Davenport, Iowa, January 11, 2012 - The Friends of Vander Veer and the City of Davenport Parks and Recreation are hosting the Great Poinsettia Giveaway this weekend to conclude the annual Poinsettia & Lights display.

The Giveaway is Saturday and Sunday, January 14th and 15th, in the Conservatory at Vander Veer Botanical Park, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visitors receive a free poinsettia with Conservatory admission of $1.00. Admission is free for members of The Friends of Vander Veer.

The Poinsettia and Lights holiday display is running through Sunday at Vander Veer Botanical Park Conservatory, 215 West Central Park Avenue, Davenport. This spectacular display features hundreds of poinsettias and holiday plants.

The Park Store is open when the Conservatory is open, featuring unique gardening items and gifts and an annual clearance sale during the Giveaway.

"We plan to redouble our efforts in 2012 to help make Iowa in fact one of the healthiest states in the Nation."

Peggy Huppert, Iowa Director, American Cancer Society

DES MOINES, IA - The American Cancer Society (ACS) announced its legislative agenda for 2012 at its annual Legislative Breakfast today at the Capitol.

Joining Huppert at the ACS Breakfast was Gail Orcutt, a Des Moines resident who spoke about the deadly toxin in our homes, radon gas.

"While many Iowans know that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer and the most preventable cause of death in the state, most don't know that the second leading cause of lung cancer is radon. It's an odorless, colorless, tasteless toxin that threatens them where they feel the safest...their homes," Huppert stated.

ACS distributed free radon testing kits to those in attendance. "Testing is simple, and with these kits, free. But until you test, you won't know if this killer is lurking in your home," Huppert noted. "Iowans have been living with this threat for years without knowing about it, and with new test kits, Iowans can take steps to rid their homes of this silent killer."

Radon gas seeps into a house from the soil around and under the home; through cracks in the foundation, floor or walls; through hollow-block walls; and through openings around floor drains, pipes and sump pumps.

Governor Branstad proclaimed January as "Radon Awareness Month" with a proclamation dated January 5^th, 2012. As many as seven out of 10 homes tested in Iowa have radon levels that exceed federal guidelines for exposure.

Huppert praised Governor Branstad for his proclamation. "Governor Branstad has made it a goal of his Administration to make Iowa one of the Nation's healthiest states, and bringing attention to this silent killer is an excellent step in that direction," she noted.

Huppert outlined there are other steps ACS will take to help the Administration achieve its goal of making Iowa one of the healthiest states in the Nation:

• Establishing a consumer-friendly Iowa Insurance Exchange;
• Closing the casino exemption in the 2008 Iowa Smokefree Air Act; and
• Securing adequate funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

"Iowa should move forward on establishing its Iowa Insurance Exchange in the 2012 session, so the federal government doesn't do it for us," Huppert noted. "We have great leaders in the health care and insurance industries in Iowa, and we need to direct our own future and design our own plan tailored to the specific needs of our citizens."

"We also plan to continue our efforts to eliminate the casino exemption from Iowa's Smokefree Air Act. Iowa's casino employees should no longer have to choose between their job and their health," Huppert stated.

"And finally," she noted, "last year the Legislature dealt our efforts to reduce teen and adult smoking a severe setback with budget cuts of over 65%. The tobacco companies haven't reduced their sales by 65%, and we'll be seeking to solidify Iowa's prevention and cessation effort."

"Through our efforts, we will redouble our efforts in 2012 to make Iowa, in fact, one of the healthiest states in the Nation," Huppert concluded.

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It's perfectly understandable why so many folks care how farmers care for the land; it doesn't just need to be protected because it feeds us, but because our fertile soils and watersheds always have and always will be Iowa's most valuable asset.

But there's a growing concern that some well-intentioned folks have taken efforts to be sustainable to a whole new level, calling for the sacrifice of property rights, food production and jobs for the sake of 'speciesism' (choosing plants or animals over people).  'Speciesism' seems to be 'de riguer' these days in Hollywood and national media, so that's probably why the subject packed the house this week at the 2012 American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting.

