Nam1 2017 07 14

AG Mag Central Iowa

Still Standing

Jasper County 4-H maintains steady membership, carries on traditions

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Kids still love 4-H Society has changed over the years, but the Jasper County 4-H has remained steady with traditional offerings.

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Central Iowa Ag Mag file photo

James Leonard, a former 4-H member of the Jolly Workers club, prepares his sheep to be shown during the Jasper County Fair. Membership in 4-H in Central Iowa has remained steady over the years.

THEY KEEP COMING BACK 4-H membership remains steady in spite of societal challenges

T

BY KAYLA LANGMAID For Central Iowa Ag Mag

oday’s teenagers are more busy than their parents were when they were young.

Fewer kids are growing up with an interest in agriculture.

Both might be reasons for a decline in the number of kids participating in 4-H clubs and programs. So, how are 4-H programs

faring in Central Iowa?

Just fine, thank you. nnn Participation in 4-H continues to be strong in Japser County, where the organization was established in the 1920s with the purpose of teaching boys and girls sportsmanship, loyalty, self-expression and cooperation.

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4CONTINUED FROM 5 In 1927, there was the formation of a 4-H Association composed of all club members in the county, according to the Jasper County Iowa State University Extension Office.

Flash forward nine decades later, and the same traditions are being carried on by today’s Jasper County youth as a way to build leadership and creativity skills.

This summer, youths have been preparing projects and animals for the county fair – a process of hard work for 4-H members who are pursuing a blue ribbon.

This time of year means a few things for 4-H members and club leaders – humidity, showing off fair projects and spending quality time with friends and family.

Stacey Wilson, a county youth coordinator with the Iowa State University Extension Office, said there are about 375 members of the Jasper County 4-H, including children who are in kindergarten through third grade.

Boys and girls in the fourth through

12th grades are eligible to participate in as many 4-H projects as they wish.

4-H’ers in kindergarten through third grade are considered Clover Kids.

Jasper County 4-H offers 15 different clubs, each with its own historical backgrounds and traditions.

Wilson said she has been a youth coordinator for 13 years, and has seen membership remain steady. While there has been a dip in membership among middle-schoolers the past two years, there has been an increase for Clover Kids.

“I think parents can get overwhelmed some years, and we try to keep them informed,” Wilson said. “You don’t have to bring a ton of things to the fair – it can be basic. You can tailor it to your schedule.”

Wilson said there a several 4-H clubs that have remained under the same name for 20 years or more, including Poweshiek Partners in Colfax-Mingo, the Jolly Workers in Newton, Hominy Ridge in Newton, Baxter and Mingo, and the Lucky L’s in Monroe.

“The clubs don’t change frequently, but we recently added a new club called the the Jasper County Farm Hands,” Wilson said. The club was established this year in Monroe.

Jolly Workers club leader Pam Zaabel has been a leader for three years. There are 29 members in Newton and Kellogg, which has increased from its past steady number of 20.

“We have seen an increased number of Clover Kids this year; we have added nine children in that age,” Zaabel said.

She said the Jolly Workers typically keeps members until they graduate high school.

Zaabel said what makes her proud of the club members are the many citizenship projects that have become tradition, such as adopting a charity and decorating a tree at the courthouse, baking goodies for the Newton Community Theatre, and packaging meals for Meals for the Heartland.

CONTINUED ON 74

Central Iowa Ag Mag file photo

Charly Birkenholtz (left), 12, watches as her rabbit gets judged during the Jasper County Fair last year. Birkenholtz raises the rabbits on her grandma’s farm in Monroe and brought 12 of them to show at the fair.

6 Summer 2017

4CONTINUED FROM 6

Local 4-H clubs and leaders

“Last year, we adopted Homedahl Park in Kellogg and cleaned it up,” Zaabel said.

Zaabel said she is also proud of high school students who help the young kids with their annual skit.

“The skit is for all ages to interact,” Zaabel said.

The chain of retired club members returning to speak and mentor is a big part of what the Jolly Workers are all about.

