NAM-7-27-2015

AG Mag Keeping it Real Central Iowa

Organic farmers in Central Iowa are taking a fresh approach

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Index

AG Mag Central Iowa

Publisher Dan Goetz Advertising Director Jeff Holschuh Managing Editor Abigail Pelzer Magazine Editors Larry Lough, Jeff Rogers

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Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Jason W. Brooks, Kate Malott, Mike Mendenhall, Alex Olp, Jamee A. Pierson, Ian Richardson, Jake Waddingham, Christi Warren, and Brenden West Published by News Publishing Co. 200 First Avenue East Newton, IA 50208 641-792-3121 Articles and advertisements are the property of News Publishing Co. No portion of the Central Iowa Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of News Publishing Co. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, News Publishing Co. cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. News Publishing Co. cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

COVER STORY

Natural treasure Blue Gate Farm near Columbia thrives by keeping things simple and personal.

Canned creations Nancy Woody of Colfax has turned a hobby into a real edible craft for many to enjoy.

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AG Mag

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Index What goes up ...

16

Central Iowa farmers, like others throughout the state, are seeing land values and crop prices drop after a number of years of increases.

An old pro at a young age

24

Jenna Smith of Newton already has won more prominent awards than peers who are much older.

New tools, same family

Holding on to Holsteins

While the farming industry has changed, the Rempes have been mainstays on two Mahaska County farms.

Two Jasper County brothers have found their niche in showing milking cows at the fair.

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A toy story A high school project 20 years ago has become a booming farm toy business for Jason Dalton and Newton-based Dalton Farm Toys.

Why

Debating the estate tax

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On central Iowa farms and in Washington, D.C., the “death tax” remains a hot button issue.

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FARMING NATURALLY

Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Sean Skeehan describes vegetable rows at Blue Gate Farm, located near Columbia. He said the amount of people who can start up all-organic farms might be made difficult by the lack of land parcels suitable for organic processes.

Blue Gate Farm makes it work by diversifying

M

BY JASON W. BROOKS For Central Iowa Ag Mag

ore than 10 years ago, when Sean Skeehan and his wife, Jill Beebout, were heading from Iowa to their home in the Houston, Texas, area, the topic of farming came up.

“We’re not career farmers, but we decided we wanted to farm the kinds of foods we want to eat,” said Skeehan, a native of Denver, Colorado. “It took a few years to put it all together, and there have been struggles, but we don’t take subsidies or grants, and we manage to find folks willing to pay a little more to get food they really want.”

The couple run Blue Gate Farm, near Columbia, Iowa, on the Marion County side of a road that has Lucas County to its south. They grow more than 80 kinds of crops, and raise about 140 egg chickens that

6 Summer 2015

roam free in a fenced field, which Skeehan moves around the farm periodically. A mating pair of alpacas provide wool for yarn, and they also have honey bees.

Blue Gate is on a list of farms called “Certified Naturally Grown.” They operate community service agreements, or CSAs, with some customers, who arrange for either deliveries or a type of meet-up. They’re also regulars at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, which runs May though October, and they host a large “Farm Crawl” celebration each fall.

Naturally higher prices

Organic growers agree to a strict outline that states irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and genetically modified organisms can play no part in the growing process – whether for crops or in the feed used to raise livestock.

CONTINUED ON 74

4CONTINUED FROM 6 “[In 2006] corn was somewhat cheap, but organic corn was still probably close to double,” Sterling, Illinois, farmer Keith Landis said of his decision to go organic. “Milk prices – they were several dollars higher.”

Today, organic corn often sells for 3 to 4 times what conventionally raised corn costs – a product of higher input costs and a significantly lower supply.

But the growing – if still relatively small – demand for naturally raised products is a trend that Craig Chase, local food systems program manager at Iowa State University Extension, doesn’t see ending anytime soon.

“As far as trends in organic products, [demand has] been going up pretty much every year for the last 20 years or so,” he said. “Even through the recession in 2008 and 2009, the demand for organic products continued to rise.

And, as far as predictions, it’s probably going to continue to rise. … People talk about it leveling out, but it keeps on going.”

Demand demands attention That trend has garnered the attention of even chain restaurants, including McDonald’s, one of the world’s most beloved and reviled fast-food corporations.

In a March announcement, the company said it would source only chicken raised without antibiotics that were used by humans, and use only milk from cows not treated with the controversial hormone rBST, which was developed by Monsanto to increase milk production.

“Our customers care more than ever

Photos by Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Blue Gate Farm has a large garden devoted exclusively to organic herbs. about the food they eat and how it is sourced,” McDonald’s announced.

“We are taking steps to deliver on their expectations of us.”

It’s a reflection of changing attitudes about the way we eat, and what it is that we do eat.

A recent study by the National Institute of Health measured the levels of pesticides in urine samples from two groups of participants. The first group was placed on an all-organic diet; the second group ate conventionally farmed foods.

Guess which group had lower pesticide levels in urine?

Less than 1 percent of farms More than 19,000 farms in the United States are certified organic. In Iowa, there are more than 800; in Illinois, more than 300. Those numbers continue to grow.

“I think people are really interested in and concerned about their health,” ISU’s Chase said. “They’re really concerned about what they eat, but not only that – what their children eat.

“Corporations like McDonald’s are going to have to go along with what [their consumers] want,” he said.

CONTINUED ON 84

Blue Gate Farm regularly brings products to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, which runs May though October.

AG Mag

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‘It’s not for everyone’

CONTINUED FROM 7 “What we’re seeing from McDonald’s, and from others, is that they’re suggesting it. They would like it, but they’re not mandating it yet.

“So what consumers are going to be looking for is, Where are the mandates?

