(Atlantic, IA) – The Board of Supervisors in Cass County, Tuesday morning, discussed the issue of farmland transition within farm families. The discussion was spearheaded by Jim Steffen, President of the Massena Corporation, who Board Chair Steve Baier acknowledged has worked over the years to help shape rural development projects and the future of rural counties. Steffen said his family owns two farms in the area.

Steffen, who is 83-years-old, said those properties will be sold unless they can do something different with them. The solution, he hopes is for he and his business partners with the Massena Corporation, to work with what are called “production units.”

He says the idea is not to “aggregate a whole lot of land and a whole lot of legal and operating responsibility.”

Massena Corp. President Jim Steffen speaks w/the Cass County BOS, 2-3-26

Steffen didn’t ask the Board for any contribution from the County or County services, but he is looking for local investors to help build-out the production units.

He said the only thing he would ask from the Supervisors, is to think about what the Massena Corporation is trying to accomplish, and perhaps help to sponsor or facilitate land owner meetings on the topic.

Board Chair Steve Baier said, “If there’s something we can do from an economic development standpoint,” he’s interested, especially if it gets younger people interested in production agriculture and cattle, including the possibility of working with local lockers, to form some sort of consortium for livestock producers.

Additional information on the Massena Corporation production unit concept is expected to be forthcoming.

Cass County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.19
Adair County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.22
Adams County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.18
Audubon County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.21
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.19
Guthrie County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.23
Montgomery County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.21
Shelby County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.19

Oats: $2.76 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Atlantic, IA [this story & photos submitted by an Atlantic FFA reporter, via FFA Advisor/Ag Instructor Eric Miller]) -The Atlantic FFA Chapter welcomed Iowa FFA State Officer Laura Steinkamp and District Officer Tucker Olsen to a chapter visit on January 29th, 2026. While at the high school, they discussed opportunities in FFA and the students participated in leadership-building activities.

During a year of service to the organization, Iowa FFA officers serve as ambassadors for agriculture and the FFA. They travel to FFA chapters throughout the state to connect with members and talk about the many opportunities available to students enrolled in agricultural education. Atlantic FFA member Tenley Cappel said, “I had a lot of fun. It was neat to see how our class could cooperate to solve a problem.”

Each Ag Class has a lesson tailored to meet the needs of the individuals in the class. Some workshops are based on Leadership Skills, others on Team Building and finally FFA Chapter Recruitment. Each class begins with an introduction of an ice breaker activity used to get the State Officers and the students in the class introduced to each other. This is followed by a game or activity designed to highlight a specific leadership skill or team building activity. Atlantic FFA member Caden Noelck said “It was a lot of fun playing games and learning about leadership activities in class”.

Agricultural education incorporates three aspects of learning. The classroom provides basic knowledge. FFA develops leadership and personal skills. A Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) provides hands-on learning while working or in an agricultural business.

The Iowa FFA Association comprises 270 local chapters preparing over 20,000 students for future career opportunities. FFA activities and award programs complement instruction in agricultural education by giving students practical experience in applying agricultural skills and knowledge gained in classes. Through agricultural education, FFA makes a positive difference in students’ lives by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success.

Cass County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.20
Adair County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.23
Adams County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.19
Audubon County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.22
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.20
Guthrie County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.24
Montgomery County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.22
Shelby County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.20

Oats: $2.76 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa D-N-R state deer biologist Jace Elliott says there were a few more counties added to the list of those with positive Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) tests in deer following this year’s hunt. There are now 38 of the 99 counties with at least one positive detection “I believe we have around a dozen new counties this year,” he says. Elliott says it is a slow moving disease, but it can sometimes turn up where they don’t expect it. “In a lot of cases, we see kind of a slow creep of the edge of the disease into new counties, but often times we also detect sort of random seeming counties that are not bordering a previously positive detection,” he says. The first positive case of C-W-D was confirmed in deer in northeast Iowa along the Wisconsin board in 2013. Elliott says they started testing way before that to be prepared.

“So each year we test around five-thousand deer for C-W-D across the whole state. We’ve been maintaining those numbers since roughly 2002, the early 2000s,” he says. “Now, where we focus our effort depends a little bit on where we’re detecting the disease. We’re currently in the process of looking at new strategies in order to maximize our resources.” He says the game plan is to try and slow the spread of the disease. “Really, what we’re doing in Iowa is trying to maintain balanced quality deer populations, because we’ve known from past states experiences that this disease can spread in low densities and high densities,” Elliott says. “So we’re just again committed to maintaining that balanced quality deer population as much as we can through regulations.” C-W-D is a disease that is fatal to the animals.