“This year’s (Jasper County Fair) grand marshal, Jeannie Boettcher, was member of the Jolly Workers. She and other retired folks ... come back and speak.

It’s pretty cool,” Zaabel said.

Wilson said the season for most 4-H members starts new in the fall, and they begin to work on fresh projects.

“When the county fair gets here, it’s an opportunity for them to show off their accomplishments and to get together with friends who are out of town,” Wilson said. “It’s like one big family.”

Wilson said 4-H members she meets are always proud of their projects and excited for the county fair. She said her favorite part of being a youth coordinator is watching the kids grow and improve.

“I like the people, and I like to watch the kids go through our program and

Community Achievers – Newton Tracy Adams Hominy Ridge – Newton/Baxter/Mingo Laurie Gowdy, Jennifer Headlee, Beth Zahurones, Stacia Duncan and Kassy Shanks Jolly Workers – Newton/Kellogg Pam Zaabel and Sara Van Manen Lynn Grove Hustlers – Lynnville/Sully Lynn Dunsbergen and Cassie Bokhoeven World Changers – Newton Cheryl Ness

Sherman Sunbeams – Newton/Kellogg Jill Titus, Tiffany Lehrman and Heather Ross Prairie City Champions – Prairie City/ Monroe Daphne Emmack-Owens Jasper County Showmen – Prairie City/Colfax Lee De Vries and Denise Fick Poweshiek Partners – Colfax/Mingo Andrea Frier and Jayme Lind Kilduff Hotshots – Sully/Killduff/Reasonor Kari Kinion

Lucky L’s – Monroe Janis Davis and Karla Jordan

First Lego League Kara Warrick, Brian Ness and Beth Zahurones

Mustang Clovers – Monroe Brenda De Haai and Renae Tool Jasper County Farmhands – Monroe Rusty Gibbs and Jessica Barnett then go to college, and some come back to take on leadership roles,” Wilson said.

The beloved 4-H pledge that members chant in unison is just one of the many traditions that remains true for

Jasper County Super Clover Kids Lauri Moffitt the program.

“I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, my health to better living. For my community, my country and my world.”

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The Jasper County 4-H Gearbots, a FIRST Lego League team, were named an international semifinalist after winning the state competition in Ames.

HIGHER GEAR Jasper County 4-H Gearbots develop ‘Calf Pacifier’

BY JUSTIN JAGLER For Central Iowa Ag Mag

T

he Jasper County 4-H Gearbots are problem solvers.

Through FIRST Lego League competition, the team of 10 kids ages 10 to 14 and three coaches developed the Calf Pacifier.

A couple of team members noticed a recurring problem on their farms – cross-sucking among calves.

Cross-sucking is when bottle calves suck on each other’s ears, navels and tails. The behavior leads to bald spots, sores and illness.

The Gearbots designed the Calf Pacifier to help alleviate this problem. According to 8 Summer 2017

the team, research shows that 10 minutes of extra sucking time, beyond the bottle, can reduce cross-sucking by 75 percent. Improving the health of the calves benefits farmers, who lose profits from calves with illnesses.

After a successful regional competition and winning the Global Innovation Award, the Gearbots went on to state competition in Ames last January. At state, the team excelled and earned a trip to Washington, D.C. As one of 20 semifinalists worldwide, the Gearbots met with engineers and manufacturers in the nation’s capital last month to learn how far they can take the

Calf Pacifier. According to the team, they have built two working prototypes, researched, tested on multiple farms and filed a provisional patent.

Beth Zahurones, who has been a Gearbots coach for three years and watched all four of her kids compete in FLL, tested the Calf Pacifier at her farm. The results were encouraging. The calves took to the pacifiers, Zahurones said.

The group’s idea was spurred

by FLL’s 2016-2017 theme.

“This year’s theme is ‘Animal Allies,’ so it’s about our encounters with animals and how we can help and what we can make better,” team member Carlee Zahurones said when the team was preparing for state competition.