Are you really going to, at some point, say my Chicken McNuggets are cagefree? … A lot of consumers are excited about it, and they’re just waiting for stuff like that to actually happen.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s end times for conventional farming – not even close.

Census numbers indicate that less 1 percent of farms in both Iowa and Illinois were certified organic – just 0.1 percent in Illinois and 0.3 percent in Iowa.

Tough transition to organic In talks with conventional farmers, Landis notes, the main reservation that holds them back from going organic is a general lack of knowledge, or lack of belief, when it comes to the effects of conventionally raised produce on humans.

“Some feel what they are doing is right,” he said. “I’m not necessarily going to say they’re wrong, but they do not feel what they’re doing is wrong at all, and they see there is no problem with [chemicals]. I know when I was looking at going organic, I called and

Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Abby (left) and Boris are a mating pair of alpacas owned by Sean Skeehan and his wife, Jill Beebout.

talked to a number of other organic farmers, and the question I asked was, ‘What is the hardest part about going organic?’ And they all said it was about changing the mindset.”

Marnie Record, a coordinator with the Illinois Organic Growers Association, offers a more practical reason for the reluctance of conventional farmers to switch over.

“It’s a different type of farming,” she said. “They don’t want to deal with it.

It’s a little bit more hands-on. It’s just a different way of doing things. Imagine having to change the entire way of doing your job. That’s hard to do for anybody. ... Also, the land has to have no chemicals put on it for 36 months, so that’s a tough time.”

One aspect that separates Blue Gate Farm’s Skeehan and Beebout from other organic farmers is that they didn’t have a background in traditional chemical-aided farming; they came in with no everyday large-scale farming experience and started an organic operation about 10 years ago.

They lease land from Leo Beebout, Jill’s father, who farms nearby. Many of the farms in the area use typical non-organic chemicals, though the couple have many organic-farmer friends in the region.

“We found that we have some differences from our peers,” Skeehan said. “In 2007, some overspray from aerial crop dusting nearby ruined some crops here.”

Skeehan isn’t sure whether the organic side of the industry will continue to grow, but if it does, farmers will have to figure out where to safely put plants and animals. Much of Iowa’s available farmland is already in use.

“It’s a lot of work doing hand weeding, and all of the other things that organic means,” Skeehan said. “It’s not for everyone. But farmers markets don’t need salsa stands or other sidelights.

They need food, and people are really starting to think more about where their food comes from.”

Reporter Christi Warren contributed to this report.

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CHIPPING AWAY at her competition

BY ALEX OLP For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Wood carving artist Nedra Herr holds up an award-winning piece she entered in the Iowa State Fair a few years ago. Herr’s wood carving teacher, Tricia Evans, will be judging at this year’s competition.

(Alex Olp/ Central Iowa Ag Mag)

10 Summer 2015

Wood carving artist Nedra Herr lacks the many years of experience most artists have, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the artwork displayed inside her Newton home.

Herr entered Iowa State Fair’s wood carving competition last year and is hoping to walk away with another top finish this summer.

“We’ll see what I get this year,” she said.

“You never know, because you’re up against other great artists, and it all depends on what they bring.”

Herr – who began carving only 6 years ago – has a work bench in her basement and a shelf filled with nearly 70 hand tools for chipping and scraping her projects. After they’re done, they typically find their way to a competition or are displayed on a wall or table inside her home.

CONTINUED ON 11

4CONTINUED FROM 10 Despite beginning to carve just a few years ago, she studied the art form by reading carving magazines for more than a decade.

She then joined the wood carving club in Newton and enhanced her skills to a point where she wanted to be critiqued by professionals.

“I was getting oohs and aahs from family, but you never know if that’s really true,” she said. “So I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get some critique to help me improve.”

She received a blue ribbon in last year’s State Fair, and in years previous she earned a few second places and a pair of red ribbons. It’s fun entering the contests and interacting with the judges, she said, which is why she continues to do it year after year.

“One of the judges told me that they are not comparing apples to apples, and I heard another judge say he likes to pick a winner based on what

Alex Olp/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Sitting in her living room is a piece Nedra Herr plans to submit to this year’s Iowa State Fair wood carving competition. he would like to have on his coffee table,” she said.

A judge who was a player in giving Herr her blue ribbon

last year is actually her wood carving teacher, Tricia Evans, who has helped Herr evolve her skills in recent years.

Evans, who has been carving for 40 years, will return for another year of judging at this year’s Iowa State Fair.

“I like to see what everybody’s doing and get a close up of it,” she said. “Each judge has a different expertise in the carving field, so we all work great together to come up the best carving.

It’s hard to do that because you have such a different variety of carvings. It’s really hard to judge and come up with the best one.”

Her anticipation is building as she waits to see what Herr enters into the competition this year.

“She’s a very professional carver and doesn’t quit until she has everything perfect,” Evans said. “She’s just right on the top. I don’t know what she’s putting in this year, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she did very well.”

The Iowa State Fair begins Aug. 13 and will run through Extreme Sunday, Aug. 23. A complete list of performances and a daily program can be found at IowaStateFair. org.

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AG Mag

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Seasonally Sweet

Photos by Kate Malott/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Nancy Woody, of Colfax, sells canned goods on the downtown square in Newton. Woody participates in the Newton Farmers Market and the Ankeny Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Colfax resident sells canned creations at local markets

BY KATE MALOTT For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Whether it’s inside a cake, or on top of ice cream, or glazed on meat, or swirled in oatmeal, natural jellies are a flavorful treat to make any simple food extraordinary.

Nancy Woody started canning flavorful jellies more than 25 years ago, and in that time has developed a hobby into a real edible craft for many to enjoy.

