• KJAN, Atlantic  .19″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .1″
• Massena  .47″
• Emerson  .18″
• Red Oak  .85″
• Creston  .2″
• Hastings  .32″
• Corning  .07″

(Washington, DC, June 22, 2017) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the suspension of all imports of fresh beef from Brazil because of recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market.  The suspension of shipments will remain in place until the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory.

Since March, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been inspecting 100 percent of all meat products arriving in the United States from Brazil.  FSIS has refused entry to 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products.   That figure is substantially higher than the rejection rate of one percent of shipments from the rest of the world.  Since implementation of the increased inspection, FSIS has refused entry to 106 lots (approximately 1.9 million pounds) of Brazilian beef products due to public health concerns, sanitary conditions, and animal health issues. It is important to note that none of the rejected lots made it into the U.S. market.

The Brazilian government had pledged to address those concerns, including by self-suspending five facilities from shipping beef to the United States.  Today’s action to suspend all fresh beef shipments from Brazil supersedes the self-suspension.

Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:

“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is one of our critical missions, and it’s one we undertake with great seriousness.  Although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers. That’s what we’ve done by halting the import of Brazilian fresh beef.  I commend the work of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service for painstakingly safeguarding the food we serve our families.”

A cattle industry analyst says this spring’s unexpected cattle market turnaround bodes well for the future of the industry. Doctor Nevil (NEV-ul) Speer, CEO of Agri-Clear, was the keynote speaker at an Iowa Cattlemen’s Association regional BeefMeet event in Creston this week. He says the fact that this spring’s cattle market rally was driven by increased consumer demand for beef is a very positive sign.

Speer points to two positive indicators that the increase in demand is “real.”

The other positive indicator, according to Speer, is the new record for the choice-select spread, at a higher level of beef production versus last year’s record high.

The challenge, Speer added, is to keep producing high quality beef that’s increasingly consistent. In addition to Tuesday’s event in Creston, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association hosted regional BeefMeet events earlier this month in Dubuque and Ottumwa. Another BeefMeet is scheduled for today (Thursday) in Le Mars.

(Radio Iowa/Reporting by Ken Anderson, Brownfield Ag News)

Summer starts today (Wednesday) and state health officials are reminding Iowans not to underestimate the power — and danger — of their lawnmowers. The number of mower-related injuries reported statewide took a big jump last year. Dr. Patty Quinlisk, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says push and riding mowers pose different types of risks to life and limb.

“One is if you’re on a riding mower, it could tip. For example, if you’re going sideways down a slope, it could tip and injure you,” Dr. Quinlisk says. “The next one is when that blade is going around, it could throw up rocks or other things in the area where you’re mowing and you could be hit by that. The third one is the blade itself.” That sharpened metal blade, spinning around at 200 miles an hour, can quickly slice off a finger or a toe.

While it’s hot and you may want to dress light for mowing, Quinlisk suggests you don’t skimp on footwear. “You should have sturdy shoes on. This is not the time to mow with sandals or even bare feet. You want good safety shoes on,” Quinlisk says. “You want to have something to protect your eyes, just in case it does throw some rocks or dirt or something up.” Many young Iowans make good money mowing lawns in their neighborhoods during the summer but Quinlisk says parents should give serious consideration to their child’s age and maturity level before letting them take off with the Toro.

“If it’s a push mower, usually we say somewhere around 12 to 14 (years old) with some safety instructions prior to using it,” Quinlisk says. “With the riding ones, usually most people say around 16 or older is when that becomes a little bit safer.” A state health department report says four people were killed in Iowa last year in lawn mower-related accidents and 156 were injured.

In 2015, six deaths were reported but only 108 injuries. In the past six years, a total of 20 Iowans have died in mower-related accidents.

(Radio Iowa)

w/Kate Olson.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Company officials say construction delays are pushing back the opening of a $300 million pork plant in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Seaboard Trump Foods plant was expected to begin production around July 31. But chief operating officer Mark Porter says more time’s needed to get equipment in place and finish the commissioning process before commercial processing can get underway.