In addition to developing the Calf Pacifier, the team designed and built a robot that is used in FLL competitions. FLL embraces three important aspects – project, robot and core values. The pacifier served as the team’s project, and the core values revolve around team-building activities.

The Gearbots’ members are Damon Reynolds, Joshua Ness, Anneliese Wilson, Carlee Zahurones, Asher Wood, Holly Zahurones, Isaiah Wilson, Easton Klein, Caleb Ness and Isaac Altman. They are coached by Beth Zahurones, Brian Ness and Scott Wilson.

A cow makes use of the Calf Pacifier, a product designed by the Jasper County 4-H Gearbots. The team recently took the pacifier to Washington, D.C., to meet with engineers and manufacturers.

RESPECT for land and family Mingo century farm stands strong despite changes in farm industry

BY ANTHONY VICTOR REYES For Central Iowa Ag Mag

F

or more than a century, the Gannon farm in Mingo has stood tall.

William Gannon’s father worked that land, and his father before him. The farmer said much has changed since his grandfather purchased the land back in 1887.

Despite the change, he is proud to say that his childhood home and the farm land it rests on still stand tall.

“I thought it would be good to (make it a century farm),” Gannon said. “It would be respectful of my ancestors.”

William Gannon said he Anthony Victor Reyes/Central Iowa Ag Mag came from generations William Gannon poses with photos of his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents in of farmers. He said his his home in Mingo. Gannon works a century farm that was originally owned by his grandfagreat-grandfather passed ther. land down to his grandfather their father’s property. into the hay mound in the advertisement business. to get his farming career “I remember, we did a lot of barn. Fortunately, the horses “We have no animal agristarted. He then passed it farming together, exchangwere smarter than me, so culture at our place. We raise down to his father. Although ing labor with my uncles. We they knew where to go.” corn and soybeans. We are the Gannon family property thrashed together. We put Gannon said he took over grain farmers,” he said. “Cirwas sold, distributed and up hay together. We picked the family farm after his cumstances dictate how you expanded throughout the corn together,” Gannon said. father passed away in 1957. are going to do things. My years, one area that was pur“My dad was the overseer.

He said he dropped out of health is decent, but a long chased by Gannon’s grandfaMy grandpa was old. He fell Iowa State University and day of tractor riding, I get ther remained in the family and broke his hip Christmas picked up exactly where his pretty worn out. I needed to for three generations, and Eve.... He died shortly after dad left off. slow down a bit.” naturally became a century he got out of the hospital.”

“Somebody had to do it, Gannon said despite his farm in 2014.

Gannon’s father carried out and I figured I could handle children’s career paths, he “The actual deed covered his father’s legacy, continuit,” Gannon said. is optimistic about preserv160 acres. We had an abstract ing to raise livestock, priGannon said the industry ing the century farm in the that clearly showed it was marily cattle, and teaching soon changed, and to follow family, as his relative, Ross purchased by my grandfahis children how to continue suit, so, too, did practices at Gasson, and his second son, ther in 1887,” Gannon said. the family business. the farm. William served in Tim Gannon are helping him “My grandfather was highly “Their farming operations the Iowa House of Represenmanage the farm. regarded as a livestock man were very similar. They both tatives from 1965 to 1971, and “As long as we manage and farmer. He had boys and fed cattle. They both had his three children followed it and use it properly, and they all learned how to work raised corn, oats and hay,” his footsteps in politics, purdon’t go crazy and throw on the farm.” he said. “We would go over suing careers as an attorney money in places where it When he was growing up, to my grandpa’s place and under the attorney general, a shouldn’t be,” Williams said, Gannon said, his grandfather make hay. One of my earliposition in the United States “[we might] get to heritage was already at an elderly age, est jobs was driving a team Department of Agriculture, status. We will see. We will so his uncles and his dad of horses to pull the hay up and as founder of a political celebrate then.” worked together to manage

AG Mag 9

LET THE GOOD TIMES GROW Life at the county fair Throughout Iowa’s 99 counties, there is perhaps no place which defines the agriculture community more than the county fair. It showcases the devotion young 4-H’ers and FFA participants have for their animals and their family’s rural lifestyle. Parents and grandparents will camp in trailers, tents and even in the animal stalls to be there to support the kids, as well as to buy livestock to support local markets.

