Agriculture

Merrill industry is model for Iowa's future, Judge says (03/09/10)
If Iowa is going to recover from the recession that has plagued the nation, recovery is going to come from the ground up. That's what Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said Monday during a visit to the Plymouth Oil, a food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill...

From field to table: Plymouth Oil begins production (02/22/10)
The food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill is making liquid gold. After weather and financial delays, the $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is completely constructed and pumping out gallons of crude corn oil, according to Dave Hoffman, chairman of the Plymouth Oil Company board...

Local bright stars catch Food Network's eye (02/10/10)
It was lights, camera, action at the Le Mars Dairy Queen Tuesday. The Food Network was in town tracing the story of StarKiss Bars, a frozen treat at Dairy Queen. "The Food Network approached us and said they wanted to come to Le Mars to shoot a show on how StarKiss Bars are made," said Dean A. Peters, director of communications for the American Dairy Queen Corporation...

Job training program revision, could limit local businesses (01/28/10)
One-half million dollars for Plymouth County business could be at stake as the State of Iowa discusses adjustments in funding to the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program. Plymouth County businesses that received job training funding in 2009 were Plymouth Energy - $250,612, Plymouth Oil - $153,000, Wells Dairy - $25,000 and Bodeans Baking Company - $63,403...

Late harvest, early winter storms leave crops stranded (01/07/10)
Corn still stands in fields in northwest Iowa and nearby states -- and without a winter thaw it will likely remain there until spring. "Right now there's not much you can do. You can't physically get in the field," said Joel DeJong, crops field specialist with Plymouth County Iowa State University Extension...

Extension staff settling in at new offices (01/05/10)
Freezing rain and snow didn't stop the Plymouth County Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Office staff from moving to its new office at the Le Mars Convention Center lower level just before Christmas. "We were ready to go," said Ann Schoenrock, 4-H County Youth Coordinator last Wednesday as she gave a quick tour of the new office space. It is in what was formerly known as the Vanilla and Chocolate Rooms, previously occupied by Wells' Dairy Inc...

Rewind 2009: The worst of times and the best of times (12/31/09)

Racing the elements: Herbst and crew react to heavy autumn rainfall (12/11/09)
When the September harvest rolled around this year Darwin Herbst thought it would be business as usual. But that wasn't the case thanks to a very rainy October. Herbst, of Merrill, has been farming his whole life. This year was different for the Herbst farm and most farmers in the area...

When life was simple: Life on the farm was busy with work and fun times (12/10/09)
Editor's Note: This story is another in a weekly series looking back at life decades ago and remembering a time when people's lifestyle was very different than today. Life on the farm has many memories for Leonard Molzen. "I've lived on the farm all my life in the same township, Johnson Township," Molzen said. He moved to Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars in 2005...

There's a glow in the west (11/23/09)
Now as an adult, Scheitler has decorated on the grounds of his acreage just one mile from that farm for the past 14 years, each year adding a bit more. Make that a lot more. "We call it 'Christmas Acres,'" Scheitler said. He estimates there are 60,000 lights on 55 trees and 60 bushes, with 17 inflatable decorations in the yard. ...

Brunsville grain elevator adds capacity, speed (11/23/09)
Brunsville's Premium Feed and Grain upped the ante this harvest with a new 204,000 bushel storage bin and a new grain dump that can take in grain at the rate of 8,000 bushels per hour. The company's growth also included adding three new full-time jobs. Now Premium Grain and Feed employs 12 people, 10 of which are full-time...

Local grocery stores feed the hungry (11/17/09)
Local grocery stores are working to bring food to the tables of those who can't afford to buy it. At the Le Mars Wal-Mart, twice a week, a truck from the Food Bank of Siouxland pulls up to the back of the store. When it drives away, it's loaded with about 15 boxes of food to distribute to regional agencies helping people in need...

U.S. wildlife leaders worry about future during Akron summit (11/16/09)
Leaders from national wildlife groups shared concerns about the future of clean water and conservation in the United States during a summit near Akron this past weekend. "This is a place where agricultural producers, conservationists and water quality advocates come together for a common program," Jim Martin said of the gathering...

