(Radio Iowa) — The World Pork Expo, an event that typically brings 20-thousand people from around the world to central Iowa, is among the latest casualties to coronavirus. Jen Sorenson of Ankeny, president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council board of directors, says the big gathering that was slated for June in Des Moines is being called off due to the pandemic. “We are deeply disappointed that we have to cancel this year’s expo,” Sorenson says. “It was a tough decision by the NPPC board of directors but it was, obviously, the right thing to do in the face of COVID-19.”

It marks two years in a row the expo has been thwarted by disease. The June 2019 edition was cancelled because of fears about African Swine Flu. She says producers will miss the event, but hopefully, it’ll be back in 2021. “Pork Expo is the time to come together, network, get business done, socialize, share ideas, look at the new technology and innovation that’s coming into the industry,” Sorenson says. “For us, as pork producers, it’s business as usual. We’re taking care of our animals on our farms and that’s our big priority right now.”

When it comes to staying ahead of the curve on health issues, Sorenson says pork producers remain proactive, adding, they were practicing social distancing “before it was cool.”  “With our practices to protect our herds when it comes to biosecurity, when it comes to showering in and out of our farms, using that hand sanitizer, disinfecting supplies that come into the farm,” she says, “just a whole gamut of things that we do to protect our herds.”

America’s pork producers take their jobs seriously in being an essential service, Sorenson says, helping keep the food supply chain moving and in good shape.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports (tongue-in-cheek) that Sunnyside Park has been “Egged!”  On April 11th, he says, the Atlantic Parks & Rec Dept. will hold an egg display/egg find, from 9-a.m. until Noon.  You will stay in your vehicle and travel through the roads in Sunnyside Park to look for large, decorated eggs along the road. The route begins at the 14th Street entrance to the park.

Along the way, take note of your favorite egg, which will be voted on. Also, there are smaller eggs hidden along the route. If you find the golden egg(s), remember what is on it/them, because there could be something special at the end.

Rasmussen and the Parks Department hope you will come out April 11th from 9-a.m. until Noon, and see all the beautiful eggs. But remember to follow the CDC rules with regard to social distancing and respecting everyone else, by staying in your vehicle during the entire trip through the park.

Officials with the Atlantic FFA Chapter report the Iowa winner in the area of Equine Science Entrepreneurship for 2020, is Taylor McCreedy with the Atlantic FFA. McCreedy’s SAE Project is her horse training business. Taylor has been showing horses competitively at a high level for many years, and began to train her own horses independently two years ago after working with different trainers. She has developed her own methods of teaching both people and horses, and wants to continue to focus on mastering her training methods for future career development. Taylors goals are to raise and train quality show horses in multiple disciplines and work with people to improve their success with their horses in the show pen.

Taylor plans to focus on working with her horses to better improve their performance, and has advanced to working with young horses to learn to break and train them from the ground up. McCreedy said, “I prioritize the importance of nutrition, different dietary needs for different stages of training, supplements, and general health as the horses age.” Taylor plans to continue to work with a training barn to further develop her skills, while helping riders by assisting with a youth camp over the summer. Taylor plans on continuing to develop her business, “This year I have expanded to include boarding, and I am responsible for the daily care of all the animals in my barn. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work with young people, to work with younger horses, to provide board and care for horses, and to continue learning by riding other horses”. McCreedy said.

100% of FFA members have proficiencies as part of the agricultural program and the FFA. The proficiencies range in the areas of Agricultural Communications to Home and/or Community Development and from Diversified Agricultural Production to Swine Production. Proficiency Award winners have excelled in their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Programs. These awards encourage members to develop specialized skills that will apply toward a future career. State winners will advance to the National FFA competition where they will compete against winners from the other State FFA Associations. The Iowa FFA Proficiency Awards program is possible with support from the many partners of the Iowa FFA Foundation. The specific partner for each area is identified in our summary of results.

