Area hay and forage producers are invited to attend the 30th Annual Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association Annual Meeting and Conference on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Buzzy's in Welton. Registration will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the program scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

This year's conference features the use of cover crops and is co-sponsored by the Iowa Learning Farm. Mark Carlton, Extension Field Agronomist, will discuss cover crops for feed, soils, and soil nutrient management. Sarah Carlson, Research and Policy Director for Practical Farmers of Iowa, will moderate a panel discussion of farmers who have been using cover crops in various
ways.

The annual meeting of the Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association (EIHPA) will take place shortly after lunch and will include their election of officers and directors.

Following lunch a tour will be hosted to view fall seeded rye at the Engel Family farm north of Welton. J.C. and Neal Engel will share their experience with growing cover crops to reduce erosion following chopped corn and to supplement grazing for the cow herd.

Registration for the conference is $30 and includes a membership to EIHPA and meal. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Certified crop advisor credits have been applied for. This conference is sponsored by EIHPA, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, the Iowa Beef Center and the Iowa Learning Farm.

The Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association provides educational workshops and field days for forage producers in Jackson, Jones, Clinton, Cedar, Scott and Muscatine counties. However, forage producers from other counties are also welcome to participate. For more information contact Denise Schwab at dschwab@iastate.edu or Kevin Brown at brofarm@windstream.net or 563-872-4475.

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DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 19, 2013-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn came together today at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines, Iowa, before a crowd of 200 youth and business leaders to formalize a partnership enhancing the Wallace-Carver Internship Program for students involved in cutting-edge agriculture, science and research.

The partnership, as represented in the formal Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Food Prize Foundation that they signed, will expand opportunities for high school and college students and prepare the next generation of agricultural and scientific leaders. John Ruan III, chairman of the World Food Prize Foundation, also participated in the ceremony.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to be inspired to commit their lives to agriculture and the fight against global hunger," said Vilsack. "USDA thanks the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute as well as the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship programs for their efforts to create opportunities for young people pursuing careers in agriculture and related fields. These students truly are the best and brightest, and they will discover-much like I did-that USDA is a dynamic agency that positively impacts people's lives every day."

Every year, over 1,000 students across the country participate in the World Food Prize youth programs, through which they research a global food security issue, write a paper, and present their solutions. The top 150 students and their teachers travel to Des Moines to participate in an exchange of ideas with the world's foremost leaders at the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute. From there, they can also apply for the World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan International Internships at research centers around the globe.

Going forward, the USDA and the World Food Prize Foundation will annually choose the top students from across the country to participate in a one-week orientation at USDA headquarters in Washington before fanning out to assume internships with various USDA agencies and offices across the country. Students compete for the internships through the USDA Pathways Programs, a mechanism to recruit, hire, and retain current students and recent graduates, with oversight from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Besides strengthening the menu of USDA internship programs, the Wallace-Carver Internship helps attract and retain the best and brightest young people in careers in American agriculture.

The Wallace-Carver Internship helps to honor the legacies of George Washington Carver and Henry A. Wallace, two great American agricultural leaders of the 20th century. The internship offers students the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scientists and policymakers through paid internships at leading USDA research centers and offices.

USDA Virtual University ensures that all Wallace-Carver Interns have an Individual Development Plan, a mentor, and receive consistent training. For information on the Wallace-Carver Internship Program, click here. For information on other USDA internships, click here.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

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By Senator Tom Harkin

On February 5th, our country marked the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - a groundbreaking law that provides American workers with 12 weeks of protected ? albeit unpaid ? leave to recover from a serious illness or care for a new child or seriously ill family member. A recent update provides 26 weeks of family leave to families of injured service members and recent veterans.

The FMLA changed the landscape for hardworking Americans.  While we celebrate this progress, we realize there is still work to be done when it comes to helping working families, and that includes guaranteeing paid sick time to individuals that work hard, earn it, and deserve it.

