Interviews were held Tuesday at the Cass County Community Center to help determine who will be the 2018 Cass County Fair Queen and King. Seventeen area youth appeared before the judges individually and in group settings, in hopes of being selected. Fair Royalty (King, Queen, Prince and Princess) will be chosen during the Fair on July 26th, beginning at 7:30-p.m., just before the Little Miss and Little Mister contest at 7-p.m.

Pictured are 2018 candidates for the Cass County Fair King and Queen (front row, left to right) Madison Mills, Claire Smith, Nicole Eilts, Katie York and Alyssa Brockob; (second row) Tyler Comes, Haley Becker, Emily Saeugling, Teaguen Sothman, Sidney Aupperle, Myra Rubio and Nathan Behrends; and (third row) Cale Pellett, Mitchell Williamson, Caleb Schmidt, Kaleb Venteicher, and Tate DenBeste. ** Photo by Sue Fischer used with permission.

Among the male candidates, was  Cale Pellett, Mitchell Williamson, Kaleb Venteicher, Cale Schmidt, Nathan Behrends, Tate DenBeste, Teaguen Sothman, and Tyler Comes. Female candidates included Myah Rubio, Madison Mills, Haley Backer, Nicole Eilts, Claire Smith, Katie York, Emily Saeugling, Sidney Aupperle, and Alyssa Brockob. Last year’s Fair Royalty included: Princess – Paige Henderson; Prince – Cody McCreedy; King – Riley Smith, and Queen – Mariah Murphy. The title of Little Miss went to Leah Ohms, and Cooper Anderson was named Little Mister during the 2017 Cass County Fair.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today (Monday) announced that he will be making stops in 12 Counties this week, including Union and Madison Counties. His visits to both area counties will take place Tuesday, July 10th: 

Union County – 1:30 p.m., Naig will tour ZFS Creston, LLC, 1310 E. Howard St., Creston

Madison County – 4:00 p.m., Naig will tour Covered Bridges Winery, 2207 170th Trail, Winterset

Naig was appointed by Governor Kim Reynolds to succeed Bill Northey as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on Monday, March 5, 2018. Prior to that, he had served as Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for Northey since September 2013.

“Friends, family and fun” is the theme for the 2018 Shelby County Fair that begins Wednesday, in Harlan. On Tuesday, 4-H Static Exhibits will be entered and judged, and there’s a 4-H baked goods and garden sale. Opening ceremonies for the fair will be held at 8-a.m. Wednesday, followed by: the 4-H cake decorating and table setting; Best Of Iowa contest; open class non-livestock entries will be submitted; A carnival will be open from 5 to 11, and the Tractor Pull is in front of the grandstand.

Judging of 4-H and FFA poultry will take place Thursday morning, followed by judging of: 4-H and FFA cats and small pets, 4-H and FFA beef breeding heifers, beef cows/calves, feeder calves and dairy cattle, 4-H bottle calves, open bottle exhibitor interviews and the open bottle show. The Commercial Building on the Shelby County Fairgrounds will open at 4-p.m. Thursday, the carnival takes place from 5 to 11, the Shelby County Fair Parade at 6:30, and at 8 pm, the Crowning of the Fair Queen and Hall of Fame Recognition.

On Friday, there’s 4-H and FFA Swine judging, 4-H working exhibits, judging 4-H and FFA horses, 4-H rabbit agility, free entertainment, and the 4-H Style Show. The carnival will be open from 5 to 11 pm, the Bill Riley Talent Show Friday night at 6 pm, mutton bustin’ at 7:30, and Fireworks in front of the Grandstand at dusk.

Saturdays activities include: judging the 4-H and FFA sheep, goats and rabbits; Apple Pie Morning will be held at 8:30 am; the Baby Contest, Open Class Horse and Pony show, the Show and Shine Car Show, antique tractor and machinery show; free entertainment, kids contests, pie and muffin auction, the stuffed animal show; the carnival will be open from 1 to 11; ag olympics, pee wee cookie decorating, 4-H presentations; the Harlan Community Band will perform at 3:30 pm, the Shelby County Cattlemen’s Cook-off is at 4 pm Saturday, along with the open class lamb show, and at 6:30, car races in front of the Grandstand.

