News Center newsletter

LaVonne Hesse of Waukon will be celebrating her 90th birthday September 15.

In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to 1336 Pole Line Road, Waukon, IA 52172.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
September 11: Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) Signup
September 30: PLC Yield Update
October 31: 2020 Organic Certification Cost Share Program Signup

Input Reductions Based on Improved Soil Health
by LuAnn Rolling, District Conservationist

As producers look at yet another year of small corn and soybean profit margins I would like to talk about some ways to reduce inputs and increase profits, all while improving soil health.  I’m going to use the example of Rick Clark, a farmer from Williamsport, Indiana, because he has been dabbling in soil health for many years and keeps detailed records of his 7,000 acre farm.

The combination of drought, derecho and hot weather has Iowa crops maturing earlier than usual, and with a host of grain quality concerns.

“Storm damaged corn is on the ground and it is quickly becoming moldy which creates food safety hazards,” said Charles Hurburgh, professor and grain quality specialist in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University. “The whole idea here is to get the producer and the crop insurance and the grain market together on determining value for the severely damaged grain, and how can we either take that as a total loss or direct it to another use, but not put it into the grain market.”

The farming community is used to the stress that comes from the unpredictable and uncontrollable challenges that jeopardize their production and livelihood. Agricultural resilience is about equipping farmers with strategies and information that will enable them to absorb and recover from these stresses. Resilience is the ability to bounce back when things do not go as planned.

COVID Recovery Iowa, in collaboration with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be hosting COVID AG UPDATES: Focus on Resilience; a 60-minute weekly update with agricultural specialists, to be held Mondays from 7:30 – 8:30 PM. The first 15 – 20 minutes will be informational, with the remaining time spent on answering questions.

To the Editor:

Our government leadership has mixed reviews among American farmers. The big promises of 2016 have yet to come true. The disastrous trade deal with China caused the farmers to lose market value on corn, soybeans and livestock. A “go it alone attitude”, without engaging our allies, cost us our markets to those same allies, as well as other commodity suppliers. Our markets have still not recovered.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue tossed out, on his first day, a bipartisan reform on ag market contracts that had taken years to complete. When speaking at a town hall at The World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, Perdue showed his callous disregard for small farms. He was quoted as saying there was no guarantee that small farms will survive, saying, “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out.” He said farmers should stop whining.

To the Editor:

Iowa has the highest infection rate in the U.S. with COVID-19. We are all retired Decorah, Iowa family physicians. We have read extensively about this pandemic since it began. We trust the websites www.cidrap.umn.edu and www.globalepidemics.org.

The globalepidemics.org website has real-time, color-coded infection levels for each county of the U.S. The color codes are linked to treatments. Iowa is designated red, the highest infection rate.

You will see at this site that Iowa needs a stay at home order to be given by our governor in order to knock this virus down far enough to control. Otherwise, with our schools and colleges open, and Labor Day weekend coming, the infection will further spread. It is critical that we do not overwhelm our hospitals.

To the Editor:

Catfish here saying, “Howdy!” Or, should I say, “So long?”

You know, after a terminal diagnosis, I realized I was becoming more afraid of living than dying, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the physical pain.  Shocker, huh?  Well, not really.

What you could very appropriately say is that I am “nearly scared to death”.  My pain is watching our precious Earth crumble and burn.

Maybe there is a global mob? Maybe the deity or demon responsible for all this chaos is finally going to reveal themselves and take us all to a better place? That is, regardless of skin color.

Now, close your eyes and imagine “a better place”.  It’s green, isn’t it? Please, “plant” your voice with your vote this November 3.

Annie Gallagher
a.k.a. Catfish Annie
Waukon

by Kelli Boylen

With the idea of making rope rescue in the county safer and more efficient, Bernie Gruman has led an effort to establish the Allamakee Technical Rescue (ATR) team.

Gruman, a Harpers Ferry volunteer firefighter, participated in a rope rescue class in Waukon several years ago. He enjoyed the training enough that he took a refresher course at the Kirkwood Community College annual fire school last fall.

He saw the benefits of a coordinated, county-wide rope rescue team. “With the steep drop-offs on the bluffs in our county and the number of grain operations, there definitely is a need for this type of knowledge here,” he says.

The Freedom Rock Committee has chosen this Friday, September 11 (9/11) at 11 a.m. as the day and time to unveil Allamakee County’s Freedom Rock in the Waukon City Park. U.S. Navy Veteran Chuck Bloxham of Waukon will be the Master of Ceremony for the brief program. All are invited to attend.

Iowa artist Bubba Sorensen was in Waukon from August 19-29 to paint his vision for his 92nd Freedom Rock, which is now another piece of his 99-piece puzzle for his State of Iowa Freedom Rock Tour Memorial giving tribute and thanks to all Veterans while creating tourism for the state of Iowa and each of its 99 counties. Fundraising efforts continue in order to help Allamakee County reach these goals as well. Contact 563-568-2624 for more information.
 

The past week saw an impact of COVID-19 not seen in Allamakee County since early May of this year, as confirmed case numbers soared to their highest level since that spring timeframe and the first death attributed to the virus was recorded since the first week in May as well. A total of 18 new cases have been reported for Allamakee County by the State of Iowa from within the past week’s timeframe of Tuesday, September 1 through Monday, September 7, the highest number during a similar week-long timeframe since April 28 through May 4, when 27 cases were reported during that seven-day stretch.

The Allamakee County death being attributed to COVID-19 this past week was reported by the State of Iowa Tuesday, September 1, but took place prior to that reported date. Allamakee County Public Health officials report that the death involved a female in the 61-80 years of age range but could not release any further details.