(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa Soybean Association members spoke with reporters from Europe Wednesday, where they are on a trade mission to sell more of their product. The trip includes stops in Ireland (Dublin and Belfast), Denmark, Hungary and Austria. I-S-A president Bill Shipley of Nodaway, says talks have been positive — but they haven’t talked about numbers. “They would like to increase their inputs from the United States — but nothing specific,” Shipley says.

Dave Walton of Wilton says recent talks between the administration and the European Union have helped with the discussion of soybeans. “I think the sense that we’ve gotten from this side is that trade has always been open. They have sourced South American beans in the past and now it makes more economic sense to bring them in from the United States,” Walton says. “The agreement to continue to talk about some of the trade issues bewteen the E-U and the U-S has kind of eased some of those trade issues. I think in general we are going to see more trade between the U-S and E-U.”

The delegation was asked if they think the E-U can make up the deficit if the trade war with China continues. Grant Kimberly says there is good demand worldwide for soybeans — and that will help. “China of course is by far and away the largest buyer, and its hard to completely offset all that if we were to need to offset a majority of that,” Kimberly says. “So, I guess time will tell. It’s just too early in the process to see where this will all go.”

They were asked if there was any talk of the administration’s actions on trade. Shipley says he was surprised that it wasn’t a big point of discussion. “There’s a few comments made which we all expected that. We expected a lot worse if you want to know the truth,” Shipley says.

He says things have gone pretty well as they have talked about the basics of getting more soybeans into the European market. The delegation met with representatives of the Irish Grain & Feed Association, Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association, Denmark Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Budapest Ministry of Agriculture Department and International Relations, Hungarian Grain and Feed Association, as well as several farm visits across the countries.

w.Kate Olson.

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DENVER (AP) — A recently released undercover video showing pigs being abused at a supplier to the world’s largest meat producer also highlights practices that are still common but slowly being changed in the pork industry.

The video shows pregnant female pigs confined to metal cages barely bigger than their bodies and piglets squealing while being castrated. Los Angeles-based Mercy for Animals released it in the hopes pushing Brazilian-based JBS to prohibit the practices.
Ten states have passed laws that either ban the use of or phase out the use of gestation crates or stalls, which are used on estimated 75 percent of pig farms in the United States. Among them is California, where voters this fall will be asked to ban the sale of pork from pigs confined to the crates or their offspring. Massachusetts voters passed a similar ban in 2016 that will take effect in 2022.

Gestation stalls are intended to minimize fighting among hierarchical sows and protect workers from the pregnant animals, which can weigh between 350 and 450 pounds, according to Sarah Crawford, assistant vice president of animal welfare for the National Pork Board in Des Moines, Iowa. She said the stalls are long enough for the animals to lie in, and research has shown some will choose a stall over living in a group. “The good thing is farmers have the choice to decide what fits best for their farm,” she said.

Temple Grandin, an animal science professor at Colorado State University and consultant on livestock treatment, said confined pregnant pigs lack the space to turn around, and compared the experience to humans having to spend their lives in an airline seat.

LIME SPRINGS, Iowa (AP) — Some northern Iowa residents have banded together to fight what they call pollution of their water and air after several failed attempts to thwart the rise of hog confinements. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Northeast Iowans for Clean Air and Water has organized an agreement with Howard County residents to form a covenant not allowing manure to be placed on their land. Manure becomes more toxic with a large number of hog confinements.

The covenant is comprised of about 43 families, with 63 separate properties between four townships. The properties together span more than 5,500 acres. The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine says swine manure can generate toxic chemicals, including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane.

Wind energy projects do -not- lower surrounding property values, according to a study being released by the Center for Rural Affairs. Center policy associate Lu Nelsen says opponents of wind power development who speak out at public meetings typically make the claim, but there’s no evidence to support it. “There’s a lot of questions about, ‘What could this do to my property values?’ and how should that affect citing requirements,” Nelsen says. “At least if we look at some of the research that’s been done on this issue, there’s no clear link between any harm to property values and wind energy systems.”

Iowa is one of the nation’s leading states for wind power generation, with more than one-third of our electricity coming from the wind. Iowa’s goal is 40-percent by 2020. Nelsen says other types of development often -do- have a negative impact on land values. “It’s less from the actual wind turbine itself, it could be from other what are called disamenities,” Nelsen says. “That could be anything from if an area isn’t restored properly from construction, it could be from something entirely unrelated to a wind farm, a confined animal feeding operation or a wastewater treatment plant.”

Nelsen says local officials and wind power developers need to be clear about what will happen with any new project, especially in regard to the land’s appearance post-construction. “Making sure you control for things like damages to roads,” Nelsen says, “to make sure there is actual restoration after construction of an area so it isn’t torn up or it doesn’t look the way it would’ve looked if there had been no construction.”

The wind industry employs some 7,000 Iowans. The study was conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Universities of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska.

The Annual Local Food and Farm Celebration will be held Saturday and Sunday August 4 & 5th at farms near Atlantic and Elk Horn. The event is being held for the third year for local communities to experience the diversity of agriculture in the region. It offers a chance to experience the farms, meet the farmers and allow the kids to get up close and personal with soil, veggies and animals.

You are welcome to bring your family and friends to visit farms north and west of Atlantic. Farms include organic and conventional practices including vegetable fields, fruit trees, and row crops. The tour also includes beekeeping and livestock. The event is free!

