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(Radio Iowa) – The winner of this year’s World Food Prize is launching a program to reestablish vineyards and farmland in parts of Ukraine that were damaged in the war with Russia. Heidi Kühn is the founder of Roots of Peace. The U.S-based nonprofit works in war-torn nations to clear landmines and unexploded bombs, and to restore land to agriculture. Kühn says the risk of injury from unexploded ordinances can harm local economies and restrict food production for decades.
Kühn says, “As land mines are in there, it’s holding the land hostage from business opportunity.” The impacted area of Ukraine is estimated to cover 22 million acres, which is about the same amount of land devoted to corn and soybeans in Iowa. The area is considered critical to the global wheat supply. In Vietnam, the group is still clearing mines placed in the demilitarized zone 50-plus years ago. Kühn says in restored areas, farmers have planted more than one-million black pepper trees.
Heidi Kuhn. (Roots of Peace photo)
“This is fertile ground that feeds us,” she says, “so I think this is not a political call to action, this is a moral call to action.” Kühn will receive the award at a ceremony in the Iowa State Capitol tonight (Thursday). The World Food Prize is awarded each year in honor of Iowa native and Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug and his work reducing world hunger.
(by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – Dry conditions led to another busy week in the fields for farmers. The U-S-D-A crop report says the corn harvest increased by 20 percent in the last week, bringing the total to 62 percent of the corn now out of the fields. That is two days ahead of last year and one week ahead of the five-year average. Combines have now harvested 87 percent of the soybeans statewide, up from 74 percent the week before. That is one day ahead of the harvest rate from last year and ten days ahead of the five-year average.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic FFA Reporter Lily Johnson says on October 5, 2023, 15 Atlantic FFA members attended the fall contest held at Northwest Missouri State University located in Maryville, Missouri. The members got the opportunity to compete in several different contests.
Livestock Judging
Left to Right: (1st row) Kaydence Sturm, Aly Dreager, Maddy Anderson, Addalyn Sonntag, Mckenna Sonntag, Jailynne Castillo, Jacquie Freund. (2nd row) Frank Freund, Keston Schmit, Addie Freund, Hayden Kleen, Lauren Comes, Dylan Dreager, Mia Kloewer, and Miraylie Stuart.
This year, the chapter had eleven members compete in the Livestock Evaluation contest, placing 9th out of 31 teams. The top 4 scores for Atlantic FFA came from McKenna Sonntag, Addie Freund, Lauren Comes and Hayden Kleen. In this contest, members had the opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge of various livestock breeds. Those who competed had to place breeding and market classes of beef, swine, and sheep, while also doing three classes of oral reasons.
In the Dairy Cattle Evaluation contest, Colton Rudy competed and individually placed 6th. The purpose of the District Dairy Cattle CDE is to enable students to develop skills in dairy animal selection and dairy herd management. They evaluated and ranked dairy animals based on visual factors of selection.
The last contest that FFA members competed in, was the Dairy Foods contest. The team was comprised of Lola Comes, Lily Johnson, and Natalie Smith. The trio got to try different types of cheese, find the defects in milk, look at milking equipment, and take a written exam. Together they placed as the top Iowa team.
Dairy Foods team
Lola Comes, Lily Johnson, Natalie smith
DES MOINES, Iowa (Oct. 23, 2023) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed two positive cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), one in Pocahontas County and the other in Guthrie County.
The affected site in Pocahontas County is a commercial turkey flock. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Monday, announced the signing of a disaster proclamation for Pocahontas County, Iowa effective immediately through November 22, 2023. The USDA has confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock there.
This proclamation allows state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection. The proclamation also waives regulatory provisions related to commercial vehicles responding to affected sites.
The affected site in Guthrie County is a mixed species backyard flock.
Commercial and backyard flock owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds. Sick birds or unusual deaths among birds should be immediately reported to state or federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship website. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present a public health concern. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always utilize the proper handling and cooking of eggs and poultry products, including cooking to an internal temperature of 165 F.
The first of three days of hearings starts tonight (Monday) on a proposal for wind turbines in the Iowa Great Lakes area. Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson reports. Invenergy is asking Dickinson County for a permit to build up to 101 turbines. A large turnout is expected, so the hearing was expanded to three nights, and they will be held at the courthouse in Spirit Lake. The company says the turbines will bring in millions in tax revenue.
Residents are concerned about the impact on their homes and properties in the area where tourism is a major part of their economy. Tonight’s hearing starts at six o’clock.
(Radio Iowa) – There’s still hope that the remainder of the fall will bring heavier moisture than normal that can help cut back the ongoing drought in Iowa. D-N-R hydrologist Tim Hall says recent rains weren’t enough to make a big dent, but did erase the areas of D-4 or extreme drought. “Areas of Benton and Tama County that were previously in the D-4classification saw enough rain to improve to D-3. But improvement to D-3 is still D-3,” he says. The D-3 designation is extreme drought compared to the D-4 exceptional drought designation. There is only a small sliver of the state that has no drought. Hall says late fall has not been the best time to make up a moisture deficit, though there have been exceptions.
