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(UPDATED 7/24) – As the Cass County Fair continues, members of the Atlantic, CAM and Griswold FFA Chapters would like to remind everyone that the FFA Foodstand is open for business. Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller says the FFA foodstand is open to the public for people to get a meal and go (there is no seating). The FFA Foodstand will also take Cash, Checks or Credit Cards this year.
The FFA Foodstand will open from 7:00am until 4pm Friday through Monday and open in the afternoon on Tuesday during the Cass County Fair. Every morning there will be freshly made cinnamon rolls and breakfast burritos. For lunch, stop out and get a Cass County Fair classic, the FFA Maidrite. Miller says “We will also have hamburgers, hot dogs, walking tacos, nachos chips and chocolate chip cookies. We hope to see you at the FFA Foodstand!”Cass County ISU Extension & Outreach Director Kate Olson, Thursday evening, released the results of the 2020 Cass County Fair Static Exhibit. Following judging of over 200 static exhibit entries on Wednesday July 22, Twenty-two entries from Cass County 4-H members were selected to advance to the “4-H Show Iowa” judging being held in lieu of a state fair in 2020.
Exhibitors Representing Cass County Include:
4-H Show Iowa is a virtual judging event where entries will be judged based on photos and project writeups. Photos of all state fair exhibits can be found on the Cass County Extension Web Page, in the County Fair Results. Please visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass and click on the “Fair Results” logo on the front page to view.
All exhibits advancing to state will receive a plaque thanks to local sponsors including: KJAN AM 1220/FM 101.1; A Plus Designs; Atlantic BPW; Bonnesen’s; Cass County Conservation Board; Armour Insurance; Hockenberry Family Care; DeBord Farms; McAtee Tire; Meyer & Gross Real Estate; Curt & Michelle Behrends; Nishna Valley Shriners; Blaine Service; Kurt Roberts; Schildberg Construction; Smith Heating & Plumbing, Inc.,; Steve and Laura Olsen; Titan Machinery; Jessie and Ryan Evans Family; United Group Insurance; Cumberland Telephone Co.; Washington GEM; Cass County Farm Bureau; Clint and Laura Freund and memorial plaques In Memory of Norma Jean Sothman and In Memory of Ray Zellmer by Rosemary Zellmer.
Congratulations to all of our Cass County Fair State Awardees!
Here are the results from this (Thursday) morning’s Pet Show at the Cass County Fair:
Lot 4: Gerbils, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Mice & Rats
Lot 5: Pigmy Goat, Miniature Donkey, Peacocks, Fainting Goats and Dogs
Event Judge was Christy Ladd.
(Radio Iowa) – With the statewide bike ride RAGBRAI cancelled by the pandemic this week, Iowa cycling enthusiasts are meeting online instead as part of the Bike for Climate Week of Action. Julie Johnson, an organizer for Environment Iowa, says it’s an effort to support biking and other forms of clean transportation. “Throughout the week, participants will take grassroots actions such as making phone calls and signing petitions,” Johnson says, “to show their elected officials the importance of biking infrastructure for Iowans.”
That includes marked bike lanes on roadways and dedicated bike trails. Virtual gatherings are planned this week to discuss topics like the benefits of biking infrastructure, tips for new and intermediate bikers, and the state of biking legislation in Iowa. “The keynote event of the Bike Week of Action will be a biking and clean transportation conversation tomorrow,” Johnson says. “The event will feature a lot of different speakers, such as the director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s ‘Transform and Transportation’ campaign, and also Ryan Baker, who owns Iowa City’s World of Bikes.”
That conversation is scheduled for this (Thursday) evening, at 6. She says the state’s cars and trucks are responsible for more than a quarter of Iowa’s global warming pollution, so it’s clear our transportation system is due for a zero-carbon upgrade. “We want Iowans to be able to avoid using their car when they could be biking instead,” Johnson says. “Bike more, drive less, is basically the idea. Get out and enjoy nature and also protect the planet while you’re doing it.”
Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says “The pandemic has shown a lot of people want to ride bicycles and they want safe spaces to ride them.” Learn more at the group’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1375397082664931/
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A study released by the U.S. Agriculture Department into the disparity between cattle prices paid to ranchers and the higher prices earned by meat processors offers more details about the factors that have led to the situation. The 20-page analysis by the USDA released Wednesday explains how after a 2019 fire at a Tyson Foods beef plant in Holcomb, Kansas, and this year’s temporary closure of slaughterhouses amid the coronavirus pandemic, ranchers saw cattle prices drop while concerns about meat scarcity caused prices at grocery stores to rise.
Some members of Congress have called for an investigation into possible violations of the Packers and Stockyard Act, which is designed to protect ranchers and consumers.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One of the first coronavirus outbreaks at an Iowa meatpacking plant was more severe than previously known, with over twice as many workers becoming infected than the Iowa Department of Public Health publicly confirmed. The department announced at a May 5 news conference that 221 employees at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Columbus Junction had tested positive for COVID-19. But records show that days earlier, Tyson officials told workplace safety regulators that 522 plant employees had tested positive to their knowledge. A dozen of the plant’s roughly 1,300 workers were believed to have been hospitalized by then, and two died after contracting the virus.