Here is just a snapshot of life at the 2017 Jasper County Fair.

Central Iowa Ag Mag photos by Mike Mendenhall 10 Summer 2017

AG Mag

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STAYING THE COURSE

Yield, price forecast not changing farmers’ plans

BY JAMEE A. PIERSON For Central Iowa Ag Mag

F

orecasting yields and prices associated with corn and soybean crops is a tricky process every farmer has to keep track of throughout the year.

With weather changing from season to season, different preferences for different crops, and an ever-changing market, farmers have a tall task making decisions on what to plant, how much to plant, and how to plan for future years’ crops based on current expectations

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and projected forecasts.

Recently, the trend has been for high yields and low or stagnant prices for crops. With Central Iowa having a wetter than normal spring, farmers can change their plans for planting to help any offset on yield impact.

Even with the wet spring, Chris Merten, who farms in rural Jasper County near Reasnor, said he didn’t make any changes to his planting schedule.

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Corn

$/bushel $3.35 $3.35 $3.45 $3.50 $3.55 Soybeans 2018 $9.40 2019 $9.40 2020 $9.45 2021 $9.50 2022 $9.50 *Data provided by the United States Department of Agriculture longterm projections.

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Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/Central Iowa Ag Mag

4CONTINUED FROM 12 “I, myself, did not change anything from normal,” Merten said. “I stay pretty much at 50/50, corn and soybeans.”

Merten said he does think the corn crop has been under a lot of stress already this year with the hot weather throughout the summer.

“We had a very hot first part of June, and actually the last part of May, when it was deciding the girth of the ear,” he said.

“Timing that out, it was extremely warm.”

Because of the warm weather, Merten is not as confident the yield will be where it has been the past few years.

“Now that we are pollinating, it is a little dry, and we are looking at hot weather right during the peak of pollination, so all of that together is going to effect it,” Merten said.

He does think all of the states in the Midwest are experiencing the same challenges to the corn crop, and the result will be changing yields and prices.

“In my mind, all of us are in the same boat,” Merten said. “The yield will not be there like it has been; therefore, I think that we will benefit from a bit of a higher price.”

Soybeans, on the other hand, still have an opportunity to prosper, Merten said.

If some rain and fair weather come into the forecast in the coming months, yields for soybeans should remain at their high levels.

“As far as establishing the beans, if we could catch some rain in late July and August, the bean crop will still be OK,” Merten said. “To me, it seems like they are more, the plus and minuses of the bean crop normally come in late July and August months. If you can catch some rain, a little cooler weather in there, you are probably guaranteed a better crop.”

Only time will tell if the early, wet weather and extreme temperatures will negatively affect the crop. Should the yield recede for corn, farmers could be looking at a bump in prices and profits,

while the soybean crop could stay stagnant if the weather cooperates before harvest.

The price of corn has fallen or been relatively stagnant since 2013, when the market year average was $6.89 per bushel. That figure dropped to $4.46 in 2014, $3.70 in 2015 and $3.61 last year.

The USDA estimates the current marketing year to range from $3.25 to $3.45 per bushel.

Gary Schnitkey, an agriculture economist at the University of Illinois, said the midpoint of that range is often used as a price forecast, in this case being $3.35.

The USDA projects the market year average to stay at a steady $3.35 through 2019.

“A relatively large change in supply/ demand or structural change likely is needed to get corn prices above $4 per bushel,” Schnitkey said.

The average for soybean prices is expected to grow from $8.95 to $9.40 and stay flat for the next 2 years as well.

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AG Mag

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Spreading her wings Chicken, ducks livestock of choice for Jasper County youth

BY JAMEE A. PIERSON For Central Iowa Ag Mag

W

Jamee A. Pierson/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Morgan DeHaai, 16, holds one of her 25 chickens she has on her rural Jasper County farm. Along with chickens, DeHaai also raises ducks and shows them at the county fair.

hen talking about livestock, most people think of sheep, pigs and cattle roaming in their pens and fields.

