Taiwanese commit to more U.S. grains purchases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), the Taiwanese Agricultural Goodwill Mission’s corn sector representatives traveled to Indiana, Iowa and Illinois last week to sign letters of intent that Taiwan will import 303 million to 413 million bushels of corn and 500,000-750,000 tons of distiller’s dried grains with solubles, valued at more than $1 billion, in 2010 and 2011.

The signings with individual states came after signing a similar letter at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 24. The representatives met with government officials and legislators in each of the states.
USGC Director in Taiwan Clover Chang said, “The members of the mission appreciate the enthusiasm Council members extended to this mission and are impressed with the large scale of U.S. corn production.

“The members found the yield, production and quality of U.S. corn this year to be satisfactory. Seeing the United States is able to produce enough grain supply to meet the demands of both domestic and global customers will encourage them to continue to make purchases of U.S. corn.”

The mission concluded Oct. 2 in Missouri, where the team signed one more letter before returning to Taiwan.

Indiana farmer killed while working on equipment

TIPTON, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say a central Indiana farmer was killed while working on a combine in his field.

The Tipton County Sheriff’s Department said 71-year-old Herbert Off was using a wrench to repair the combine when the tool dislodged and struck him in the head. The accident happened Sept. 30 at his farm north of Tipton.

Gary Off said his father farmed his roughly 100-acre property, which has been in his family for more than 200 years, as a hobby since retiring from Chrysler after 35 years.

Indiana looks to track, contain spread of bovine TB

CORYDON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana wildlife officials will be testing whitetail deer in southern Indiana for bovine tuberculosis, a chronic bacterial disease that has been confirmed in four red deer in a fenced hunting farm in Harrison County.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources hopes to gather 300 heads from Harrison County deer Nov. 14-15, the opening of the season for hunting deer with firearms. Biologists hope to track and contain any potential spreading of the disease, which can spread among wild animals and infect livestock.

Four deer in a hunting farm tested positive for bovine TB in the spring, and officials say that operation was quarantined.

400 pigs die in southeastern Iowa fire on Oct. 1
MORNING SUN, Iowa (AP) — At least 400 pigs have died in a fire near Morning Sun in southeastern Iowa.

The fire happened in a pig nursery on the John Frank farm the afternoon of Oct. 1. Frank said he and his wife noticed the fire about 1:30 p.m. and called 911. Terry Butler of Butler Hog Complex in Morning Sun rents the nursery.

Morning Sun Fire Chief Lon Royer says crews had trouble reaching the building because of muddy roads. Crews from four fire departments responded to the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Man rescued from 8-foot water-filled hole in Iowa

WALCOTT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man trapped in an 8-foot hole on his farm near Walcott was rescued as the hole filled with water.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office said the man, who is in his eighties, fell into the hole near his barn around 8 a.m. Oct. 1. His wife found him about four hours later when he didn’t return home for lunch.

The man’s name hasn’t been released. Officials say water was filling the hole. The man grabbed a chain on a nearby pipe. When Deputy Ken Koehler arrived, the man was holding his head above the water.

The deputy pulled the man out. He was taken to a Davenport hospital for treatment of a possible hip injury and hypothermia.

Study: More corn means more chemicals in water

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A new study has found that more fertilizers and pesticides will enter waters near fields if farmers boost their corn acreage to meet demand for corn-based ethanol.
Purdue University researchers found that Indiana water sources near fields where farmers planted corn year after year had higher levels of nitrogen, fungicides and phosphorous than waters near fields where the crops were rotated between corn and soybeans.
They concluded that moving from corn-soybean crop rotations to continuous corn worsens erosion and allows more fungicides and phosphorous to get into nearby surface waters. Nitrogen and fungicides are also used more heavily on corn crops than soybean fields.

The findings appear in the online version of The Journal of Environmental Engineering.