Iowans are familiar with the emerald ash borer and the green insect’s threat to our foliage, but we’re also being asked to be on guard for another insect that’s equally as lethal to a much wider variety of trees. Rhonda Santos (SAN-toes), a spokeswoman for the U-S-D-A, says this is the ideal time of year for Iowa homeowners to examine their trees for the Asian longhorned beetle and to report any clues they find about the invasive pest.

Unlike the emerald ash borer, the Asian longhorned beetle likes to feed on a host of trees, including: ash, birch, elm, sycamore, maple, buckeye, poplar and willow. The bug has distinct markings and leaves behind a series of holes and other signs in trees that make it quick to identify.

The beetle is not native to the U.S. and has few-to-no natural predators. Santos encourages Iowans to take five minutes and give your trees a close inspection for those round holes or sawdust.

The beetle was first spotted in the U.S. in New York in 1996 and spread quickly. It’s one of a group of invasive pests and plant diseases that costs the nation some 40-billion dollars each year in losses to trees, plants, and crops. For more information or to report the insect or tree damage, visit www.asianlonghornedbeetle.com.

Monday:  A chance of showers and thunderstorms early. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny with a high near 71. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday Night:  Mostly clear, with a low around 47. North wind at 5 mph.

Tuesday:  Sunny with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday:  Sunny with a high near 75.

Thursday:  Sunny with a high near 76.

Friday:  Mostly sunny with a high near 75.

Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 84. South wind at 5 mph.

Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 71.

Over the summer, the Atlantic FFA participated in several different livestock judging contests across the area; all of which at county fairs.  Livestock judging is all about analyzing animals, whether that be beef, swine, sheep, or goat, and how they compare with one another as well as how they compare to an ideal standard.  At most local events, teams up to four will just have to place four animals in the most optimal order, while at state events and above, contestants will have to give specific reasoning for their choices.

The first contest that members attended was at the Adams County Fair, which is where Team 1 placed 7th and Team 2 placed 15th.  The first team included Miraylie Stuart, Lily Johnson, and Lauren Comes, who placed 5th individually.  The 15th-place team was made up of Aly Dreager, Frank Freund, and Hayden Kleen.

Moving on to the Carroll County Fair with team 1 consisting of Lola Comes, Lily Johnson, and Mckenna Sonntag, placed 7th and Sonntag individually placed 7th. Team 2 consists of Aly Dreager, Frank Freund, and Hayden Kleen. I2 of which placed individually, Kleen, 8th, and Dreager, 10th.

Our next stop was Crawford County. Team 1 was made up of Lauren Comes, Lola Comes, Aly Dreager, and Mckenna Sonntag placed 2nd. Individuals were placed, Dreager, 7th, Lola Comes, 10th,

Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, Maddy Anderson, and Miraylie Stuart

and Sonntag 12th. Team 2 consisted of Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, Maddy Anderson, and Miraylie Stuart, they placed 7th. Our 3rd team was made up of Frank Freund, Parker Brock, Bailey Grieshaber, and Kaydence Sturm together placing 12th.

Next, we went to the Montgomery County Fair. Our first team made up of Aly Dreager, Colton Becker, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag placed 2nd. Individually, Mckenna placed  4th, Aly 11th, and Lauren 18th. Team 2 consisting of Lily Johnson, Hayden Kleen, Parker Brock, and Miraylie Stuart placed 16th. The 3rd team was made up of Jaquie Freund, Natalie Smith, Kaydence Sturm, and Addalynn Sonntag placing 12th.

Moving on to Union County with team 1 containing Aly Dreager, Miraylie Stuart, and Lauren Comes. Together they placed 3rd and individually Lauren placed 8th and Aly placed 10th. Team 2 had members Maddy Anderson, Lily Johnson, and Chloe Sonntag placing 6th. Individually Maddy placed 9th. Our 3rd team consisted of Kaydence Sturm, Jaquie Freund, and Bailey Grieshaber. As a team, they placed 8th.

Parker Brock, Addie Freund, Bailey Grieshaber, and Frank Freund

During the Cass County Fair, we had several members judge in the FFA and 4-H districts category. FFA team 1 placed 8th, made up of Colton Becker, Lauren Comes, Miraylie Stuart, and Aly Dreager. Team 2 consisted of Kaydence Sturm, Maddy Anderson, Lola Comes, and Hayden Kleen, as a team they placed 12th. Our 3rd team placed 13th, containing members Parker Brock, Addie Freund, Bailey Grieshaber, and Frank Freund.

For state livestock judging, we had 3 members participate, those of which were Aly Dreager, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag. They earned a silver medal and both Mckenna and Lauren placed in the top 25.

