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| News from Around the Farm World - Feb. 4, 2009 |
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Crop disaster program signup ends Feb. 27
BROOKVILLE, Ind. — USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Franklin County Executive Director Terry G. Wilds announced the signup period for the 2005-07 Crop Disaster Program (CDP) will end Feb. 27.
The date applies to the receipt of a signed and completed FSA-840 application along with all supporting documentation and required forms, available at county FSA offices. No late-filed applications will be approved after the Feb. 27 deadline.
All application determinations will be made by March 27. For further questions about CDP and the signup deadline, visit a county FSA office or FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov
Walcott man arrested for livestock neglect
WALCOTT, Iowa (AP) — A Walcott man has been arrested after authorities found more than 30 dead cattle on his eastern Iowa farm.
Jason Guyer, 32, was charged with livestock neglect. Records from the Scott County Sheriff’s office show that an animal control officer contacted the sheriff’s office on Jan. 22 after she saw cattle without food or water in an enclosure at Guyer’s farm.
A deputy met the animal control officer at the farm and saw cattle that, according to records, appeared to be malnourished and balding. Other cattle had sores.
Records show the deputy and animal control officer also found more than 30 dead cattle, some of which appeared to have been dead a long time.
Farm Bureau cuts 76 jobs in central Iowa
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — FBL Financial, Inc. has announced that it is cutting more than 70 jobs from its home office in West Des Moines.
Chief Executive Officer James Noyce said in a statement released Jan. 28 that the cuts are necessary to reduce expenses. He said efforts were made to reduce costs without eliminating jobs but that more needed to be done to reach those goals.
The company already eliminated open positions, froze salaries and streamlined operations. A total of 76 jobs will be cut company-wide, including 73 from the West Des Moines office.
The company operates Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. and EquiTrust Financial Services and manages two Farm Bureau property-casualty insurance companies.
USDA: Agriprocessors farmers to receive payout
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The USDA is paying out more than $2 million to cattle farmers and sale barns who sold livestock to the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the payments on Friday. The farmers and sale barns receiving payments sold cattle to the troubled Postville, Iowa, plant before it filed for bankruptcy last fall.
Such transactions are typically safeguarded under federal law. The process had taken longer than usual, however, because the money was tied up in Agriprocessors’ bankruptcy proceedings. The company has been in turmoil since an immigration raid there last May.
According to the USDA, 24 producers will receive payments ranging from less than $1,000 to more than $500,000.
Agriprocessors also operated a plant near Gordon, Neb.
Trial delayed in Iowa hog abuse case instigated by PETA
BAYARD, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been delayed for four people accused of abusing hogs at a Greene County farm.
Richard Ralston, Alan Rettig, Jordan Anderson and Greg Hackler were arrested last October on livestock abuse and neglect charges. The Greene County attorney’s office says their trials, which had been scheduled to start Jan. 27, will be delayed until at least Feb. 24.
Six people were arrested after the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released an undercover video that showed pigs being abused at a MowMar Farms facility in western Iowa.
One person, Shelly Mauch, is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 12. Another, Shawn Lyons, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in January.
Minnesota-based MowMar has said that it no longer employs the workers.
TVA taking offers on windmills on Buffalo Mountain
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is looking for offers to run, maintain, develop or buy three large windmills that formed the first commercial wind farm in the Southeast.
TVA installed the three 213-foot-tall windmills atop a former strip mine on Buffalo Mountain near Oliver Springs in 2001 to kick-start its renewable energy program. The windmills cost $3.4 million and produce about 2 megawatts, enough for approximately 400 homes.
TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said they’ve provided valuable research on wind supply and impact on birds and bats to support the addition of 15 larger windmills by Chicago-based Invernergy Wind LLC in 2005. But before renewing an expiring maintenance contract, the federal utility wants to consider its options for the three TVA-owned turbines, including a sale with power purchase guarantee.
The Knoxville-based federal utility wants proposals by March 2.
Central Illinois man rescued from soybean bin burial
CHATHAM, Ill. (AP) — A 60-year-old man is in serious but stable condition after spending four hours buried to his chin in a central Illinois grain bin filled with soybeans.
Springfield Fire Department Division Chief Bob Reside said the man became trapped about noon on Jan. 26 after his foot got caught in an auger. The man’s name was not released.
Reside said the bin in the community of Chatham is about 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Fire and rescue crews and neighboring farmers helped in the effort to free the man, including boring holes in the bin’s side and keeping the man’s chest and airway clear.
The bin had to be emptied before the man was released. He was taken by helicopter to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield with severe lower leg injuries. |
| 2/6/2009 |
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