(Radio Iowa) — Even Iowa mushroom hunters need to mind their social distancing if they’re hunting in a group, according to one of the experts at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Lina Rodriguez Salamanca, an I-S-U plant pathology diagnostician, will be teaching her annual Safe Mushroom Foraging workshop next month — though this time, it will all be online using Zoom. “We have done some workshops in the past and they’ve been very successful where people would just come to the county office to watch me from campus,” she says, “but this time, people will be in their own homes watching me, as opposed to going to the county office.”

The much-coveted morel mushrooms are starting to appear in wooded areas, especially in southern and southeastern Iowa. Rodriguez Salamanca says foraging awareness is vital, and there are always risks associated with eating wild mushrooms. “A lot of people do want to become mushroom hunters,” she says. “That is a good thing that they’re being proactive about learning the best hunting practices and what are the potential poisons and look-alike mushrooms they need to be aware of and avoid as much as possible.”

The virtual workshop will cover things like identification traits, foraging safety, and distinguishing between edible and non-edible varieties of mushrooms. Rodriguez Salamanca says coronavirus also plays a role in how you hunt. “We need to be very cautious and practice the CDC recommendations, practice our social distancing,” she says. “As you hunt, if you are going in a group, make sure that you’re keeping six feet in between people, make sure you’re washing your hands and that you are wearing a mask when needed.”

The first hour-long spring workshop will be held on May 5th at 6 p.m. It’s free but you need to register in advance. It’ll be limited to 300 participants. If you register for both the spring and fall online workshops, you’ll get a free copy of the soon-to-be-released “Safe Mushroom Foraging Guide” from I-S-U. Learn more and find a link to register here:
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/online-workshops-planned-safe-mushroom-foraging

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ethanol producer ADM says it is idling production at its corn ethanol plants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Columbus, Nebraska, furloughing 90 employees in each facility for at least four months. The company says low consumer demand for gasoline also has dramatically cut demand for corn-based ethanol which is blended into gasoline.

The company said it is focusing on cash flow and diverting some of its resources to other products that are in higher demand, such as alcohol for hand sanitizer. The plants each have a capacity of about 300 million gallons a year, among the largest plants of their type in the nation.

(Radio Iowa) — Waterloo’s mayor was being interviewed on satellite radio when Tyson announced yesterday (Wednesday) that its Waterloo plant would be shutting down and its 28-hundred workers will be tested later this week for COVID-19. Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart emitted a sound of relief during The Joe Madison Show on Sirius X-M. “The financial impacts for the city, for the workers is tremendous,” Hart said.

Hart had been publicly lobbying for a temporary closure of the plant after COVID-19 cases in Black Hawk County began to dramatically rise. Hart says the plant employs people from Liberia, Burma and Latin America and those workers will need translators to help navigate the testing system and explain what they’ll be asked to do if they test positive for the coronavirus.

(Radio Iowa) — With the shutdown this week of Tyson Foods’ largest pork plant, hog producers in the state are growing more anxious. Greg Hora, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says the Waterloo Tyson plant employed almost three-thousand workers, and plant closures elsewhere in the state are taking a toll on multiple fronts. “With Eagle Grove and Prestage Foods, there’s about 65 loads of pigs that come in to Prestage every day if they’re running 10,000 pigs a day,” Hora says. “At Waterloo, 20,000 pigs a day, that’s a big impact on a lot of people’s jobs, on the farm and within the plant itself.”

The pandemic has forced practically everyone to make drastic changes in their lives and Hora says it will likely bring at minimum a slowdown in the normal summer activities for pork producers — and their operations’ bottom lines. “I know that there’s already discussion happening about county fairs and the state fair and what’s going on and what may not go on this summer,” he says, “and that includes some of our grilling.”

Officials with the Iowa State Fair and the Association of Iowa Fairs say they’re taking a wait-and-see stance for the moment until a new decision come’s from the governor’s office.

w/Brandon Scheuring.

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(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s weather may be in for a big change in the coming months as indications show a possible shift toward a La Nina pattern, which means hotter, drier weather. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub — based in Ames, says Pacific Ocean climate factors have been steady for the past couple of years but there are hints that may be changing.  “We have been neutral to maybe hedging close to an El Nino,” Todey says. “We didn’t quite reach the category but we were close towards that side. It’s really interesting now, as you look ahead into the summertime, there are a few models that took us rapidly toward La Nina territory by the end of the growing season.”

