(Radio Iowa)  – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne says “urgent” action in congress is necessary to address the lack of competition in the meatpacking industry. The CEOs of the four companies that control 80% of the beef processing in America testified at a House Ag Committee hearing this week. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, is a member of the committee.

“Today consumers are literally paying more for their beef, producers are getting less for their cattle and yet your four companies net income has reached record highs,” Axne said during the hearing. A Missouri man testified that he’d contemplated suicide because of the prices he’s getting for his cattle. That prompted Axne to recite the phone number for the national suicide hotline.

“The sad part is I’m sitting here at a hearing for our cattle producers, having to put out information like that, because it’s so rough on our producers in Iowa and in other places to get ahead,” Axne said.

The president of the Montana Cattlemen’s Association told Axne concentration in the meatpacking industry has made rural America “a slum.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited with Sue Liston, owner of Imagine, on Thursday, April 28th, 2022, to celebrate the Grand Opening of her Garden Gift Store located just outside of Atlantic at Zellmer Century Farm. Chamber officials say Sue Liston and her husband took ownership of the family farm in early 2021 when Sue’s mother passed away. Sue has many fond memories of the farm and wants to share the unique experiences farm life bring to help families make memories of their own.

Photo and story submitted

Sue has big plans for the property, and the first project, a greenhouse gift shop, has been completed and will celebrate with an event for families on Mother’s Day weekend. On Saturday, May 7th, from 9AM to 2PM, families are invited to the farm to create gifts for the special women in their life.

Sue has worked tirelessly to fill the greenhouse with unique gifts by using antique, vintage, and repurposed items. The gift can be a terrarium, fairy garden, or a special planter for indoors or out. Imagine at Zellmer Century Farm specializes in providing the customer with something special to add to any project to make it one of a kind. Starting May 4th, the Garden Giftshop will be open on Wednesdays 10AM-4PM, Thursday 11AM-6PM, Friday 10AM-4PM, and Saturday 9AM-2PM.

Imagine at Zellmer Century Farm is located at 57053 Highland Road outside of Atlantic. To learn more about the Garden Giftshop, call 630-660-5661 or visit them at https://www.zellmercenturyfarm.com/

(Radio Iowa) – The governors of Iowa and seven other Midwestern states are asking federal regulators to approve year-round E-15 sales in their states. Governor Kim Reynolds, along with the governors of the Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kansas signed a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking a waiver to permanently allow gasoline with 15 percent ethanol to be sold during the summer months in their states.

“To really help sustain and grow an industry that’s really important first of all to our economy and to farmers where 50 percent of the corn goes to our ethanol plants and it’s a lower cost fuel,” Reynolds says. “As we’re seeing skyrocketing gas prices, check the price at the pump. It’s a good deal.”

Clean Air Act rules prohibit the sale of E-15 from the beginning of June through the middle of September in several states. As President Biden announced at an Iowa ethanol plant earlier this month, the E-P-A is allowing E-15 to be sold nationwide this summer to lower gas prices — but it’s a one-year waiver.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who own boats are being warned that their state registration stickers on the hull will expire this weekend. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer, says those three-year stickers are only good through April 30th, which is Saturday. “If you’re planning on being on Iowa public water with a boat, you need to make sure you’re registered,” Carr says. “If you’re looking to go down that road, the place to stop is your local recorder’s office, whether you’re registering a vessel for the first time or renewing the vessel.”

Before you hit the open water, Carr suggests making sure key safety equipment is onboard. “One of the big things is life jackets — and having wearable life jackets for everybody on board,” Carr says. “That’s going to include life jackets that are in serviceable condition, so if they’re torn and ripped up, that’s not going to be good.”

The list of safety equipment also includes a fire extinguisher. National Boat Safety Week is May 21 to 27. Find more tips at www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Boatin

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Walleye Challenge — a statewide catch-and-release fishing tournament — starts this Sunday, May 1st. There are weekly prizes over the next two months, but the ultimate catch will be the data entered in a smart phone app. Sean Simmons is president of MyCatch — the app for recording the location where the walleye are caught and a photo of the fish before it’s released it back into the water.

“This is an experiment,” Simmons says. “We’re going to see how well we can collect data across the state and see if this will be a useful tool to help the Iowa DNR to get a better state of the walleye fishery.” One key part of the tournament is taking a photo to show the size of walleye being caught in Iowa. Simmons says participants can use a tape measure or what’s called a bump board.

“It’s like a yard stick with a bump at the zero,” Simmons says. “So you put the nose of the fish against the bump and you take a picture of the fish on the bump board.” A team will review the photos and determine if the fish meets the guidelines of the contest. There will be a live leaderboard on the app, showing who has caught the largest walleye. Simmons stresses that the goal isn’t to pull a lot of walleye out of circulation, however.

“We’re not against harvesting, but because we’re running this across the state and encouraging people to report as many fish as they can catch, we don’t want to unnecessarily deplete the resource,” Simmons says. “so the idea is to promote the release of the fish shortly after you catch them.” Staff in state-run fisheries stock walleye in lakes across the state and conduct surveys in a handful of lakes and rivers to try to estimate the walleye population. Simmons is providing his app to the State of Iowa to not only collect data on the size of walleye that are caught over the next two months — but anglers are being asked to type in where they caught their fish. Simmons says secret fishing spots will stay secret.

