(RALSTON, Iowa) Oct. 29, 2014—West Central’s board of directors today announced their unanimous decision to name Milan Kucerak President and CEO-elect following Jeff Stroburg’s retirement at the end of the fiscal year.

Milan Kucerak President and CEO elect. West Central Cooperative.

Kucerak, who has served as the company’s Executive Vice President of Dairy and Animal Nutrition since 2006, will be the fourth President/CEO in the cooperative’s more than 80 year history.

“Kucerak has been a trusted manager and proven leader for the producers of this cooperative since he joined West Central in 2006,” said Chairwoman of the West Central board of directors, Sue Tronchetti. “He brings to the organization diverse management experience, a global perspective, and a strong accounting and financial background. “Kucerak is the right choice to lead West Central,” Tronchetti added. “We remain focused on serving our customers and stockholders and engaging our staff.”

She stated Kucerak’s introduction as President and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2015, is the result of the board’s long-term approach for developing leadership from within the company. Beginning Nov. 1, Jeff Stroburg and Milan Kucerak will begin an operational transition and leadership hand-off. As part of that change, Stroburg will devote his time to the unification study between West Central and Key Cooperative. President/ CEO-elect Kucerak will oversee daily cooperative operations, including executive team management.

Jeff Stroburg President and CEO. West Central Cooperative.

Of Stroburg’s retirement, Tronchetti stated, “In his 15 year tenure, this cooperative has grown to 27 locations in twelve counties, become one of the country’s 15 largest grain companies, and established itself as an innovative leader in the biofuels industry. We thank Jeff for his service and wish him well in the future.”

West Central® is a farmer-owned cooperative connecting producers of agricultural products to a global network of processors and end-users. The company manages for success by deliberately pursuing fresh ideas and recognizing value opportunities at every turn. Headquartered in Ralston, Iowa, West Central’s agronomy, animal nutrition and grain businesses span 12 Iowa counties with 27 locations. In 2013, the company was ranked #41 on the USDA’s list for largest farmer-owned cooperatives nationwide based on revenues and assets.

(Press Release)

w/ Kate Olson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

CHARITON, Iowa (AP) — Residents in a southern Iowa county have been creating works of art from hay bales for Halloween. Lucas County’s annual hay bale art contest features more than 30 entries in three towns this year. The roadside pieces include a large gray and white cat, a caterpillar famed for its hunger, and a character from the Disney movie “Cars.”

Lyle Asell, committee chair for the three-year-old contest, says the pieces boost tourism. Visitors have been spotted snapping photos of them and chatting with their creators. Asell says people were skeptical of the contest in its first year, but that the number of entries continues to grow.

Members of the community vote for their favorite pieces, which have been on display for more than a month. The winners will be announced Saturday.

Residents of Atlantic awoke Sunday morning to a smell that wafted throughout the town and rural areas of Cass County as winds began to pick up from the southeast at 15-to 30-miles per hour, prompted dozens of people to complain on social media sites and ask “What is awful smell?” The odor was compared to sewage backups, cat litter boxes and even decaying bodies.  Others thought the odor came from manure being spread on farms south of town. Many were under the mistaken impression it was coming all the way from Southwest Iowa Egg, near Massena.

Rich Hall, General Manager of Southwest Iowa Egg Cooperative near Massena, told KJAN News, today (Monday), the odor definitely didn’t come from their facility. He says he lives half-way between southwest Iowa Egg and Atlantic, and there was “Absolutely no odor,” at his house. He said he was in Atlantic Sunday afternoon and also smelled the offensive odor, but stated clearly that “It had nothing to do with Southwest Iowa Egg.”

Hall says he’s not the only one who can verify the odor did not come from Southwest Iowa Egg. He says “I can line up a lot of people that would there was no odor between Massena and Atlantic. I have no idea what it was. I don’t know what it could have been.”

The operation has approximately 850,000 laying hens producing over 16 million dozen eggs annually. A byproduct of the business is chicken litter which provides nutrients for about 4,000 acres of farm land. Hall says “It dumbfounds me that we would be associated with the odor in Atlantic, because we aren’t anywhere close to Atlantic with any of our equipment or any of our facilities.”

Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Agency said today (Monday, Oct. 27th) the Fire Danger rating continues to be LOW through this Thursday, meaning the danger from runaway fire is minimal at this time.

When the rating is in the LOW or green category on the sign, you are asked to call in and report your burning projects to dispatch at 755-2124 and notify your local fire chief. The next update will be  Thursday morning, October 30th.

Water quality is a key issue in this year’s race for state ag secretary. State leaders, including Republican State Ag Secretary Bill Northey, have been encouraging farmers to voluntarily adopt new practices that will reduce fertilizer run-off and soil erosion. “For the most part, I think we’ve got good recognition within the farm community that it’s an issue,” Northey says. “I think we’ve also had to reach out to the community and say, ‘There are some solutions, there are some strategies that work.”

