NAM

AG Mag Central Iowa

Field trips Agritourism brings visitors, revenue to Central Iowa farms GLASS HALF EMPTY? Local farmers aren’t as pessimistic as those in a national survey FAIR FORECAST: Jasper County Fair bucking national trend

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Summer 2016 AG Mag

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Index

AG Mag Central Iowa

Publisher Dan Goetz Advertising Director Jeff Holschuh Managing Editor Abigail Pelzer Magazine Editor Jeff Rogers Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Jason W. Brooks, Kate Malott, Philip Marruffo, Mike Mendenhall, Alex Olp, Alex T. Paschal, Jamee A. Pierson, Jermaine Pigee, and Angel Sierra

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Published by News Publishing Co. 200 First Avenue East Newton, IA 50208 641-792-3121 Articles and advertisements are the property of News Publishing Co. No portion of the Central Iowa Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of News Publishing Co. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, News Publishing Co. cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. News Publishing Co. cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

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Index 8

PHOTO STORY

Lois Reichert turns the milk from dairy goats at DairyAir Farm into some of the most tasty cheese imaginable.

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A national survey shows farmers more pessimistic than ever. How do local farmers feel?

Most county fairs across the country are struggling. So, what’s working in Jasper County?

17

PAGE 12

Early to rise Jerod DeVries, 19, dreams of the day he’ll take over the family farm in Jasper County. Until then, there’s a lot of daily work to be done.

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OH, HOW THEY LIKE THEM APPLES! Hinegardner Orchard at forefront of growing agritourism trend

BY JASON W. BROOKS AND RACHEL RODGERS For Central Iowa Ag Mag

W

hen Dave and Julie Hinegardner host their annual “Cider Day” at their Montour farm, the enthusiasm level is usually pretty high.

So are the expectations, however, as some families have waited months or even years to make it to the event, held the second Sunday in October at Hinegardner Apple Orchard. It really helps to have great weather and to have all machinery cooperating, but the Hinegardners have overcome all sorts of hurdles through the years as customers pick their own apples and

6 Summer 2016

watch it get made into cider.

“We are starting to see adults who were first brought out to the farm by their grandparents, who are now bringing their own children to the farm,” Julie Hinegardner said. nnn The farm is actually open much of the year, and customers show up to pick their own fruit during the appropriate cycles, as that year’s crop permits. Strawberries are usually ready the first week of June, followed by raspberries in mid-July, cantaloupes and plums in August, and apples, squash and pumpkins in September.

CONTINUED ON 74

4CONTINUED FROM 6 Dave Hinegardner gave a recent tour that showed weeding being done around the just-picked strawberry plants and the about-to-be-ripe raspberries. He also showed how many varieties of apple trees are grown on both the hilly and flat parts of their orchard, which was started

by Dave’s father, Oris, in 1960.

The Hinegardners also market their fruit and vegetables at farmers markets in Des Moines and Grinnell, as well as at local Fareway and Hy-Vee groceries. The couple also farms land and raises cattle as other components of their income.

“The rewarding part for me is making people happy,” Dave said. “I’d say 99 percent of the people who come out here leave very happy from the experience and with what they’re taking home.”

The Hinegardners are part of a growing national trend in agriculture – agritourism.

Part of the void left as family farms have been replaced by large-scale operations is being filled by agritourism, as people look to have a “farm experience” they might have once been able to have by visiting friends or family.

The agritourism concept was first

defined as any operation or event that draws individuals to a farm or ranch site, but the term has evolved in the past several years to encompass a wide range of activity.

Expanding from farm tours and interactive visits, the term can also apply to off-site features such as farmers markets and restaurants that incorporate local produce.

The theme that connects all of these practices together is the common goal of sowing a degree of the “farm experience” onto others.

“I am finding that the more our area moves away from being dominated by family farms – which are being replaced by mega dairy, hog or beef production facilities – the more interest there is in having the farm experience, whether it’s by visiting a farmers market or attending the county fair to see the farm animals,” said Diane Bausman, executive director of Blackhawk Waterways in northwest Illinois.

The agritourism boom began about 10 years ago with the local food movement to connect consumers with producers in their region and focus on feeding into the local economy, said Diane Handley, agritourism specialist

and affiliate association manager at Illinois Farm Bureau.