Prehistoric people leave footprints in Loess Hills (11/12/09)
Eight hundred to 900 years ago the first corn farmers dwelled in the northern Loess Hills. Evidence of the prehistoric Mill Creek native people, as archaeologists have deemed them, and their villages and cemetery sites have been found in parts of Plymouth County and northwest Iowa...

China to lift ban, pork industry sighs in relief (11/02/09)
Last week officials from China announced plans to lift a six-month ban on pork imports from the United States -- news that could be a shot in the arm for a suffering pork industry. The ban has yet to be lifted, but National Pork Board president Tim Bierman, of Larrabee, Iowa, has no doubt this will have a widespread positive impact on the pork industry...

Olympic champion returns to roots: Jennie Finch headlines Pink Ribbon Night (10/30/09)
You won't find too many natives of Southern California who enjoy the smell of a cattle farm. But Jennie Finch is not your typical California girl. "It's funny how you appreciate the smell of cows and cornfields," said Finch, a softball pitcher for Team USA and a two-time Olympian, said in Le Mars Thursday. ...

Faber's hobby wine earns high rank (10/28/09)
A Le Mars man's wine, made from grapes grown in his backyard and fermented in his basement, was picked champion in its class last weekend. Wayne Faber entered his dry red wine in the Schleswig Wine and Bier Contest last weekend, an annual event for Schleswig, 45 miles south of Cherokee...

Oh deer! It's that time of year (10/28/09)
With tree leaves turning golden and temperatures cooling, the fall season also brings a greater chance of car-deer accidents on roadways across Plymouth County. "We're starting to see an increase in vehicles hitting deer," said Plymouth County Deputy Paul Betsworth. "Once farmers start getting their crops in, they start chasing the deer out of the fields onto the roadways."...

Locally-made cottage cheese sweeps national competition (10/22/09)
Cottage cheese manufactured at Dean Foods in Le Mars rose to the top in the 2009 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. In fact, the three entries from Le Mars, labeled under the Old Home Foods name, took first, second and third in their category, in a field of 11 entries from competitors like Kraft Foods and Westby Co-op Creamery...

Neighbors bring combines to recovering farmer's rescue (10/20/09)
Jerry Vaske's bleeding kidney kept him from harvesting his 220 acres of soybeans this fall. But the job still got done Monday. The rural Remsen farmer's friends, neighbors and family members climbed aboard nine combines, hooked up tractors and wagons, drove feed trucks and harvested Vaske's three fields in less than a day...

Former teacher turned author returns to Hinton (09/21/09)
Jane Kauzlarich wrote her book "Quack," then she published it and began selling it and now she's written a song about it. Kauzlarich, a retired Hinton Community School teacher, will be reading "Quack" and singing with pre-kindergarten through fifth graders Wednesday at the school...