Sixteen-year-old Morgan DeHaai has taken a more non-traditional route by also raising ducks and chickens at her rural Jasper County farm.

“I’ve always admired them,” DeHaai said. “In sixth grade, I got my first few chickens, and it has just grown from there. Now, I’m up to 25 birds and wanting more.”

DeHaai said she does not bring her chickens to market but does sell them for breeding purposes. She also collects eggs from both her chickens and ducks during their two- to three-year laying period.

“Duck eggs are just like a chicken egg, just double the size,” DeHaai said.

In order to show in several categories at the Jasper County Fair and because she likes them, DeHaai has a variety of breeds of chickens on her farm. Some of the breeds include Crele Old English Bantam, Phoenix, Silver Polish, Ameraucana

and Black Jersey Giant.

Also on the farm are a trio of ducks named Phil, Phyllis and Fiona. The 2- and 3-year-old birds can be more like pets with their love of going on leashed walks and dressing up in duck-sized hats and clothes.

“They are just like a dog or a cat, we feed and water them every day to care for them,” DeHaai said. “They eat store-bought food but also eat most grains and then also pick up small pebbles and rocks to help process their food.”

For show, DeHaai said she likes to wash them, and prior to the contest applies baby oil to their feathers. Unlike some farm animals, showing ducks and chickens is a fairly hands off process.

“Ducks, you just leave them in the pen and a judge comes and looks at them,” DeHaai said. “Chickens, you take up to a table, put them in a pen and the judge looks at them. You don’t have to handle them as much as other animals.”

DeHaai hopes to continue growing her flock and learning more about the animals on her farm as she continues as a member of the Diamond Trail FFA.

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REASON TO WORRY? Trump’s budget blueprint includes deep ag cuts, but local farmers and ag experts still cautiously optimistic

T

BY PAM EGGEMEIER AND MIKE MENDENHALL For Central Iowa Ag Mag

he staunch support of agriculture last November helped put Donald Trump in the White House, but the president’s first proposed budget could have farmers rethinking their decision.

The president says he can balance the federal budget in 10 years, and his proposed 2018 budget would hit agriculture hard.

The proposed cuts include 21 percent to the Department of Agriculture, 36 percent to crop insurance, and $50 billion to ag subsidies in the next decade.

The USDA’s Rural Development programs would stand to lose $477 million in the Trump budget.

CONTINUED ON 164

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AG Mag

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4CONTINUED FROM 15 Those programs bring funds to rural America for everything from infrastructure and technology upgrades to grants and loans for economic development and home purchases. The technology program has brought broadband services to an estimated 6 million Americans in rural areas.

While the proposed ag cuts are severe, most of the responsibility for drawing up federal budgets falls to Congress.

Early in the process, it appears farmers can again count on lawmakers to protect their interests.

The House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee met in late June, producing a bill that basically ignored all of the proposed ag cuts.

“The presidents’ budgets are just a blueprint that says here are the administration’s policy priorities,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development at the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Congress will do what it wants based on what it hears from its constituents.”

Nielsen said the overriding message in the Trump budget is that enough domestic cuts must be made to carry out the president’s promise to build up the military. Although Trump has proposed a $54 billion increase to the defense budget, it falls short of expectations. The House and Senate Armed Services committees want an additional $37 billion designated for the military.

Nielsen said many cuts, including to commodities programs, can be made only in the next farm bill. Hearings for reauthorizing the new bill have started in the ag committees of both chambers.

The current version expires in September 2018. In the 2014 farm bill, $23 billion was cut from the Ag Department over a 10-year period.

“Spending for subsidies is mandatory, but with the next farm bill there will be some pressure to keep what we have,” Nielsen said.