“It’s my hobby that kind of ran amok,” Woody said. “It started out as a challenge, and for every challenge I won, there was another challenge, so I just kept making more and more.”

It was a son who finally suggested that she should start selling what she had become so notable for – making instead of just sharing it with loved ones. That would allow others to try her tasty treats too.

“It never dawned on me I could sell it, but I’ve been doing it for 20 years now,” she said.

Woody lives in Colfax with her husband, Toby Williams, and the they have three adult boys, 10 grandchildren and one on the way.

CONTINUED ON 144

12 Summer 2015

Woody said she makes a new style of jelly “almost every week,” and she has original recipes such as banana butter, pumpkin butter and a caramel apple butter.

Central Iowa markets by county BENTON COUNTY Vinton Farmers Market Train Depot, 612 Second Ave. Open: 5-7 p.m. Thursdays, June-September Products: Organic food, fruits, vegetables, crafts and local specialties Phone: 319-472-4164

KEOKUK COUNTY Sigourney Farmers Market North side of Keokuk County Courthouse Open: 5-6 p.m. Mondays Products: Organic food, fruits, vegetables, crafts and local specialties Phone: 641-622-2288

IOWA COUNTY Homestead Farmers Market 4125 V St., in front of Henry’s Village Market Open: 4-7 p.m. Fridays, May-October Products: Live music, grilled food, and homegrown fruits, vegetables, breads; pies, local meat, cheeses, eggs, grain, dried herbs and spices Phone: 319-622-3931

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Saturday Phone: 641-493-2442 State Center Farmers Market Main Street, State Center Open: 5-7 p.m. Friday, mid-May to mid-October Phone: 641-483-3002 TAMA COUNTY Toledo Farmers Market East side of Tama County Courthouse Open: 5-7 p.m. Fridays, May-October Products: Organic food, fruits, vegetables, crafts and local specialties Phone: 641-691-9710 POWESHIEK COUNTY Grinnell Farmers Market Central Park, Broad Street Open: 3-6 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays, May-October Products: Fresh produce, baked goods, homemade arts and crafts Phone: 641-236-6555

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CONTINUED FROM 12 She tends to her garden of raspberries, grapes, currants, choked cherries, cherries and rhubarb, as well as peppers and tomatoes, which supply all her canning needs.

Five rhubarb plants were transplanted from Polk County land when Interstate 235 was built in Des Moines and have been really great ever since, Woody said.

Over the years, Woody has become experimental with her creations and has a canned creation for anyone’s taste.

“I make something new almost every week,” she said.

“This week I’ve got beet jelly and a chocolate cherry; and last week, I did peach raspberry and strawberry kiwi.”

She has original recipes such as banana butter, pumpkin butter and a caramel apple butter.

Strawberry rhubarb and apple butter are the most popular items, Woody said, and she also gets a lot of interest in her moonshine and margarita jellies.

Other fun creations include Mountain Dew jelly, root beer

jelly, papaya spread, mango and pineapple spread, apricot raspberry jam, cherry almond, and the classic corn cob jelly.

“I just like putting different stuff together, and if works, it works, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” she said.

Like all chefs and gardeners, Woody’s selection and quantity depend on the season. For example, she quickly sells out of blueberry and black raspberry, which both sell fast.

The key to developing new creations is not to waste anything. If there are extra lemons, Woody will find uses for them.

If she sees an unused fruit tree, she likes to pick fruit that she knows will go unused, such as apples, apricots and pears.

Nancy’s Canned Creations accepts cash and credit at farmers market venues; products include sugar free and come in 8-ounce jars unless specialized.

For more information on the farmers market, visit www.newtonmarket.org, and for more information on canned products, visit Nancy’s Canned Creations Facebook page or email nancysjellies@yahoo.com.

Easy Thumbprint Cookies by Nancy Woody Made with Nancy’s Jam from Nancy’s Canned Creations Yields approximately 20 cookies 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg yolk 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract 1 c. flour Pinch of salt 1/4 c. of Nancy’s Jam of your choice (lemon, raspberry, caramel apple) Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a medium size mixing bowl (or standing mixer) on medium speed about 3-5 minutes or until lightened in color and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and extract. Add flour and salt and beat on low speed until combined, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl.

3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This will chill it slightly, but the dough will still be sticky. You can refrigerate for up to an hour, but these are supposed to be “easy” cookies.

4. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet in rows spaced 2 inches apart. Dip your thumb (or knuckle) in a bit of water just so it’s clean and damp not dripping and press into the center of each cookie leaving a small indent. Spoon a little of Nancy’s Jam into each indent just to fill the cavity; don’t overflow.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and the bottoms are a light brown. Remove cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely before eating.

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ROLLER

Low crop prices, land values tral Iowa crop reporting district at For Central Iowa Ag Mag $9,087, with “high corn suitability”-rated land averaging $10,780, s a longtime row crop/ and land with low CSR at $5,582. hog farmer and an execThis was down 8 percent from the utive officer for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the November 2013 survey. A second ISU report calculating land valRoger Zylstra has waded through ues through March 2015 shows an ebbs and flows in commodity and additional 7.5 percent drop over a land prices before. But recent six-month period. trends have provided central Iowa farmers with no certainty.

Private sale vs. auction A 200-acre farmland sale in May But those brokering farmland in Zylstra’s Lynnville neighborhood sales in the current market are brought about $5,000 a acre, but seeing a big difference in client he said the owner could have seen returns, depending on the transacnearly $2,000 more for the sale in tion method. the 2012 market.

“You just never know,” Zylstra said. Kent Smith, with Updegraff and “On any given day you have an auc- Smith law firm in Newton, has been tion, and it depends on the mood of negotiating farmland sales in Jasper, the people interested in buying and Poweshiek, Iowa, Mahaska and Marion counties for decades. He said where [land] prices are sitting.”

