CAM_11-23-2015

AG Mag Southwest Iowa

Life Force The heart of agriculture in Southwest Iowa is just beneath the surface HOLDING PATTERN: Grain glut has many farmers deciding whether to sell or store HIS AND HERS: On today’s farm, men and women are equals

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Fall 2015

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Index

AG Mag Southwest Iowa

Publisher Rich Paulsen Advertising Director Craig Mittag Managing Editor Kyle Wilson Magazine Editor Jeff Rogers

20

Page Design Jeff Rogers

COVER STORY

Reporters & Photographers Pam Eggemeier, Dave Fox, Amy Hansen, Kelsey Haugen, Alex T. Paschal, Bailey Poolman, Ian Richardson, Kathleen A. Schultz, Jake Waddingham, and Kyle Wilson Published by Creston News Advertiser 503 W. Adams St. Creston, IA 50801 641-782-2141 Articles and advertisements are the property of Creston News Advertiser. No portion of the Southwest Iowa Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Creston News Advertiser. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Creston News Advertiser cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Creston News Advertiser 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.

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Dirt rich The black dirt that covers much of Iowa produces some of the nation’s best corn and soybeans.

Farmers Forum We ask Southwest Iowa farmers how the wet growing season has affected their operation and overall crop.

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Index Learning how to save a life Fire departments in the region train personnel on how to use a tube to rescue someone from a grain bin.

14 Secret recipe revealed

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10

What makes Barb Bennett’s deviled eggs so good? The Creston cook shares her recipe.

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FIRST READ

A class act to feed the hungry

Sell vs. store

Graceland University students will be using crops grown on the school’s plot to help fund the Foods Resource Bank.

Southwest Iowa famers must decide what to do with all that grain as prices continue to lag.

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Index Educational opportunities

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A directory of agriculture degrees and studies available at area colleges and universities.

12 decades and counting

34

TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE

The Diehl family has farmed land in Osceola, Iowa, since 1898.

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Speaking of working women on the farm, Bonnie Larson of Diagonal keeps herself busy by being involved in her family’s three agricultural operations.

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Clint Travis empties harvested soybeans into an auger wagon cart in mid-October on land east of Creston that his family farms with Kevin Lents. This year, Lents expects to see the lowest grain prices he’s seen since he began farming in 2007.

(Photos by Ian Richardson/ Southwest Iowa Ag Mag)

AMPLE WAVES OF GRAIN With yields high and prices low, what’s a farmer to do with all that crop?

I

BY IAN RICHARDSON AND DAVE FOX For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

t’s a Thursday afternoon in mid-October, and the weather is perfect for harvest.

On a farm east of Creston, Clint Travis runs a combine through his soybean fields under a blue, cloud-speckled sky. It hasn’t rained in more than a week, the temperature is right at 70 degrees, and there is a light breeze.

As Travis makes another pass with the combine and empties the picked grain into an auger wagon cart, fellow farmer Kevin Lents

10 Fall 2015

drives up in a semitrailer. Lents owns about 800 acres in Adair, Madison and Union counties and also farms with the Travis family. This year, he said, his crop is looking good, especially on his land farther north.

But for Lents, who began farming for himself in 2007, fall has also brought some of the lowest grain prices he’s seen.

“This would be the low since I started farming,” he said.

“Beans were higher then, in 2007, but corn was about the same. 2008 was when it started increasing.”

CONTINUED ON 11

CONTINUED FROM 10

Jason Driskill, a grain broker at the Creston branch of Commodity Solutions Inc., said the lower fall grain prices have posed a challenge for farmers – not because they’re unnaturally low, but because values have fallen while other expenses have remained the same.

“Ten years ago we were probably at $2 or $2.50 corn,” Driskill said. “Because we’ve been used to the $5 to $6 corn, input costs have risen so dramatically, so now with the low prices it becomes tougher to cover costs.”

By mid-October, Lents had pre-sold 70 percent of his corn and soybeans. His strategy for the remaining 30 percent of his corn? Store it.

“Probably the remaining balance, I’ll stick in a bin and hold ‘til January,” he said.

Other area farmers, like Paul Baker, also are going to hold back some of their corn until market prices improve.

Baker farms about 1,000 acres in Union County, some of it with his brother, John. Like Lents, he said his corn yield was above average this year.

“The corn I’ll probably store for a while,” Baker said.

Baker hadn’t harvested his soybeans yet, and it was well into October. They were taking longer this year, he said. If beans were around $9, he planned to

Clint Travis, driving a combine, empties his harvested grain into an auger wagon cart driven by hired hand Rick Gripp in mid-October on a farm east of Creston. sell, he said.

Lents said he planned to sell his beans and then buy call options, which will give him the option to buy a futures contract at a price for a specific time period.

Driskill, the grain broker, said the sell-store advice he gives to farmers depends on their personal situation.

But he said he might recommend them to a farmer who needs an immediate

cash flow but still wants to wait for the market to improve.

“That does two things for them,” he said. “It generates their cash flow when they need it, and it limits the risk because if the market drops they’re not at the price risk at the elevator. Plus, it saves them storage costs at the elevator.”

CONTINUED ON 12

Photos by Ian Richardson/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

A tarp covers a tall mountain of grain at Gavilon Grain in Creston. With high yields and low prices for corn, Southwest Iowa farmers might be more inclined to store the grain harvested this fall to wait for prices to increase.

AG Mag

11

CONTINUED FROM 11

Corn prices reached a peak in 2012, but have dropped significantly since. According to Iowa State University, the average price per bushel received by Iowa farmers was $6.67 in 2012. This year, the university projected, it will be $4.13.