Judging 4-H and FFA market beef will start at 8:30 Sunday morning, church services will be held at 9, plus there will be the antique tractor and machinery show, free entertainment, the carnival from noon to 5 pm, share the fun, public speaking and extemporaneous speaking at 1 pm, pedal tractor pull, Clover Kids graduation and Figure 8 races at 5 pm in front of the grandstand. The Livestock Auction will wrap up the Fair on Monday (July 16th), starting at 5 pm.

The Atlantic Community School Nutrition Department and Farm to School team are working hard to bring healthy, fresh, local food to school lunch. Your help is needed, by visiting a local farm and join as a together as a community to pick locally grown sweet corn for school lunches. Who can participate? Everyone in the community is welcome! Congregations, sports teams, FFA and 4H groups, families, friends—all are welcome.  The event takes place Saturday July 21st (Rain Date Sunday July 22nd). 30 volunteer pickers and 25 processors are needed.

You will gather at the Schuler Elementary School at 7-a.m., to be transported by bus to and from the farm. The first shift is from 9-a.m. until Noon, and the second shift is from Noon until 3-p.m.  Processors will cut, bag, and prepare the corn for students to eat. That group of volunteers will be at Schuler Elementary. Sack lunch and drinks will be provided to all volunteers!

A waiver will be required to be signed by all volunteers. Children under age 18 will need a parent/guardian signature. Waivers can be picked up on the morning of July 21st at Schuler, or requested from DeeAnn Schreiner prior to the event. Suggested clothing: lightweight long-sleeve shirt, long pants & shoes that can get dirty. To sign-up, or for more information, call 243-5369 or email DeeAnn at dschreiner@atlanticiaschools.org

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) is urging U-S and Chinese officials to “get back to the table” and try to resolve issues that have led to the developing trade war between the two countries. I-S-A president Bill Shipley of Nodaway.  “It’s not good for us, it’s not good for them– nobody wins — especially when China is using food as a weapon in a trade war,” Shipley says. “That’s not a good thing in my opinion. China is taking feed away from their own people.”

Shipley says they’re disappointed the trade dispute has reached this point. But he says I-S-A is still supportive of President Donald Trump’s efforts to rectify trade issues with China. He says the Chinese had dropped the U-S from being their primary supplier of soybeans since 2009 from 51 percent to 37 percent and he says it would help the trade deficit if they moved the U-S back to being their top soybean supplier.

Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart estimates Iowa soybean farmers stand to lose up to 624 million dollars because of higher tariffs implemented by China.

(Radio Iowa)

Many families working the land in rural Iowa, for decades, have been fiercely loyal to certain brands of farm equipment. But, as farm operations grow and the next generation of farmers takes over, that intense brand loyalty is changing, according to Curt Blades with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

“We’ve known this for the last number of years – as farms get bigger and bigger and they become more and more sophisticated, they do become a little bit more business-minded,” Blades says. “And when you become more business-minded, you make decisions that are not based only on emotion. That certainly comes into it, but it also has to economically play out.” In other words, Blades says, “the bottom line” will likely trump brand loyalty as time goes on.

“That says, ‘Hey, if I’m going to continue to bleed a certain color of tractor, that certain color better live up to my expectations. And it still has to pencil out. I’m not going to buy it just because that’s what my grandfather bought or my great grandfather bought. I’m going to do it because that’s what makes sense for my business.'”