From 2007 to 2012, net cash income of farming operations increased in Jasper (27 percent), Polk (40 percent), Marshall (65 percent) and Powershiek (108 percent) counties, according to the latest Census of Agriculture data.

The jump in income could be attributed in part to a resurgence in agriculture growth following the local food movement during the past decade, Handley said.

“I honestly think that agritourism is only going to continue to grow along with the local food movement hand in hand,” she said. “It’s all come down to this snowballing effect from the local food movement.”

The agritourism industry has resulted in farmers adding more features and events to draw visitors, whether they have owned property across generations or are just starting out, Handley said.

“People want that connection with farmers, and agritourism builds that trust factor, which is crucial,” said Matt Lillpop, executive director of Whiteside County Farm Bureau in northwest Illinois. “It goes beyond the financial reward you may gain; it reflects positively on the industry as a whole.”

Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Hinegardner Orchard in Montour offers far more than apples. Dave Hinegardner looks over cantaloupe plants in one of his fields.

AG Mag

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Photos by Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Lois Reichert cuts off a small sample of one of her gourmet goat cheeses she makes using the milk from her goat farm, Reichert’s DairyAir Farm, located near Knoxville.

A decade in the DairyAir Lois Reichert’s goats help her create gourmet cheese

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BY JASON W. BROOKS Central Iowa Ag Mag

ois Reichert does have some help, from time to time, managing the dairy goats and all that goes with them.

However, much of the time, Reichert’s DairyAir Farm, located southwest of Knoxville, is a one-woman job for Reichert – seven days a week.

“From feeding to milking to making cheese, there’s a lot to it,” Reichert said. “But it’s very rewarding.”

At no point does Reichert’s goat cheese business look more rewarding than when she climbs into the pen with her does. No matter what else is going on beforehand, the goats race up to her with their soft snouts and nuzzling ways.

Reichert keeps between 15 and 20 dairy goats at her farm, using their milk to make some of the most finely crafted, controlled, tasty cheese imaginable.

CONTINUED ON 94

8 Summer 2016

Reichert said the goats at DairyAir Farm are very affectionate.

CONTINUED FROM 8 While the grind of caring for the goats, creating product and getting to customers is tough at times, Lois and her husband, Jack, a full-time psychologist, are now in the 10th year in the business. Jack’s schedule, however, limits him to procuring hay and other general farm duties.

There also are David and Wendy Johnson, a couple Lois Reichert greatly appreciates for their help with the farm as part-time employees, and others come to the Reicherts’ aid. But much of the responsibility for keeping the business rolling falls on the primary caretaker/cheesemaker/delivery coordinator.

The Des Moines Farmers Market is the Reicherts’ primary destination for the dairy’s cheese – Reichert isn’t authorized by the state health department to produce any other products – but there are other retailers that carry the product.

“You’ve got to have some backup plans,” she said.

Reichert is particular about what grains and grasses are fed to her goats, as well as how they’re milked and how they’re housed and nurtured. The milk storage is done in metal containers sitting in a tub of controlled-temperature cold water, and the cheese-making part of the barn is kept as free of contaminants as possible.

The Reicherts don’t do a great deal of agritourism, as the small crew on duty

Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Lois Reichert shows some of the chores required at her DairyAir goat farm. at the family farm isn’t really set up to host visitors on a daily basis. It’s best to call ahead and check the schedule; a recent weekday included a morning delivery run to Des Moines.

The fall Farm Crawl, an annual tour of eight Knoxville-area farms, brings thousands of visitors to the dairy each year, and annual trade-association events are criti-

cal. Reichert said it’s important to think of the welfare of her goats at all times; they typically live about 14 or 15 years.

Reichert said it’s important to teach children the importance of small farms; school groups regularly visit her farm.

“Some don’t realize how much work it is to run one,” she said. “Others have never even been out in the country.”

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MADE FRESH Bandstra brothers become master cheese makers

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BY KATE MALOTT For Central Iowa Ag Mag

ocated just east of Pella is Frisian Farms Cheese House, a new dairy farm where visitors can learn the cheese-making process and try samples of various Gouda cheeses.

Frisian Farms is owned and operated by brothers Mike and Jason Bandstra, who grew up on a small dairy farm south of Pella.

While Mike studied dairy science at Iowa State University and became a herd manager at Horizon Organic Dairy in Maryland, Jason bought bottle calves, grew a small herd and began milking.

It wasn’t long before they decided to join forces toward becoming master cheese makers.