Reed Akre, a commodities broker with Maplehurst Farms in Lee Center, Illinois, said that although dropping corn prices are troubling for farmers, they’re good for consumers.

“Because when corn prices go down, fuel prices also tend to drop,” he said. “We’re also seeing corn prices drop because there has been less demand for ethanol.”

Corn prices are down significantly across the Mississippi River, as well. Last month, the average cash price in many northwest Illinois locations was around $3.60 per bushel. Midway through the harvest there, prices were somewhat slower to rise than many had hoped.

“I think we’ll probably see a lot of farmers in this area just hunker down and hang on to their corn a while to see if they can

get prices $4 a bushel or better,” Akre said.

Soybeans tend to follow the same trends and cycles as corn, he said. In Iowa, the peak was in 2013, when farmers were getting an average of $14.13 per bushel, according to Iowa State University. Through August, prices were averaging at or below $10.

“Bean prices are down largely due to increased technology, higher yields, and a wider variety of uses,” Akre said.

In recent decades, beans have been used in inks, cleaning fluids, and biodiesel fuels, which helps drive up demand for higher yields. Higher demands and higher yields help keep prices low.

Another concern for farmers is rent prices on land. When corn prices went up, most land rents were increased accordingly.

“With landlords used to getting those higher prices, especially after record high grain prices a few years ago, it’s hard to get them to go back down on rent prices,” said Tex Bellows, who farms corn, soybeans and hay in Ogle County, Illinois.

“If that happens, we’ll just have to pay, because if we don’t someone else will.”

1726 Osage Street 782-2019 12 Fall 2015

Dave Fox/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Reed Akre, a commodities broker in Lee Center, Illinois, said prices for soybeans are down largely because of increased technology, higher yields, and a wider variety of uses that includes inks, cleaning fluids, and biodiesel fuels.

Creston, IA

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“I’m taking Dad to the emergency room in Creston.”

Those were the words Margaret Venteicher heard one winter afternoon.

Linus Venteicher is a very active man. He continues the tradition of running a family farm south of Corning. It was a typical Thursday afternoon and Linus was at his son Patrick’s house to help with running calves when suddenly his arm got caught and he found himself in intense pain. Margaret, Linus’s wife, received a call from Patrick informing her that he planned to drive Linus to the Emergency Department at Greater Regional Medical Center. Upon arrival, the ER team evaluated his arm, wrapped it securely and treated his pain. They also arranged an early morning appointment the next day with Dr. Ralston in the Greater Regional Orthopaedics Department.

When Margaret and Linus arrived for the appointment with Dr. Ralston they were unsure what to expect. They were relieved when they met Dr. Ralston. He spoke in understandable terms and gave them options.

“We could choose to have surgery or to try another type of treatment,” Margaret said. “The choice was up to us.” Linus chose the alternative to surgery and was able to have a procedure performed in the clinic at the time of the appointment. The procedure was very quick. He described having nearly 75% of his pain relieved immediately upon completion of the in office procedure. “But that wasn’t the best part,” Margaret laughed. “The best part was when Dr. Ralston asked me if I was ok. He was so kind to think not just of the patient, but of me too.

It became a joke between me and Linus.”

The Venteicher’s left the clinic with Linus wearing a soft cast on his arm with instructions to return for follow up appointments. “When we walked out that day, Linus said he would give Dr. Ralston an A+ rating.

You have to understand this is not a man who is fond of doctors.”

Returning for follow up visits they report it was pleasing to get to know the staff and they were very glad they could receive orthopaedic care close to home. Linus stated, “All the staff was wonderful to work with. I would recommend Dr. Ralston to anyone. Creston can be very grateful for having him on staff.”

Linus’s arm healed and he resumed farming activities in time to plant and has continued to be active ever since. Margaret said, “It was just one of those things.

But it happened, and I think because he had such great care he got better quickly.

He’s ready to go combine beans this afternoon!”

641-782-3887 AG Mag

13

TO THE RESCUE Small-town fire departments ready for grain bin extractions

BY BAILEY POOLMAN For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Neither Greg Watsabaugh nor Steve Davis has seen tragedy strike in a grain bin. But their fire departments will be ready if it does.

Watsabaugh has been a firefighter for 22 years, and chief of the all-volunteer Humeston Fire Department for 9 years.

He and his 24 firefighters now have a rescue tube to use in grain bin extractions, thanks to a $5,000 grant from DuPont Pioneer.

“It’s very important (to have the right equipment),” Watsabaugh said. “That’s why we try to get the best we can afford, so we help everybody out the best way that we can.”

CONTINUED ON 16

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CONTINUED FROM 14

Davis’ department in Chariton received a rescue tube and equipment from Farm Service Credit Bureau this summer. A Minnesota company trained Davis and the department’s 35 volunteers.

“We try to learn basically what the grain will do to you, the pressure on you, the different techniques of how to use the tubes, and the rescue of the victim,” said Davis, who has been the department’s chief for 6 months and a firefighter for 25 years. He plans to schedule training once or twice each year.

“With the size of Chariton, ... the main policy is if we have something that big we would probably call whatever the closest town is,” he said.

Both the Humeston and Chariton departments have a metal rescue tube that rests around a victim and handheld plastic containers to remove grain manually. Humeston also has an auger to remove grain mechanically.

Other rescue equipment includes an aerial ladder, ropes, harnesses, milk crates or platforms to use to walk on the grain, and non-electrical fans to keep the air clear.

“We’ve had more grain bin fires than rescues, and I’m thankful for that,” Davis said.

CONTINUED ON 17

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Using the Humeston Fire Department’s rescue tube, firefighters work to extract a colleague from grain during a training exercise in 2013. The tube wraps around the person who is submerged in grain, while firefighters work to remove the grain with an auger or plastic buckets. Rescues can last between 20 minutes and 5 hours, depending on the size of the structure and other factors.

