Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2020

Ag Bytes
Iowa Concern available
for multiple services
Iowa Concern, offered by ISU 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.
Program provides support
for dealing with pandemic
COVID Recovery Iowa offers a variety
of services to anyone affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual counselors
and consultants provide counseling, family
finance consultation, farm financial consultation,
referral information and help finding
resources for
any Iowan
seeking personal
support.
Iowans
of all ages
may join
groups online for activities and learn creative
strategies for coping with the effects
of the pandemic. COVID Recovery Iowa
will announce upcoming programs on the
website and via all social media to help
Iowans build coping skills, resilience and
emotional support. To request support, go
to https://www.COVIDrecoveryiowa.org or
call 1-844-775-WARM.
State awards recognition
for Century, Heritage Farms
Some 238 Iowa families received the
Century Farm award and 103 families received
the Heritage Farm award in 2020.
To achieve Century or Heritage farm status,
generations of a family must maintain
ownership of the land for 100 years or 150
years, respectively.
Families who received the award in
2020 could choose to participate in a small
regional event or the 2021 Iowa State
Fair. The Century Farm program began in
1976. A total of 20,304 Iowa farms earned
that designation. The Heritage Farm program
began in 2006. So far, 1,464 Iowa
farms earned that designation.
Following are the recipients from Eastern
Iowa, the year of origin and location of
the farm.
Cedar County Century: Stan and Connie
Finck, 1920, Durant; Dallas and JoAnn
Rekemeyer, 1899, Bennett; Terry and
Gene Warren, 1920, Bennett; and Don and
Julie Wilson, 1919, West Liberty.
Cedar County Heritage: Dalhbert Family
Partnership, 1853, West Branch; and
Richard Fawcett, 1869, West Branch.
Clinton County Century Farms: Bright
Spot Farm, 1911, Clinton; Gerald J. Farrell,
1920, Delmar; Denny Allyn Lawrence,
1920, Clinton; and Denise and William
Ryan, 1920, Clinton.
Clinton County Heritage Farms: John
and Sally Clapp, 1870, Lost Nation; and
Joe and Beverly (Rogers) Mente, 1853,
Wheatland.
Dubuque County Century Farms:
Brune Family Farm, 1920, Peosta; Allen
and Mary Colleen Griffin, 1920, Farley;
Roger and Patricia Quade, 1908,
Dubuque; and Patrick J. Walsh and Carol
A. Walsh, 1920, Bernard.
Dubuque County Heritage Farms: David
M. Puls, 1869, Sherrill; Schieltz Farms,
1870, Guttenberg; and Schrobilgen Revocable
Trust (Irma A.), 1866, Durango.
Jackson County Century Farm: Tabor
Family Farm (Clifford), 1920, Baldwin.
Jackson County Heritage Farms: Fred
and Mary Jo Bruns, Bruns Family Trust,
1870, Zwingle; John and Mary Kay Egan of
Niemann Egan Heritage, LLC, 1853, Bellevue;
and Ernst Land Co. Inc. LLC, 1865,
Bellevue.
Jones Century Farms: Trudy Fisher
Erickson, 1920, Olin; and Michael and Tamara
Hansen, 1920, Olin.
Jones Heritage Farms: None
The full list of Century and Heritage Farm
awardees is available at iowaagriculture.
gov/century-and-heritage-farm-program.
Poultry program saw
different format at ISU
2020 was a year of firsts for the Midwest
Poultry Consortium’s Center of Excellence
Scholarship and Internship Program –
the first year it was hosted by Iowa State
University, and the first year the program
was held in an online format, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences virtually hosted 29 students
from 14 Midwest universities for the virtual
summer educational program. The
25-year-old program was formerly hosted
by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Iowa State was selected to host the program
because of its college and industry
programmatic support, facilities for teaching,
and existing poultry faculty support,
said Elizabeth Bobeck, assistant professor
of animal science at Iowa State and on-site
coordinator of the summer program.
Before the pandemic hit, the plan was
to host classes at the new Robert T. and
Arlene Hamilton Poultry and Research
Teaching Farm at Iowa State, as well as
in Kildee Hall and the Meats Laboratory.
Bobeck said they still were able to make
use of the new poultry facility for the
program by filming laboratory videos for
nutrition and physiology courses.
Iowa State will again host the scholarship
and internship program next summer.
Websites have online
courses, helpful hints
A variety of online course are available
from ag organizations during the pandemic.
Practical Farmers of Iowa is hosting online
programs on everything from restoring
habitat to harvesting chestnuts and other
nuts. For more information visit practicalfarmers.org/
and click on “Events.”
AgArts, which promotes healthy food
systems through the arts, also offers online
classes, as well as podcasts and other
resources. Visit agarts.org to see the full
menu.
The ISU Extension website includes a
variety of information on canning and preserving,
gardening tips and more.
Visit extension.iastate.edu/ and search
for a topic that interests you to see what is
available from the state’s experts.
eifarmer.com fall 2020 | Eastern Iowa Farmer 123