w/Brandon Scheuring.

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(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s weather may be in for a big change in the coming months as indications show a possible shift toward a La Nina pattern, which means hotter, drier weather. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub — based in Ames, says Pacific Ocean climate factors have been steady for the past couple of years but there are hints that may be changing.  “We have been neutral to maybe hedging close to an El Nino,” Todey says. “We didn’t quite reach the category but we were close towards that side. It’s really interesting now, as you look ahead into the summertime, there are a few models that took us rapidly toward La Nina territory by the end of the growing season.”

Todey says there is an indication from computerized weather forecasting models of changes later this year. “The chances for La Nina start popping up in the fall, so it’s after the main part of the growing season here,” Todey says. “We do have to watch in case things would shift more quickly to La Nina than we’d expect, but right now the expectation is that we don’t get to La Nina territory during the growing season enough to be an issue.” Todey says sea surface temperature changes have an impact on the weather in Iowa and across much of North America. “La Nina, during the growing season for us, does increase our risk of heat and dryness but right now, we don’t expect that to happen,” Todey says. “My main concern with the growing season right now is how quickly can we get things moving, how quickly can we get soils dried out and things in the ground so we don’t get delays again.”

A warming ocean surface produces an El Nino pattern which can also have strong effects, including wetter weather in the Midwest.

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (AP) — Tyson Foods Inc. will temporarily close its meatpacking plant in north-central Indiana after 146 employees tested positive for COVID-19. The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Logansport produced 3 million pounds of pork daily. Tyson suspended production Monday to allow for cleaning and sanitizing.

The plant reopened Tuesday and is running at limited capacity because of decreased worker attendance. The company on Wednesday announced it will stop all production by Saturday. Steve Stouffer of Tyson’s beef-and-pork subsidiary says when such facilities close, “the availability of protein for consumers across the nation will only decrease.”

Tyson Foods also announced Wednesday, that it is suspending operations indefinitely at the large Waterloo pork processing plant that was blamed for fueling a coronavirus outbreak in the community. The company warned that its closing of the plant in Waterloo would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs 2,800 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, almost 4% of the nation’s pork processing capacity. Several other meatpacking plants have temporarily closed due to coronavirus outbreaks.

The Cass County Local Food Policy Council reports, this Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 PM, eggs will be given away free to the first 100 households to show up at the Iowa Western Parking Lot in Atlantic. The eggs, from Southwest Iowa Egg in Massena, are being paid for by an Atlantic High School graduate who now lives out of state and asked to remain anonymous. Eggs will be handed out by members of the Cass County Local Food Policy Council.

Egg photo from Southwest Iowa Egg

The anonymous donor was looking for a way to help others during COVID-19 when she heard Southwest Iowa Egg Coop in Massena was struggling to sell eggs, due to supply chain limitations. Knowing eggs are a healthy food that could help those who lack the resources to buy them, she reached out to see if she could purchase eggs to give away. One call led to another, and the Cass County Local Food Policy Council was soon mobilizing excited volunteers.

The eggs are available to anyone who needs them. There is no requirement to prove need. Recognizing that not everyone in the county will have transportation to participate, the food policy council asks people who may not need the eggs themselves to consider getting them for a neighbor or friend who does.
Only one person from each household is asked to collect the eggs and masks are appreciated. A flat of eggs will be handed out to the first 100 households. A flat is 30 eggs. The eggs are clean and chilled, but ungraded and unwashed. People are asked to not line up before 1:00 PM, as the food policy council will be setting up prior to the giveaway.

Free Egg Giveaway Saturday April 25th
When: Saturday, April 25 1:00-3:00 PM (or until supplies run out)
Where: Iowa Western Parking Lot (705 Walnut Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022)
What: A flat of eggs will be given to the first 100 households (a flat is 30 eggs)
Who: Eggs are available to anyone who needs them. There are no requirements for receiving the eggs. Recognizing that not everyone in the county will have transportation to the Iowa Western parking lot, the food policy council asks people who may not need the eggs themselves to consider getting eggs for a neighbor or friend who does.

Thanks to Iowa Western Community College for providing the pickup location and to the anonymous donor for making this possible!

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Tyson Foods announced that it is suspending operations indefinitely at a large Iowa pork processing plant linked to a growing coronavirus outbreak. The company warned that its closing of the Waterloo, Iowa, plant would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson had kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs nearly 3,000 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, about 4% of the U.S. pork processing capacity. The announcement comes as employers have struggled to contain the virus in large meatpacking plants. Several other packing plants have temporarily closed.

If you are interested in, or have a need to plant a tree on your property, Atlantic Trees Forever has just the deal for you. Spokesperson Dolly Bergmann said Spring tree vouchers are now available. The vouchers are worth $30 off the cost of a tree, and can be obtained at Pymosa Farms (50979 Buck Creek Road), north of Atlantic.