Porter says the new potential startup dates under consideration are Aug. 25 and Sept. 4. The joint venture between Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods will have the capacity to slaughter 21,000 hogs a day. The plant is expected to employ around 2,000 people by the time a second shift begins operation in May 2018.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board met on Monday evening in the council chambers at City Hall and progress at the Shildberg Recreation Area was a big topic of discussion. Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Seth Staashelm said work is going on this week to plant trees, install fire rings, and begin sewer line installation for the campground.

Some shoreline stabilization work is being done around lake 3 at Shildberg’s and long term plans are in mind to eventually connect the lake 2 trail to a full circle.

The board also discussed the Sunnyside Pool Renovation plans and Staashelm is encouraging the public to comment on the project so the plans can be shaped by the community.

Discussion also began on forming a committee to look into improving the little league complex into a larger sports complex that other sports can take advantage of.

A summer series of Movies in the Park also starts up this Friday with some added fun activities for the kids.

DES MOINES – Last week over 60 federal, state and local agency, academic and industry professionals met to participate in a mock animal disease emergency response exercise. The exercise was hosted by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship with the support of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“Unfortunately, Iowa saw firsthand how devastating an animal health emergency can be with the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak that severely impacted our poultry industry in 2015.  The Department has made it a priority to take the lessons learned from that disaster and help us be better prepared should we have to deal with another event in the future.  This exercise was another step in that process and I greatly appreciate all the stakeholders from across the state that participated,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said.

The tabletop exercise was designed to help test response capabilities and review the Department’s updated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Response Plan that was completed this spring.  Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious viral disease of livestock that affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. This disease is not transmissible to humans and there are not food safety concerns with the disease.

This all-day exercise allowed leaders in industry, academia and government to talk through the plan and process of preventing, detecting, and responding to various scenarios involving an outbreak response.

“We greatly appreciate the leadership by the Department to develop this plan and continue the process by holding this exercise so we can continue to learn and improve,” said Pat McGonegle, CEO of the Iowa Pork Producers Association who participated in the exercise.

A Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak has the potential to be devastating to the Iowa and national economy. Iowa is the number one pork producing state in the nation and 4^th in beef production.  Iowa 3^rd in milk goat inventory and 9^th in all sheep and lamb inventory. Our state also has over 200,000 dairy cows and is in the top 15 nationally for milk production.  Livestock feed is the top customer of both corn and soybeans, so grain farmers would also be significantly impacted if the disease is found.

The Center for Food Safety and Public Health at Iowa State coordinated the development of the updated response plan.  The exercise was organized/conducted by SES, Inc. out of Merriam, Kansas, who provided facilitators and evaluators to document discussion, resolve questions, and advise on plans, policies, and procedures.

Bob Bebensee and DNR Conservation Officer Grant Gelle talk about all things outdoors, including fishing eating up with the weather.

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The U.S. Justice Department has approved the merger of DuPont and Dow Chemical, but with the condition that some crop protection products be sold off. Critics have complained the merger will increase costs for farmers by reducing competition in the seed and farm chemical markets. The Justice Department’s conditions for the merger call for the sale of DuPont’s Finesse herbicide for winter wheat and an insecticide used in fruit and vegetable crops. DuPont acquired Iowa-based Pioneer Hybrid in 1999 and there were fears last year that Pioneer facilities in Johnston might be closed.

However, DuPont shifted some jobs from Delaware to Iowa and made the Pioneer campus in Johnston a hub for crop research and its seed business. Senator Chuck Grassley had been among those raising some concerns about the DuPont and Dow Chemical merger and he’s vowing to “keep a close eye on” mergers within the agriculture industry, but Grassley says forcing the companies to sell off parts of their businesses maintains “a more fair and open marketplace” for farmers.

But Grassley adds that farmers — and consumers — are “rightly…on edge” about agribusiness mergers. The Justice Department continues to review another proposed agribusiness merger. Germany’s Bayer hopes to take over Monsanto and become one of the world’s largest agriculture conglomerates.

(Radio Iowa)