Iowa officials to begin storm damage assessments
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State and federal officials planned to begin assessing damage this week from tornadoes in six Iowa counties. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were to conduct the assessments Monday and Tuesday.

Assessments for individual assistance to homeowners and small businesses will be done in five counties, including Buena Vista, Ida, Monona, Pocahontas and Sac counties. Assessments for public assistance to public entities and nonprofit agencies will be conducted in those counties as well as in Cherokee County.
The western Iowa town of Mapleton suffered the worst damage in the April 9 tornado outbreak, with more than 140 homes and businesses being destroyed. The assessments could be used to request a presidential disaster declaration for those areas affected by the storms.

Michigan confirms bovine TB in two Alpena County herds
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials said they’ve recently confirmed bovine tuberculosis in two Alpena County beef herds.
State agricultural officials said Thursday that bovine TB had been detected in 52 cattle herds and four privately-owned cervid operations, which usually involve deer, since testing began in 1998. A bovine TB public information meeting for cattle owners within a 10-mile radius of the herds with the two newly discovered cases will be held at 7 p.m. today (April 20) at Alpena Community College.

Both farms are quarantined and no cattle may enter or leave the farm premises until testing clears the farms of bovine TB.

Source of Michigan gasoline leak still not known

WHITE OAK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The company that owns a pipeline leaking gasoline in Michigan said its crews were still searching for the source of the leak, at press time.

Wolverine Pipeline Co. officials said Saturday they hoped to find the source of the leak within 24 hours and repair it. The Portage, Mich.-based company has contained the leak near a farm and a large gasoline storage tank facility about 55 miles west of Detroit.

Some of the gas flowed about a mile down an open drain by the time the leak was reported April 13 by an Ingham County farmer. Crews continued digging temporary ditches Saturday near the storage tank to keep it out of the drain.
Wolverine Pipeline said tests on wells in the area show that they pose no threat to human health.

Indiana tornado siren spooks horses, spurs lawsuit

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A tornado siren placed near an Indiana horse farm has prompted a lawsuit by the owners, who say the device spooks their animals every time it sounds and that local officials have refused to relocate it as promised.

Jody and Daniel Owens said they met with Jackson Township Trustee Dan Broyer in 2009 after learning the siren would be placed next to their property and were assured it would be mounted on a tower so the sound would travel over their property. They said Broyer also told them the device would be moved if it caused an issue with their horses.

The Owenses told The Reporter-Times the siren instead was installed on a utility pole and that the horses panic and have broken through the doors of their stables when it sounds, posing a danger to the animals and their handlers.
“It just throws them into that rage of running for their lives,” Jody Owens said. “I don’t know if they would ever get used to it as loud as it is.”

Broyer said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit but that the couple had enlisted three different attorneys over the past year to discuss the issue.

The Owenses’ lawsuit, filed in Morgan County Superior Court I, seeks to have Broyer pay court costs plus $106,265, which the suit claims is the amount an appraiser certified the Owens’ property value had diminished because of the siren.

Ivory Coast lifts ban on cocoa exports, taxes

ABIDJAN — Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara formally lifted a nearly three-month ban on cocoa and coffee exports as well as on related tax payments, his television channel said on Thursday, according to a report by Thomson Reuters.

“The president of the republic orders that the measures suspending coffee and cocoa exports as well as tax payments be lifted,” TCI television said.
The export ban in the world’s top cocoa grower had been in place since Jan. 24 as Ouattara sought to deprive his presidential rival, Laurent Gbagbo, of the country’s main source of foreign revenues. Gbagbo was captured by Ouattara’s forces April 11 after weeks of fighting, allowing Ouattara to take charge. Ouattara said everything was in place for cocoa exports to resume immediately.

However, Ivory Coast exporters have requested that the government ease administrative procedures and allow them to ship the over 450,000 metric tons of cocoa blocked at the country’s ports before paying taxes later.
Ivory Coast Cocoa exporters were expected to restart activities this week but some said full resumption will depend on security and the reopening of banks while farmers await farmgate prices for their mid-crop.

2009 SURE program goes through July 29
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Julia A. Wickard, state executive director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Indiana, reminds producers that the 2009 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) is under way and continues through July 29.

SURE provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production or crop quality losses as a result of a natural disaster. This program addresses crop losses on all farming interests in all counties and states.

In 2009, Indiana had 29 counties that were either declared a natural disaster by the USDA secretary or contiguous to a declared county. Any producer who has part of their farming operation in one of these counties may qualify for a SURE payment, if there was a 10 percent production loss of one crop of economic significance.

Farmers in other counties who suffered in excess of a 50 percent loss and meet all other eligibility requirements may also be eligible for 2009 SURE. For more information, visit any FSA county office. Additional information is available at www.fsa.usda.gov/sure

Tennessee burn permits required through May 15
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With spring here, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry wants to remind citizens if they are considering doing outdoor burning, a burn permit is required.

The free burn permits are required in all areas of the state by law until May 15 unless otherwise covered by local ordinances. Residents should check with their city government for any local restrictions. The permits may be obtained by calling your local Division of Forestry office between the hours of 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Permits are generally good for 24 hours and can be issued for weekend burning. Phone numbers for each office can be found in the state government section of your local phone book, or by visiting www.BurnSafeTN.org and clicking on the “Burn Permits” button.