The two began learning the art and science of Gouda cheese making as a homage to their Dutch heritage and local Dutch community. nnn Gouda is a semi-hard cheese named after a Dutch town in the province of South-Holland and accounts for more than 60 percent of the cheese produced in the Netherlands.

CONTINUED ON 114

Photos courtesy of Frisian Farms

Mike and Jason Bandstra made Frisian Farms Gouda cheeses for six years before demand for their products led the building of Frisian Farms Cheese House east of Pella in 2015.

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The Bandstras’ operation began as a dairy. The brothers soon dreamed of a way to add value to the dairy – making cheese.

They worked with a Dutch cheesemaker to learn authentic techniques and the process developed hundreds of years ago.

After six years of perfecting the Gouda cheese making process, the brothers built the Frisian Farms Cheese House to meet their growing product needs.

Today, cheese fans come from all over to see how Gouda is made and try many varieties of Gouda cheese, including the Bandstra’s newest flavor, Horseradish Cranberry.

Other Gouda cheeses available include: Curds, Young (2 to 3 months, smooth and mild), Aged (12 to 18 months, full flavor), Sneek (1,000 days, bold flavor), Smoked, Provence (seven herbs of Provence), Black Pepper, Cumin, Italian (sun-dried tomatoes and garlic), Bacon and Hot Chile.

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Gouda and Apple Cinnamon Swirl Grilled Cheese

Ingredients 2 slices cinnamon swirl bread 2 slices Frisian Farms Gouda 5 slices Granny Smith or Jonagold apples 1 tablespoon prepared caramel sauce 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or coconut oil

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4. Flip the sandwich, giving the skillet a shake to distribute the melting butter or oil, then cover and cook until golden brown on the second side, another two minutes.

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AG Mag

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MORNING

19-year-old works toward day he takes over family farm

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very day by 7 a.m., 19-yearold Jerod DeVries is wading through ankle deep mud and manure, spreading buckets of grain feed through the cow troughs on his family’s Central Iowa farm.

While his dad, John, takes the four-wheeler out to tend to the pasture cattle, DeVries takes care of the remainder of their roughly 70 cows in the enclosure. Then he moves to his show calves, which he’s preparing for competition at the upcoming Jasper County and Iowa State fairs.

But his first stop of the day is the chicken coops inside their red and white stripped barn along Highway 117, halfway between Colfax and Prairie City in Jasper County.

Both Jerod and his 15-year-old brother, Jordon, are members of Diamond Trail FFA. They each have 50 birds, including pullets, broilers and layers. Jerod’s chickens have won champion honors at the Jasper County Fair, and 15-year-old Jordon – who is also the president of the Jasper County Showmen 4-H chapter – has earned a reserve champion ribbon.

For Jerod, morning chores go beyond a parental mandate. The 2015 Prairie City-Monroe High School graduate has his sights set on the family business, and wants to position himself to take over the family farm when his father – in his mid-50s – one day retires.

Photos by Mike Mendenhall for Central Iowa Ag Mag 12 Summer 2016

Jerod walks through a barn corridor toward the farm’s steer enclosure.

ABOVE: John DeVries rides off on his four-wh show chickens at their rural Colfax farm. RIG RIGHT: About a dozen cows wait at the fence for feed on the DeVries family farm on Highway 117. The DeVries family keeps 65 to 70 head of cattle.

LEFT: Feeding cattle is one of the daily chores.

Jerod starts his morning chores around 6 or 7 a.m. daily.

CHORES A young broiler chicken gets ready to eat on the DeVries family farm in west central Jasper County. Jerod has his broiler chickens on a strict feeding program. He and his 15-year-old brother, Jordon, raise about 100 chickens per year.

s four-wheeler to check on the pasture cattle as son Jerod, 19, stays behind to feed his 50 arm. RIGHT: DeVries doesn’t get only his hands dirty during his morning chores. Here, his boots are covered in mud and cow manure.

A tiny, nearly newborn calf peaks around the corner as DeVries details the ill animal’s bloody stools.

DeVries said he’ll have to “doctor” it to make sure the issue isn’t serious.

AG Mag

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‘Some of the leaner times we’ve seen’

Philip Marruffo/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Tim Fassler moves his combine to its resting place as he calls it a day last fall. Tim and his brother, Mark, were working a corn field off Mound Hill Road between Sterling and Dixon in northwest Illinois.