A new A-E-M research report lists diminished brand loyalty as one of the realities equipment manufacturers will have to contend with over the next 25 years. Other key trends are the accelerating adoption of precision ag technologies and the need for equipment suppliers to become “trusted advisors…providing complete solutions to agricultural operations.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is warning you to remain careful if you plan on being out on the state’s rain swollen rivers this weekend. D-N-R Outreach Coordinator for River Programs, Todd Robertson, says high water brought on by heavy rains is sweeping a significant amount of extra material into the fast moving current of the rivers. “When you get a lot of rain, if you went and stood by the river and looked upstream you would see all this debris coming downstream: trees, tree limbs, things that have washed in off the bank, those things can be very hazardous for people,” Robertson explains.

Robertson says you must have enough life jackets on your boat. “An adult doesn’t have to have a life jacket on, but it has to be onboard, which when you think about it, when you need it, if you don’t have it on, it’s not gonna do you any good, so you might as well just have it on,” Robertson says. And for kids under 12 if they don’t have a life jacket — it could cost you. “If you take the kids out, the family and they don’t have their life jackets on you can face a citation for sure,” Robertson says.

Robertson suggests instead of rivers, family outings may be safer on so-called flat water venues like lakes and large ponds.

(Radio Iowa)

Adair County ISU Extension and Adair County 4-H will be hosting the 4-H County Fair Kick-Off event, combined with the Summer Social event on Thursday, July 12th at the 4-H/FFA Center on the fairgrounds in Greenfield. Join Extension staff, council members, and Youth Action Committee members for a fun family event! Dinner will be served from 5:00 – 7:00 pm (or until food is gone) featuring hamburgers and pork burgers grilled by the Adair County Cattlemen and Adair County Pork Producers, along with baked beans, potato salad, cake, and drinks. Free will donations will be accepted to support the Adair County 4-H program. The 4-H program reaches over 400 Adair County youth annually through 4-H community clubs, Clover Kids, and out-of-school enrichment programs, including summer youth camps.

The audience will get a glimpse of some of the talent that will be appearing as part of the county fair ‘Share the Fun’ program. There will be live entertainment, good food and fellowship as we celebrate the kick off to the Adair County Fair which is set for July 18-22. Adair County Fair Queen candidates will be introduced and conduct on-stage interviews to cap off a night of pre-fair fun, food, and activities. The actual crowning of the Adair County Fair Queen will be the opening night of the fair, Wednesday, July 18th, at 8:00pm at the fairgrounds courtyard gazebo in Greenfield.

Several items will be available at the 4-H/FFA Center during the July 12^th Kick-Off and Summer Social Event. 4-H families who pre-ordered county fair 4-H t-shirts may pick them up. 4-Hers wishing to enter the Cookie/Cupcake Decorating challenge may register and pick up their containers and challenge information. County Fair gate passes can also be purchased in advance during this event. 4-H exhibitor fair passes (wristbands) must be picked up at the Extension office by Monday, July 16^th. 4-H’ers will need their wristband for admission to the fairgrounds beginning Wednesday, July 18^th. To help with this process, Extension staff will have wristbands available for pick-up during the County Fair Kick-Off event. The general public may also purchase fair passes (packet of 5 one-day tickets) that evening.

This event is for everyone! Join Extension as we celebrate summer and the kick off to the Adair County Fair!

(Press Release)

w/Max Dirks.

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking turkey hunters and others to help them get an accurate count on the number of birds roaming the woods in Iowa. Wildlife biologist Jim Coffey says they have made it easy for you to report what you see. He says they have an area on their website where you can go in and report turkey sightings in the months of July and August. The D-N-R has mailed survey cards to select turkey hunters who are asked to provide the date and county in which the turkey was seen, if it was an adult female or adult male, and whether there are young poults (baby turkeys). “That helps us gauge what we are going to predict for next year’s supply of turkeys,” Coffey says.

Coffey says the weather, available nesting areas and other things can all impact the number of turkeys who are born and survive each year. He says by seeing the number of young birds they can get an idea of what hunters can expect. There is a link to an online survey and survey card on the D-N-R’s website at www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)