AMES, Iowa – Iowa farmers entered 2020 with uncertainty regarding trade agreements with China and the uncertainty has escalated with the impacts of COVID-19. In the midst of the turmoil, agricultural production continues and along with that, decisions regarding farmland rental arrangements. With ongoing concerns to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach farm management specialists will provide educational materials on farmland leasing in a variety of ways intended to reach individuals in the method most accessible.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host multiple farmland leasing meetings during July and August at various times and locations throughout the state. The annual meetings are offered to address questions that landowners, tenants or other interested individuals have about leasing farmland. Core components of the 2020 program will be land values and cash rent trends, cost of production, methods for determining a fair rental rate, the latest legal updates that impact farm leases and land ownership, and communication between tenants or landlords.
A 100-page workbook to complement the program topics includes resources regarding land leasing agreements such as surveys, sample written lease agreements and termination forms, along with many other publications. To allow for social distancing requirements, pre-registration is required. Face coverings are advised and social distancing will be followed. Registration fees vary. To pre-register, call or email the ISU Extension and Outreach county office host site.
The leasing meetings being held across Iowa are facilitated by farm management specialists with ISU Extension and Outreach. (See the list of the ISU Extension and Outreach county offices hosting meetings.) Live webinars and recorded videos will also be offered as alternative methods to attending an in-person leasing program. A statewide webinar with ISU Extension and Outreach economists, along with Kristine Tidgren, Center for Ag Law and Taxation, will be offered on Aug. 25. The Ag Decision Maker meeting page will have meeting and webinar details along with additional video recordings and related publications.
The 2020 Cass County gets underway today, but in a way that is far different from previous fairs, thanks to the Coronavirus. The shows and events are open to exhibitors and their immediate family only. There are no carnival rides or attractions such as tractor pulls and music. Livestock shows will be streamed online, and show results will be posted online within 24-hours of completion. You can look for the results and video, live or recorded via on-demand. Simply go to www.kjan.com and look for the Ag/Outdoors page under the “Programs” tab, or go to www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, and click on the Cass County Fair Results logo for video information and results.
Static Judging was held at the fair earlier today. The “Bucket of Junk” judging runs until 2-p.m.; Tomorrow (Thursday) is the Pet Show at 10-a.m., and a virtual livestock judging contest. Friday’s activities include the Horse Show (9-a.m.) and Rabbit Show (9:30-a.m.).
Saturday, the Sheep Show begins at 9-a.m., followed by the Meat Goat/Dairy Goat – Show. On Sunday, Decorator Showcase Judging takes place at the Cass County Fair, from Noon until 4-p.m. Monday’s event will include (10-a.m.) the Cow Calf and Feeder Calf Shows, followed by the Beef Show. And the Swine Show wraps up the fair on Tuesday, beginning at 3-p.m.
Virtual events include: Clothing Selections/FR; Clover Kids Showcase; Share the Fun; Educational presentations; Working Exhibits; Extemporaneous speaking, and the “Best of Iowa.”
The Fair Board decided in early June to restrict the Fair to 4-H and FFA exhibitors in a “Show-and-Go” format, in order to protect the health of fair goers, staff and the exhibitors. The 2020 Cass County Fair runs through July 28th.
(Radio Iowa) — Iowans who are buzzing with enthusiasm for boosting the pollinator population ought to take part in the second annual Backyard Bumble Bee Count, starting Friday. Jill Utrup, a biologist with the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service, says even if you can only spare a few minutes and manage to spot a couple of bees, it will be worthwhile to log in and join the cause. “The purpose of the Backyard Bumble Bee Count is really to enlist the help of folks who are interested to help document bumble bee occurrence and overall abundance,” Utrup says. “We’re looking at this as kind of an outreach tool for the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee but this project really helps us learn about all different species.”
You’ll need to get close enough to the bees to take a few pictures over the course of the nine-day count. It’s a valid concern to be cautious about getting stung, and Utrup assures, if you approach slowly and carefully, you should be fine. “Bumble bees are quite docile and what you’ll notice is, if you do get a little bit closer to them, you’ll notice they want nothing to do with us,” Utrup says. “They’re very different from wasps and hornets. When they are focused in on nectaring, they’re not paying attention to us at all.”
The dates of the count run from July 24th through August 2nd, during which you’re asked to count the number of bees and species you see, while documenting the time you’ve spent observing and where. “These surveys can be just a few minutes, if you happen to find just a couple of bumble bees in your front yard, or they can be a more structured survey,” Utrup says. “If you happen to be in a park for a good half an hour or something like that, we actually have survey sheets you can print out to help you structure your survey a little bit more.”
Register for the count through the i-Naturalist website. (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/backyard-bumble-bee-count)
(Radio Iowa) – A 65-year-old man died in a grain bin accident east of Le Mars around 10 this (Tuesday) morning. Plymouth County Sheriff’s deputies confirmed the individual had safety measures in place, but was still pulled into the corn when the crust had broke. 
The body of the victim was recovered about an hour after rescuers arrived as they needed to empty the corn that was being stored in the grain bin to assist with the recovery efforts.
The name of the victim is not being released at this time pending family notifications.
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