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CONTINUED FROM 16

“The most important thing is the safety of your guys, and the victim that’s in there.�

Humeston, a town of about 500 in Wayne County, and Chariton, with about 4,500 residents in Lucas County, provide mutual aid for each other. Because of the abundance of agricultural workers, many fire departments will work for a commanding officer during a dangerous rescue. “You, of course, got the suction of the grain that can go down,� Davis said. “The other danger is there can be an auger in there that you can get stuck in, and also the dust. I mean, that can be one of the major factors: your breathing and air quality.�

Watsabaugh said another danger of grain bins is a grain bridge, when grain crusts over with a pocket of open space beneath caused by moisture or mold.

His department received 2-day training along with 13 other departments in

2013. In addition to using the rescue tube, the department has had training using high-angle rope in confined space rescues. “We’re all going to know how they want us to do it, and the right way and the safest way,� Watsabaugh said. “You wouldn’t want somebody showing up who’s never been to a grain rescue class, because you’re messing with somebody’s life.�

Rescues can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 5 hours, the two chiefs said.

The duration of the rescue depends on the situation, the weather, who is available for mutual aid, and the kinds of training and equipment a department has. “Know where your victim is to begin with,� Watasbaugh said. “Make sure all your power is off, and make sure you have someone in command who knows what’s going on. “I’m glad we got lots of rescue stuff. We have topnotch equipment. It helps us protect our community and farmers a lot better.�

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Farmers Forum WITH KYLE WILSON/SOUTHWEST IOWA AG MAG

The 2015 growing season will go down as one of the wettest on record.

How has it affected your operation and overall crop?

Jim Taylor, Diagonal “Our biggest challenge was getting everything in. The last of our beans didn’t go in until June 30. Still, we had it pretty good here. We didn’t have the 7-inch rains like other areas in Iowa and Missouri. And, our yields are turning out fine. I figured us at 179 for corn and 55 for beans for one of our fields.”

Don Staver, Arispe

“I crop adjust, too, and spent 3 weeks in Columbia, Missouri. There are thousands upon thousands of acres not planted there this year.

We’re very lucky in our area. We’re looking at beans just shy of 60.”

Russell Kelley, Thayer

“I’ve been farming since 1976, and

Jim Taylor

Don Staver

Russell Kelley

this was one of the longest, wettest growing seasons. The duration of the rainfall was so abnormal. It rained all summer. We didn’t get some of our beans in until late June or early July.

But, better wet than dry, I guess.”

John Tapken, Creston

“It was an abnormal year for rainfall, but it is certainly is turning out OK for farmers in our area. We’re looking at

John Tapken

average to above-average crops.”

Dallas Johnston, Kent “Everything went into the ground in lessthan-ideal conditions this year. We

had heavy rains from 3 to 6 inches at different times where I’m at. It made things very challenging. That said, we’ve had a dry fall, and I’ve heard some big (yield) numbers, especially north of Creston.”

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Union County 4-H’ers compete at Ak-Sar-Ben stock show

By Iowa State Extension

Seven Union County 4-H’ers competed this fall at the 2015 Ak-Sar-Ben Stock Show in Omaha, Nebraska. The 4-H’ers competed in the areas of market beef, breeding beef, showmanship, and a fitting challenge.

Annually, 98,000 visitors from 40 states and 12 countries attend the Ak-Sar-Ben Stock Show and Rodeo. It includes four core events: the Douglas County Fair, the nation’s largest 4-H stock show; Heritage Parade and the Ak-Sar-Ben Rodeo, which features two professional rodeos; the Justin Boots Championship; and the Wrangler Champions Challenge Finale.

“Ak-Sar-Ben is another opportunity for the 4-H’ers to showcase their animals and all of the hard work they put into the project throughout the year. They are competing with some of the finest in the nation,” said Haley Jones, county youth and outreach

coordinator.

Results for Union County are as follows: Macy Adamson of Creston received a blue ribbon in showmanship and a purple ribbon in breeding beef.

Dillon Bailey of Creston received a blue ribbon in each of his market beef entries.

Sanden Cheers of Afton received a blue and purple ribbon, respectively, in each of his market beef entries.

Paul Johnston of Creston received a red ribbon in breeding beef.

Tyler Loudon of Creston received a purple ribbon in showmanship and two purple ribbons in each of his breeding beef entries.

Tyson Tucker of Creston received a blue ribbon in market beef.

Kaden Wilson of Creston received a purple ribbon in market beef.

Loudon, Cheers and Darin Hatfield competed in the team-fitting challenge contest.

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AG Mag

19

LEAVING

Area farmers work to maintain soil health and quality for years to come

BY JAKE WADDINGHAM AND PAM EGGEMEIER For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

D

an Ryner knows the value of the soil he and his family have been farming in Madison County since 1864.

Ryner has been farming that land for 36 years. He also is the assistant commissioner for the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation Board. Maintaining the health and quality of the soil is a never-ending effort.

“We do care about this dirt, and we do try to do the best we can to hold it in place,” Ryner said. “It is a continuous process. You don’t just build a terrace and it is over with. … It is constant maintenance, and you are constantly changing and improving on what you already have in place.”

The rich, black dirt that covers much of Iowa and the Midwest produces some of the nation’s best corn and soybean yields year after year.

That farmland is largely the product of glaciers that protected the land during the Ice Age. The last of four glaciers melted about 13,000 years ago. The ice sheets left flat prairieland throughout most of the state, and river basin sediment was deposited in the soil from long periods of flooding and dust storms.