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Jasper County row crop and livestock producer Roger Zylstra, also an Iowa Corn Growers Association representative, discusses cover crop usage on his Kellogg farm in 2015. Industry leaders in Iowa are cautiously watching new ag policy as it trickles out from the Trump administration in Washington, D.C. While Nielsen said he is encouraged by what he’s hearing about ag spending in Congress, the fact remains that the Trump budget has pared more than 4 times the amount the farm lobby expected from ag. The deep cuts aren’t the best way of thanking farmers for their votes.

“The president had a lot of support from farmers, and I think this proposed budget and some other actions have taken them by surprise,” Nielsen said.

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watches the quality of his crops closely, to ready the fields for a September field day for customers.

Many of the farmers McLaughlin meets are loosely following the new administration’s agriculture policies, and are adopting a “wait-and-see” approach, he said.

Meanwhile, ag industry professionals are cautiously optimistic about the USDA under Trump .

Wade Kent is a Central Iowa field agronomist with Beck’s Hybrids based in Colfax. Kent took a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., in July with the National Corn Growers Association to meet with lawmakers, USDA and administration officials.

CONTINUED ON 174

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4CONTINUED FROM 16 Kent said there appeared to be confidence in Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue and the team he’s developing at USDA. But the proposed budget cuts are a concern of farmers and ag professionals in the fields.

Cuts to federal corp insurance, Kent said, could hurt farmers in markets with low-profit margins. One drought or natural disaster could spell a disastrous year.

Kent said if funding cuts to agricultural programs move forward, like the proposed 21 percent cut to the USDA, it could have ripple effects across the industry.

“Crop insurance may look like an expensive program, but farmers also have a lot of skin in the game,” Kent said.

Take the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program as an example. This program provides incentives to farmers to keep specific fields out of production for environmental reasons. Reducing payments to farmers from the CRP, the agronomist cautions, would likely bring fields back into production that shouldn’t be due to suitability issues and other environment factors.

“The CRP has done a really good job. Urban populations are also going to see benefits from improved water quality to restoring habitats.” Kent said. “(With CRP) Farmers are really doing something that really benefits everyone.”

Roger Zylstra is a Lynnville farmer who is also the District 5 representative for the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

He, too, was in Washington in July. He is the vice chair-

person of Iowa Corn’s Stewardship Action Team, which emphasizes conservation and a working land program.

Zylstra said Iowa Corn would like to see more of a push from the federal government in cover crop and no-till initiatives, which help prevent chemical and topsoil runoff.

Funding cuts could hurt those efforts.

Both Zylstra and Kent said farmers are also worried about U.S. free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, being canceled in favor of bilateral trade deals.

Farmers are worried the U.S. could lose some of its biggest importing and exporting partners, like Mexico.

“Updating NAFTA is OK, but doing away with it would do harm to agriculture in Iowa,” Zylstra said. “We’re disappointed in the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It could give Europe such an open window, I don’t know if we’ll have time to catch up.”

Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the TransPacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement. Farmers heard the talk during the

campaign, but hoped much of it was just rhetoric and the U.S. wouldn’t walk away from the pacts. One-third of the nation’s farm income is generated by exports.

Trump has started negotiations with Mexico, but has threatened to leave NAFTA if the U.S. doesn’t get what it wants. In the past 15 years, Mexico’s imports of U.S. commodities have increased by 50 percent. Japan recently vaulted past Mexico to become the biggest buyer of U.S. corn, but Mexico’s imports of American corn still totaled $2.6 billion last year.

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AG Mag

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Photos by Anthony Victor Reyes/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Nancy Woody, owner Nancy’s Canned Creations in Colfax, helps a customer at the Prairie City Farmers Market.

IT’S HER JAM

Nancy’s Canned Creations jams unique flavors with natural ingredients

T

BY ANTHONY VICTOR REYES For Central Iowa Ag Mag

ypically when you think of natural jams, preserves and jellies, you might not think of flavors like carrot cake, moonshine and Mountain Dew. But that is exactly what Nancy’s Canned Creations makes.

With 100 to 105 different flavors, the jam business based in Colfax offers several unique flavors made with fresh produce grown in Jasper County.

