AMES, Iowa — Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) is sponsoring a field day at the Craig Embretson farm in Clayton County on Wednesday, July 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The field day will include a complimentary lunch, information about strategies for no-till and also cover crop management. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Pat Schaefers, Clayton County Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCS) District Conservationist, will share information about no-till and farmer Craig Embretson will share his experiences from 20 years of no-till crop management. Field day attendees will see no-till corn following corn, no-till corn following soybean, and no-till soybean following corn. Tom Kaspar, plant physiologist with the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, will discuss the potential of fall-seeded cereal grain cover crops to reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality in corn-soybean rotations and provide early spring grazing feedstocks for cattle. Laura Christianson, Ph.D. candidate in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department at Iowa State University, will discuss bioreactors and other techniques to limit nitrate transport to water bodies.

Farmers and non-farmers are encouraged to bring their families to the field day to see the Iowa Learning Farms’ Conservation Station. The Conservation Station is a mobile learning lab that teaches audiences of all ages about soil conservation and ways to protect quality of our soil and water resources. The back of the Conservation Station houses a rainfall simulator, demonstrating the effects of rainfall on undisturbed soils with a variety of land covers, showing both surface water runoff as well as subsurface drainage. At the front is a learning center with hands-on displays and tools to learn about soil, water and wetlands.

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FarmersFeedUs Special Events Planned for 2011 RAGBRAI

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA – July 6, 2011 – Iowa farmers from across the state are joining together to show RAGBRAI  2011 riders what Iowa agriculture is all about.  Iowa-raised beef, pork and dairy products will be featured in free samples for RAGBRAI riders at several locations along this year’s route, which winds through the fertile corn and soybean fields, green pastures, vineyards and dozens of welcoming rural towns.

Iowa Farmers Feed Us (FFU) showcases the character of rural Iowa’s farming communities and the many farmers who provide a wide variety of nutritious, safe food.  RAGBRAI riders come from around the country and are socially-connected consumers who are curious about the farms and food production they see on their trip through Iowa.  FFU is an initiative designed to highlight farmers’ commitment to providing people with safe, nutritious and affordable food, caring for the animals and the land, and supporting their communities, as well.

At each stop, free food samples and four separate collectable FFU bike spoke cards will be handed out by Iowa farmers for riders to put on their bikes.  The front of each bike spoke card celebrates Iowa farming with exclusive drawings created by celebrated former Des Moines Register illustrator Brian Duffy.  The back of the bike spoke card has a link to the Farmers Feed Us website and a number to enter in a drawing to win the grand prize: a new Apple i-Pad.  Participants can look for the red FFU flag at the RAGBRAI 2011 Expo in Glenwood on July 23 to pick up their RAGBRAI route maps, which highlight Iowa Farmers Feed Us stops, food samples and collectible bike spoke card for the grand prize drawing.

The Farmers Feed Us stops along RAGBRAI 2011 include:

• Monday, July 25, nine miles north of Kimballton, the signs and red Farmers Feed Us flag will lead to a beautiful cattle farm.  Iowa livestock farmers are bringing out the big grills and offering free Iowa beef samples, while supplies last! Bike spoke card #1 offered here.
• Tuesday, July 26, in Churdan, look for the Farmers Feed Us flag just blocks from the town’s elevator, and get your RAGBRAI 2011 photo taken with real farmers and big tractors!  Bike spoke card #2 offered here.
• Wednesday, July 27, at White Oak Vineyards, located at 15065 NE White Oak Dr., outside of Cambridge, you’ll find a big party with music, wine and free food at the Farmers Feed Us stop!  Look for the big, red FFU flag and your free sample of Iowa grilled pork, while supplies last!  Get your bike spoke card #3 here.
• Thursday, July 28, brave the hills just outside Baxter and look for the red, Farmers Feed Us flag and giant dairy cow located along F17 to get your free chocolate milk, while supplies last!  Collect bike spoke card #4 here.

The drawing for the grand prize will take place on Tues., Aug. 2, 2011.

Agriculture is the cornerstone of our economy; farming accounts for one in every six jobs. This year, Iowa’s farm groups are happy to work together to show RAGBRAI riders and supporters how today’s family farmers provide a variety of safe, nutritious and affordable food.

The 2011 RAGBRAI Farmers Feed Us sponsors include: the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Midwest Dairy Association, Iowa State Dairy Association, Iowa Turkey Federation and Iowa Soybean Association.

For more information about the 2011 RAGBRAI Farmers Feed Us event, check out www.iowafarmbureau.com/ragbrai.

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WEST DES MOINES, IOWA – June 30, 2011 – Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF), the state’s largest grassroots farm organization, sees progress through passage of several IFBF-supported measures in the 2011 legislative session.  IFBF members are pleased that lawmakers took steps towards achieving a more fiscally-responsible, sustainable budgeting process, which will ensure the state’s future economic health, as well as bring significant property tax relief to Iowans.

Farm Bureau members have insisted that the state fully fund its promised share of education, which was under-funded by across-the-board cuts in recent years.  As Farm Bureau members feared, three years of under-funding the state’s share of schools pushed the burden onto the backs of Iowa property taxpayers.   Farm Bureau members are pleased that this year lawmakers passed measures that will backfill the nearly $160 million that was not previously funded in the budget, creating significant property tax relief, said IFBF President Craig Lang.

The state legislature also adopted measures to prevent the practice of using one-time money for on-going expenses: a change in practice Farm Bureau supports.  “Iowa lawmakers created the Taxpayer Trust Fund, which automatically takes the first $60 million of the state ending fund balance off the table and directs it towards tax relief.  In years before, this money was rolled into the next year’s General Fund budget to cover on-going expenses,” said Lang.  Additionally, almost $300 million of one-time federal stimulus money was removed from the budget, another step which helps create a sustainable and fiscally-responsible budget.

Another Farm Bureau priority passed by lawmakers this year results in the transfer of the Water Resources Coordinating Council (WRCC) to Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.  The objective of the WRCC is to improve the coordination of watershed and water quality programs, making water quality programs more effective in Iowa.  IFBF members believe this new change in responsibility will improve coordination of conservation and water quality programs in Iowa.

Work will continue on other IFBF priorities which didn’t gain passage in this session, including regulatory reform, overturning a controversial ruling by Iowa’s Electrical Examining Board which requires inspections of electrical installations on farm buildings and House File 589, the Agriculture Protection Bill.  Under new Farm Bureau-supported language, an amended HF 589 would make it a crime when people make false statements about their motives, or have a “hidden agenda” for gaining access to Iowa crop or livestock farms.  The revised bill has the backing of many Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and did not include language prohibiting video recordings.  “It’s unfortunate a revised HF 589 didn’t get to the Senate floor this year, because this bill is about something very important, not just to Farm Bureau members, but to all Iowans; it’s about misrepresentation of character,” said Lang.  “In a post 9/11 world, transparency is important for farmers and consumers alike.  Responsible farmers take good care of their land and livestock and want to employ honest, hardworking people that have the welfare of their livestock as their top priority.  The newly-worded HF 589 would’ve created penalties for those who make false statements to gain access to a farm to hide their intended misconduct or purpose.  I think that’s something that all Iowans believe in.”

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