20 Fall 2015

G THEIR FOOTPRINT The riverbeds eventually dried out and the silt, called loess, blew over the prairie, covering most of the state.

Loess is perfect for agriculture – it is rich in minerals, has no rock, and it retains moisture.

Mollisol, a dark, rich soil, covers much of the state and most of the southwest region. It is the byproduct of the decomposition of prairie plants that had covered the terrain after the glaciers had melted.

Sustenance of the great gift bestowed by nature continues to evolve after more than 7,000 years of farming on Iowa soil.

In Southwest Iowa, farmers like Ryner contribute to that evolution. He uses a variety of soil conservation practices on the 1,100 acres he is harvesting this fall. In addition to no-till, his farms have grass waterways, terraces, buffer strips, contour farming and crop rotation.

“A lot of it depends on this crazy weather we have been having,” Ryner said. “It stresses what we have in place. It also doesn’t help when commodity prices are low.”

Josh Bruett, 24, of Indianola, is a sales agronomist for BB&P Feed and Grain in Winterset. His focus is agronomy, helping farmers with seed recommendations based on a variety of factors, including soil quality.

“My job would be a lot easier if everyone had the same field elevation and the same type of soil,” Bruett said. “It is very difficult to make soil conservation decisions. It is not just a simple yes or no. All farmers have a vested interest in soil conservation. ... A lot of thought goes into how farmers practice soil conservation and still turn a profit.”

Like much of Iowa, the majority of soil in Madison County is mollisols, Bruett said. This means the soil is higher in clay content, so it holds water longer and it has a higher percentage of organic matter. Ideal conditions for strong yields include land that is flat at a higher elevation, a proper drainage system for flexibility with water management and organic matter above 5 percent.

CONTINUED ON 22

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

AG Mag

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Photos by Jake Waddingham/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

LEFT: Soil conservation practices like no-till leave crop residue to help protect the topsoil from becoming dislodged by rain or wind. Another soil conservation practice in Madison County is planting cover crops. RIGHT: Josh Bruett of Indianola displays mollisol, the most common type of soil in Madison County and Southwest Iowa. Mollisol tends to have more clay and a higher percentage of organic matter. Bruett is a sales agronomist for BB&P Feed and Grain in Winterset. He makes seed recommendations to farmers based on a variety of factors, including soil quality.

CONTINUED FROM 21

Cover crops are a recent addition to soil conservation practice in Madison County. They help enhance soil biology and certain types of cover crops can add nitrogen back into the system.

“A good time to apply cover crops is at the end of September and beginning of October,” Bruett said. “Any later and

22 Fall 2015

it can be difficult to get the crop established. The people that were able to get it planted this year and take advantage of the warm, dry weather in October are really seeing the benefits.”

Dave Harrison, a resource conservationist with the Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District in northwest Illinois, said, “The more you keep something living in the soil, the better the biological results. It sucks up

nutrients that would otherwise be lost in drainage tile.”

Harrison promotes the use of cover crops. His personal goal is to have cover crops used on 50 percent of the farmland in his region. Right now, he said, it’s about 10 percent. Statewide, there has been a 15-fold increase in cover crop acreage since 2010.

CONTINUED ON 24

Cover crops offer farmers a low-cost, high-quality winter feed

By Practical Farmers of Iowa

For forage- and grass-based livestock farmers, the cost of stored feeds, like hay, is often the single greatest cost of maintaining their animals over the winter. Thus, extending the grazing season as long as possible can translate into significant savings.

Two research reports by Practical Farmers of Iowa show that farmers with access to cover crops have a high-quality, lowcost source of cold-weather feed that – with proper management – can extend the grazing season, reduce the amount of hay needed, and let pastures rest longer in the spring.

The projects – “Grazing Cover Crops on Corn Ground” and “Grazing Cover Crops for Winter Feed” – were conducted by farmers, in real-world conditions, through Practical Farmers of Iowa’s Cooperators’ Program, which helps farmers design and conduct rigorous on-farm research projects to better answer their

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most challenging farming questions. The reports are available to view or download at http://practicalfarmers. org/farmer-knowledge/ research-reports.

In the first project, “Grazing Cover Crops on Corn Ground,” Maxwell-based farmer Bruce Carney rotationally grazed his herd of 184 cattle on winter cereal rye planted in a neighbor’s corn field, measuring soil compaction as well as the body condition of his animals. The cover crop gave him eight extra days of hay-free grazing in the spring – a cost savings of $1,379.

To figure out how much money the cover crop saved him, Carney calculated the cover crop’s cost per ton of dry matter ($61.66), and compared it to the average cost per ton of hay ($140) seen in early spring auctions. He also tracked how much his herd consumed on a daily basis (about 2.2 tons). On a per-day basis, this cost difference amounted to a savings of almost $173 per day.

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AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 22

Overall, the soil in the area is probably better than it was 25 years ago,” he said. “I would suggest that farmers take advantage of the Conservation Reserve Program, put in cover crops, and it can gradually build up soil quality.”

Ag scientists agree that soil quality is a difficult concept to quantify. It can be easy to confuse exactly what is being measured.

“Productivity and soil quality are very different things,” said Emerson Nafziger, an agronomist at University of Illinois. “Soil is a very complex system, and it is divorced from the high yields we continually get.”

Nafziger said there are many different measurements done on soil, but the level of organic matter present and bulk density draw more focus.

The slow process of building stable organic matter can be measured easily in the topsoil if erosion hasn’t intervened.

“The deeper the organic matter goes, the better, because that deeper soil

Jake Waddingham/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Josh Bruett of BB&P Feed and Grain in Winterset prepares the soil to take a field sample. Bruett said all farmers have a vested interest in keeping their soil healthy, but deciding what practice best fits the land each year is a difficult task. will hold it much better,” Nafziger said.

