MORE BIRD FLU
There’s been another reported case of bird flu in northwest Iowa, this time in a dairy herd in Sioux County. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is making several requests of USDA to aid affected dairy and poultry farmers and to assist in disease research and response. The Department is also announcing additional response measures to combat the threat of HPAI to poultry and dairy within Iowa.
Secretary Naig is requesting resources from USDA that will support impacted poultry and dairy farmers as well as enhance state response efforts. The Secretary’s request includes:
For farmers:
• Compensation for cull dairy cattle at fair market value.
• Compensation for lost milk production at a minimum of 90 percent of fair market value.
• Revise poultry indemnity tables to better reflect the fair market value of the impacted birds and/or eggs.
• Present a streamlined and timely process for farmers to be compensated for lost production and to receive indemnity.
For state response efforts:
• Authorize additional strike teams to assist with both poultry and dairy in Iowa.
• Provide additional USDA Wildlife Services personnel to assist in the surveying of disease in wildlife around Iowa poultry and dairy facilities.
• Accelerate funding for research to strengthen and enhance producer mitigation strategies.
The Department is also updating existing testing protocols to include testing of dairy farms around infected poultry sites.
There is no concern about the safety of pasteurized milk or dairy products, no restrictions on the shipment of milk are planned. No intrastate movement restrictions are being placed on dairy cattle at this time. The Department continues to strongly recommend dairy farmers and poultry producers incorporate comprehensive biosecurity protocols on their farms.
IOWA FREE FISHING WEEKEND
This weekend is Free Fishing Weekend in Iowa. From now through Sunday, Iowa residents of any age can fish without a license. Nick Beeck, Plymouth County Conservationist, says this applies to all water resources in Iowa.
Plymouth County Conservation does stock some of its ponds witih fish
Great fishing weather anticipated this weekend.
MERRILL DAZE
Merrill Daze continues today. Mayor Bruce Norgaard says the highlights this morning are an open barbeque contest, and a kids parade. Norgaard says the parade at 9 a.m. will include the kids only.
food and games will be at the community center into this afternoon.
Barbeque judging takes place at 5 pm. Merrill Daze concludes with a street dance at the fire station at 8 pm.
MAJOR REMODELING AT HOOVER LIBRARY
The eastern Iowa facility honoring the only American president who was born in Iowa will close for all of next year and likely into 2026 for what’s billed as a full remodel and renovation. Aaron Scheinblum (SHINE-bloom), spokesman for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, says the 20-million dollar make-over is scheduled to start early in 2025 and will take at least a year. Scheinblum says it may take 12 to 15 months to gut all of the galleries and start from scratch. For the remainder of this year, the library and museum will be open every day, with the only exceptions being Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
IOWA’S DAIRY INDUSTRY NOW WORTH MORE THAN $5B PER YEAR
Iowa is known as a global leader in producing things like corn, hogs, wind power and ethanol, but the state’s dairy industry is also being celebrated this month. Mariah Busta of Decorah, executive director of the Iowa State Dairy Association, says Iowa ranks number-11 in dairy production nationally, but it is the fifth-largest agriculture sector in Iowa. Busta says Iowa has about 750 dairy farms, and while that number is dropping, the number of dairy cows is staying steady at around 220-thousand. A recent study of the economic impact of Iowa’s dairy industry reports a per-cow per-year impact of more than 25-thousand dollars, giving Iowa’s dairy industry an economic impact of more than five-billion dollars per year.