Pheasants' habitat dwindles by millions of acres each year (09/18/09)
Hunters may face a challenge this season -- the pheasant population is on a downward spiral in Plymouth County and throughout Iowa. Last year Iowa had 100,000 hunters and 383,000 birds, which is four birds per person in the field. Other years there have been 1.5 million pheasants, said John Linquist, Pheasants Forever regional representative. "From the early 2000s to now there has been a steady decline because of weather and habitat," Linquist said. The cold, damp spring this year affected pheasants' nesting habits, said Mike Slota, Pheasants Forever chairman for Plymouth County youth programs. "The weather has to be somewhat warm to produce the insects for the chicks when they're hatched," Slota said. "The hens can't keep the chicks adequately warm and they just die from exposure." The loss of habitat also affects pheasants' nesting because hens have less area to hide from predators, Slota said. Pheasant habitats, which usually require 5 to 10 acres, are areas with a mixture of tall and short grasses and flowering plants that attract insects, Slota said. A major reason that habitat is dwindling is that millions of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres are going away each year, Linquist said. Last year alone 1.1 million CRP acres expired, according to www.pheasantsforever.org. With the price of grain, farmers are finding they can make more money planting their land than putting it into CRP acres, Slota said. "With this economy you can't blame any farmer for squeezing every dollar out of the ground they can," Slota said. "Their job is to produce grain and make money off the ground. We understand that." Farmers began enrolling their qualified land into CRPs to be planted into habitats 10 to 15 years ago and receiving federal compensation, Linquist said. "A lot of people's acres are expiring and there are no new signups," he said. Another 3.8 million CRP acres will expire this fall and 4.4 million acres next September for a total of 21 million acres gone from the program by the end of 2012 without a new signup. The USDA does not have a signup scheduled, according to the Pheasants Forever website. "It's hard to maintain a bird population when we're constantly taking conservation acres out of play," Linquist said. Pheasants Forever hopes to turn that around with its program, Reload Iowa. The intent of Reload Iowa is to establish 1 million acres of new habitat on Iowa landscape. That means $11.5 million will need to be raised and 50 employees hired to go door-to-door to work with landowners to create the habitat, Linquist said. "That program is going to have to pay enough money out to entice the farmer to want to do this," Slota said. "The farmer has to look at the bottom line." There are also national programs like Conservation Practice 38 or State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) working to help conserve and create new habitat. SAFE started last year with 200,000 CRP acres that were divided among states. "We had 27,700 acres," Linquist said. "All of those acres have been used up and all within a year." The loss of habitat and dwindling pheasant population in Plymouth County and throughout the state has a trickle-down effect on economy and recreation, Linquist said. "When the population of the birds down so does the population of the hunters," he said. That means less dollars spent shopping, eating and staying locally by nonresident hunters. Fewer hunters also leads to a loss of revenue on licenses, which means less money to help support county and state parks, Linquist said. "That's what buys the land and sees to the upkeep," he said. "We're hurting ourselves by people not going out and hunting." A declining pheasant and hunter population is also detrimental for the next generation of would-be hunters, but Slota's optimistic Reload Iowa and similar programs will turn the numbers around. "I hope we start seeing an increase in the next couple of years," Slota said. "I would love to see it start going back the other way and hopefully we are doing the right things to make it start going the other way."

Time to go? Canada Geese movement hints at season change (09/15/09)
On an average day at the Le Mars Municipal Park around 100 Canada Geese are mingling with other waterfowl. But lately they've been leaving the water and taking to the air in their famous V-formation. The geese are preparing for a change -- fall. Canada Geese (Canadian Geese is actually the informal term) migrate generally in September and October, but they'll probably be around for a while, according to Jeremy Kettmann, a park technician at Hillview Park in Hinton who studies birds' migratory patterns.. ...

Wells' Dairy helps region rank high in food processing (09/14/09)
Plymouth County's largest employer helped push the Sioux City metro region to the top of the list for food processing industry growth in a New Jersey magazine. Sioux City, along with the surrounding area, was picked as the Top Metro for Food Processing Industry Growth in the August issue of "Business Facilities." It is, the magazine said, the leading growth center for food processing, food products and agribusiness...

Maass honored with Farm Bureau Ag Award (09/10/09)
A retired Remsen farmer is the 2009 recipient of the Plymouth County Farm Bureau's Service to Agriculture Award. The award was presented to Kenneth Maass and his wife, Bethene, at the 91st annual meeting of Plymouth County Farm Bureau Tuesday evening at the Le Mars Community Middle School Auditorium...

Sweet corn stand goes back 20 years (08/04/09)
Under an ash tree, the worn black pickup truck owned by Lynn Buss sits in the shade, the bed piled high with ears of sweet corn. Buss, with the help of his children and grandchildren, bring their sweet corn to this hot spot by Bob's Drive-In, owned by the Kass family, each day during the hot months of summer...

Judge emphasizes design, gain in swine winners (08/03/09)
The term "design" came into play frequently Saturday as exhibitors in the Fair's Swine Show maneuvered their entries before Show Judge Dr. Tom Baas, Ph.D. Baas, a professor in the Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, explained that while the design of a pig "has always been very important" the design of the pig -- its structure and "how it's put together" -- is receiving added emphasis today in light of modern-day options for pork production...

