(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa State Fair is a little more than one month away and administrators are now looking for people to fill paid and volunteer positions. Spokesperson Mindy Williamson says there are lots of opportunities in both areas. “We have about 16-hundred employees who come help us during the fair — and even more volunteers. So, we are looking to fill some of those employment opportunities and also our volunteers,” Williamson says.

Volunteers do a variety of things, from working at the “Little Hands on the Farm” exhibit, selling souvenirs for the Blue Ribbon Foundation, and getting everyone on the right track at the information booths. “So, if you love the fair or you know a lot about the fair, this is a perfect spot for you to come,” Williamson says. “And our volunteer program this year celebrates 25 years. So, we have some people some people in those information booths on our grounds who have been doing it for 25 years.”

You can go online to find out how to sign up. “There are individual contacts that they can reach out to — but the one place that you can go to to find all that information is on our website at Iowa-State-Fair-dot-org. You can go there and look up volunteer opportunities,” Williamson explains. You can also stop by the administration building and fill out an application. She says the benefits include free fair admission, work experience and meeting a lot of new people. “You’ll get to meet a ton of Iowans and people outside of Iowa,” according to Williamson, “and we couldn’t do it without our volunteers and were are so very thankful to the folks who do volunteer. And if you are looking to volunteer we want to welcome you to have the opportunity to come out here and have some fun and meet some great people.”

This year’s Iowa State Fair is August 8th through the 18th.

BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say low-flying planes will release a substance Wednesday in an effort to stop the spread of invasive gypsy moths in eastern Iowa’s Jackson County. The planes will release what agricultural officials say is a “mating disruptor” that’s made of food-grade materials and is not harmful to people, animals, birds, plants or other insects. The spraying is scheduled for more than 10,000 acres on Wednesday, west and northwest of Bellevue.

The gypsy moth has spread slowly west from Massachusetts since the 1870s. It’s an invasive species that can cause extensive deforestation as its larvae eat leaves, particularly oak leaves.
More information is available online or from the Iowa Gypsy Moth Hotline at 855-497-7966.

(Radio Iowa) — A farmer from west-central Iowa’s Greene County is taking the helm of the Iowa Soybean Association this fall but it comes with trepidation. Incoming president Tim Bardole (BAR-dole) of Rippey says these are very challenging times for soybean farmers. “It’s going to be a tough year,” Bardole says. “The association is funded from the Soybean Checkoff, a lot of it, and with the low prices, a tough planting season, there’s a lot of unknowns and a lot of budget issues.”

Many commodities have seen poor prices for several straight years and they’re slow to recover, while Bardole says recent tariffs and trade troubles have made matters worse. “We need worldwide free trade,” Bardole says. “The U.S. farmer, even in tough times, we’re very good at producing soybeans and all of the other agricultural products. The U.S. definitely feeds the world.” Bardole took a trip to China earlier this year and saw up-close how that country’s enormous numbers depend heavily on American growers. “I’ve been to Malaysia and the Philippines,” Bardole says. “The world very much depends on U.S. agriculture for the good of their population.”

While foreign travel helps Bardole learn to appreciate what challenges other nations face, he also sees how much they appreciate us. “We have a lot of responsibility to do what we do and to do it very well,” Bardole says. “When you go to these other countries and once they find that you’re a farmer from Iowa, the respect that you get is somewhat overwhelming.”

Bardole will take office in September. He comes from a farming family and his father was the president of the I-S-A in the late 1980s. The Ankeny-based Iowa Soybean Association has 11,000 members.