed is the top customer of both corn and soybeans, so grain farmers would also be significantly impacted if the disease is found.

The Center for Food Safety and Public Health at Iowa State coordinated the development of the updated response plan.  The exercise was organized/conducted by SES, Inc. out of Merriam, Kansas, who provided facilitators and evaluators to document discussion, resolve questions, and advise on plans, policies, and procedures.

Bob Bebensee and DNR Conservation Officer Grant Gelle talk about all things outdoors, including fishing eating up with the weather.

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The U.S. Justice Department has approved the merger of DuPont and Dow Chemical, but with the condition that some crop protection products be sold off. Critics have complained the merger will increase costs for farmers by reducing competition in the seed and farm chemical markets. The Justice Department’s conditions for the merger call for the sale of DuPont’s Finesse herbicide for winter wheat and an insecticide used in fruit and vegetable crops. DuPont acquired Iowa-based Pioneer Hybrid in 1999 and there were fears last year that Pioneer facilities in Johnston might be closed.

However, DuPont shifted some jobs from Delaware to Iowa and made the Pioneer campus in Johnston a hub for crop research and its seed business. Senator Chuck Grassley had been among those raising some concerns about the DuPont and Dow Chemical merger and he’s vowing to “keep a close eye on” mergers within the agriculture industry, but Grassley says forcing the companies to sell off parts of their businesses maintains “a more fair and open marketplace” for farmers.

But Grassley adds that farmers — and consumers — are “rightly…on edge” about agribusiness mergers. The Justice Department continues to review another proposed agribusiness merger. Germany’s Bayer hopes to take over Monsanto and become one of the world’s largest agriculture conglomerates.

(Radio Iowa)

An international delegation of ten farmers and ag industry leaders from as far away as Australia and New Zealand is arriving in Iowa today (Friday) to spend a week studying the Iowa way of life. Ed Kee, Delaware’s former Secretary of Agriculture, is now president of Nuffield American. “Nuffield International is a group that sponsors significant travel for young farmers from different countries to go around the world and learn about agriculture in those countries,” Kee says. “They travel 16 weeks divided over a year’s time to do that work.”

That work includes compiling an in-depth report on their experiences. Kee is no stranger to Iowa as he’s had a long working relationship with Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey. “It’s a real treat for me to help these people from these different countries to visit Iowa,” Kee says. “Secretary Northey and his department have been a big help in arranging it but as we did that, the Iowa farmers, the Iowa agribusiness people are so welcoming and encouraging.”

Members of the delegation were expected tol begin their tour meeting with Secretary Northey today. “The group is interacting with the different farm organizations and commodity leaders to really start off trying to understand Iowa agriculture,” Kee says. “The most exciting thing is just getting out on the farms, interacting with different agribusinesses, different farmers.”

The tour will include stops on farms and tours of agricultural industries in the Des Moines area as well as Ames, Anita, Bridgewater, Sigourney, Nevada and Ellsworth. They’ll also take in an Iowa Cubs game in Des Moines, the first baseball game for many of them. Ag officials participating in the tour are from Australia, Brazil, England, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

(Radio Iowa)

Give dad something he will always treasure this Father’s Day – quality time together. Take dad fishing and create memories that you can relive every time you’re together. “Fishing is a fun way to celebrate special family events,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Bureau. “Enjoy your time together in Iowa’s great outdoors without the stress of busy schedules and interruptions from mobile devices.”

Snap a picture of you and your dad fishing and enter it in the 2017 #MissionFishin Photo Contest. Find the complete contest rules at www.iowadnr.gov/missionfishin. Visit the Iowa DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing for tips on making the most of your fishing trip this Father’s Day including what’s biting where, fishing maps and great places to fish close to home.

The Cass and Adair County Farm Bureaus are partnering with other ag organizations to put on Ag Adventure at the July 4th celebration in Massena. A highlight of the Ag Adventure is the Iowa State University “Conservation Station,” an engaging learning center that educates persons of all ages about the importance of clean water and healthy soil.

Visitors to the Conservation Station can partake in free, fun, hands-on activities and demonstrations. You can play the watershed game and learn how water flows in a watershed, as well as how all Iowans can make a difference for water quality. There’s a rainfall simulator, that shows how water can run off or infiltrate into surfaces, both in agriculture and urban environments. The water runoff and subsurface drainage is collected in jars to show how different land management choices can impact water and soil movement.

The Conservation Station is sponsored by the Water Rocks! and Learning Farms programs. The Station is one of just 10 stations that make up this year’s Ag Adventure, which allows attendees to meet local farmers and learn about agriculture through hands-on experiences. The event was successfully hosted last year in Greenfield, and moves to Massena this year.

The site will open immediately after the 4-p.m. 4th of July parade in Massena and remain open until 7-p.m. Many of the popular stations will feature live animals. Participants will be treated to home-made ice cream, once they’ve completed the adventure.

For more information, check out “Who’s your IA Farmer” on Facebook, or contact the Adair or Cass County Farm Bureau offices.