“We will identify which water body it’s in, like the Des Moines River or the Rathbun Reservoir,” he says, “but the exact location is never revealed publicly.” Simmons says the important part of the tournament is collecting as much information as possible, so prizes aren’t necessarily going to go to the person who catches the largest fish — and there will be prizes for people who don’t catch ANY fish. The MyCatch app has been used for several competitive fishing tournaments in Canada and at a few locations in the United States.

“Ran the Ontario Ice Fishing Challenge where towns across Ontario competed to see who would be the ice fishing capital of Ontario,” Simmons says. The MyCatch app handled over 700 participants who caught-and-released 12-thousand striped bass in the Miramachi Cup in New Brunswick last October.

You can find information about the Iowa Walleye Challenge on www.radioiowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says it’s time for the U-S Justice Department to take real steps to sanction the four companies that control 80 percent of the U.S. the beef packing industry. Feenstra cites the amount one of those companies is paying to settle a lawsuit filed by grocery stores and wholesalers. “JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier paid $52 million to sweep their price-fixing shenanigans under the rug, but they can’t hide what we’ve known all along,” Feenstra says. “These big meatpackers are illegally distorting the market to increase their profits.” The lawsuit filed against J-B-S as well as Tyson, Cargill and National Beef accused the packers of working together to intentionally suppress the number of cattle slaughtered, to drive up beef prices.

“We need to pass the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act to finally hold big packers accountable and help Iowa’s small, independent producers compete on a fair playing field,” Feenstra says. “That is what a free and fair market is all about.” Feenstra is a Republican from Hull. He made his comments during a short speech on the floor of the U.S. House. The Department of Justice opened an investigation of meatpackers two years ago, but has not indicated publicly what its findings may be or if a lawsuit is pending. The Biden Administration is providing a billion dollars in grants to expand processing capacity in small packing plants.

In February, the U-S-D-A unveiled an online portal for livestock producers to report allegations of price fixing. The four major companies in the beef packing industry say the prices they pay for cattle — and the prices consumers pay for meat — are driven by supply and demand.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Spring is in the air, and plans are underway for gardening projects in Cass County. Local groups planning community gardening, beautification or education programs will again be eligible for assistance from the Cass County Master Gardeners. The group is offering grant money to be used in the 2022 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food for donation, for gardening education, and/or for gardening projects to improve local communities. The Cass County Master Gardener Memorial Grants are offered in remembrance of the many years of service to the community provided by long-time Master Gardener volunteers who have passed.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, or other organizations/individuals working to improving their communities can apply for money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping for community benefit, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, those who were funded by 2021 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2022. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. Applications must include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important factor in selection. All grant recipients will be expected to submit a report at the end of the growing season, detailing how the money was spent. Recipients will also be given a sign to place in their garden area for the 2022 growing season.

Applications must be received by 4:30 PM on Wednesday, May 4 for guaranteed consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their application status no later than Monday, May 9 so they can make plans for the growing season. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu. You may also contact Master Gardener LaVon Eblen. Application forms can be printed from the Cass County Extension website- www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. You can also call or email the office to request a form be mailed or emailed to you, or stop by 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic to pick one up.

The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University Extension. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis, with the next statewide training class open for enrollment beginning June 1. For more information on the program, contact Cass County Extension Director Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu.

w/Kate Olson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – The owners of a cattle feedlot in northeast Iowa are asking to renew a permit that allows the facility to take nearly 22 million gallons of water a year from the Jordan aquifer in Clayton County. Residents asked the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to deny another permit for Supreme Beef L-L-C during virtual public meeting Monday. Tammy Thompson says the application does NOT take into account her nearby private well.

“This permit should not be renewed as is because by doing so it would result in an unreasonable use for only the applicants’ personal gain while negatively impacting residents of the nearby communities of Monona and Farmersburg, as well as nearby domestic well and cattle farming users,” Thompson says. The earlier permit for water use was for fewer cattle.

Larry Stone lives near Elkader.  “I contend that the use of the Jordan water by Supreme Beef for 11-thousnd-600 cattle will result in pollution that impacts the public’s quality of life and Iowa’s land air and water resources,” Stone said. The forum was for public information gathering and the D-N-R employees listened but did not speak. The D-N-R is expected to make a decision on the permit renewal next month.

(Radio Iowa) – This is Soil and Water Conservation Week in Iowa, with the theme this year, “Healthy Soil, Healthy Life.” Lynn Knutson is with the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation Service.  “Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week is an opportunity to recognize the important conservation work that has been placed on the Iowa landscape,” Knutson says, “and bring attention to the ongoing work by farmers, landowners and residents to protect the state’s soil and water resources.”

Knutson says there are all sorts of services being offered to Iowans to help them conserve our soil and water. “Farmers can apply to receive some cost-share funding for things like cover crops, strip till, no till, grass waterways, buffer strips,” he says. “The USDA actually approves the work orders that meets the standards and then us as commissioners approve the work that meets the priorities for our county that have been set.”

There are soil and water conservation offices in all 99 Iowa counties. Iowa leads the nation in the continuous conservation reserve program buffer initiative with more than 600,000 acres. Statewide, there are more than 60 active watershed and water quality projects.