Soil erosion has been a problem in Iowa, but it has lessened.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service estimates that farmland soil erosion in Iowa decreased from 7.4 tons per acre in 1982 to 5.1 tons per acre in 2007. In

the same time period nationwide, farmland soil erosion fell from 4.0 tons to 2.7 tons per acre.

Biotechnology has played a role in high productivity amid all types of weather challenges.

“Technology allows farmers to control insects without all of the tilling,” Nafziger said.

“The introduction of Round-

up 15 or 20 years ago made no-till much more feasible.”

Many practices contribute to maintaining nutrient-rich soil, but improper use can cause different problems.

The most high-profile issue of late has been water pollution attributed to nitrogren, phosphorus, and other ag-related chemicals. The chemicals can infiltrate tile draining systems and contaminate waterways.

To directly help farmers, the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices has been formed. A website, illinoiscbmp.org, has been developed

by Illinois Farm Bureau to help farmers implement a broad-based strategy.

Illinois hasn’t reinvented the wheel in setting up the program. It’s similar to a program Iowa has had for years.

A cornerstone of Iowa’s program is the pumping of dollars into cover crops. The ICBMP website also highlights conservation practices that include saturated and conservation buffers, bioreactors, wetlands, and reduced tillage.

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AG Mag

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Deviled but heavenly Barb Bennett of Creston shares secret to her locally famous deviled egg recipe

A

Ian Richardson/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Barb Bennett of Creston holds up a finished batch of deviled eggs. She has been known to take as many as 14 dozen deviled eggs to community events. But sometimes, “Some people don’t even know they show up – the cooks eat them,” Barb’s husband, Mick, said. operating | beginning farmer | buildings | ag real estate | livestock | machinery/equipment

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s a grandmother of four, Barb Bennett’s specialties range from chicken and noodles to cinnamon rolls to the Rocky Mountain oysters she and her husband, Mick, make together.

But whenever she goes to weddings, get-togethers or community dinners, there’s one dish people just won’t let her come without: her deviled eggs.

The Creston native has been known to boil as many as seven dozen eggs – which total 168 once they’re halved and deviled – to take to an event. Her plastic egg carriers, which hold 16 each, make a tall stack in her storage closet.

Larry Owens, who has had Bennett’s deviled eggs “many, many, many times” over the years at Elks Lodge gatherings, said they are some of the best he’s ever tasted.

CONTINUED ON 27

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Barb Bennett stores her deviled eggs in Tupperware containers. She has a tall stack of them in her storage closet.

CONTINUED FROM 26

“They’re really good,” he said. “I don’t know if she uses some kind of sweet vinegar in it, or pickle juice.”

Mick said at some events, Barb’s eggs haven’t even made it to the buffet.

“Some people don’t even know they show up – the cooks eat them,” he said.

“They don’t last very long, I’ll tell you that.”

Despite the popularity of her eggs,

Bennett said her process is anything but an exact science. She said she can’t remember when she first found the recipe, and she said she has no written version. She uses only six ingredients.

“You just dump the stuff in,” she said.

“They never taste the same way twice.”

The first secret to Bennett’s recipe: the eggs. Bennett uses only small, brown, farm-fresh eggs. She has purchased eggs from The Pier, where the eggs come from owner Jerry Abell’s chickens,

The filling for the deviled eggs has five ingredients: egg yolk, Miracle Whip Light, mustard, sugar, and pepper.

Bennett doesn’t measure the ingredients. Instead, she dumps and taste tests as she goes. and from Shear Styling, where the eggs come from the farm of Southwestern Community College administrative assistant Mary Jo Skarda.

Bennett said brown eggs have a richer flavor. And their smaller size, she said, is perfect.

CONTINUED ON 28

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CONTINUED FROM 27

“Once you make your filling, they fit really good,” she said. “You’ve only got two bites of an egg instead of getting mushy all over.”

To prepare the eggs, Bennett boils them for 3 minutes and then leaves them in the warm water for 10 minutes. She then cools them using ice cubes. The eggs should end up solid in the middle, but not to the point they have a dark-gray layer around the yolk.

Bennett said she usually makes potato salad whenever she makes deviled eggs. That way, any eggs she accidentally disfigures during the peeling or slicing process can go into the potato salad. So can any leftover filling.

The ingredients to Bennett’s recipe are few: Miracle Whip Light, mustard, sugar and lots of pepper. She said she always uses Miracle Whip Light because normal mayonnaise is too heavy.

When she mixes the filling, Bennett doesn’t measure. She dumps, stirs, tastes, dumps some more, and repeats until the consistency and flavor is what she wants. The filling should end up creamy and sweet, but not too messy.

Once she’s put the filling inside the eggs, she sprinkles paprika over the top.

Bennett said although she’s had several comments that her egg recipe is the best, people don’t often ask for her secrets.

“Nobody’s ever asked for the recipe,” she said.

“They’ve always said, ‘Bring the eggs. Bring the eggs.’”

But now you know her secret. To make your own batch of Barb Bennett deviled eggs, simply follow the recipe to the right.

Ian Richardson/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Barb Bennett’s Deviled Eggs Small, brown farm-fresh eggs Miracle Whip Light Mustard Sugar Pepper Paprika Boil eggs for 3 minutes. Let sit in warm water for 10 minutes. Cool with ice cubes. Peel.

Halve eggs from top to bottom, emptying yolk into bowl. Set egg whites aside.

Mix Miracle Whip Light, mustard, sugar and pepper into the yolk.

Adjust measurements to taste. Filling should be sweet, smooth and creamy.

