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Mike Mendenhall/Daily News U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, discusses federal crop insurance subsidies with Two Rivers Cooperative General Manager Tracy Gathman on Wednesday at Two Rivers’ Monroe operation. The senator met with a roundtable of roughly a dozen ag-professionals and producers for more than an hour, discussing a range of issues from free trade, infrastructure to health care.
Ernst gauges tolerance for farm insurance caps in Monroe Senator takes part in hour-long roundtable at Two Rivers By Mike Mendenhall Newton Daily News
MONROE — Staff at Two Rivers Cooperative in Monroe told U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst Wednesday any acreage payment caps on federal crop insurance put into the new farm bill could be a “major concern” in producer viability. During a one-hour round table discussion at the co-op, the Republican senator said the farm safety net is the No. 1 issue she hears about from the farm community. The Jasper County stop was the senator’s 85th on her 99 county tour. The discussion Wednesday mainly focused on agricultural issues like crop insurance, the EPA’s renewable fuel standard and concerns about the future of ag-trade related to the renegotiation of NAFTA, but Ernst and the co-op staff broadened the conversation to include health care, infrastructure spending and the current tense rhetoric in Washington, D.C.
Tracy Gathman is general manager of Two Rivers Cooperative, based in Pella. He said despite a lack of sufficient soil moister, a few timely rains in central Iowa have put Jasper County crops in a relatively healthy spot. But the farther south he travels, the quality of drought stricken crops becomes more apparent. Gathman said Iowa farmers will not have a bumper crop in 2017 to offset low grain prices, making crop insurance essential. “The future of crop insurance is vitally important,” Gathman said. “Having that safety net underneath the producer so (insurance) is viable and affordable but still able to protect our producers as we move through with the uncertainty due to the weather (is important).” Ernst sits on the Senate’s agriculture committee, which will resume hearings on the new farm bill following the August Congressional recess. Iowa’s senior U.S. Senator, Republican Chuck Grassley who also sits on that committee, has been critical on sending crop insurance payments to wealthy landowners who are not involved in the farming on their property. At the Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines earlier this month, he said crop insurance subsidies would likely be part of
the new farm bill, but capping the number of acres subsidized could help the $20 trillion federal debt. In Monroe on Wednesday, Ernst asked the round table its thoughts on payment caps to crop insurance. “Should (crop insurance) be there to protect the small, beginning family farmer? What about those guys farming 10,000 acres? What are your thoughts?” Ernst asked. Gathman sees it as a misconception that the “bigger guys” are able to afford yield and crop loss. He told Ernst larger farm operations have more invested and more risk. “Insurance coverage is insurance coverage. It doesn’t matter if you drive a $2,000 automobile or a $200,000 automobile, you’re going to pay a different premium on that based on the level of coverage you’re asking for per acre, but I don’t think a cap on acreage size dollar payments would be very fair. In many ways it would give our industry in farm cooperatives major concern from the standpoint of producer viability.” Ernst said the difficulty in negotiating the new farm bill will not come in the agriculture committee, but once it gets to the full ERNST | 3A
Two Newton men face multiple charges of second-degree sexual abuse following a investigation by the Newton Police Department. Shawn D. Cooper, 41, and Dustin W. Cooper, 39, are accused of sexually abusing a 10-yearold girl over the course of several months, according to the NPD. The two men were arrested Thursday following an investigation that began in March. Shawn Cooper is accused of D. Cooper sexually abusing the victim 16 times during the summer of 2016 at his Newton residence and at the residence of his brother, Dustin Cooper. Investigators also allege that between December 2016 and March 2017, Dustin Cooper had sexually abused the same victim five times and committed lascivious acts with the victim six times at his Newton residence. S. Cooper Dustin Cooper was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse, a class B felony, and six counts of lascivious acts with a minor a class C felony. Shawn Cooper was charged with 16 counts of second-degree sexual abuse, a class B felony. Dustin and Shawn Cooper are being held without bond at Jasper County Jail. If convicted, they both face more than 25 years in prison.
Monroe man allegedly assaults driver at stop sign in attempted burglary By Mike Mendenhall Newton Daily News MONROE — A Monroe man arrested and charged with first-degree burglary and assault allegedly tried to force his way into a vehicle while the driver sat idle at a stop sign, according to police reports filed in Jasper County District Court. Alex M. Spangenburg, 24, was arrested July 27 by Monroe police after he allegedly followed a vehicle and punched the driver twice in the face in an attempt to force his way in. The incident occurred while the vehicle sat idled at a stop sign at the intersection of Mills Spangenburg and Marion streets in Monroe. The victim told police he got out of the vehicle, where Spangenburg hit him twice more in the road. Spangenburg, formerly of Newton, is the same SPANGENBURG | 3A
A Field Day Newton students say goodbye to for farmers summer as school year begins By David Dolmage Newton Daily News GALESBURG — At the Healthy Fields Higher Yields Soil Health Field Day the message to farmers was clear — it takes more than increasing yields every year to be a good steward of the land. Farmers from across Jasper County gathered at Dale and Tana Brand’s barn near Galesburg on Thursday afternoon to learn more about soil conservation. The event, sponsored
By David Dolmage Newton Daily News
by the United States Department of Agriculture is designed to teach farmers how they can continue to increase their yields while also ensuring their practices are environmentally safe, and the land will continue to produce for generations to come. Holly Giombi, a soil conservationist with the USDA said she hoped the Field Day would help farmers be more conscious of how healthy
Tara Rice couldn’t help it — the tears started flowing as she watched her son Daniel walk into Emerson Hough Elementary on the first day of school. Daniel, 5, was starting kindergarten and it meant Rice, a stay-at-home mom had just as much adjusting to do as her son. “I was nervous, scared, and a little worried. We were together every day, all day,” Rice said. Daniel Rice is one of 260 students at Emerson Hough, which Principal Jolene Comer said was
SOIL | 3A
FIRST DAY | 3A
David Dolmage/Daily News Tara Rice helps her son Daniel, 5, with his backpack as his father, Derek Rice, takes a picture on the first day of school at Emerson Hough Elementary in Newton. See more photos on page 9A.
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