DES MOINES, Iowa., Oct. 10, 2011 - Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined business and community leaders to discuss the Administration's strategy to strengthen the U.S. economy and to highlight what passage of the American Jobs Act will mean for Iowans.

"The American Jobs Act provides common-sense steps we can take right now to put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans, without adding a dime to the deficit," said Vilsack. "In Iowa, this Act will provide a tax cut for over 60,000 businesses, support the jobs of 4,100 teachers and first responders and immediately provide over 5,000 construction workers a job improving highways and other critical infrastructure. Iowa families will receive a tax cut of around$1,580."

Secretary Vilsack also highlighted the need for quick passage of the pending trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea. The agreements were sent to Congress this week and are awaiting approval.

"Full implementation of all three agreements will help farmers and ranchers add more than $2.3 billion a year to the American economy, which will support nearly 20,000 jobs, said Vilsack. "The Korean agreement alone will increase agricultural trade by $1.9 billion and have a greater economic impact that the last nine trade agreements combined."

Full details on the three trade agreements and comprehensive fact sheets on how the agreements will benefit Iowa are available at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/.

• U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet
• U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet
• U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Iowa Fact Sheet

The Obama Administration is calling on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act immediately. The Act has five components that will create jobs and strengthen Iowa's economy:

Tax Cuts to Help America's Small Businesses Hire and Grow

• 60,000

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

• $385,900,000 in Iowa that could support a minimum of approximately 5,000
• $287,200,000 in funds to Iowa to support up to 4,100
• $132,600,000 in funding to support as many as 1,700
• $56,700,000

Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs.

• 34,000
• Alongside these reforms, the President is reiterating his call to extend unemployment insurance, preventing 7,300
• 800 adults and 2,300

Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

• $51,000, will receive a tax cut of around $1,580.

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Singing was one of the soldiers' favorite ways to pass time. Many songs were inspirational marching tunes meant to keep morale high, while others were sad, sentimental songs whose lyrics reminded the men of loved ones and home.  Most Civil War era music is easily recognizable today, as they are steadfast favorites.

Join us in the Music Room for a special program of Civil War era music, presented by the Muscatine Art Center in conjunction with the current exhibit: Muscatine & the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Commemoration. The beautiful music will be performed by select group of Muscatine High School students under the direction of Kelly Preslan and Darcy Hendriks of the Vocal and Band Department at the Muscatine High School.

This program will consist of vocal and instrumental selections relating to the Civil War, in the form of ballads, patriotic songs, marches and instrumental drill patterns.

DETAILS:

What: Civil War Era Music Performed by the Muscatine High School's Vocal and Band Department

When: Thursday, November 10, 2011

Time: 6:00 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at

563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is FREE.

Oct. 15 UI ANF Game Day Features First-Ever 'Card Stunt' and Former Hawkeye/NFL Players

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - October 10, 2011 - Iowa is insulated against the worst of the nation's economic woes, thanks to the strength and influence of agriculture, according to a recent survey by Creighton University economists.  "Farming has contributed 5,000 manufacturing jobs in this state over the past year and that's just one more reason why we want to share the good news of today's agriculture," says Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) President Craig Lang.

As part of the ANF partnership announced in August between the Iowa Farm Bureau and the University of Iowa Athletics Department, the football game this Saturday (Oct. 15) at historic Kinnick Stadium between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats has been designated "ANF Day at Kinnick." The game, to be televised live on the Big Ten Network (BTN) at 6 p.m. CT, will feature a host of activities celebrating why America Needs Farmers, including a pre-game autograph session with former Hawkeye stars Jared DeVries, Tim Dwight, Marv Cook, Ed Podolak and Gary Dolphin at the Legend's Tent in the Krause Family Plaza located immediately south of the stadium.

Other activities include Tailgate Toss with ANF prizes and the UI's first stadium 'card stunt', where all fans in the four grandstands of Kinnick Stadium will, on cue, hold them up and deliver two designs and messages for the enjoyment of the 70,000 people in the stadium and the national television audience watching on BTN.

ANF was first launched in 1985 during the height of the Farm Crisis by legendary Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry, who wanted to show an increasingly urban nation why agriculture matters.  "Farming has seen many innovations since then, which bring more food and energy choices and job opportunities to a new generation," says Lang, a fifth-generation Brooklyn, Iowa dairy farmer. "Today's farming isn't just about feeding people; it's about innovation in renewable energy, medicine, building materials, diagnostic tools, and more which combine what we know with what we grow."

Iowa farmers lead the nation in what they grow.  Just this week, the world celebrates the efficiency and sustainability of today's farmers through the 25^th anniversary of the World Food Prize honoring another Iowa farmer, Norman Borlaug. "In less than a generation, the world's population will need 100 percent more food than we are growing today on a finite amount of productive land.  IFBF is always looking for ways to show consumers how we plan to do that, while maintaining the integrity of the land, water, and rural communities where our farmers raise their own children," said Lang.

Iowa farmers realize with an increasing number of consumers curious about innovations in farming and food production, they need to find ways to make farming more transparent.  Larry Sailer, a Hardin County Farm Bureau member who farms near Iowa Falls, says, "Anything you can do to start a conversation with consumers about food and agriculture is good. We want to know what questions they have about what we do and why we do it. And in a high profile event, like an Iowa Hawkeye football game, it's literally a new way to show them this whole new playing field of modern agriculture."

For more information about the Iowa Farm Bureau/U of I ANF partnership and additional ANF Game Day activities or merchandise, click on www.americaneedsfarmers.org.

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