Spoon filling into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika.

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Global efforts Graceland club partners with Foods Resource Bank to help farmers around the world

BY IAN RICHARDSON For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

When Graceland University’s Agricultural Business Club begins planting corn and soybeans on the college’s 20-acre test plot this spring, the fields will be the same dirt-brown and stalk-green colors they’ve always been.

But, the purpose behind many of its crops will be much different.

Next year, the club will donate the proceeds from at least half its acres to Foods Resource Bank, a grassroots humanitarian organization that supports farming initiatives in more than 30 countries around the world. The club will be doing it with help from a $2,000 grant from the John Deere Foundation that it received in October.

Graceland University’s test plot totals 20 acres, where students primarily grow corn and soybeans.

Next growing season, input costs for at least half of these acres will be funded by a grant from the John Deere Foundation, and all money raised through the sale of the crops at harvest will go to Foods Resource Bank.

(Photo submitted by Graceland University)

CONTINUED ON 30

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CONTINUED FROM 29

Elizabeth Sieleman, a Graceland senior and the club’s president, said adding this service project fits well into the club’s mission.

“It’s huge,” Sieleman said.

“Our motto is ‘global ag Elizabeth professionals,’ Sieleman so for us in Lamoni, Iowa, to be able to help someone overseas learn more about farming better practices, ... it fits amazingly into our curriculum, and it really opens the eyes for a lot of farmers around the area that we can make a difference in Iowa in our test plot.”

According to the FRB website, more than 200 U.S. growing projects, volunteers, companies and organizations raise between $3.5 million and $4 million each year through the organization, which supports between 50 and 60 overseas programs in Central America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Photo submitted by Graceland University

Students in the Graceland University Agricultural Business Club study data as they stand near the high corn stalks on the school’s test plot.

These programs then help small, local farmers in poor regions of the world build sustainable farms with the aim of ending hunger through localized agriculture. FRB has reached more than 1 million people since the project began in 1999.

Graceland’s club first heard about FRB when a representative visited campus last year to discuss the program.

To learn more, in September 2014 Sieleman and fellow senior Eva Roberts traveled to Washington, Eva D.C., where the Roberts organization discussed hunger and poverty with congressmen.

“We kind of went out there to get a feel for what FRB is,”

said Roberts, who now is the club’s FRB representative. “We decided that it was a good thing to invest Jennifer in. We would be Brandt making a difference in someone’s life overseas.”

The club then applied for and received a $2,000 grant from the John Deere Foundation, which it will use to cover input costs for the upcoming growing year.

“We want to at least donate that much back, if not more,” Roberts said.

Another club member, junior Jennifer Brandt, said this partnership fits her passion to help others.

“We’re just trying to get the word out there that hunger is an issue, that even though they’re so far away, we can help them right here at home,” Brandt said.

Roberts said Graceland’s Agricultural Business Club has about 30 members and wants to continue this partnership in the future.

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Agriculture Education Area School Directory UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS Graceland University 1 University Place, Lamoni, IA 50140 graceland.edu 866-472-2352 Agricultural Business, Bachelor of Arts – Upon completion of Graceland University’s agriculture business program, students will be able to address ag issues, critically consider global questions, and address complex problems in agricultural business. Students will develop expertise regarding agriculture and related disciplines, including accounting, business, economics, management, marketing and finance.

Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 0020 Curtiss Hall Ames, IA 50011 515-294-9123 cals.iastate.edu Undergraduate majors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Agricultural and life sciences education; agricultural biochemistry; agricultural business; agricultural studies; agricultural systems technology; agriculture and society; agronomy; animal ecology; animal science; biology; culinary science; dairy science; diet and exercise; dietetics; environmental science; food science; forestry; genetics; global resource systems; horticulture; industrial technology; microbiology; nutritional science; public service and administration in agriculture (now called agri-

culture and society); undeclared agriculture Undergraduate secondary majors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Environmental studies; international agriculture; seed science Southwestern Community College 1501 W. Townline St. Creston, IA 50801 swcciowa.edu 641-782-7081 Associates of applied science degrees: Crop production provides students a blend of crop-related and practical application. Students learn current practices in crop production and technology, while gaining confidence in producing locally grown crops.

Classes specific to this program are farm equipment management, grain and forage crops, precision farming, integrative pest management, and horticulture. Typical careers include seed representatives, row crops and corn genetics.

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Classes specific to this program include the essential accounting, economics, farm business management, marketing and agricultural courses.

This is a degree for students interested in ag-related marketing, advertising, journalism, communications and working in the business sector.

Agriculture major, associate of arts, is a general education degree for students transferring to a four-year college or university.

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FAMILY FIRST

Diehls share story of their 120-year-old family farm

BY AMY HANSEN For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Matt Diehl and his father, Randy, work the family farm together as a team.

Which is nothing unusual for the Diehl family. It’s been on the farm just east of Osceola, Iowa, for 120 years.

“It’s very rewarding,” Randy said.

“We’re fortunate, him and I, that we can get along pretty good.”

Matt said the family farming history began when his great-great-grandfather bought land in 1898 that Matt now owns. Matt’s grandfather added land to the family farm in the early 1900s.

CONTINUED ON 33

The Diehl family poses for a photo by their farmhouse east of Osceola, Iowa. The farm has been in the family for 120 years.

Pictured are (back row, from left) Jeremy Shaw; and Matt, Leslie, Lindsay, Sue and Randy Diehl; in the front row (from left) are Allie, Ryan and Garrett Diehl.

(Amy Hansen/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag)

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for a while, and decided that we couldn’t do both, so we just went at this full bore, and here we are,” Matt said.