But the Lynnville farmer said local people who are opting for private sales on farmland are earning more land values are simply following per acre in the down market than market trends, and the high prices of the early 2010s were a bit inflated. those auctioning their property.

Smith said a recent sale he folThe Iowa State University 2014 lowed in eastern Jasper County Land Value Survey, released in appraised for $1.6 million between November, calculated the average January and February. land price per acre for the cenBY MIKE MENDENHALL

A

AG Mag

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COASTER make it no one’s market The seller auctioned the property and, Smith said, received $600,000 less than the appraisal.

The Newton lawyer said that was the risk farmers take when they sell Roger Zylstra in today’s market.

“If you are going the auction route, you’re going to see a substantial downturn,” he said. “If you’re going through auction, be prepared for a lower price.”

Another hurdle facing central Iowa farmers is the downturn in corn and soybean prices. As of midJune, corn prices in central Iowa averaged $3.20 a bushel. When land values were higher in 2011-12, corn prices were closer to $7. That, Smith said, drastically increases the value of the land and bolsters income to put toward farmland loans.

“I don’t see farmland prices returning to where they were in their heyday over the next two years,” Smith said. “No one’s given me a crystal ball, but you’re looking at three to four years before corn prices return to where they were.

That’s not enough to make much of a dent in the principal payment.”

Not an ‘alarmist situation’ Tim Eggers, field agricultural economist at Iowa State University, said falling land prices are no reason to panic.

“This is not an alarmist type of situation,” Eggers said. “It is merely a recognition of lower profitability and the fact that producers have been in the primary land purchasers.”

The land price correction is taking place on a national scale, said Ryan Drollette, a farm management educator with the Iowa State Extension office in Iowa City. However, it’s hitting various pockets at a different rate.

In Iowa, he said, the correction hasn’t been so swift. In states like Illinois and Indiana, it took hold sooner.

Experts don’t really know what’s in store for land and commodity prices, Drollette said.

CONTINUED ON 18

AG Mag

17

2014 Land Values by Crop Reporting District

CONTINUED FROM 17 “There’s some sentiment that we’re going to continue to see it correct downward,” Drollette said.

“It’s just a matter of how far we see it correct downward.”

His role in the state is to educate, but farmers are constantly asking him the same questions: Should they sell now, what is their land worth, and how far down will the correction spiral?

Drollette doesn’t have the answers, but he recommends landowners get their land professionally appraised if they’re looking for solutions.

“I can’t tell people if they should sell now,” Drollette said. “I can give them a general ballpark figure. I always tell individuals if you want an actual value ... call up a land appraiser.”

But local and statewide land appraisers seem to agree with Iowa State’s Eggers: this market shift is a correction, not a bubble that’s bursting.

TOP ROW: Estimates of average dollar value per acre for high, medium-, and low-grade farmland on Nov. 1, 2014, by Iowa Crop Reporting District MIDDLE ROW: The Crop Reporting District average BOTTOM ROW: The average percentage change from Nov. 1, 2013.

The estimates are based on a survey conducted by Iowa State University, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

Corrrection relatively mild Keith Zoeller is a Sterling, Illinois-based accredited farm manager and a long-standing member of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. His experience spans 33 years, and he says he’s “seen it all.”

CONTINUED ON 19

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CONTINUED FROM 18 The market drop, naturally, might concern some landowners, Zoeller said. But it’s nothing close to what happened to the market when he started in the 1980s – a period in which Zoeller observed a 25-percent national dropoff in farm values.

“I’ve seen the bottom; I’ve seen the top,” Zoeller said.

“I don’t think we’ll see what we saw in the 1980s. I think our prices should level out a little more.”

When grain prices were high, Zoeller said, investors were buying land left and right. Now that prices have leveled off, the net income for land and its yield is lower, making those investors less apt to buy.

“Our land values had drastically increased over the last 4 to 5 years. A lot of it had to do with corn and soy prices going sky high,” Zoeller said. “The farmers were making lots of money. They decided that it’s time to start buying land. ...

“I think a lot of your land investors that were in the market before are just sitting

back now and waiting to see where the good prices are going to,” he added. “When you can’t get a return on the property, investors aren’t going to buy it.”

Zoeller estimated that during the upswing, 70 percent of land purchases were being made by land investors.

Most of the purchases now are being made by individual producers because “they have other ways to make it pay.”

“If they can get a return, they’ll buy the ground,” Zoeller said.

Watch interest rates But commodity prices aren’t the only indicators to watch.

Dave Aberle is vice president of 1st Farm Credit Services in Rock Falls, Illinois, a branch of the largest ag lender in the state. He pays mind to the interest rates, which have been low for several years.

All the while, ag land borrowing ticked up during the fall 2014, according to the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

Experts anticipate interest rates will eventually go up, again affecting land values.

“The big factor that influences land values is commodity prices and what interest rates are doing,” Aberle said.

“Commodity prices were high and interest rates were low, so that’s what got the land prices to go up so high.”

He said his recent clientele is almost exclusively individual farmers.

“At one time, there might have been 20 percent [investors seeking loans],” Aberle said. “Now it’s virtually zero – less than 5 percent. Investors haven’t been too interested since [values] jumped up the last 3 years.”

He recommends land buyers keep in mind what they’re able to afford. It’s a personal decision.

“Make sure you’re looking at your cash flows, and make sure you can handle a drop in commodity prices,” Aberle said. “You’re going to have to subsidize your purchases with today’s prices. If that farm isn’t going to pay for itself, you’re going to have to generate income to pay for that farm.”

Brenden West contributed to this report.

