Iowans who love the taste of farm-fresh sweet corn, tomatoes and other just-picked veggies already know where to go — as this is Iowa Farmers Market Week. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says there are more than 220 farmers markets across the state, and you’re never too far away from one. Northey says, “They’re one or two or sometimes three times a week in a location so you kind of have to pay attention to know where it’s at, but boy, once people get going, it becomes something they always want to get to and see what new products are there, meet and see friends and just get caught up on what’s going on.”

Northey says farmers markets sell more than just produce, but that is the number-one lure. “The produce and the changing of the seasons is certainly one of the things that draws folks there,” Northey says. “When strawberries show up or when sweet corn shows up, we see a surge in traffic but there’s also baked goods and crafts and other kinds of things, depending on what each market has.”

About a year ago, the state ag department launched a free downloadable smart phone app which offers a searchable database of Iowa’s farmers markets. Learn more at: www.agriculture.state.ia.us

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State transportation officials are warning motorists that as Iowa’s corn crop grows taller, they need to be extra cautious at intersections and railroad crossings. The Iowa Department of Transportation says the state had 33 crashes in 2012 that were blamed on obstructed views due to trees or crops. Those crashes left one person dead and at least 40 people injured.

Although most people who have lived for any stretch in Iowa are accustomed to crops occasionally hindering views, state safety engineer Jeremey Vortherms says people still underestimate the danger. At uncontrolled intersections, Vortherms says drivers should act as if a stop or yield sign were posted.

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks discuss the latest news from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

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Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors welcome new business Renew Ag Supply to 811 Sunnyside Lane in Atlantic. Owner and manager Peggy Beschorner hosted the group and shared her story of 30 plus years in the ag supply industry serving the Atlantic Area.

Pictured are: Lana Westphalen, Carole Schuler, Jolene Roecker, Nedra Perry, Deb Leistad, Sue Muri, Peggy Beschorner, Arlene Drennan, Bil Saluk, Dolly Bergmann & Tessa, Pat McCurdy, Connie Wailes, Donnie Drennan, Gerald Brink, Russell Joyce, Jim Kickland, Chip Hansen, Kathie Hockenberry, Rich Perry, Karl Aldag, JoAnn Runyan, Tammy Waters, Melanie Petty, Diane Harris, Lucas Mosier, Keith Leonard, Josh Dvorak, and Sara Nelson.

Renew Ag Supply offers products for large animals including antibiotics, vaccinations and many other products necessary for farming operations. Beschorner said they hope to expand and fill their new space as the business grows.

The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources reports the State’s 15-day annual pheasant population survey began with tempered expectations on Aug. 1, after a record setting wet spring, with cool temperatures that followed a snowy winter. Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources , coordinates and collects the data from the 208, 30-mile survey routes.

Bogenschutz says “When our pheasants do best, it’s after mild winters with less than 30 inches of snow followed by a warm, dry spring nesting season where we receive less than eight inches of rain. We had that scenario last year and our birds responded. But that is not the case this year.”

The nesting season is April 1 to May 31 and during that period, the average temperature was 51 degrees and Iowa received 15.4 inches of precipitation, including a significant snowfall during the first weekend in May. In years with similar weather, the pheasant survey found declines ranging from 4 percent to 51 percent. “It’s probably assured that the pheasant count will decline, the only question is by how much,” according to Bogenschutz, who says “We will know soon.”

The 30-mile routes are driven at sunrise on gravel roads preferably on mornings with heavy dew and little wind. The surveyors watch for hens moving their broods to the road edges to dry off before starting to look for insects. Surveyors note the number in the brood, any adult pheasants present and the size of the chicks, which tells Bogenschutz if this was an initial nest or if the nest was washed out and this brood was from a second or even third nest attempt. Each attempt after the first has fewer eggs than the previous attempt. They are the same routes each year.

The survey also collects data on cottontail rabbits, jack rabbits, quail and Hungarian partridge. The information will be available online at www.iowadnr.gov/pheasantsurvey by the middle of September.

Re-live some of the 2013 Cass County Fair on KJAN TV!  CLICK HERE to see the Swine and Beef sales and the Queen/King contest.

w/ Kate Olson

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Iowa and Nebraska health officials say a prepackaged salad mix is the source of a cyclospora outbreak that sickened more than 178 people in both states. Public health officials from both states announced their findings on Tuesday. Outbreaks of the same illness have been reported elsewhere in the U.S., but it’s not clear if prepackaged salad mix is also linked to those. Cyclospora is a rare parasite that causes a lengthy gastrointestinal illness.

Nebraska officials say the salad mix came through national distribution channels. It included iceberg and romaine lettuce, along with red cabbage and carrots. Local health departments are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify exactly where the contamination originated in the food production chain and where the product was distributed.