You can find out more about the C-W-D cases in Iowa on the D-N-R’s website at iowadnr.gov, and look for the C-W-D interactive dashboard.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture visited the new Career Ag Academy on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Webster City over the weekend. Mike Naig says high school students there can receive dual-credit courses with Iowa Central Community College and with Iowa State University.  “I’ve been able to tour some really good models around the state,” Naig says, “bringing livestock, bringing that opportunity to get our high school students a hands-on opportunity. I know I learned better where you match that in classroom with the experiential learning. Of course, it’s one of the things that we love about ag education and FFA in particular.”

The academy has been active since the start of the current school year, working to educate students about agriculture.”We really need to create these pathways where it’s not just farm kids that are getting a chance to do these types of things and be around livestock and get the experience of doing chore, but any kid, any student, regardless of where you come from, can get to do that,” Naig says. “We need more people working in ag, and if we’re going to get more people working in ag, we need students from all backgrounds to learn about those opportunities.”

Naig says he’d like to see more such career ag academies pop up all over Iowa. “You got to learn to do chore and you got to learn what’s the right feed ration and how do you create the right environment for those animals? But then, of course, you’re going to connect the dots and you’re going to talk about, well, where’s that feed come from? What’s the grain side of it? Oh, also, how about the meat side of it, the nutrition side of it, the culinary arts?” Naig says. “I mean, you really start to string this together and it’s just a farm-to-fork kind of experience.”

Ground was broken on the facility last March. It houses classrooms, a dedicated livestock learning area and meat lab. A date has not yet been announced for its official grand opening and open house for the public.

Cass County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.22
Adair County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.25
Adams County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.21
Audubon County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.24
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.22
Guthrie County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.26
Montgomery County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.24
Shelby County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.22

Oats: $2.75 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Brian Meyer — the leader of DEMOCRATS in the Iowa House — says says a silent majority of Iowans want the carbon pipeline built and he says the Senate’s REPUBLICAN leader has proposed a resolution that will end the stalemate.

“I think it’s probably the most likely to pass, with maybe some tweaking around the edges,” Meyer said. “It’s my personal opinion that actually would be a way forward.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh is offering a bill that would expand the proposed pipeline corridor, so Summit Carbon Solutions could go around unwilling landowners and find people who’d let the pipeline run through their land. Meyer is one of 21 Democrats in the House who voted against a bill this month that would completely ban the use of eminent domain to seize land along the pipeline route.

“It’s just not a real bill,” Meyer said. “…At some point we need to sit down and have a conversation and negotiate a way forward on this pipeline.” Some Republicans like Adam Steen, who’s running for governor, have suggested the push to protect the property rights of landowners who oppose the pipeline is among the top campaign issues of 2026. Meyer says the Senate G-O-P leader’s bill is the best way to resolve the issue.

“I think there’s a lot of people in rural Iowa that want the pipeline and you have to look at everybody,” Meyer said, “not just 250 people that show up at the Capitol with red shirts on.” That’s a reference to landowners and their supporters who’ve gathered at the Iowa Capitol most Tuesdays during the past few legislative sessions, urging legislators to either block the pipeline or at least give them the right to say it can’t be on their property.”That’s certainly something to take into account and it’s very important that we address those issues with eminent domain and we protect property rights,” Meyer said, “and I think the Senate bill does its best to do that.”

But Meyer says it’s time to get the pipeline started. “There’s a lot of people in rural Iowa who are kind of the silent majority that want this to get done,” Meyer said, “because we need to address the economic realities in rural Iowa with corn and ethanol.”

Meyer made his comments today (Friday) during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.

Cass County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.20
Adair County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.23
Adams County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.19
Audubon County: Corn $4.07 Beans $10.22
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.20
Guthrie County: Corn $4.109 Beans $10.24
Montgomery County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.22
Shelby County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.20

Oats: $2.64 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Action this week in the legislature has advanced a plan that would give carbon pipeline companies more flexibility to find a route around landowners who won’t voluntarily agree to let the pipeline on their property. Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says his proposal is an extension of conversations in the capitol over the last four years. “It provides us a solution and a path forward,” Klimesh said.

Carbon pipeline opponents say it does not protect all landowners because if Summit Carbon can’t find alternative properties, it could still use eminent domain to seize land along the current route. Cynthia Hansen’s family farm is in Shelby County. “This bill opens up a larger pool of landowners for the companies to choose from,” she said, “but it does nothing to protect unwilling landowners from the threat of or the use of eminent domain.”

Jake Ketzner, a lobbyist for Summit Carbon, says the company has requested a clean corridor expansion bill. “While the bill does expand the corridor, we oppose the parts that create new processes because this will raise costs and extend timelines,” Ketzner said. The bill would require Summit to show state regulators it tried everything possible to find alternatives before the company could use eminent domain to seize property along the proposed pipeline’s path.

Ketzner says the company currently has signed contracts that give Summit voluntary access to 74 percent of the land along phase one of the project. In late 2023, Summit submitted an application to the Iowa Utilities Commission for phase two of its project, to expand the pipeline to POET and Valero ethanol plants.