Recent changes in Iowa farmland values Value Dollar % per acre change change 1981 $2147 $81 3.9 1982 1801 -346 -16.1 1983 1691 -110 -6.1 1984 1357 -334 -19.8 1985 948 -409 -30.1 1986 787 -161 -17.0 1987 875 88 11.2 1988 1054 179 20.5 1989 1139 85 8.1 1990 1214 75 6.6 1991 1219 5 0.4 1992 1249 30 2.5 1993 1275 26 2.1 1994 1356 81 6.4 1995 1455 99 7.3 1996 1682 227 15.6 1997 1837 155 9.2 1998 1801 -36 -2.0 1999 1781 -20 -1.1 2000 1857 76 4.3 2001 1926 69 3.7 2002 2083 157 8.2 2003 2275 192 9.2 2004 2629 354 15.6 2005 2914 285 10.8 2006 3204 290 10.0 2007 3908 704 22.0 2008 4468 560 14.3 2009 4371 -97 -2.2 2010 5064 693 15.9 2011 6708 1644 32.5 2012 8296 1588 23.7 2013 8716 420 5.1 2014 7943 -773 -8.9

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Leighton farmer still on great-grandfather’s farm

Jack Rempe stands in the fields at his century farm in Mahaska County.

(Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag)

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BY JAMEE A. PIERSON For Central Iowa Ag Mag

arming has been a way a life for Jack Rempe. He lives on one of two century farms he owns in Mahaska County, which he bought from his father, and was originally owned by his great-grandfather.

“I think my great-grandfather did very well,” Rempe said.

The youngest in a large family, his great-grandfather owned the farm Rempe lives on, another across the road from his house, another where the former Pella airport was located, and others in the area. Each of his children received a farm, which over a century later, Rempe still farms.

“I started when I was 12 in 4-H,” Rempe said “With hog projects and cattle projects and dairy projects.”

He enjoyed growing up on the farm, saying there was always something to do. Milking cattle, baling hay, and walking beans were among the farm chores, which he said was a lot of work but still fun. He went to school in Leighton through fifth grade before graduating from Pella High School in 1975.

CONTINUED ON 22

Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Jack Rempe and his family pose for a photo in front of a barn at one of their century farms dating back to 1879.

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Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Rempe and his wife, Tami, at their century farm, established in 1881. CONTINUED FROM 21

After working a few part-time jobs, he started farming on his own in 1977.

“I enjoy spring, of course, getting into the field and planting,” Rempe said.

“Depending on the growing season I enjoy summer, and fall is the payoff for the year. Fall is probably my favorite time of the year, harvest time.”

Technology has brought many changes and additions to farms in the past 10 to 20 years. Rempe has started taking advantage of some of the tools available and is looking to add more in the coming years. “[Technology] has changed a lot, and it has changed fast,” Rempe said. “I don’t have all of the precision farming

Rempe’s father and grandfather work the century farm in the 1950s. tools that are available, but I have some of them.”

He hopes to add auto steer and precision planting in the coming year. He said that is a good deal because when planting, seed tends to overlap in order to cover the entire area. Precision planting has a shutoff so it will start right where it needs to every time.

Photo submitted

“In a year or two or three, you’re going to save a fair amount of seed,” Rempe said.

Rempe hasn’t thought a lot about retirement, but it has come up when going to purchase new equipment.

“I guess if I am still healthy, I hope so, I can go for another 10 years or more,” Rempe said.

Look for our next edition of

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BY JAMEE A. PIERSON For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Photos by Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

ABOVE: Hundreds of toy tractors line the walls along with several shelves and display cabinets in Dalton Farm Toys, owned by Newton’s Jason Dalton.

RIGHT: Dalton along with his fiancée, Melissa Amos, takes care of the collection and the business at their Newton location.

After starting as a high school project 20 years ago, Jason Dalton’s farm toy business has grown to ship thousands of toys a year, sometimes up to 100 toys in one day during the busy season. Specializing in 1/64 toys, Newton-based Dalton Farm Toys prides itself on having the largest selection of that size on the Internet.

“Although we specialize in 1/64 items, you will also find a nice selection of 1/16, 1/8, 1/32 and 1/43 scale farm toys,” Dalton said. “We specialize in older and out-of-production items, but also carry a full line of new releases as well.”

Dalton has more than 2,400 farm toys in his online catalog, with about 15,000 total toys in supply. Although the business has grown to an impressive size, it started out with a few toys Dalton received as a child.

“I started collecting as a kid,” Dalton said. “My grandparents farmed, and I enjoyed it. I actually started collecting when I was 6 or 7 years old.”

He said that he still has toys in his collection from when he was 2 years old, complete with the box they came in.

That does not mean he didn’t play with them.

“I had tons of them that I played with,” Dalton said. “I just didn’t beat up my toys.”

One reason that he started selling his collection was that it was getting filled with duplicates. Dalton still keeps a large collection of his own and has had people offer him more than $2,000 for a single toy.

CONTINUED ON 314 AG Mag

23

Jenna Smith works with a cow named Teardrop. Smith recently won an award from the Iowa Foundation Heifer Program, and she plans to enter national competitions.

(Photos by Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag)

Raising unique cattle Not even a high-schooler yet, Jenna Smith a seasoned cattlewoman

BY JASON W. BROOKS For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Some middle-school students are into robotics or video games. Others are into raising livestock.

Few middle-schoolers, however, can already call themselves seasoned veterans in an industry. Jenna Smith of Newton just completed the seventh grade, but she’s already taken home more prominent

awards than peers who are much older.

She also spent much of the early summer preparing for her most ambitious competition trip to date, the 2015 VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo, held in late June and early July in Nebraska. While many of her middle-school peers enjoy hanging out at shopping malls or large sporting events, Smith meets up with old friends at large

livestock sales and competitions – and she makes new friends along the way.