Bergmann said there are a limited number of vouchers available. She said also, Pymosa Farms can help you determine what kind of tree would work best in the location you would like to plant a tree. Call Pymosa Farms owner Tim Reavis at 402-659-1213, before you head out to the farm, to ensure someone is available to help you.

Officials with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association report the Euken-Myers family from Cass County, have been selected as the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Program Award Winners. The ICA chooses an outstanding cattle operation to nominate for the regional award each year. The regional winners for the national award will be announced in late July. The Eukens and Myerses will compete against nominees from Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Euken-Myers families from Cass County (Photo courtesy ICA)

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Environmental Stewardship Awards Program (ESAP) began 28 years ago, long before sustainability was a buzz word. The ESAP program was meant to highlight conservation efforts and recognize outstanding beef farmers who care for the land with as much dedication as they care for their livestock. Six regional winners are recognized at the national level, while one of those is selected as the winner.

Beef production has been a life-long learning opportunity, passion and revenue stream for the Euken-Myers family. Randy and Jill Euken grew up with cattle on family farms and showed cattle as 4-H’ers. Their own farming operation was launched in 1978 when Randy started his farming career and purchased half of the cow herd from his landlord. Over the past 40 years, they have continued to grow and improve their cattle herd by carefully selecting replacement heifers and bulls, keeping and utilizing an extensive set of records, implementing the best practices for environmental stewardship and carefully tending to beef nutrition and herd health. These efforts have resulted in continued improvement in the performance and ROI for their operation and their reputations as good stewards of natural resources, life-long learners and good neighbors.

(Radio Iowa) — Pork producers from across Iowa are donating several thousand pounds of meat to the state’s five main food banks. Trish Cook, a member of the Iowa Pork Producers Association board, says it’s a win-win since there’s a surplus of pork due to plant closures and an increase in demand at food banks because of the pandemic. “Pork producers decided to do what they can,” Cook says. “There’s a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs. They wanted to help out by donating ground pork to food banks in Iowa. They have 8,500 pounds of ground pork that they are distributing to food banks around state.”

Cook says its simple to cook pork and it helps to meet consumers’ protein needs.  “It’s easy to prepare, it can be used in so many different ways,” Cook says. “It’s just a versatile item that people can quickly cook up and use in their day-to-day meal preparation.” With many restaurants closed and so many people staying home from work and school, Cook says the pandemic has radically changed what and how we eat. “There’s people probably cooking things they never thought they would ever cook before just because we’re such a society — about half of our food budget is dining out,” Cook says. “It’s a really different scenario for everybody these days.”

Each food bank is getting 17-hundred pounds of pork divided into one-pound packages. The food banks receiving the donations include: The Food Bank for the Heartland serving 93 counties in Nebraska and western Iowa, as well as the food banks in Des Moines, Sioux City, Hiawatha and Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa) — Redwood Farms Meat Processors of Estherville is suspending operations until further notice after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. In a news release, Redwood Farms said it’s making the move to ensure the safety of company employees and the community in which we work. The company says it’s only aware of the one case and the individual does not live in Emmet County.

Due to the recent increase of COVID-19 cases within the meat processing industry, Redwood Farms had implemented additional cleaning practices and was screening employees upon arrival to the company’s facility. The company has been communicating with Emmet County Public Health to gain resources and advice on how to educate employees and promote a safe working environment.

Redwood Farms is owned by Farmers Union Industries. The minutes from an Estherville City Council meeting in December indicate the Estherville facility has the capacity to process between 14-hundred and 24-hundred hogs a day.

(Radio Iowa) — The U-S-D-A crop report released Monday shows snow and rain have slowed the start of the planting season — but two percent of the projected corn crop has been planted. Iowa State University Extension crops specialist Joel DeJong, says farmers in his northwest Iowa region are still mostly preparing fields for planting.

“There was some work done before that Easter snow came through — a handful of planters were in the fields doing a little bit, making sure the planter was set, doing a few acres. Not very many did that,” DeJong says. “However, the manure and fertilizer got a good start. We are now as we dry out — we are seeing that again. WE’re seeing a lot of the prep work continuing.” DeJong says the soil temperature has not yet consistently been at or above the 50 degrees needed for planting.

“We’re getting really close and if the forecast I see is right even with the rain and a little cooler temperatures in the weekend — the average daily temperature should still be around 50,” he says. “If the soil is set, I think we are going to see more and more people putting some seed into the ground as we move into the week.”

Wet weather kept farmers from planting for much longer than they would have liked last year. DeJong says things are drying out nicely now and that shouldn’t be an issue in most areas. “Even though there is a lot of water in the subsoil, the surface actually is drying out pretty well. And yeah, there’s still problem spots in fields, but I think it is looking a little better now than most times we had a chance to be out there last spring,” according to DeJong.

The corn planting progress at two percent is one week behind the five-year average.