Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer, after a five decade absence, could soon be doing business again in Cuba. Deere and Company has announced an agreement to sell tractors to the Cuban government. Deere spokesman Ken Golden says shipments should begin later this month. “This equipment has to be tested and appraised by the Cuban Agricultural Ministry to ensure that it will work for their needs and their conditions,” Golden said. “If they agree that it’s equipment that would be appropriate for Cuba, then there will be shipments over the next four years.”

Most of the tractors will be from Deere’s 5,000 series, now made at a plant in Augusta, Georgia. But, there’ll also be a small number of the 7,000 series tractors, made in Waterloo, Iowa.  “It will mainly be smaller tractors and the implements that are used for farming pulled behind these tractors,” Golden said.  The cost of the contract between Deere and the Cuban government has not been disclosed. “Today, Cuba imports about 60-to-80-percent of its food and improvements in the agricultural sector there will help improve the availability and affordability of food for the Cuban population,” Golden said. John Deere is returning to Cuba after an absence of more than half a century. “Deere first entered the Cuban market in the 1800s and we were there until the early 1960s,” Golden said.

The machinery sent to Cuba will be mainly used in the dairy, row-crop and fruit and vegetable sectors. Deere’s announcement follows news that a Caterpillar dealer will open a distribution center in Cuba, becoming the first U.S. company to have a physical presence in the high-profile Mariel Special Development Zone. According to the Cuba Standard report, both companies seem to be racing to establish a foothold in Cuba before the Trump administration slams the door. In July, President Donald Trump announced he would prohibit sales to armed forces-controlled entities.

(Radio Iowa)

A man from Adair County died in a grain wagon accident Tuesday morning. The Adair County Sheriff’s Office received a cellular 9-1-1 call at around 8:20-a.m., with regard to a wagon full of corn had rolled over and came to rest on top of a man in the 2400 block of 270th Street or approximately 4.5 miles southeast of Greenfield, in Adair County. The Adair County Ambulance, Greenfield Fire Department, Adair County Sheriff, Iowa State Patrol, and the assistant Adair County Medical Examiner were dispatched to the scene.

Upon their arrival, the victim, 57 year old Edward Charles Carl of Greenfield, was found underneath the wagon. Carl was removed from underneath the wagon and was declared deceased by the assistant Adair County Medical Examiner. It was determined that Carl and two others were off-loading a wagon of corn onto a grain cart via a grain vacuum. The process was taking place on a hillside. It is believed that the weight transfer of the grain during the off-loading process coupled with the unstable ground contributed to the wagon rolling onto its side.

Carl was transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny where an autopsy will be performed.

w/Kate Olson.

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Iowa DNR Conservation Officers have charged 31-year old Nicholas W. Slater, of Glendale, AZ, with deer poaching in Lake Manawa State Park. The incident allegedly happened November 19, 2016.

Slater faces the following charges in Iowa:

No valid non-resident deer license
No valid non-resident deer license (antlered or any sex)
Restrictions on taking game – illegal transportation of deer
Restrictions on taking game – illegal taking of deer
Restrictions on taking game – illegal possession of deer
Hunting on game refuge
No non-resident hunting license and habitat fee.

The total fines for Slater are $2,243.20, plus liquidated damages for an antlered deer scoring 150 points or less. A judge will determine the exact total of liquidated damages. The charges are part of a large, multi-state investigation that is ongoing.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are voicing concerns about the number of recent accidents involving hunters who have fallen from tree stands. One of the incidents happened Sunday, in Adair County. The DNR says at around 6:30-a.m., first responders found 58-year old Jeffrey S. Newman, of Winterset lying at the base of his tree stand at the end of York Road in Adair County, near the Middle River. Newman was conscious, but in pain from the 20-foot fall. He was transported to a local hospital and then by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Through the investigation, it was determined the stand was loosely hanging by the bottom strap.

On Saturday, November 4th, at around 7:05-a.m., 45-year old Philip Patrick Rolfe, of Dubuque, was injured when he fell approximately 20 feet from a tree stand while bow hunting in rural Clayton County near Garber.   Rolfe was taken to a nearby hospital and eventually transported to the U of I Hospital. Rolfe received injuries to his jaw and lower body. Through investigation, it appears that Rolfe had climbed to the top of his hang on platform stand when the anchor strap failed causing him to fall.  In addition Rolfe was not wearing a safety strap.