Some of Smith’s recent accolades include being chosen as the 2015 Iowa Foundation Heifer Program winner.

However, she’s won some type of honor each year since she got started in showing calves.

CONTINUED ON 25

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CONTINUED FROM 24 “I get up at 5 a.m. to start doing chores, and we often don’t get into the house until the sun is down,” Smith said.

“But we also get to travel all over the country, like Kentucky, where there are so many kinds of grasses, and to meet all kinds of people.”

Smith said she has friends in several states, and with them, she can share the common bond of raising and caring for animals.

However, she helps her parents, Marc and Brenda, and her brother, Jacob, run a family farm that is one of only two operations in Iowa that raise black Hereford cattle, so their acreage, west of Newton, is home to something fairly unique. Smith Black Herefords is an operation Marc and Brenda run in addition to their day jobs in town, so Jacob and Jenna are important to keeping the operation going.

That’s all on top of the show calves and fully grown cattle Jenna takes to competitions.

Jenna got started by raising “bottle calves,” which allows elementary-school-age children to compete on mostly a quiz level, testing their knowledge on calves rather than focusing on a calf’s appearance or how to show the animal.

Jenna has been as involved as her older brother; Jacob is heavily involved in FFA and is on a national junior board for black Herefords. Marc is on the American Black Hereford Association board of directors.

Jenna’s award from the Iowa Foundation Heifer Program wasn’t simply a fancy plaque.

She was awarded three registered bred heifers, and she chose black Herefords from Mike Dierenfeld of Northwood. Dierenfeld is not only a Hereford breeder who is active in the state association, he’s also a Worth County veterinarian.

“This program is a good way to keep the beef industry strong in Iowa,” Dierenfeld said. “By the time they graduate, they should have a strong herd of their own.”

Smith said she is already thinking about Iowa State

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Jenna Smith recently won an award from the Iowa Foundation Heifer Program.

Smith, who will be in the eighth grade this fall, has already accomplished a great deal in the world of raising calves.

University and other possibilities for college. She hopes to become a veterinarian.

The trip to junior nationals marked a major step up for Smith, and a chance to acclimate to competing at a large event on that level. The weeklong event included a golf tournament and many activities – a trip not every eighth-grader-to-be gets to take.

“Most of our family vacations are actually trips to sales or shows or a fair, or something related to ag,” Jenna said.

Things aren’t completely non-traditional for Jenna and her family. The Smiths still try to go out for dinner on Sunday nights, and she is an honor student at Berg Middle School, so homework has to get done sometime.

However, there is a great deal Jenna and her family sacrifice to live the farm life; with 180 acres of row crops and about 70 head of cattle, there’s a great deal of work to be done – seven days a week.

She doesn’t mind explaining her lifestyle to anyone – in fact, she’s quite proud of it.

“We don’t have any video games, or cable TV,” she said, looking around the Smith farm. “Our entertainment’s out here.”

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Finding a niche at the fair Colfax kids among the few in 4-H who still show Holsteins

BY MIKE MENDENHALL For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Off a gravel road on a farm between Colfax and Mingo, Brennan and Kevin Parker groom their Guernsey heifers in their front lawn. Holding the animals in show harnesses, the Poweshiek Partners 4-H president and vice president said they are proud to show at the Jasper County Fair.

“You always want to have their head held high, because the judges are looking for a straight top line,” Kevin explained. “That way their shoulders are even with the back.”

Brennan and Kevin each showed one cow at last year’s county fair. Previously, the brothers each showed Guernsey and Holstein cows. The Parker farm has been in the brothers’ family for generations, originating as a dairy farm in the 1920s. Now, besides a row crop operation, the 4-H’ers’ parents, Edward and Kathleen Parker, concentrate on perfecting their show cows.

At the county fair, the Parkers are one of only a few 4-H members who still show Holstein dairy cows, they said, with fewer and fewer local showers breeding milking cows. This makes competition at the county level slim, which has allowed the Parkers to carve out a niche in Jasper County.

“Anywhere you go you can find beef cattle,” Brennan said. “But it’s hard to find Holsteins around.”

Kathleen Parker said every year they’ve observed a drop in participation in the dairy barn.

“My husband used to show back in the day at the Jasper County Fair,” Parker

Mike Mendenhall/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Brennan and Kevin Parker, who farm with their family near Colfax, said an attachment grows between a shower and the animal. said. “The whole barn was full of dairy.

But now, nobody brings any milking cows.”

Although the Parkers see more competition at the Iowa State Fair, they said high beef prices and the demand for steer has driven local farmers away from dairy. Plus, the manpower expense of a dairy cow operation is high. Milking is required two or three times a day, beginning at 5:30 a.m. The Parkers send their cows to a farm near Sully for the milking process.

Affectionately, the Parkers name their cows numbers 1, 2 and 3. But as they raise the cows from bottle to fully bred, Brennan and Kevin said an attachment grows between the shower and the animal.

“It’s hard to see them go when they have to go to another farm,” Brennan said.

“Our first group of heifers we got really, really attached to them.” Kevin

For your loved one and you, the result is peace of mind.

added. “After they left we were sad, but we learned to try not to get too attached to them.”

Both brothers said they feel the rewards of their work each year, although each has a little different take on the experience.

“My favorite part is at the end of the year, close to the county fair, when she walks really well and I barely have to lead her. I like that,” Kevin said.

“I like to get a feel for the cow and get them broke, getting an alliance with the cow,” Brandon added. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment.”

Both 4-H’ers have future plans related to agriculture. Brennan is preparing to be a pilot, hoping to get involved in crop dusting. Kevin hopes one day to take over his family farm and continue the tradition with his children.