Matt said the family farm offers him the opportunity to be his own boss and independent.

“Being able to do what you want to do. I really love growing things, whether it’s crops or cattle,” Matt said.

CONTINUED FROM 32

In the mid-1970s, Randy added land to the Diehl farm. In keeping with the expansion pattern, Matt purchased some of it the past 10 years.

Parts of the Diehl farming operation are considered a century farm, including the 120 acres where it originally started. In 2019, approximately 240 acres more will be considered a century farm.

“The Diehls have been here for a long time,” Matt said.

Randy has been farming since 1975. Randy and his wife, Sue, have three children, Lindsay, Matt and Lance.

Matt has been farming since 2000. He and his wife Leslie also have three children, Garrett, Allie and Ryan.

A family cousin, Jeremy Shaw, also works full time on the farm.

What they do

Matt has 300 cows and custom feeds cattle. Randy and Matt farm approximately

Up next

Amy Hansen/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

This framed photo of seven generations of Diehls hangs at the family farm in Osceola, Iowa.

1,000 acres of crops together between the land they own and rent. The Diehls also have a silage chopping business.

Randy has a trucking business as well, with seven semitrailers that haul feed, and pulling tankers.

Matt said father and son have a good working relationship. He likes working with his dad, because it allows them to have a professional relationship as well as a good friendship.

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“We have our arguments, but we get along really well,” he said.”You have to, or it wouldn’t work.”

Typical days for Diehl men include getting up early and doing their daily chores, which include feeding cattle.

If it’s spring, they are busy planting crops. Later in the year, they can be found harvesting.

The workload can be 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“We both had off-farm jobs

There’s another generation of Diehls experiencing what work on the farm is like.

Matt said he hopes his three children go into the family farm business.

“We’ve been here for 120 years, [and] I want to keep it that way,” he said with a smile.

Randy said his son started running equipment when he was about 8.

Matt’s children have shown some interest in helping their father on the farm during the weekends and nights. They ask a lot of questions about the farm.

“It’s huge. It’s very important. I want it to keep going forever,” Randy said.

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AG Mag

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EQUITY ON THE FARM Women in agriculture no longer a rarity, or a stereotype

I

BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ AND BAILEY POOLMAN For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

t’s a familiar image: The farm wife in the slightly worn cotton dress, drying her hands on her apron as she turns from the sink/stove/table with a warm but equally worn smile, heads out the door and onto the porch to call the kids/husband/farmhands in for breakfast/lunch/supper.

Familiar, yes, but far, far, from the truth.

For 30 years now, “farm wives” have been evolving well beyond the perception that their primary function is to cook, clean and keep the home fires burning.

They’re also accountants, pro-

In the photo Lori Nelson drives a tractor with two grain trailers attached while she harvests soybeans in rural Greenfield. Lori and her husband, Mike, farm row crops, and Lori helps haul grain. (Bailey Poolman/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag) curement officers, combine drivers, mechanics, vets ... equal partners in the business of keeping the family farm afloat and, often, promoting the industry in general.

And more and more, they’re also the boss.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report in April 2013 that showed that the share of women farmers nationwide nearly tripled, from 5

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percent in 1978, the year the Census of Agriculture began asking for gender data on principal operators, to 14 percent in 2007.

By 2012, 288,264 women were principal operators. Toss in secondary operators, and the number jumps to 969,672 female farmers, 30 percent of all farmers nationwide.

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TAYGOLD COOPERATIVE Bailey Poolman/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Tonya Green talks on the phone with her husband, Jayson, as they work their row crop and cattle operation in Prescott.

Green splits her duties on the farm with a full-time job as a cook at Creston High School.

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(Most secondary operators, about 96 percent, work alongside a male principal, usually their husbands, data show.)

In Iowa, 32,167 women, 25 percent of all farmers, work 9.1 million acres that bring $474 million to the state each year. More than 7,100 are principal operators.

In general, the women who run farms nationwide are older than their male counterparts, and most of the farms they run are smaller – 78 percent have sales of less than $10,000.

And the number of younger women entering farming is higher than the number of older women leaving the field, data show.

Lori Nelson used to work full-time away from the farm while she and her husband had a hog operation. Now, farming corn and beans with her husband, Mike, in rural Greenfield is her full-time job.

“This was nothing in the realm of what I thought I would be lucky enough to do,” Lori, 53, said.

She helps Mike haul water and chemicals during planting season, then drives tractors and semitrailers carrying loads of grain during harvest.

“She does handle the tractors well,” Mike said. “When we’re planting corn, she hauls seed. When we’re spraying, she pulls the water trailer. In the fall she hauls grain.

“She’s just as important as I am out here. She’s an equal partner.”

The Nelsons own 12 fields, and Lori said she admires women who run other machinery.

“I feel like the women who run the combine, they’re really involved,” she said. “I’m a town girl, so the equipment, ... I respect it. I always tell my husband as the equipment gets bigger, I respect it more.”

CONTINUED ON 37

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35

All in the family

Diagonal woman relies on family in 3 agricultural operations

BY KELSEY HAUGEN For Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Although she was raised in a family of livestock producers and has always appreciated cattle, Bonnie Larson initially thought she would take another route – perhaps working at a veterinary clinic.

But plans changed when she married Will Larson, a row crop farmer from Clearfield. The couple jumped in headfirst pursuing agriculture alongside their families.

Now, the Larsons own Werner Feed Efficiency Testing Center in Diagonal. They also are percentage owners of Werner Family Angus in Diagonal and partners in Larson Boys Farm near Clearfield. “I kind of fell into all this, but I wouldn’t change it for anything,� Bonnie, 37, said.