Small portions, big tastes at fair's cooking school (07/29/09)
Ready to try something new in your kitchen and maybe win a prize? Then come out to the cooking school at the Plymouth County Fair at 7 p.m. Friday presented by Wells' Dairy, Inc. culinologist John Kennedy II. What is a culinologist? "It's part chef, part food science," explained Kennedy, admitting he has "one of the coolest jobs in the world."...

Filmmaker turns Westfield into the Bible's ancient lands (07/22/09)
Last week, Noah was cutting down trees near Westfield to build his ark. And David, not yet a king, was tending his sheep in a nearby pasture. It's not time travel, it's the makings of a movie. Rural Westfield native Josh Martyn was back in his neighborhood 5 miles south of Westfield to film scenes for "The Greatest Gift Ever," a 20-minute Christian film to be released before Christmas...

Ethanol plant garners grain dealer license (06/16/09)
Plymouth Energy is back in the grain dealing business. On June 10, Plymouth Energy Grain, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Plymouth Energy, obtained a grain dealer license, which gives it the ability to purchase corn for the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant just north of Merrill...

Plymouth Energy hearing for grain dealer license postponed (06/11/09)
The Merrill ethanol plant has another 2 1/2 months to make their financial system comply with state standards. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) temporarily revoked Plymouth Energy's license to purchase grain as a dealer in early May because of "deficiencies" in the company's financial system and accounting with grain transactions, according to Rich Wahl, of the IDALS...

Doing dairy differently: Robinsons go with goat milk (06/11/09)
Jocelyn and Dan Robinson drink fresh milk on their farm every day. And they use it to make butter, yogurt and ice cream. But it's not from a cow. It's from a goat. Jocelyn milks Daisy, an Overhasli dairy goat, twice a day on the Robinson farm about 15 miles southeast of Le Mars...

Ethanol plant grand opening draws curiosity, praise (06/05/09)
Hundreds of visitors donned hard hats Thursday to watch a plant just north of Merrill do its thing: produce ethanol at the rate of 103 gallons per minute. "You read about these things, but you don't actually get to see them up close," said one Le Mars woman, waiting in line for a tour of the Plymouth Energy Ethanol plant during its grand opening...

Dean Foods ramping up for more volume (06/04/09)
A local dairy plant is adding employees to handle increased production volume. Plant manager Joe Leedom said during a Le Mars City Council meeting he anticipates 15-25 new employees will be hired. "Dean Foods has determined to transfer volume to our plant," Leedom said later. "It's a good-sized addition."...

Oyens to celebrate centennial this weekend (06/03/09)
Oyens will kick off a weekend full of activities Friday to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Tri-State Car Cruisers Show. The Pork Producers will also be grilling pork burgers and brats that night, while Oyens Fire Department will be in charge of the beer garden...

A Hinton vintage: Couple opens winery (06/02/09)
The bundle of 400 grape vines that arrived at Barry and Brenda Dittmer's door nearly six years ago have come to fruit. This weekend, the rural Hinton couple opened the doors to Tucker Hill Winery, complete with seven varieties of wine. Around 300 people visited the winery and vineyard during the weekend grand opening to taste the fruit of the Dittmer's labor...

The prairie returns: Pheasants Forever seeds Remsen habitat (05/20/09)
Seed by seed, row by row, a field just north of Remsen was transformed Tuesday. Land used to grow field corn last year has a new purpose: to provide habitat and help keep Remsen water clean. About 60 acres near the Remsen wells were tilled under and seeded as prairie Tuesday, thanks to a joint effort between the City of Remsen and Pheasants Forever. Local farmers donated time and equipment to help plant the seed...

Man charged with assaulting woman with putty knife (05/11/09)
A Kingsley man was arrested Friday morning at the Wells' Dairy North Ice Cream Plant in Le Mars after he allegedly assaulted a female employee by placing a putty knife against her throat, according to the Le Mars Police. Jeston Abon, 38, also an employee at the plant, was arrested at about 7:39 a.m. after allegedly assaulting both that female and a male employee who came to the aid of the female, according to the police report...