“I plan to have my kids show at the county fair and state fair,” Kevin said.

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Poultry clipped from local, state fairs

Iowa fifth state to cancel shows to help contain the spread of avian influenza

T

BY JAKE WADDINGHAM For Central Iowa Ag Mag

he cancellation of all state and county level poultry shows in May left local exhibitors disappointed, but appreciative their backyard flocks would be less likely to be exposed to the bird flu.

More than 30 million birds have been destroyed in an effort to prevent the spread of the H5N2 bird flu virus.

The total number of confirmed cases in Iowa outbreaks was more than 65.

“This issue is overwhelming in many respects, so we are grateful for the bipartisan leadership of our state and federal officials,” Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Poultry Association, said in a news release.

“We conveyed our need for adequate on-the-ground support and financial aid to manage and overcome this.

We need them to find the source of this virus that has spread despite strict and heightened bio-security measures. We need collaboration to

sanitize infected farms, stop [avian influenza] spread and help these farmers recover.”

Iowa is the leading egg producer in the U.S., contributing about one in every five eggs sold nationwide.

Iowa’s turkey industry ranks ninth in the nation, with 130 turkey farmers raising 11 million turkeys each year.

“The scale of this outbreak has been unprecedented, so we think it is important we take every possible step to limit the chance that this disease will spread any further,” Northey said in a news release.

No shows The announcement for no poultry shows at the county or state level puts into action bio-safety practices that State Fair 4-H Livestock Superintendent Mike Anderson hoped he would never have to enforce.

“I was at the extension office when they got the call about no shows,” said

Tyler Waddingham, who has shown poultry at the Union County Fair for 5 years. “I was a little heartbroken and slightly excited at the same time. I had plans of showing at the fair, but with the disease spreading, I was waiting to purchase my birds.”

Waddingham has shown market and breeding poultry at the county fair. He also shows rabbits, sheep and cattle at the local and state level.

“The decision is meant to protect everybody,” Northey said. “We know this can show up in backyard flocks, and we want to protect them. But it also protects the industry. We don’t want to start moving the disease around to other sites. It’s important for both reasons.”

The call to cancel poultry shows at Iowa’s state and county fairs prevents more than 3,455 poultry projects from being exhibited. Other states that recently took similar steps in banning poultry shows include Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

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27

Family farmers hoping to leave their land to children and family are still left with the knowledge their beneficiaries will be hit with a federal estate tax if the land is valued over $5 million. For many central Iowa row crop farmers, this number is not as high as it may appear.

(Mike Mendenhall/ Central Iowa Ag Mag

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH Estate tax still hot button issue with central Iowa farmers, politicians

BY MIKE MENDENHALL For Central Iowa Ag Mag

In western Jasper County, the Gannon family name is synonymous with farming.

The family with 14 siblings has farmed nearly 1,200 acres near Mingo for several generations. When Dan Gannon’s mother and father decided to parcel the family farm among their 14 children, the pending estate tax burden on the recipients was part of the plan.

“I’m not a believer in the estate tax,” Gannon said. “If I work my tail off to give this farm to my kids, why should I 28 Summer 2015

have to pay to do that? Why should the children be taxed?”

Although the 69-year-old does not agree with the tax, he advises farmers wanting to leave their operation in the family after they die to adapt with the laws and be prepared. He also urges children to sit down with their parents, a financial planner, and an attorney to discuss the pending tax burden.

“Get them in the same room and talk about it,” Gannon said. “My father was very good at preparing for that. It was a large estate.”

Gannon’s father set aside money for the estate tax burden of his children, but the Mingo farmer said with 13 other siblings, the roughly 1,000 acres divided did not leave much individual burden for the estate beneficiaries.

The estate tax is controversial on the ground, but in Washington, D.C., it has been given the moniker of “death tax” for those in opposition. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is the lead co-sponsor of pending legislation to repeal the tax.

CONTINUED ON 29

CONTINUED FROM 28 According to information provided by Grassley staffer Jill Gerber, The Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 was passed in April by the U.S. House. It would eliminate the estate tax altogether, but has yet to be debated on the Senate floor.

In 2001, the Senate Finance Committee increased the estate tax exemption to $3.5 million and lowered the top tax rate to 45 percent. Further negotiations increased the exemption to $5 million, tied to inflation, with a top tax rate of 40 percent. But Grassley argues that this still falls short for many small business owners and farmers who hope to one day leave their operations to their children and families without sticking them with a tax penalty.

Republicans seeking their party’s presidential nomination, such as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, have latched onto the “death tax” as a campaign issue. Rubio recently signed his name on the PAC Family Business Coalition’s Death Tax Repeal Pledge.

“The appreciated value of land is phantom income,” Grassley said in a March 26 Capitol Hill news conference.

“The value is locked in the asset, so if there’s no intent to sell the land, there’s no real income to tax other than the income the land actually produces, and that’s already taxed. The estate tax doesn’t serve any purpose except sending more money to Washington, D.C., that would be better spent on keeping up the family farm or creating jobs at a business.”

The bill is one that solidly divides lawmakers along party lines – it is being

pushed by Republicans, and met with resistance by Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., has walked the party line on the estate tax, in April voting against the bill to repeal it. She said her vote was more about fiscal responsibility than tax reform, because she feared it could increase the budget deficit.

“I have long supported bipartisan, comprehensive reform of our tax code that closes unfair loopholes and lowers rates,” said Bustos, whose 17th District is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River.

Bustos, who sits on two agricultural subcommittees, said she couldn’t predict whether the estate tax would even make it to the Senate floor, but she hopes the parties come together on a comprehensive tax reform package.