Sherrie Taha, the Democrat who is running against Northey this November, says the voluntary approach isn’t working. “I understand nobody likes to be told what to do. I’m definitely in that category, too, but you still have to be responsible to our neighbors and the impact of what’s happening when we do something on the rest of society or our neighbors down the road.” Northey says making certain conservation practices mandatory could be a significant expense and might not ensure the right steps are taken based on things like the type of soil and drainage patterns that are unique for every field. Northey’s department has been handing out “cost-sharing” grants to Iowa farmers for conservation practices.

“To be able to do a better job of keeping those nutrients — that nitrogen and that phosphorous — on the farm and in the crop rather than having it leave the farm,” Northey says. Taha says there should be more focus on soil health. “We’ve got to do something more than currently,” Taha says. “The voluntary approach has what has brought us to the position where we have serious pollution problems.” Taha points to what’s happening in Iowa’s largest public drinking water system.

In 2013, the Des Moines Water Works saw record nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers and the utility reports nitrate levels last month set a new record. Taha, an artist who is from Des Moines, is a commissioner for the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District. Northey, who is from Spirit Lake, is a corn and soybean farmer who was first elected state ag secretary in 2006.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new Iowa clean water rule designed to increase inspections of livestock farms and provide stricter enforcement over manure spills is now in effect after a year of hearings and deliberations by government agencies. The rule, which took effect Wednesday, establishes new inspection and permit procedures. It does not impose mandatory permits for farms that repeatedly spill manure, a measure some environmental groups including Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement want.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources signed a deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year to develop the new rule after the EPA threatened to take over federal Clean Water Act enforcement if state officials didn’t do more. The federal agency says the rule meets its requirements, but Iowa CCCI says it’s still too weak.

The Iowa Concern Hotline has been receiving an increasing number of calls from farmers and those who depend on agriculture related businesses. Director Margaret Van Ginkel says that sector of the economy was thriving just a couple of years ago, but weather and low commodity prices are pushing things in a different direction. “We’re hearing some concerns from those smaller machinery businesses that are looking down the road to see how much those farmers are able to spend on machinery this year, and they could be having a tough year too,” Van Ginkel says.

Large equipment manufacturers are also feeling the pinch. Deere and Company idled one thousand workers earlier this week. The phone bank was initially established by Iowa State University Extension to offer advice to farmers back in the 1980s. The calls are free and confidential. “Sometimes you need to get a few things off your chest and just get rid of some of that stress,” Van Ginkel says. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can just call and be anonymous. You don’t have to give us your name.”

The Iowa Concern Hotline is not just for farmers. VanGinkel says they hear often from families who wonder how they’ll make their budget stretch if both food prices and other costs continue to increase. The number for the Iowa Concern Hotline is 1-800-447-1985.

(Radio Iowa)

Today (Saturday), marks the start of the pheasant hunting season in Iowa. Mick Klemesrud, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says weather conditions should be ideal for hunters this weekend, though there will be challenges. “We’ve got a lot of crops still out in the field and that could cause a little bit of tougher hunting if there’s a lot of standing corn for the birds to escape to,” Klemesrud says. “On the flip side of that, it could provide some better late season hunting because the birds haven’t been hunted that much.” He’s hopeful the number of hunters on opening day will be up this year after a drop in 2013.

“We’re hopeful that we can hit 60,000,” Klemesrud says. “Last year was our lowest on record of about 41,000. Traditionally, back in the late ’80s and ’90s, we’ve had opening day numbers around 200,000. We used to call it the largest sporting event in the state. We’re hoping that some of them come back.” Hunters should always get permission from land owners to hunt on their property. Klemesrud has some other safety tips.

“We always want to stress blaze orange, knowing the zone of fire, stay in a straight line, talk to everybody in the hunt so they all know what their role is and where there zones of fire are going to be,” he says. “You always want to be seen in the field. Go beyond the minimum. Wear as much blaze orange as you can.” The DNR says there was one hunting-related injury during the pheasant season last year. Learn more about the pheasant season at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting

(Radio Iowa)

The Wellmark Foundation recently awarded the City of Atlantic a $25,000 grant to help fund the Bull Creek Trail Reconstruction Project. The project will focus on the reconstruction of a trail that runs through Bull Creek, completing the intra-city trail system that runs through Atlantic, Iowa. The project will also measure residents’ use of trails before and after the reconstruction to gauge overall usage of the trail.

The Bull Creek Trail Reconstruction Project will complete the last section of the Atlantic intra-city trail that runs beside Bull Creek in the heart of Atlantic. The multi-use trail will begin at 14th Street, connect with the Atlantic Bike Route and the Atlantic Walking Path, and continue north through Atlantic to the Schildberg Recreation Area. The trail will connect several areas of Atlantic directly to Schuler Elementary School, the Atlantic Middle School, and the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, giving children a safer place to ride their bikes to school and after-school activities. This project will also complement the continued development of the Schildberg Recreation Area and the future development of the trail connecting Schildberg to the T-Bone Trail.

The grant award to the City of Atlantic represents one of 19 competitively awarded grants across Iowa and South Dakota to establish pilot efforts or expand upon current community health initiatives.