Bonnie was born and raised in Diagonal and has been involved with livestock her whole life. Her maternal grandfather started the herd in the 1920s. Her parents, Jim and Ann Werner, established Werner Family Angus about 40 years ago.

In 2009, Bonnie’s sister Becky Hays and her husband, Craig, built the testing facility and sold it to Bonnie and Will in 2012. It is now called Werner Feed Efficiency Testing Center.

Bonnie and Will also farm 3,500 acres near Clearfield with Will’s brothers.

All three operations are run by Larson and Werner family members. “The kids’ and the grandkids’ work ethic is great, but that’s the way they were brought up,� said Jim, 61.

Working with cattle is Bonnie’s main job, while Will does most of the farming. Some of Bonnie’s duties include

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Photos by Kelsey Haugen/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

Bonnie Larson talks to Bryce Schumann, a livestock producer from Kansas, about the cattle he brought in for 90-day testing at Werner Feed Efficiency Testing Center, which Bonnie and her husband, Will, own in Diagonal. TOP: A cow at the center eats from an individual bunk that Larson uses to measure daily food intake. It’s part of a 90-day testing process to help determine the eventual quality of the beef. testing cattle feed intake, performing carcass ultrasounds and keeping track of data. She also is office manager for the three operations.

Each year, about 800 seedstock cattle are analyzed at the testing center. “They do a great job here,� said livestock producer Bryce Schumann of Kansas, who brings in cattle for 90-day testing.

Through Werner Family Angus, the family has about 600 registered cattle and sells about 150 registered bulls each year. The Larsons also co-own about 100 commerical cattle with Bonnie’s brothers-in-law. “We get to work in God’s creation every day and see the beauty of it,� Bonnie said. “It just takes your breath away.�

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Photos by Bailey Poolman/Southwest Iowa Ag Mag

LEFT: Mike and Lori Nelson farm corn and soybeans on 12 fields in rural Greenfield. Lori once worked another full-time job while she helped Mike with a hog operation. Now, with their two sons grown, Lori works full-time on the farm. RIGHT: Tonya and Jason Green of Prescott stand atop their bright yellow combine during harvest season in Iowa. Tonya helps her husband with the crop and animal operations on a part-time basis.

CONTINUED FROM 35

While Nelson works full-time on the farm, Tonya Green spends her days feeding Creston High School students before hopping in the combine.

Green, 42, runs the combine, cares for the cows, does chores, and helps her

daughters with their sheep.

“The first year I ran the combine, a neighbor called and said, ‘Wow, you ran the combine, I heard.’

“I said, ‘Yeah.’

“He said, ‘Your dad would be awfully proud.’

That made her proud, Green said,

because she knew her husband had called someone to talk about it. “And he must have bragged me up. And then to have the neighbor call and say that, that was nice.”

Green said she enjoys being outside and running the corn during harvest.

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AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 37

This harvest, however, has been more difficult than in past years because of a tornado that struck Adams County in early August.

“That’s our business, and it brought it to a screeching halt,” Green said. “I think that’s something people don’t realize. ‘Oh, it’s all picked up.’ No. There’s no grain bin. There’s no barn.

That’s hard.”

Green and her husband have been combining corn slowly this harvest because bits of tin litter five of their fields. But that hasn’t stopped Green from enjoying her work and family time.

“The main thing is to get your spouse to balance. Farmers tend to never get away. A lot of them, they’re just always out there, and I think that’s one thing Jason and I have really tried to balance,” Green said. “But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s a great place to raise your family.”

A great victory in agriculture, said Annette Sweeney, president of Iowa Agri Women, is that men and women are equals on the farm.

Sweeney, of Alden, was a state representative from 2009 to 2013, and farms with her husband and two sons.

Women have made great strides in the industry, she said, noting that “there’s

Annette Sweeney

more gals at Iowa State University in the veterinary college than there are guys,” and that the number of women enrolling in agribusiness and STEM-related courses is steadily on the rise.

She also pays tribute to those women who choose primarily to

work the land.

“I think it’s great that people get to experience their passion, for ladies to be able to experience their passion, whether it be for what I like to call ‘dirt therapy,’ or whether they like to work with livestock. ...”

And while she’s glad to see young women taking on more ag-related careers, she does think many aren’t as cognizant as they should be of their history, and are perhaps a bit dismissive of those who came before, bearing the farm wife standard.

“One thing I see is, the young gals that are making great strides are a little bit discriminatory to us older gals who blazed the trail,” Sweeney said.

Overall, though, she’s encouraged by the change in mentality she’s seen, especially over the past 15 years or so, Sweeney said.

It’s an ever-improving landscape,

and not solely because of the women.

When she was in her late 20s, back in 1983, her dad got sick and Sweeney came home to run the farm. She had no brothers, and wasn’t yet married.

“I started buying farm equipment, and back then, if they didn’t know my dad, they wouldn’t do business with me.

Now there’s females selling equipment.”

When she and her farmer husband, David, married a few years later, “My grandma hated it that I went to work outside. My husband thought, ‘Well, she’s part of the operation’.”

And when she became the first Republican woman to lead the Iowa House Agriculture Committee, “I didn’t get the feeling [from male counterparts] that, just because she’s a girl, she doesn’t know anything about agriculture.”

That attitude – or lack thereof – happily has taken root, and spread, she said.

“The younger men, I’m going to give them kudos,” Sweeney said.

“These young guys are coming in with the mentality that she’s part of the operation, she’s not just a spouse, she’s a farmer, too. That age bracket, they get it – the wife is part of the operation.”

That’s what makes for a great partnership, she said.

“We always need both genders, because the genders are wired differently ... and when we use that difference as a tool to be productive, it can’t be beat.”

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