Another incident happened Oct. 29th in Linn County. 51-year old Jeff Pavek, of Palo, was injured while bow hunting near Ross Road in Linn County, when he climbed out of his tree stand and fell backwards approximately 20 feet below, landing on his back. A friend found Pavek nearly two hours later lying face down on the ground and called 911. He was transported to the U of I Hospital. Pavek received serious neck and back injuries from the fall, but is expected to survive. According to Pavek, the fastener came undone causing him to fall to the ground.

The Iowa DNR reminds hunters of the following safety tips related to tree stands:

• Always use a full body harnesses and remember to maintain three points of contact at all times when climbing in and out of tree stands.
• Tree stands should not be left up year round and should always be inspected for safety prior to the hunting seasons.
• Hunters should always use a haul line when getting equipment in and out of the stand.

Agriculture and energy officials are working together to deal with the high demand for liquid propane this harvest season. Iowa Propane Gas Association Executive Director Deb Grooms says customers who use propane to heat their homes were told to top off their tanks this summer. She says farmers got the same advice from Ag Secretary Bill Northey.

“To take advantage of the early buying process. Our marketers are also telling their customers to get their tanks full so they’re prepared when winter hits,” Grooms says. Propane is used to dry grain when it comes out of the fields with too much moisture. There was a shortage of liquid propane to dry crops and heat homes in 2009, and former Governor Terry Branstad declared an energy disaster in 2013 when farmers throughout the Midwest used a record amount of the fuel to dry their corn. That demand from farmers depleted supplies for home owners who were forced to pay record high prices.

Carlson says suppliers were busy last week as good weather allowed farmers to get into the fields. “They’ve been working very hard to get the ag customers taken care of this week and pretty soon the home heating season will begin, so communication is a big thing,” Grooms says. The president of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa, Dawn Carlson, says they’ve talked with farmers about the importance of taking steps to have enough propane for the harvest season.

“They have been urging their customers to put storage on the farm. Our propane distributors in Iowa have been purchasing more storage tanks on their own property so we actually have a lot more storage capacity in the state than we did right years ago,” Carlson says. Another factor in the liquid petroleum availability is that worldwide demand is at an all-time high. Carlson says long term contracts with countries like China make the fuel very attractive and exports reflect that.

“Since November of 2009 they’ve increased from 100-thousand barrels a day to the most recent data I have is from August of this year — they’ up to to 720-thousand barrels a day,” Carlson says. “So just in the last eight years, we’ve increased eight-fold.” Propane prices went up slightly last week as demand increased. The report from the state ag department says the price was up four cents for a statewide average of one dollar, 39 cents for a gallon.

(Radio Iowa)

Shelby County Emergency Management officials report the Fire Danger level in the County will remain MODERATE this week, at least through Thursday morning, when the next report comes out. Operations Director Jason Wickizer says winds are expected to remain below 12-MPH, and precipitation is in the forecast for the next 24 hours. Relative humidity’s will drop into the middle 30’s which could cause control issues with the 12 MPH wind, however long term humidity’s are forecast to be over 50%.  Persons planning a controlled burn of brush, fields or other field/ditch type material, should notify their local Fire Chief.

Bob Bebensee and DNR Conservation Officer Grant Gelle talk about all things outdoors. Topics this week include deer accidents, public lands, upland bird season, and trapping opener.

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is taking public comments on changes to regulations for falconry. D-N-R Wildlife Research Supervisor, Chris Ensminger, says the changes would allow you to use native birds.”We’re looking at the possibility of providing people the opportunity to take falcons for use in hunting. So, it’s not harvesting obviously falcons obviously, it using them for hunting scenarios,” Ensminger says. He says the change is due in part to the resurgence of the birds in Iowa.”Those populations have grown and are doing very well,” Ensminger says, “We also have a large number of bird that migrate through the state. And so there’s opportunities there for those individuals who participate in falconry to use that resource.”

Falcons can be trained to hunt various prey by those licensed to do so. “There’s different seasons for those things… what we are looking at is possibly expanding those opportunities,” Ensminger says. The public comment period is open through November 8th.  Comments should be emailed to wildlife@dnr.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — DowDuPont has announced it’s seeking a buyer for its 30-million gallon, $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in central Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that DowDuPont has shuttered operations at the Nevada, Iowa, plant and cut 90 workers.

The move is part of DowDuPont’s announcement Thursday it will cut its global workforce by 5-7 percent and shutter some buildings. The cellulosic ethanol plant, which opened in 2015, is considered the next generation in renewable fuel production. It uses corncobs, husks and stalks to produce the biofuel. A skeleton crew will maintain the plant until a new buyer is found.

DowDuPont says the operation no longer fits its strategic plan. Iowa has two other large cellulosic ethanol plants. One is in Emmetsburg and the other is in Galva.