Rob Gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach for the Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/about), says being environmentally-sustainable is important, but too often regulations are put in place which go beyond common sense. "Science has to be 'good science' which means it must follow scientific method. That means if you conduct an experiment and write down how you do it, I should be able to replicate your results.  Right now species are added to endangered lists based on 'best available data,' which doesn't mean rational, duplicated, sane or even scientific."

Gordon then went on to illustrate that point by way of the Pleistocene Snail.

The Pleistocene snail (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/Snails/iops_fct.html) is a tiny snail that lives on rocky outcropping areas in Iowa and was declared 'endangered' in 1978.  So, the government took over land and created the National Wildlife Refuge near Dubuque to protect the snails.  But, there were snags in maintaining the tiny creature's population because, according to Gordon, the biggest threats remained: the lack of an Ice Age and humans.  It seems well-intentioned environmentalists who went out to 'count' these tiny snails were killing them by accidentally stepping on them.   Since these tiny snails thrived in glacial conditions, the government deemed that the next best 'savior' for the Pleistocene is to keep the National Wildlife Refuge near Dubuque in place, and wait for the next Ice Age.

"Clearly, this is a case of speciesism and regulation run amok.  We have to remember that environmental policy can't be good environmental policy if it doesn't take people into account," says Gordon.

In an age when snails are deemed more important than farming, feeding people or employing them, something is wrong.  That's why folks like Gordon are out there reading the fine print, calling for people to ask questions and demand conservation efforts be based on repeatable, scientific results that take human beings into account.  Waiting for the government to realize this however, could take...until the next Ice Age.

Laurie Johns is Public Relations Manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau.                        1/11/2012

ST. LOUIS (January 11, 2012) - U.S. soybean farmers now have an updated tool that can meet the needs of some customers who want proof U.S. soy has been sustainably produced.

That's why the soybean checkoff continues to support the Field to Market alliance and its updated Fieldprint Calculator, a tool U.S. soybean farmers can use to help measure, improve and demonstrate their sustainability performance.

The updated calculator, available on the Internet by clicking here, includes several upgrades from earlier versions. It allows U.S. farmers to analyze individual fields and includes more advanced measurements for soil conservation and soil carbon. Additionally, the tool automatically provides a financial ledger that computes the economic impact of sustainable practices on that farm. It also allows U.S. farmers to set up a secure account to save their information for future use.

Nebraska soybean farmer Mike Thede notes that checkoff-funded research has proven the sustainability performance of U.S. soy production. The checkoff shares that information with U.S. soy buyers to support sales.

"All U.S. farmers are under more and more pressure from our customers, who demand soybeans produced in a sustainable manner," explains Thede, who serves as team lead of the United Soybean Board's Sustainability Initiative. "We need to continue to document our sustainability performance to our end users in order to maintain and expand our markets."

According to a recent checkoff-funded life-cycle study, U.S. soybean production proves to be very sustainable due to several factors. For instance, a soybean plant sequesters more greenhouse gases than those generated by the equipment used to grow, harvest and process soybeans. Additionally, U.S. soybean production and processing have become more efficient because of higher yields, more conservation tillage and reduced energy use.

The Fieldprint Calculator can be used for free by all U.S. soybean, corn, wheat, cotton and rice farmers. First, it asks farmers to enter information about their operation. If desired, the tool can confidentially save any information entered, in which case that information is accessible only by the farmer who saved it.

The tool analyzes the use of that farm's natural resources and inputs to compute its environmental footprint, or "fieldprint." The results show farmers where there's room for improvement. U.S. farmers can also compare their results with those from other farms in their area, state or the entire country.

As a member of Field to Market, the soybean checkoff supported development of the original calculator in 2009, as well as the recent update. More information about Field to Market and the Fieldprint Calculator is available at www.FieldToMarket.org.

For more information on the USB, visit www.UnitedSoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/UnitedSoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

USB is made up of 69 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Checkoff funds are invested in the areas of animal utilization, human utilization, industrial utilization, industry relations, market access and supply. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.

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