The grass is greener... Are you brutalizing your lawn? Here's how not to (05/05/09)
Lawn care with the best intention can still leave a yard looking abused. That's according to lawn experts Nicholas Peters and Al Vonnahme, of Le Mars. Both own lawn care and landscaping businesses. To grow a green, lush-looking lawn means getting to know your grass, Peters explained...

It's a boy... we think (04/23/09)
It's been more than 150 years since a bison was born in Iowa. History was made last weekend when the first calf made his appearance in the bison herd roaming about 500 acres in The Nature Conservancy's Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve. Scott Moats, preserve manager, is pretty sure the new calf is a male based on what he's seen, but that won't be confirmed until the shaggy beasts are rounded up this fall...

Dean Foods closes Lincoln plant, plans to relocate production (04/16/09)
A Dean Foods dairy plant in Lincoln is closing this fall, and the corporation may use the Le Mars dairy plant to help pick up the slack. Meadow Gold's downtown Lincoln dairy production plant, which employs 70-100 people, will close in September, according to Dean Foods spokeswoman Marguerite Copel...

Expert to introduce aronia berry crop to area (04/14/09)
Aronia berries and high tunnel gardening are the wave of the future in Iowa, one expert says. Dr. Eldon Everhart, horticulture specialist with Iowa State University (ISU), will lead an educational program on those topics Saturday, April 25. The event, sponsored by ISU Extension and Floyd Valley Hospital, will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m...

Legislators challenge proposed tax changes: Who wins and who loses? (04/06/09)
A new tax law that would mean a tax cut for about one-half of Iowans and an increase or no change for the rest is at the center of legislative debate this week. Rep. Chuck Soderberg and Sen. Randy Feenstra visited with area residents in an open forum in Le Mars on that proposed tax bill and others Saturday...

Calls to Quitline surge in advance of federal tobacco tax (03/31/09)
Calls to Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) have surged by 20 percent since the price of cigarettes increased ahead of a new federal tax. With a 62-cent per pack increase in the tax on cigarettes going into effect April 1, Quitline Iowa is braced for even more calls. The sudden increase in calls is one of the most significant spikes since the Quitline began offering free nicotine patches and gum in addition to counseling by trained quit coaches in January 2008...

'A Time to Remember' features West Coast winemakers (03/30/09)
Six winemakers will be represented at the Le Mars Wine and Roses event, "A Time to Remember," this Thursday evening at the Willow Creek Country Club in Le Mars. "A Time to Remember" will benefit Alzheimer's Association programming in Plymouth County and features wine tasting with prestigious winemakers from across the United States...

Vaske plea taking today (03/30/09)
A rural Remsen man whose cattle were seized earlier this month was slated for a plea taking today (Monday) regarding his animal neglect charge. Andrew Vaske, 28, of rural Remsen, faced the charge after the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office investigated complaints in mid-March of neglected cows and calves on the Vaske farm about two miles southwest of Remsen...

New tobacco tax leaves retailers, smokers cornered (03/25/09)

Sheriff seizes cattle, owner charged with neglect (03/16/09)
A man charged with neglecting his cattle turned himself in to the sheriff after 29 of his livestock were confiscated Friday. Andrew Vaske, 28, of rural Remsen, faced the charge after the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office investigated complaints of neglected cows and calves on the Vaske farm about two miles southwest of Remsen...

Ethanol debate: Is your car ready for E-15? (03/12/09)
Currently, government rules allow non-flex-fuel vehicles to use only 10 percent ethanol in their gasoline. Politicians from Iowa are pushing for that to change. Earlier this week, newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, spoke in support of allowing higher blends -- 15 percent...

Blue Bunny Aspen Bar Acclaimed as Best and Most Innovative New Product (03/11/09)
Blue Bunny's new frozen creation, the Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, has been recognized by the grocery and dairy industry as one of the most exciting and innovative new products of 2009. The International Dairy Foods Association recognized the Aspen Bar as Most Innovative Novelty at their Ice Cream Technology Conference, while the National Grocers Association selected the Aspen Bar as one of the top three best new products at their 2009 Convention...

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