(Story and photo’s submitted by the Atlantic FFA Chapter)

The Cass County Conservation Board, at their last meeting on Thursday, determined that the campground including the playground at Cold Springs, and all restroom facilities throughout the county parks system will remain closed until further notice. The campground at Cold Springs park only has one community water source as well as one payment box/self-check-in location, and dump station.

Those community areas were of concern to the Conservation Board as a place where everyone would be using them if the campground was opened. All other parts of the Cass County Conservation Board system are open to public use and you are encouraged to use them at this time, while still following guidelines for social distancing.

If you have any questions please call the Cass County Conservation office at 712-769-2372.

The Guthrie County ISU Extension & Outreach office says they’ve made the decision to close theirdoors to the public due to the current COVID-19 situation. The decision was made under guidance from ISU and discussion with some council members for the best way to protect staff and clients during this time. This means the doors will remain locked during normal business hours Monday-thru Friday, but staff will still be in the office working. They will be available to answer your questions and assist, you by phone and email. You can contact the office at 641-747-2276 or via email at xGuthrie@iastate.edu.

All Guthrie County ISU Extension programs have been canceled or postponed until May 9th, 2020. If anything changes please look to their social media and website for more information. Officials said also, “Over the past few weeks, we have been bombarded with information about preparing for and protecting ourselves from being infected with COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. If this has caused you to feel overwhelmed, there are resources available to help:

Iowa Concern, offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, provides confidential access to stress counselors and an attorney for legal education, as well as information and referral services for a wide variety of topics. With a toll-free phone number, live chat capabilities and a website, Iowa Concern services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week at no charge. To reach Iowa Concern, call 800-447-1985; language interpretation services are available. Or, visit the website, https://www.extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern/, to live chat with a stress counselor one-on-one in a secure environment. Or email an expert regarding legal, finance, stress, or crisis and disaster issues.

211 is a free, comprehensive information and referral line linking Iowa residents to health and human service programs, community services, disaster services and governmental programs. This service is collaborating with the Iowa Department of Public Health to provide confidential assistance, stress counseling, education and referral services related to COVID-19 concerns.

The Disaster Distress Helpline provides crisis counseling and support for anyone in the U.S. experiencing distress or other behavioral health concerns related to any natural or human-caused crisis. Calls (1-800-985-5990) and texts (text “TalkWithUs” to 66746) are answered by network crisis centers, who provide psychological first aid, crisis assessment and intervention, and referrals to local behavioral health services for follow-up care and support.”

MAQUOKETA, Iowa (Telegraph Herald) — An agency wants to fine an eastern Iowa animal food operation for workplace safety violations, saying it has exposed employees to risks that include long falls. The Telegraph Herald reports that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to impose fines of more than $74,000 on Devenish Nutrition. The company is based in Fairmont, Minnesota, and has a feed mill in Maquoketa. Company officials have declined to comment.

Inspectors said after a Dec. 2-3 check that they found a lack of proper protection from falls along the Maquoketa building’s catwalk. Inspectors also say employees were exposed to explosive dust hazards.

(Radio Iowa) — The outlook for spring planting in Iowa is much improved over last year thanks to less rain and snow during the past winter. Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong, based in Le Mars, says at this time a year ago, farmers in many parts of the state were already dealing with significant challenges. “Last year, we were just getting rid of snow cover and it came with a massive quantity of other water and, of course, all the low-land flooding,” DeJong says. “At this time last year, the flooding was just starting. Our soil moisture is still full. We kind of almost had a wintertime drought so the amount of precipitation we’ve had in this region hasn’t been excessive. We’ve got some surface drying.”

With the soil already saturated, DeJong says there is no room for any additional — or even normal — spring rain. “Top five feet around here will hold about 10 to 11 inches of water,” DeJong says. “Our history is, on November 1st, we could have numbers that are 6 to 8 is normal. I didn’t even pull samples this fall because the math said we were at 11. That’s the gap that we can typically absorb and hold some water in the spring and we don’t have that space this year.”