Central Iowa farmers share some of the national pessimism

BY JAMEE A. PIERSON AND JERMAINE PIGEE For Central Iowa Ag Mag

F

armers are generally optimistic by nature. But a tough economic environment has clouded that sunny disposition.

According to a national agriculture confidence index, American farmers were more pessimistic about the industry’s future when the year began than at any point since the survey began in 2010.

The DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index showed

that low commodities prices, continuing high input costs, and low income projections have shaken farmers’ confidence.

“Farmers have never felt worse about their current financial situation in the history of the DTN Ag Confidence Index,” said the index’s creator and agriculture economist, Robert Hill. “It’s declined precipitously from where it was at this time last year, and it was at a low point then, too.

“Not only have crop producers reached these new lows this year, but

now the livestock producers have joined them. It’s ugly all around, and not expected to turn around within the next 12 months.”

DTN surveys 500 agricultural producers before planting, before harvest, and after harvest each year to gauge farmers’ attitudes at key times in the crop cycle. The reading of the index in March was 91.5, compared to 99.4 in August 2015 and 103.4 in December 2014.

CONTINUED ON 164

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We’ve went through some depressing times in the market earlier this year, then it picked up and has since retreated. So, you try to be optimistic, but the markets are on everybody’s mind.

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Right now at this point in time, I am pessimistic because we are on a downhill trend of crop prices and livestock is trending down also.

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AG Mag

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Mike Keuning, who farms in the Monroe area, said those who are pessimistic about the future of agriculture probably gave too much cash rent or input cost, or spent too much on machinery.

Chad Conover, who owns Conover Seeds and farms in the Sully area, said “no one is making much money in farming right now.”

4CONTINUED FROM 14 An index value of 100 is considered neutral, while higher values indicate optimism and lower values reflect pessimism.

A majority of those surveyed said input prices were bad, and more than 50 percent said they think inputs and incomes will be the same in a year.

“Farmers are facing some hard economic realities,” Hill said.

It’s no different in Central Iowa, where farmers also have felt a pinch in the pocket book. Area farmers have been taking different approaches to combat low commodity prices, ongoing high input cost and low income projections.

“It’s true. Profitability is difficult right now,” said Chad Conover, who owns Conover Seeds and farms in the Sully area.

“A lot of it is land costs are extremely high, so cash rents have not come.

When we had $6 and $7 corn, cash rents rose quite quickly, and now that we have $3 and $2 corn, cash rents have not gone [down] near as fast. When rent is still high, it is hard to make a profit.”

Conover said the impact nearby has not been substantial, but he has heard times are not as good farther south.

“You can kind of see, not so much in this immediate area, but further south with the larger auction companies you have seen some forced sales. It just really tells you it is not there,” Conover said.

“No one is making much money farming right now. I don’t think we are quite in the mid-’80s crisis, but this is some of the leaner times we have seen in 20 or 30 years.”

Monroe area farmer Mike Keuning agrees that times are a little harder, but said if you have prepared, you can weather the storm.

“I’m not real pessimistic about [the] ag outlook,” he said.

Iowa rain G ystems

S

Keuning said pessimism is largely self-inflicted by those who gave too much cash rent or input cost, or who spent too much on machinery.

“Our feed lot stays full pretty much all of the time. We didn’t acquire any additional cash rent,” he said. “It appeared that farming was going to get a lot better and stay a lot better, but now that we have come back to more of a reality, I guess, we didn’t do a lot of changes on the upside and we aren’t doing a lot of changes on the downside.”

Keuning and Conover agreed that the business can be cyclical, and with the bad times come the good.

“You have to be somewhat optimistic to be in this business,” Conover said.

“Everything cycles. It quits raining, and we cut the crop size down a lot. We’ll get some high grain prices, and people will probably be a little more optimistic. It can change in a matter of weeks, but it can take years at the same time.”

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Visitors to last year’s Lee County 4-H Fair in Illinois watch swine judging.

Alex T. Paschal/Central Iowa Ag Mag

In fair condition

County fair organizers try to stay fresh, cater to non-ag crowd

C

BY MIKE MENDENHALL For Central Iowa Ag Mag

ounty fairs in Iowa and across the nation have been fighting to avoid becoming victims of the time. Keeping county fairs relevant in modern society is one of the hardest tasks for the predominately rural, agricultural based events.