“We grow raspberries, grapes, rhubarb, currants, choke cherries, cherries, black raspberries and hot peppers. We grow that all ourselves,” said Nancy Woody of Nancy’s Canned Creations. “It takes a lot of time. You come home from work, you pick the fruit, you get it all cleaned, and you get it ready to make it into jam.”

Nancy said she started making preserves as a challenge to her neighbor in 1992. Her neighbor made apple jelly, and she thought she could replicate her success.

“I thought, ‘That looks interesting.’ I tried it and failed miserably,” she said. “I kept doing it ’til I got it right. Not a lot of people do what I do. Making jelly is a lot of hard work. It is time consuming.”

CONTINUED ON 194

18 Summer 2017

According to the owner, Nancy’s Canned Creations’ jams, jellies and butters are made mostly with ingredients grown in Jasper County.

4CONTINUED FROM 18

Concord Grape Jelly

Slowly after a lot of trial and error, testing unique recipes and gifting her successes to friends and family, the Colfax resident decided to turn this hobby into a passion in 1997, and sell her tasty jams, jellies and butters at nearby farmers markets and at local events, like Mineral Springs Day. “When my oldest son was about 15, he said, ‘Mom, our friends have enough. Why don’t you try selling it?’ It never dawned on me that I could sell it,” Woody said. “It gives me a sense of pride. I take it from a fruit and make it into something that will last long and that people will enjoy, and is good for you. You can pronounce everything on the label. I can tell you everything I use.”

Although her Mountain Dew jams contain, well, actual Mountain Dew, most of her canned jams, butters and jellies are made with ingredients grown on her twothird acre property in Colfax or purchased from local vendors. Woody said she does this because she takes pride in making sure she knows exactly where all the ingredients in her canned creations come from.

“If you buy it in a store, you may not even know if it was grown in the United States, and you have know idea what kind of chemicals they have put on it,” she said.

She said this extra effort is important.

From making one batch at a time to using pretty much every part of the ingredients she uses for her preserves, she is able to put a special, individual touch in every jar of jelly, butter or jam she makes.

“The taste is much better. It is not dried out from the grocery store,” Woody said.

“My favorite flavor that I make is lemon.

I like to brown an English muffin, put a little lemon jam on there, and it is just like eating a slice of lemon pie. As good but not nearly as many calories.”

She said she typically participates in Newton’s farmers markets on Tuesdays from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Altoona’s on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Prairie City’s on Thursdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., and Ankeny’s on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

5 cups Concord grape juice, about 3-1/2 lb.

1 1/2 cups water 1 box Fruit Pectin 6 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl Add pectin to juice and bring to a boil. Add sugar and return to boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, remove from heat, skim off foam. Ladle into clean sterilized jars, wipe top of jar with a damp paper towel. Put on lids and rings and put into a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove from canner and set on towel until set.

Broiled Salmon with Pineapple-Jalapeno Jam 4 5-oz. salmon fillets 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/4 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper 1 tsp. chili powder 1 8-oz. jar of Nancy’s Canned Creations Pineapple-Jalapeno Jam 3 tbsp. chopped green onion 1/4 c. chopped red bell pepper 1 tsp. packed brown sugar 1 tbsp. lemon juice Directions 1. Place salmon fillets skin-side-down on a greased broiler pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine salt, black pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle evenly over salmon fillets.

3. Broil 6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

4. Meanwhile, combine Nancy’s Canned Creations Pineapple-Jalapeno jam, onion, bell pepper, brown sugar and lemon juice.

5. Serve salmon topped with Nancy’sCanned Creations Pineapple-Jalapeno jam mixture.

Peachy Pork 1 1/2-pound boneless pork loin, cubed 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning 2 cups salsa 1/2 of a jar of Nancy’s Canned Creations Peach Jam Season pork with taco seasoning. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add seasoned pork and saute until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add salsa and peach preserves and mix well. Cover skillet and reduce heat. Let simmer gently for about 10 minutes and serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

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