” By the time we get to November, we see less than two inches of rain over the entire month. However, a couple years ago, we saw a very wet October, we’ve seen very wet fall months before,” Hall says. “So there’s certainly the opportunity to see noticeable and really helpful rainfall.” He says warmer temperatures would help, as they keep the ground from freezing and shutting out water. “The first thing that happens when it rains is you get water into the soil matrix and you improve soil moisture. And after that, the water can move down into shallow groundwater. That all sort of comes to an end with the ground freeze up. You tend to get very rapid runoff in ground freeze up and not as much benefit,” Hall says.
The short term forecast has the potential for some rains in the coming week.”There could be widespread rain in the one to two inch rain across a lot of the state. So there’s there’s some optimism that between now and the end of the month we could see another inch plus of rain which would certainly be great,” he says. ” I mean at now, anything we get over about three quarters of an inch in a week is above normal. So we’d love to see that.”
Hall says any rain we get before the ground freezes is a bonus in helping build up of the groundwater that has been way behind for months.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Over 20 bicycle rides participated in the 2023 ‘Tour de Parks’ free, community bicycle ride around Atlantic organized by Nishna Valley Trails and Cass County Conservation. While this year Tour de Parks offered a shorter route option, Nishna Valley Trails President Dave Chase said he was “really impressed that everyone elected to try the long route, and found that there are places to safely ride bikes without hills in Atlantic.
Now in its third year, Tour de Parks offers participants the chance to ride on both trails and streets as they visit various parks where area organizations greet them and share information.
Ride stops and highlights:
1. The first stop this year was at Sunnyside Park, which offers tennis and pickleball courts, in addition to one of the best disc golf courses in Iowa. At Sunnyside, Atlantic City Councilperson Elaine Otte gave an update on the Splash Pad Project.
2. At Cedar Park, Atlantic Lions Club President Alan Ladd and Lion Greg Schuler shared information on their club and the club’s community projects including improvements to Cedar Park itself.
3. The third stop on the ride was the Rotary Shelter at the Schildberg Recreation Area where Rotarian Dolly Bergman talked about Atlantic Rotary’s service projects, including scholarships to high school students, and the upcoming Rotary Auction.
Tour de Parks riders enjoy cherry tomatoes and granola from Brun Ko Farm while learning about Grow Another Row and edible landscaping projects at Mollett Park
4. Mollett Park offered a chance to learn about local food efforts. Ciara Hoegh showed riders the Grow Another Row stand at the park, where anyone can share and take fresh produce during the growing season, and pointed out new raspberry plants at the park that are part of a multi-year grant to develop edible landscapes. Emily Paulsen of Brun Ko Farm handed out mid-ride snacks of fresh cherry tomatoes and homemade granola.
5. At Harl Holt Park and Bull Creek Pathway, Otte discussed improvements that have been made to the park and pathway over the past two years costing in excess of $300,000, and the further work on Bull Creek that needs to be done that will cost at least that much or more.
6. When the riders passed the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Board Member Christina Bateman gave an update on adult and children’s recreation programs offered by the Y, and the Y’s continuing work to offer childcare and wellness programs to both adults and kids.
7. The ride ended at the Atlantic City Park, where Sarah Selders sang, Cass County Conservation and Healthy Cass County shared information on a multitude of health and wellness programs, and the Atlantic Kiwanis provided riders with a free meal and an update on their commitment to making safe bike riding accessible to all children.
The Atlantic Kiwanis are known for provide free helmets to third graders, but Steve Green shared about an exciting new development with the club. Thanks to donations of bikes, and partnership from Bike Farm, Dvorak Tire, and the Atlantic Police Department, the Atlantic Kiwanis are hoping to be able to give away bicycles in addition to helmets.
Nishna Valley Trails is a tax-exempt local nonprofit that promotes the development of recreational trails and cycling. People who support these causes are welcome to join the group. For more information on Nishna Valley Trails or to join the organization, contact President Dave Chase at barbdavechase@gmail.com or 712-249-3059.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The 30th biannual Cass County Conservation Department’s Halloween Hike, will be held on Saturday, October 28th. During the event, you’ll follow a trail and meet the Little Red Riding Hood, her forest friends like Brown Bat, Mice, and The Wolf!
Starting at 7:00 p.m. small groups will depart from the Camblin Addition of Sunnyside Park in Atlantic, every ten minutes. The last group will depart at 8:20 p.m. and all hikers are welcome to enjoy free tasty treats and warm drinks after their hike. It is not our intent to scare or frighten anyone, but to educate and entertain people of all ages!
Pre-registration is required for this FREE event. Please call 712-769-2372 or email lkanning@casscoia.us or online at https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Cass/Park/Cass-County-Courthouse/Events/23468/Little-Red-Riding-Hood-Halloween-Hike-7-30-PM-HIKE-TIME.aspx, to make your reservations. If you leave a message please leave name, phone number, how many is in your group and what time you wish to depart on the hike! The hike is sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board.
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