(Radio Iowa) — A giant food processing company that was recently forced to shut down its  plants in Columbus Junction, Perry and Waterloo due to coronavirus outbreaks now plans to double employee bonuses. Tyson Foods, Inc., announced in a press release Wednesday that the company will be paying an extra $120 million in bonuses to frontline workers and truckers. Earlier this month, Tyson said the amount would be $60 million. Under the program, 116,000 Tyson workers are eligible to receive two $500 payments – one in May and one in July.

According the press release, Tyson Foods is also increasing short-term disability benefits through the end of June for team members who are unable to work due to illness. The company says its also increasing employee screening and implementing other safety measures designed to protect production workers from the virus.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reports earlier this spring, a local trucking company, Sindt Transportation, was delivering frozen chicken to a customer when the driver realized he had accidentally been given one too many pallets of frozen chicken. The meat supplier told the trucking company to just go ahead and donate the chicken. But, getting rid of a pallet of frozen chicken is no small task when the pallet is 1400 pounds—700 boxes of 20 pounds of chicken. And, the refrigerated truck trailer was needed for business the next day.

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According to Hoegh, “This is one of those times when it is just so much fun to see how people in Cass County jump into action.” The trucking company made contact with the Lord’s Cupboard, a food pantry in Griswold, who then called Hoegh to see if anyone else could take chicken. Soon enough, Cumberland Care and Share, a food pantry in Cumberland, and the Anita Food Pantry, were on their way to Lyman to pick up chicken. Carol Seddon, a member of the Atlantic Kiwanis, drove down to get chicken to share with families who have children in Head Start.

Hoegh said “That chicken was gone in a matter of hours. It was fantastic. Huge thanks to Dan Mueller and Sindt Transportation for the chicken and to the people across the county who dropped what they were doing to make sure good food didn’t go to waste.”

Healthy Cass County is a community-focused network to promote the health and well-being of Cass County residents. Follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty. Reach out to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870 more information.

(Radio Iowa) — Tyson will temporarily shut down its Dakota City beef facility near Sioux City this weekend. A statement from the company says the facility will pause operations starting Friday through Monday, May 4th to complete a deep cleaning of the entire plant. The company says it has has been working closely with the local health department and is in the process of screening plant team members for COVID-19 with assistance from the Nebraska National Guard.

The Dakota City facility is one of the largest beef processing plant in the country and employs a workforce of 4,300. It’s the largest employer in the Sioux City metro. The plant normally produces enough beef in one day to feed 18 million people, but with increased absenteeism over the last few weeks the company has had to scale back production. Tyson says employees will continue to be paid through the temporary closure.

Tyson had previously idled its pork plants in Waterloo and Perry and plants in Indiana and Washington for similar reasons.

w/Kate Olson.

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“Grow Another Row, Cass County!” is a campaign to encourage residents to grow more food to share in 2020. The campaign is launching to address food challenges created by COVID-19, as more people are finding themselves needing a little extra help keeping food on the table. Did you get some plants in the ground last week? Need a little help getting started? We hear you.
Need seeds? The Griswold Library will donate seeds to area gardeners this year. Just call the Griswold Library at (712) 778-4130, and talk to Lisa about what she has available. Lisa will then set the seeds out for you to pick up on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. This is open to any grower in Cass County.

Caring for plants in the spring: Although, this IS the time to plant cool season crops, it can also be a difficult time with cool nights dipping into the low 30’s and small animals looking for a treat. What can we do to keep those young crops ‘safe’? Here are some ideas.

1. Milk jugs with the bottom cut out can be placed over fresh transplants to help keep the chill off on cold nights and give a nice greenhouse effect during the day. As an added bonus, the jugs also protect the transplants from rabbits and small rodents looking for a snack. Pro tip: instead of cutting the bottom completely off the jug, cut just 3 sides and bend the flap that you have created to the side – place a rock or clod of dirt on the flap to keep milk jug from blowing away.

2. Baby powder or cornstarch is a great way to deter bugs, rabbits, and other small creatures from devouring your tiny seedlings. Just sprinkle some on at planting and remember to reapply after each rain. Be careful to not ‘poof’ the baby powder or cornstarch into your face. Can we call that a pro tip?
For more information, please contact: Brigham Hoegh, Wellness Coordinator Cass County ISU Extension 712-249-5870

3. Mulch. Weeds are not only a nuisance but can hurt garden yields. One fast, easy remedy is to mulch your plants. Mulch between rows and around plants. Whole sheets of newspapers may be used. Most are printed with organic ink. Layer 2 or 3 sheets, water them down so they stick together and to the soil surface, then weigh them down with a little soil to prevent them from blowing away in the wind. The extra work now saves time and energy later.

For more gardening tips and to sign up to participate in Grow Another Row visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus. The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as a critical industry to ensure that production plants stay open.