But Jasper County fair volunteer Rhonda Guy said what brings success to this Central Iowa fair is the people.

“We’re a rural county, and that gives us old-school family traditions,” Guy said. “And the fair is one of them.” nnn Guy and the Jasper County Fair Board members travel to different county fairs throughout Iowa every year to see trends – what is working, and what is not. Guy said some fairs have problems with attendance. One fair she recently visited had only 18 open class entries.

CONTINUED ON 184

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AG Mag

17

CONTINUED FROM 17 The fair in Jasper County is celebrating its 30th year of open class exhibiting and has had consistent participation from year to year.

Even as some 4-H and FFA programs around the state are working to retain and gain new members, Jasper County, “has it figured out,” Guy said.

“We’re always working at grow because, as the saying goes, if you don’t change with the times you’re going to be left behind.”

It’s also tough for rural county fairs to draw more people due to lower population bases. Guy said county fairs in Polk and Warren counties have the major metropolitan area of Des Moines and the larger town of Indianola from which to draw attendees.

For Jasper County volunteers, growth is not necessarily looked at through expansion but by bettering the quality of attractions.

Family oriented events such as a rodeo, baby review contest and Muttin’ Bustin’ in the Jasper County Fair Round Up preview event – now in its second year – is also a way for rural counties to bring in attendance from a wider area.

But there as certain issues which are out of the control of county fair organizers. An outbreak of Avian Influenza caused the state to issue a blanket ban on exhibiting live birds in 2015.

According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture, the state saw 77 sites and more than 31.5 million poultry units affected by the epidemic.

Renae and Dan Tool have been the poultry superintendents of the Jasper County Fair for three years, and their family has been raising birds for nearly 20 years.

Renae said she believes the absence of poultry affected the attendance of last year’s county fair.

“There were a lot of families that we didn’t see 18 Summer 2016

Mike Mendenhall/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Cooper Fritch, of Mitchellville, is bucked off a T&C Rodeo Company sheep in the horse pavilion at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Colfax during last year’s fair. The Jasper County Fair has implemented all-family events in recent years such as Muttin’ Bustin’ to draw a more diverse crowd.

The economic impact of ag fairs In 2015, the University of Illinois released a report detailing the economic impact agricultural fairs have on local communities. Among its findings: • The 2014 county agricultural fair program produced an estimated statewide economic impact of $90 million and supported a total of 1,000 jobs. In other words, if county agricultural fairs were eliminated, the state would see a loss of $90 million in economic activity, as well as a loss of 1,000 jobs.

• In 2014, the Illinois Department of Agriculture appropriated $5.1 million for county fairs. It is estimated the state’s return is 18 times greater than its original investment in 2014.

• During the summer of 2014, it was estimated that $170 million was spent as a result of the county fairs. Of that $170 million, an estimated $90 million in transactions occurred directly within the state economy.

• County fairs in the Northern Zone generated an estimated economic impact of $44 million, an economic impact of $17 million in the Central Zone, and an economic impact of $12 million in the Southern Zone.

• Small fairs generate an average estimated economic impact of $315,000; medium fairs generate $900,000; and large fairs generate $3 million.

last year that we normally would,” she said.

But the state lifted the ban Jan. 1, and poultry will return to most Iowa fairs this year. As of the May 16 deadline, Renae said, exhibitors had registered 202 birds for this year’s county fair. This is above average. According to the Iowa State University Extension Office in Newton, the fair usually sees 150 to 175 birds registered.

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Following Flat Aggie Farm traveler teaches kids about agriculture, food sources

C

BY ANGEL SIERRA For Central Iowa Ag Mag

orn and soybeans are typical scenery on Northern Illinois farms, but farming other regions of the state can be different – across the country even more so.

To help show children and students where their food comes from, a printed cutout aptly named “Flat Aggie” becomes the teacher.

“Sometimes it’s a boy and sometimes it’s a girl,” said Katie Pratt, 38, of Dixon, Illinois. “This year it was a girl.”

Pratt, who for 4 years has been the agriculture literacy coordinator for Lee County Ag in the Classroom, was inspired by the 1964 children’s book, “Flat Stanley,” featuring main character Stanley Lambchop as a flattened boy who takes incredible adventures.