In the coming weeks, I will introduce the Healthy Families Act, a bill that would allow workers to earn up to 56 hours, or seven days, of paid sick time per year.  Workers would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.  Employers that already provide paid sick time will not have to change their current policies, as long as their existing time can be used for the same purposes. Employers can also require workers to provide documentation supporting any request for leave longer than three consecutive days.

The United States is the only developed nation that does not guarantee paid sick days to its workers, and our economy and productivity suffer as a result. Contrary to popular belief, not absenteeism, but "presenteeism"? when a sick employee shows up to the workplace, infects other employees or customers, and is unproductive because they are not feeling well ? is the greatest cause of lost productivity due to illness. One study found that a lack of paid sick days ? and thus the inability to distance oneself from co-workers ? contributed to an additional 5 million cases of the H1N1 flu during the 2009 outbreak.

Seventy percent of low-wage workers ? those least likely to be able to afford a lost paycheck or lost job ? have no paid sick days. This group is largely workers in jobs that have frequent contact with members of the public, including food service, hospitality, nursing home care, and child care. Their lack of paid sick leave poses a public health threat to all of us and our loved ones. Shockingly, nearly two-thirds of restaurant workers have reported cooking or serving food while sick. Workers' rights should matter to everyone, but they matter even more when you consider that your next turkey sandwich might be served with a side of the flu.

But perhaps most important, under the Healthy Families Act, workers would have the security of knowing that when illness strikes ? as it undoubtedly will ? they will be able to tend to their families and themselves without losing their jobs or their income. This bill will provide health, peace of mind and security for America's workers and their families ? and that's something that everyone deserves.

For more information, please visit http://www.harkin.senate.gov/ or follow Senator Harkin on Facebook and Twitter.

A PDF version of this article is available by clicking here.

 

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There are new opportunities to harvest corn stover in two regions of Iowa - near Nevada in central Iowa and near Dubuque in eastern Iowa. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host two meetings, one in each part of the state, to address emerging opportunities related to stover harvesting for the biomass feedstock needs of local industries.

The central Iowa meeting will be held Feb. 28 at the Iowa Arboretum near Madrid, Iowa. This meeting is in collaboration with DuPont and will look at the use of corn stover in cellulosic ethanol production. The eastern Iowa meeting will be held on March 6 at the 4-H Building at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds, Dubuque, Iowa. The eastern Iowa meeting is in collaboration with JELD-WEN Fiber of Iowa to discuss use of corn stover as a fiber material. Both meetings start at 12:45 p.m.

Stover harvesting can impact economic, agronomic and water quality production factors. The meetings will address many of the positives and negatives of stover harvesting and discuss how stover harvesting can be managed within corn production. Crop producers, land owners, crop consultants, agronomists, service providers and others with an interest in stover harvest and its
removal from farm fields are encouraged to attend.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach meeting speakers include : John Sawyer and Antonio Mallarino, soil fertility specialists; Mahdi Al-Kaisi, soil management specialist; Chad Hart and William Edwards, agricultural marketing specialists; Matt Helmers and Kapil Arora, agricultural engineering specialists; Mark Licht and Virgil Schmitt, field agronomists; and Kelvin Leibold, farm management specialist. Industry speakers on the agenda include : Dr. David Ertl, technology commercialization manager, Iowa Corn Growers Association; Dennis Penland, DuPont business development manager; Andy Heggenstaller, agronomy research manager, DuPont; and Gardner Lance, general manager, JELD-WEN Fiber of Iowa.

A noon lunch will be sponsored by industry partners prior to the start of the meeting at no cost to the participants, however pre-registration is required. Industry representatives will be available to meet with participants during lunch and at the close of the meeting.

Registration forms for the Feb. 28 Boone County meeting are available from the Boone County Extension Office by calling 515-432-3882, or online at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/boone/. Registration for the March 6 Dubuque meeting are available from the Dubuque County Extension and Outreach Office by calling 563 583-6496, or online at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/dubuque/.

There is no fee to attend this meeting. Registration is required for correct meal and handout counts. Walk-in registration the day of the meeting will only be accepted if space is available.

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