“I am encouraged that leaders from both parties, in the House and Senate, have expressed a desire to achieve this goal, and I stand ready to work with them in this effort,” Bustos said.

The bill needs at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass, so Republicans cannot do it without Democratic support.

However, even if the GOP can muster enough votes to proceed, the chances of the tax being taken off the books anytime soon are slim.

If the bill makes its way through the Senate, Republicans don’t expect President Obama to sign it.

A presidential election looms next year, and it could be an issue that neither party wants to be associated with until the next president is chosen.

‘‘

CONTINUED ON 30

The estate tax doesn’t serve any purpose except sending more money to Washington, D.C., that would be better spent on keeping up the family farm or creating jobs at a business.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa

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I-80 Farms is a growing operation, producing quality crops using environmentally sound practices.

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8647 Hwy F-48 W Colfax, IA 50054

Quality Service You Can Trust Light or Heavy Duty Truck & Trailer Repair Call or visit today 2 miles south of I-80 on Highway 14

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BBQ Kick-Off Yearling & Calf Sale Monday, Sept 14th TAMA LIVESTOCK AUCTION 641-484-3465 www.tamalivestock.com 1908 E. 5th St. Tama, IA

30 Summer 2015

Ian Richardson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Randy Buxton has been planning the eventual succession of his farm southwest of Creston. Portions of the farm have been in the family for five generations. Buxton said he recommends working toward a succession plan with family and tax professionals. “Be open and honest on how you want it done,” he said. CONTINUED FROM 29 The bill went through the House as a separate item, but in the Senate it will be part of a much larger tax reform plan – one that isn’t likely to develop quickly.

“The Senate Finance Committee is looking at tax reform issues, as are several study groups,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development for Illinois Farm Bureau. “The estate tax has kind of dropped off the radar screen for now.”

Tax issues were at the heart of the fiscal cliff situation when a budget stalemate threatened to trigger a combination of expiring tax cuts and reductions in spending at the end of 2012.

At that time, agriculture lobbyists were working to fend off a threatened reduction in the estate tax exemption to $3.5 million. It was left at $5 million, and now after regular adjustments for inflation, the first $5.43 million of any estate is exempt from taxes.

Farm Bureau is still working to have the estate tax repealed, but another tax is considered more important this year.

“Tax issues are still a high priority for Farm Bureau,” Nielsen said, “and the estate

tax is an enormous part of that, but more emphasis is being put on the small business expensing option.”

Commonly known by its tax classification, the Section 179 option allows small businesses and farmers to deduct up to $500,000 a year on capital purchases.

“Section 179 expires every year, and every year farmers converge on Washington to lobby for it not to be cut,” Nielsen said.

In addition to producers, farm equipment dealerships have a vested interest in the tax write-off. Any expensing cuts would defer the purchase of big-ticket items until the tax climate became more favorable.

“Section 179 already expired, and it was extended for a year,” Nielsen said.

“The closer we get to the 2016 election, the more likely these issues are to be politicized.”

Farm Bureau hasn’t lost all hope that the “death tax” could die before the election.

“There is still potential for the tax to be repealed in the Senate,” Nielsen said, “but within the context of broader tax reform, if it doesn’t catch momentum, it could take a while.”

Pam Eggemeier contributed to this report.

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Photos by Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Although he has mostly small toys, some larger pieces are also placed throughout the collection, including this tractor trike.

4CONTINUED FROM 23 “I have one of everything ever made; there’s literally not a toy in the smaller size that I do not have,” Dalton said. “If I don’t have it, I keep it.”

He said the Internet really changed his business from when he only attended shows to now selling daily through his own website and Ebay. Through those sites he ships to every corner of the world, including Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Great Britain,

with a busy season from November to February. He gets his new toys directly from the makers and is still a regular at farm and toy shows, mostly buying older toys now.

“In the toy world I am kind of known,” Dalton said.

“There is really no one else out there that does what I do with the older stuff in the volume that I do. If somebody is looking for something I probably have it.”

To view toys for sale, head to Dalton’s website at www. daltonsfarmtoys.com

A special part of Dalton’s collection are the gold special edition toys, which are hard to find.

AgriVision ............................................................32 Bank Iowa ............................................................18 Brown Shoe Fit Company ..................................19 Central Iowa Water Association ........................14 Dalton Farm Toys................................................21 Dalton Ag Products .............................................11 Devore Factory Direct ........................................18 Eden Mutual Insurance Association..................25 Farmers National Company...............................10 First Newton National Bank ..............................24 First State Bank - Lynnville ...............................27 The Floor Store....................................................15 Goos Implement ..................................................21 Hi-Line Trucking Center ....................................30 I-80 Farms............................................................30 Iowa Family Farms .............................................29 Iowa Grain Systems ............................................30 Iowa State Extension Office .................................5 Kane Welding & Supply .....................................24 Kellogg Lawn & Snow, Inc.................................26 Key Cooperative ..................................................19 Killduff Feed & Grain ........................................14 McCall Monument ..............................................25 McGriffs ...............................................................22 Midwest Biotech ..................................................11 Newton Health Care Center ...............................29 O’Grady Chemical Corporation .......................13 Park Centre ...........................................................4 ProLine Buildings .................................................3 Rohrer Bros Fertilizer ........................................29 Rotary Airlock .......................................................9 Shawn’s Hay Grinding .........................................8 Shomo-Madsen-Umble Insurance .....................29 S.I. Distributing ..................................................25 Sinclair Tractor .....................................................2 Sully Farm Supply, Inc .......................................15 Tama County Mutual..........................................20 Tama Livestock Sales ..........................................30 Van Ko Farms......................................................20 Vanderwaal Insurance ........................................27 Willowbrook Adult Day Center .........................26

AG Mag

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