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Follow along To find out more about Flat Aggie’s travels or to sign up to host, go to Katie Pratt’s blog at theillinoisfarmgirl.com and click on the Aggie tab at the top. Farmers also can go to talesofakansasfarmmom.blogspot. com to contact Nicole Small, Pratt’s counterpart in Kansas, whom she partners with for the project.

“Farmer Math,” which is modeled

by Small after the bedtimemath.org blog, adds arithmetic questions to go along with Aggie’s field report, and is a fun supplemental resource for educators.

Photo courtesy Small Family Farm in Kansas

Flat Aggie reports from a Kansas farm that grows corn, soybeans, and corn, among other things, and raises cattle. Aggie is pictured here with Zimi, Zeke and Zane, who help to herd the cattle.

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Photo courtesy of Ewoldt’s Farm in Muscatine

Flat Aggie reports from a pig farm in Muscatine earlier this year. The printed cutout visited 13 farms in 9 states during the 201516 school year.

4CONTINUED FROM 19 Pratt saw the idea and immediately wanted in, using the power of social media to connect with ag blogger Nicole Small of Kansas, who already had been up and running since 2013.

Pratt, who grew up around Northern Illinois farms, launched the next year.

“We thought it would be cool to bring to the classrooms in Lee County ... to help close the loop on how food ends up on your table,” Pratt said.

Teachers like it because it’s a lesson in itself, and they receive an update from

Aggie every 2 weeks during the school year, she said.

Aggie has visited a strawberry production farm in Indiana, a sunflower farm in Canada, a mushroom farm in Oklahoma, an alpaca farm in New York, a goat farm in California, a fish farm in southern Illinois, and even a maple-syrup sugarmaker in the thumb of Michigan, among many other places.

She was seen at 13 locations this past school year across 9 states, and 14 farms and ranches the previous year.

A 500- to 700-word report is written by host families about Aggie’s experience

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on their farm. Photos are important, too, Pratt said, and no detail is too small.

From sunsets to meals to pickling methods, hosts document as much about the farm life and food growing process as possible, she said, making sure to include agronomic and geographic information, such as soil type (sand or clay?), or whether the land is flat or hilly.

“It’s really fun for us, [and] it’s really exciting,” Pratt said. “It’s exciting to share with students and teachers who only see corn and soybeans.”

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Jaci Reeves holds a hen during an Ag in the Classroom presentation to elementary school students visiting Reeves’ Newton High School campus. Reeves graduated as one of her class’s valedictorians and with a host of college scholarships.

Jason W. Brooks/ Central Iowa Ag Mag

The future is now for this leader

Long list of honors for NHS grad

BY JASON W. BROOKS Central Iowa Ag Mag

When listing the accomplishments and awards won by certain high school seniors at a large event, it’s easy to look around and see raised eyebrows, hear a few utterances of the word “wow” and maybe even “The same kid did all that?”

That’s the kind of reaction the list of accolades garners when it’s about 2016 Newton High School student Jaci Reeves. In both academics and agriculture, Reeves showed why she seems destined for a career that includes helping others and improving the quality of life for those around her.

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4CONTINUED FROM 21 After earning the Jasper County Fair Queen title in 2015, Reeves went on to have a senior year that showed she was about far more than raising a few animals. She finished her senior year with a number of awards and scholarships.

Most prominently, perhaps, was Reeves earning an Iowa FFA “Degree” and being named as one of the NHS Class of 2016 valedictorians.

In the fall, Reeves will study animal science at Northwest Missouri State University.

The state FFA degree was bestowed upon Reeves and four other Newton High School students at a ceremony in Ames in April.

Jacob Smith, Logan Zaabel, Brian Bleakney, and Bridget Carson joined her.

The “degree” is given to the small number of students who complete a list of requirements that emphasizes project planning and completion and being of service to the community.

“It’s a real honor,” Reeves said. “This kind of acknowledgment allows us to spread our love for agriculture.”

Trish Hafkey of the Jasper County Farm Bureau said Reeves not only helped with JCFB’s Ag in the Classroom program, but she also made made countywide connections to develop and carry out summer children’s programming while working as a summer intern.

“We offered a couple of year-end activities to high school classes and supplied speakers for topics of teachers’ interest,” Hafkey said.