Aly Dreager, Lola Comes, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag

The Guthrie County Fair livestock judging contest was held on August 31st. Atlantic FFA team 1 consisted of Aly Dreager, Lola Comes, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag, they placed 3rd.  Team 2 members Frank Freund, Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, and Miraylie Stuart, placed 6th. Team 3 was made up of Rylee Harlan, Addylynn Sonntag, Maddy Anderson, and Addie Freund, they placed 9th. Individually, Mckenna placed 4th, and Lola placed 10th.

As a reflection, Lauren Comes said ”Atlantic had a really good turnout for livestock judging this year. Earlier in the summer we took a trip over to Cedar Rapids, which was something new that we tried and we had never done before but I definitely enjoyed that not only for the judging aspect but being able to just compete against new individuals and new teams that we aren’t used to and having a new environment that we don’t typically see often. Then we went around to about 10 counties around Iowa this summer and overall we did pretty well. We usually had a team or two and a couple of individuals placed in the top 10 in every county. We ended off our year by taking three individuals, including myself, up to the state livestock judging contest in Ames. This contest had a really big turnout. There were a lot of individuals and schools from all over Iowa. There was a lot of competition but overall we did really well. Mckenna Sonntag and I placed in the top 25 out of 150 individuals which is really cool to experience and really good to see for Atlantic to get up in the top 25. Our team placed 16th out of 45 teams and earned a silver rating. I think next year with this new group of young kids coming in, we have a lot of potential. I see a lot of growth within the Atlantic chapter, and I am really excited to see what the future holds for us not only within livestock judging but just overall as a chapter.”

We will have one more contest in October at Northwest Missouri State University with members participating in several different events including livestock judging

Atlantic FFA Reporter – Lily Johnson

Friday:  Isolated showers before 8:00 am.  Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 82.  East northeast wind at 5 mph.
Friday Night:  Clear, with a low around 55.  East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday:  Sunny, with a high near 83.  South wind at 5 mph.
Sunday:  A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.  Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
Monday:  A chance of showers and thunderstorms.  Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.

The 41st Annual Carstens Farm Days is this Saturday and Sunday, September 9th and 10th.  The Carstens 1880 Farmstead provides a look back in time to life on the farm in the late 1800’s.

Each year, the show focuses on a different tractor manufacturer.  Board member Terry Torneten say’s this year it’s Farmall.

All tractor colors are welcome.  Torneten says there will be lots of steam and gas demonstrations, crafts, a quilt show and of course plenty of food.  But, he says the highlight is the daily parade.

Breakfast is available each morning and they have a healthy crop of farm-grown potatoes for sale.  Admission is $10 per day for those nine years old and up.  And, the farm is easy to find.

All proceeds help to maintain the farmstead project.

Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum says carbon capture technology can spark what he calls “the golden age of agriculture.”

Burgum is the governor of North Dakota and the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline would ship carbon from Midwest ethanol plants to underground storage in Burgum’s state.

Burgum says the Biden Administration is hurting the U-S economy with a crazy level of spending in support of the electric vehicle industry.

Experts say over seven billion barrels of oil could be pumped from the Bakken (BAWK-en) oil fields in Burgum’s home state and Burgum says it’s time for the U-S to focus on liquid fuels.

Burgum campaigned in southwest Iowa yesterday (Tuesday) and toured the Great Plains plant in Shenandoah. The company is involved in a joint venture with United Airlines and a pipeline operator to develop an ethanol-based aviation fuel. Burgum’s campaign is hosting events in Harlan and Denison today (Wednesday).

w/Kate Olson.

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Today:  Widespread haze after 7am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 78. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight:  Widespread haze. Mostly clear, with a low around 49. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday:  Sunny, with a high near 80. North northeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday:  Sunny, with a high near 83. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday:  Sunny, with a high near 85.
Sunday:  A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Board hearing for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline has entered its third week. Summit’s chief operating officer is on the witness stand. James Powell is in charge of design, construction and operation of the pipeline. He says Summit’s project is about ensuring ethanol plants that connect to the pipeline make a profit.

Brian Jordy, a lawyer for pipeline opponents, suggested the Utilities Board is being asked to pick pipeline investors as winners and property owners who don’t want the pipeline on their land will be the losers. Powell responded.

Powell says the company has rerouted its proposed pipeline 15-hundred times in Iowa.

Under questioning, Powell said he does not know the slate of investors in Summit Carbon Solutions. However, Powell did tell attorney Brian Jordy the pipeline company is a spin off of Summit Ag Group, which is owned by Bruce Rastetter, an entrepreneur who’s made investments in the pork and biofuels industries.

Summit Carbon Solutions is seeking eminent domain authority so unwilling landowners would be forced to grant the company permanent access to more than 900 parcels, or sections of property. Landowners opposed to the project testified during the first two weeks of the Utilities Board hearing, which is being held in Fort Dodge.