Visit the farms between 1:00pm and 5:00pm. Each of the farms will offer guided tours at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00, but come any time. Produce or other goods may be available for purchase. Displays and food-related activities may be part of the respective open house events. If you’re curious about your food or just looking for a fun family outing, you are invited to the third annual Local Food and Farming Celebration, August 4 & 5th, 1 PM-5 PM.

Farms participating include:

Alan and Linda Robinson – featuring Beef

Harrisdale Farmstead – Fruit, vegetable and permaculture practices

Rolling Acres Farm – Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), organic vegetable, greenhouse and high tunnel production

Pace Poultry and Produce – Vegetables and poultry

Kevin Petersen – Organic Row Crop

Danish Countryside Wines and Vines  – Grape production and wine fermentation

Brun Ko Farm  – Pastured beef and pork production

Exhibits include:

DezaRae Farms – Goat milk products and goats

Natural Resource Conservation Service – Soil Health

Smith Generation Farms  – Cover crops

Wallace Foundation

The farms are located between Atlantic & Elk Horn, along Hwy 173 & Littlefield Drive. Look for a map in the event photos and, on August 4th & 5th, look for signs along the Highway.

Activities at the Cass County Fair continue this weekend, in Atlantic. On today’s schedule:

8:00-a.m. Sheep Show (Outdoor Show Ring) & 4-H Exhibits Open (Community Center)

10:00-a.m. Pet Show (Community Center)

Noon Working Exhbits, Educational Presentations & Extemporaneous Speaking (Community Center)

1:00-p.m. Meat & Dairy Goat Show (Outdoor Show Ring)

3:00-p.m. Livestock Judging Contest (Indoor Show Ring)

4:00-p.m. Youth Water Fights (West of the Grandstand)

6:00-p.m. Tractor Pull (Tractor pull track)

Don’t forget to look for a chainsaw artist, with carvings to be sold after the Parade of Champions Monday evening. Ride wristbands will be on sale this afternoon, and don’t forget there’s lots of great food available, including at the Fair Foodstand, where the Noon Special is Lamb or Ham balls.

Activities continue today at the FREE Cass County Fair, in Atlantic. On the schedule is:

• Beef Weigh-in from 8-until 10-a.m.
• Rabbit Show (Indoor ring), and Horse show (Horse arena), at 9-a.m.
• 4-H exhibits open at the Community Center, beginning at 10-a.m.
• 11-a.m. Dog Show (outdoor show ring)
• 3:30-p.m., Clover Kids Animal Show (outdoor show ring)
• 5:30-p.m. Share the Fun Style show (Community Center).
• 6:30-p.m. Mutton Busting (Grandstand)
• 8-p.m. Bull Riding (also at the Grandstand)

Today’s Noon Special at the Fair Foodstand located just east of the Commercial Building, is Chicken and Noodles. Don’t forget to look for a chainsaw artist, with carvings to be sold after the Parade of Champions Monday evening. Ride wristbands will be on sale this afternoon, also.,

KJAN will be broadcasting live from the Fair from 1-until 7-p.m., including our Newscasts at 5-and 6:45-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) — The impact of President Trump’s announced soybean deal with the European Union is unclear. U.S. soybeans are already sold in Europe and China’s market for soybeans is far larger than the European Union’s. Ray Gaesser, of Corning, is past president of the American Soybean Association. “Hopefully our ability to market our products to other countries besides China will be improved and will at least offset some of the China demand,” Gaesser says.

Soybean prices are down 20 percent from March when the U.S. trade disputes with China started to escalate. “US soybeans are less expensive than South American soybeans today, so there’s some good reasons to create new customers and hopefully new relationships for the future,” Gaesser says. Another factor, according to Gaesser, is that the global supply of soybeans is down because of a drought in Argentina. “Most of the South American soybeans, particularly Brazil’s, are going to China now,” Gaesser says, “so the European Union and some of the other countries are needing to come to the United States for supply.”

But some European countries have labeled American soybeans as “genetically modified” and refuse to purchase U.S.-grown beans. Gaesser says he hopes Trump Administration negotiations with the European Union will resolve those conflicts, erase all tariffs and make the European market a larger sales option for U.S. soybeans.

From left: Princess Nicole Eilts, Queen Emily Saeugling, King Tyler Comes, Prince Cale Pellett

Royalty for the 2018 Cass County Fair was crowned on Thursday night outside the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. This year’s contest had 8 individuals competing for King and 9 vying for Queen. The candidates all got together for a preliminary group and individual interview with Judges Amanda Graham and Kandie Erickson. Then on Thursday night all the candidates were introduced to the crowd and four finalists on each side were brought up for a Q & A in front of the crowd. The judges then had a little time to make their final decisions.

The 2018 Cass County Fair Queen is Emily Saeugling, the daughter of Aaron and Dana Saeugling. Emily is a member of the Cass County RAMS 4-H club and Atlantic FFA. Emily will be joined in duties this week by Princess Nicole Eilts, the daughter of Tim and Karla Eilts. Miss Congenialty was Myah Rubio, the daughter of Roxane Reyna, Fustavo Rubio & Fredie Martinez.

The 2018 Cass County Fair King is Tyler Comes, the son of Chad and Tresa Comes. Tyler is a member of the Atlantic FFA. Earning the title of Prince was Cale Pellett, the son of Bret Pellett and Lindsay Pellett. Cale was also named Mr. Congeniality.

In addition to the King and Queen contest the Little Miss and Little Mister contest was held. 4 boys and 14 girls entered into the contest in which a name is simply drawn from the entrants for each title. The 2018 Cass County Fair Little Miss is Eden Ohms and the Little Mister is Keagen Dreager.