Reeves’ other scholarship honors include the Better Business Bureau/Student of Integrity Scholarship, the Key Cooperative Community Scholarship, an America’s Farmers Grow Ag Leaders $1,500 scholarship sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the Jasper County Fair Queen Scholarship, a National FFA Scholarship, a Northwest Missouri State scholarship, the Newton FFA Scholarship, the Princess 22 Summer 2016

Jason W. Brooks/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Jaci Reeves was one of five Newton High School students to earn the Iowa FFA “Degree” this year, taking home one of the highest honors within Future Farmers of America. Pictured (from left) are Reeves, Jacob Smith, Logan Zaabel, Brian Bleakney and Bridget Carson.

How to earn an Iowa FFA State Degree Here are some of the basic requirements to earn an Iowa FFA State Degree: • Two years of agricultural course work.

• Receive a Chapter FFA Degree.

• Be an active FFA member for at least two years at the time of receiving the Iowa FFA Degree.

• While in school, complete the equivalent of at least two years (360 hours) of systematic school instruction in agriculture education of above the ninth-grade level, which includes a supervised agricultural experience program (SAE).

• Earn and productively invested at least $1,000 or work at least 300 hours in excess of scheduled class time, or a combination thereof, in an SAE. • Participate in at least 25 additional, unduplicated hours of community service activities within at least two different community service activities.

• Demonstrate leadership ability by performing 10 procedures of parliamentary law, giving a six-minute speech on a topic relating to agriculture or the FFA and serving as an officer, committee chairperson, or a participating member of a chapter committee.

• Be in good standing academically.

• Participate in the planning and completion of the chapter’s program of activities.

• Participate in at least five approved FFA activities above the chapter level.

• Meet other requirements as established by the Iowa FFA Association.

Scholarship, the Newton FFA Alumni Scholarship and the John Donovan Cox Memorial Scholarship.

When discussing why Reeves won so many accolades, Newton High School ag teacher and FFA adviser

James Horn said it’s her desire to look and sound like a leader. He said she exemplifies the quality of students who are selected for scholarships.

“Jaci displays leadership, responsibility, dedication

and a desire to help others succeed,” Horn said. “Jaci deserves this scholarship because she is an excellent student and a devoted FFA member and will be a leader in college and in her future career.”

Essential equipment Van Wall helps farmers prepare for harvest

J

BY ALEX OLP For Central Iowa Ag Mag

asper County farmers are preparing for harvesting season, which means combines are being attended to at places like Van Wall Equipment in Colfax.

Van Wall, a John Deere dealership, has many locations in Central Iowa and throughout the western parts of the state. Jeff Miller, manager of the Colfax store, said summer is a relatively slow time of the year. But the new combine shop on the east end of the property hasn’t had any problems keeping busy as technicians are repairing harvesters and anything else local farmers will need to have up and running this fall.

“Farmers obviously work all the time, so right now [they’re] working on their combines and tractors and everything farmers will use this fall and, of course, into mowing season,” Miller said. “So they’re all working on mowers and harvesters, and we’re keeping pretty busy that way.”

The combine shop is the newest addition to the location. It was added a couple of years ago, as the store continues to grow with the demand. The 12-year manager oversees 25 employees now in Colfax – from salesmen to technicians – and a wide variety of products available at the location.

Among some of the things Van Wall sells are tractors, combines, lawn and garden applications, consumer products, side-by-side four-wheelers, wind energy products, agronomic items and solar panels. Besides combines, Van Wall also services tractors, lawn mowers, steel products and Polaris vehicles.

Farmers from all over Jasper County come to the John Deere dealership located on Highway 117 for repairs on their equipment or to search for products to fit their operation. During planting and harvesting seasons, it’s also common to have several farmers waiting for the doors to open in the morning so they can grab what they need and return to their operations for another day of work.

“The quality of product that we sell and support here, obviously John Deere has been well known throughout the industry for many years,” Miller said.

Photos by Alex Olp/Central Iowa Ag Mag

ABOVE: Jeff Miller, store manager of Van Wall Equipment in Colfax, stands in front of his store, which services farmers and homeowners from all over Jasper County. BELOW: A combine exits the Van Wall shop after being serviced. While summer is a relatively slow time of the year, the new combine shop hasn’t had any problems keeping busy as technicians are repairing harvesters and anything else local farmers will need to have up and running this fall.

“We strive to stay at that level with our products and our support, and we strive to have 100 percent satisfaction.”

Once harvesting season approaches,

business will again pick up for Colfax’s Van Wall, and it won’t be too far away until it is servicing farmers preparing for the planting season once again.

AG Mag

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