The order comes after industry leaders warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days after workers at major facilities tested positive for the virus. A senior White House official outlined the order on condition of anonymity to discuss it before its release.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa farmers were able to get a lot done with dry weather last week. The U-S-D-A report shows corn planting went from two percent to 39 percent planted in the last week as farmers used five days of good weather to get into the fields. The report says it was mid-June before Iowa farmers had five days suitable for fieldwork in the soggy 2019 planting season. The soybean planting also got underway — with nine percent of the beans now in the ground. That’s ten days ahead of last year and one week ahead of the five-year average.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa farmers face the prospect of euthanizing hogs that cannot be sent to packing plants that are closed because scores of workers have tested positive for Covid-19. Michelle Book, C-E-O of the Food Bank of Iowa, says there’s a way to save some of the meat that would otherwise be destroyed.  “We are working with the Iowa Pork Producers on a project called ‘Pass the Pork,'” she says, “…to get pork moved along to the food banks across the state of Iowa.”

On May 1st, Iowa farmers may begin donating their ready-for-market hogs. Local meat lockers are extending their hours of operation to process the animals. The Iowa Food Bank Association is accepting donations to cover the costs of processing, storing and delivering the pork to food banks and food pantries. Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the temporary pork plant closures have created a real pinch point.

“We’ve got good supplies on one end. We’ve got good demand on the other, but you have to pass through the processing plants,” Hart says. “And with roughly we figure 30% of our processing capacity sort of off-line right now, that is creating a problem where we have too many hogs for too little processing capacity.” Hart and Book made their comments during this weekend’s “Iowa Press” program on Iowa P-B-S.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices. Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages.

On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.

Hamburg, IA  – Officials with Golden Hills RC&D report the second year of the Waubonsie State Park Artist in Residence program again proved to be fruitful for the artists as well as the park. The program engages artists and visitors with the natural resources of the park through a visual arts lens. Time spent at Waubonsie allows the artists to immerse themselves in the landscape as a source of inspiration and opportunity to intensely focus on their work without other distractions. In exchange for the artists’ accommodations, they agree to leave a permanent work of art for the park and also conduct a public engagement session.

Terri Parish McGaffin, the final artist of the 2019-2020 program, completed her stay in mid-March, just as Iowa began to feel the effects from the Covid-19 pandemic. Her public program, “Painting from your Nature Photos”, was postponed until a later date (to be determined) when it is again safe to gather in groups. However, that didn’t stop the Friends of Waubonsie State Park from enlisting some public participation for the selection of the painting that will make its permanent home at Waubonsie. Terri gave the program administrators the choice of four paintings she completed during her residency, and in turn they decided to let the ‘friends’ of Waubonsie decide which painting should stay at the park. After three rounds of Facebook Polls, “Sunset Ridge Trail in October”, a 24”x20” oil on canvas highlighting the beautiful diversity of the park in Autumn, was chosen as the winner.

Shelly Eisenhauer, a photographer who completed her residency at the park in December, has moved her public workshop “10 Secrets for Stunning Nature Photos” (originally scheduled for April 23rd) from an in-person session to a virtual workshop. She will post 10 short weekly videos to the Facebook event page, beginning on Sunday, April 26th. To receive notifications, please “Like” Friends of Waubonsie State Park on Facebook (@waubonsiefriends) and RSVP to the event. The public engagement session by Kathy Fiscus, who completed her residence at the park in February, will be rescheduled at a later date. This first-in-the-state Artist in Residency program at one of Iowa’s State Parks is held at one of the region’s ecological and recreational treasures.

Located in the Loess Hills of Southwest Iowa, Waubonsie State Park’s 2,000 plus acres feature prairies, savannas, and woodlands which are home to diverse flora and fauna, not to mention breathtaking vistas. Park Manager Matt Moles, Golden Hills RC&D Project Coordinator Lance Brisbois and Loess Hills National Scenic Byway Coordinator Rebecca Castle worked together to develop and launch the project. While there have been other artist residency programs offered through the National Parks System and select parks in other states, this was the first such program in one of Iowa’s State Parks.

The program is loosely modeled after similar regional programs such as the Residency Program at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. The artists receive lodging in a studio cabin and a primitive studio space in the park at no cost for the duration of the residency. In return, artists deliver at least one public program per month of their residency and donate one piece of art to the park at the conclusion of their stay. The 2019-2020 Waubonsie State Park Artists in Residence included photographer Sheila Newenham (www.exploringnaturephotos.com) , photographer Shelly Eisenhauer (www.buroakphoto.com), painter Kathy Fiscus and painter Terri Parish McGaffin (www.tparish.carbonmade.com).

Waubonsie State Park is only about an hour’s drive from Omaha or Lincoln, NE; two hours from Kansas City; and 2.5 hours from Des Moines. It is located near the southern end of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. To learn more about the Artist in Residence program and the artists, visit www.goldenhillsrcd.org/artist-in-residence.