Todey says there is an indication from computerized weather forecasting models of changes later this year. “The chances for La Nina start popping up in the fall, so it’s after the main part of the growing season here,” Todey says. “We do have to watch in case things would shift more quickly to La Nina than we’d expect, but right now the expectation is that we don’t get to La Nina territory during the growing season enough to be an issue.” Todey says sea surface temperature changes have an impact on the weather in Iowa and across much of North America. “La Nina, during the growing season for us, does increase our risk of heat and dryness but right now, we don’t expect that to happen,” Todey says. “My main concern with the growing season right now is how quickly can we get things moving, how quickly can we get soils dried out and things in the ground so we don’t get delays again.”

A warming ocean surface produces an El Nino pattern which can also have strong effects, including wetter weather in the Midwest.

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (AP) — Tyson Foods Inc. will temporarily close its meatpacking plant in north-central Indiana after 146 employees tested positive for COVID-19. The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Logansport produced 3 million pounds of pork daily. Tyson suspended production Monday to allow for cleaning and sanitizing.

The plant reopened Tuesday and is running at limited capacity because of decreased worker attendance. The company on Wednesday announced it will stop all production by Saturday. Steve Stouffer of Tyson’s beef-and-pork subsidiary says when such facilities close, “the availability of protein for consumers across the nation will only decrease.”

Tyson Foods also announced Wednesday, that it is suspending operations indefinitely at the large Waterloo pork processing plant that was blamed for fueling a coronavirus outbreak in the community. The company warned that its closing of the plant in Waterloo would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs 2,800 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, almost 4% of the nation’s pork processing capacity. Several other meatpacking plants have temporarily closed due to coronavirus outbreaks.

The Cass County Local Food Policy Council reports, this Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 PM, eggs will be given away free to the first 100 households to show up at the Iowa Western Parking Lot in Atlantic. The eggs, from Southwest Iowa Egg in Massena, are being paid for by an Atlantic High School graduate who now lives out of state and asked to remain anonymous. Eggs will be handed out by members of the Cass County Local Food Policy Council.

Egg photo from Southwest Iowa Egg

The anonymous donor was looking for a way to help others during COVID-19 when she heard Southwest Iowa Egg Coop in Massena was struggling to sell eggs, due to supply chain limitations. Knowing eggs are a healthy food that could help those who lack the resources to buy them, she reached out to see if she could purchase eggs to give away. One call led to another, and the Cass County Local Food Policy Council was soon mobilizing excited volunteers.

The eggs are available to anyone who needs them. There is no requirement to prove need. Recognizing that not everyone in the county will have transportation to participate, the food policy council asks people who may not need the eggs themselves to consider getting them for a neighbor or friend who does.
Only one person from each household is asked to collect the eggs and masks are appreciated. A flat of eggs will be handed out to the first 100 households. A flat is 30 eggs. The eggs are clean and chilled, but ungraded and unwashed. People are asked to not line up before 1:00 PM, as the food policy council will be setting up prior to the giveaway.

Free Egg Giveaway Saturday April 25th
When: Saturday, April 25 1:00-3:00 PM (or until supplies run out)
Where: Iowa Western Parking Lot (705 Walnut Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022)
What: A flat of eggs will be given to the first 100 households (a flat is 30 eggs)
Who: Eggs are available to anyone who needs them. There are no requirements for receiving the eggs. Recognizing that not everyone in the county will have transportation to the Iowa Western parking lot, the food policy council asks people who may not need the eggs themselves to consider getting eggs for a neighbor or friend who does.

Thanks to Iowa Western Community College for providing the pickup location and to the anonymous donor for making this possible!

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Tyson Foods announced that it is suspending operations indefinitely at a large Iowa pork processing plant linked to a growing coronavirus outbreak. The company warned that its closing of the Waterloo, Iowa, plant would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson had kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs nearly 3,000 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, about 4% of the U.S. pork processing capacity. The announcement comes as employers have struggled to contain the virus in large meatpacking plants. Several other packing plants have temporarily closed.

If you are interested in, or have a need to plant a tree on your property, Atlantic Trees Forever has just the deal for you. Spokesperson Dolly Bergmann said Spring tree vouchers are now available. The vouchers are worth $30 off the cost of a tree, and can be obtained at Pymosa Farms (50979 Buck Creek Road), north of Atlantic.

Bergmann said there are a limited number of vouchers available. She said also, Pymosa Farms can help you determine what kind of tree would work best in the location you would like to plant a tree. Call Pymosa Farms owner Tim Reavis at 402-659-1213, before you head out to the farm, to ensure someone is available to help you.