The 90-day outlook from the National Weather Service calls for above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. DeJong says heavy rain could quickly change the planting outlook. “When you get this much water in the system, it’s hard for me to think that we’re going to be drier-than-normal in the spring,” DeJong says. “My best advice is to make sure everything is ready to go and when we have opportunities, we’re in the field and we’re not waiting to fix equipment we could’ve had done before that window came open.”

DeJong says most farmers got fall fertilizer on their fields but not much tillage was done, so that narrows the spring planting window even more.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Supreme Court, this past week, said two people who dropped lawsuits against the owners of animal confinement operations have to pay the company’s legal costs.

Michael Merrill of Batavia and Karen Jo Frescoln of Libertyville were part of a group of 70 people who filed nuisance lawsuits against Valley View Swine which runs two pork confinements for J-B-S Live Pork in Wapello County. The first lawsuit was dismissed because they had not exhausted their mediation option.

Merril and Frescoln filed a second lawsuit, but then voluntarily dismissed it. The district court ordered them each to pay around 92-hundred dollars in costs to Valley View. They argued they should not have to pay any costs because there was no judgment from the court.

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling that the dismissals showed this was a “losing cause of action” and the claims were frivolous.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources put out a statement, Saturday, with regard to the COVID-19 outbreak. The DNR says “Iowa state parks are still open. However, please be aware of the following operational changes, effectively immediately, before visiting a state park:

• All bathrooms, including pit latrines, are closed in Iowa state parks through April 15, 2020. Visitors should bring their own hand sanitizer, as no soap or sanitizer will be available in the park.
• Because bathrooms are not available, camping is limited to self-contained (enclosed) campers with their own bathrooms through April 15. Camping through April 15 will be available for walk-ins only on a first-come, first-served basis. More details can be found on the park alerts page.
• Shelters, camping cabins, youth camps and lodges are closed and not available for rentals because of the lack of bathroom facilities available.
• Playgrounds are not advised to be used during this health emergency. Park staff are unable to keep them clean according to CDC guidelines. User discretion is advised.
• Please remember to keep physical distance of at least 6 feet between you and other visitors, and avoid areas in parks where people may congregate such as points of interest, scenic overlooks, buildings and busy trails.”

Officials said also, “We appreciate your patience and assistance during these challenging times. We will also be monitoring the situation and may continue to make changes to park operations as needed. Please visit the DNR’s COVID-19 web page for more information about how COVID-19 is affecting DNR events, facilities and services.”

(FFA reporter submission) — The Atlantic chapter of the FFA sent 10 of its members to the District Career Development events on March 7th, with one advancing to the State FFA Convention in Ames. Southwest State Vice President Tyler Comes lead the District Business session. Atlantic FFA member Corri Pelzer retired as the District Sentinel position. Aspen Niklasen and Malena Woodward were the chapter delegates for Atlantic FFA at Convention.

Pictures
SW State VP Tyler Comes District Sentinel Corri Pelzer

FFA member Carli Henderson competed in the Extemporaneous Speaking category placing 1st earning a Gold and advancing to State. Craig Alan Becker competed in Ag Sales earning a Gold placing 3rd and will be the alternate to State. Andrew Engler completed in Ag Broadcasting placing 4th earning a Silver. Gunner Kirchhoff competed in Ag Welding placing 4th earning a Silver. Finally Tate DenBetse, Dylan Comes and Wyatt Redinbaugh competed in the Chapter Website CDE placing 4th earning a Gold rating.

In the Farm Business Management Test Atlantic FFA had 4 members compete this year. Drey Newell earned a Gold and placed 2nd, Hannah Carlson earned a Gold and placed 17th, Caroline Pellett earned a Gold and placed 23rd and Garrett Reynolds earned a Silver and placed 34th out of 87 individuals.

Extemp Speaker Carli Henderson

In the FFA Freshman Greenhand Quiz, Atlantic FFA had 4 members participate all earning Silver ratings. Sofia Mendez placed 55th, Dylan Comes placed 59th, Dan Freund placed 81st and Jackson McLaren placed 84th. (Photos submitted)