CSIF Tips of the Month – September 2015

09-04-2015 in Through The Gate

And that’s a Wrap… A Look Back at August

The last month has been a whirlwind packed with fun-filled events.

Two families were recognized with the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor award. Karl Fox of Mitchell County, who raises hogs and cattle, was nominated by his neighbor Rod Koch. And the Paustain family of Scott County was nominated by the nearby Iowa-80 Group. The family’s hog farm is located only 1600 feet from the World’s Largest Truck Stop. Read more about Karl Fox and the Paustain family.

On August 7, the Coalition partnered with Iowa Beef Systems to host an open house at Amana Farms’ new cattle barn. Over 450 people toured the new building and learned more about the farm’s manure digester.

The month wrapped up with another cattle barn open house at Henderson Cattle Inc. near Albia. This 499-head monoslope slatted cattle barn was built by Summit Livestock Facilities. Read more about the barn and event here.

Finally, the Coalition was proud to sponsor the Avenue of Breeds at the Iowa State Fair. Check out these fun photos from the Avenue showcasing the diversity of Iowa’s livestock industry.

Rules & Regs Highlight: DNR Inspections Update

Inspections of Iowa livestock farms are continuing, as required by a five-year agreement between DNR and EPA Region 7. DNR is expected to complete 8,582 inspections of livestock farms in the state, completing 20 percent of the required inspections per year.

DNR has wrapped up year two and reports that 41 percent of the inspections have been completed. These inspections include both on-site and desktop assessments.

For more information on the workplan, click here. To access the most recent progress report from DNR, click here.

Concerned about an environmental inspection of your livestock farm? Check out this handy checklist and then give CSIF a call at 800-932-2436 for a no-cost, completely confidential assessment of your farm.

Internship Reflections: Banwart Tells All

Haley Banwart, a senior at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural communications, spent her summer interning with the Coalition. Her mission? Find out what Iowa farmers had to say about CSIF. Click here to see what she found.

Banwart also wrote several blog posts highlighting her adventures and lessons learned this summer:

Exploring My Role in Iowa Agriculture

A Greater Appreciation for Iowa’s Livestock Industry

In Pursuit of an Agricultural Career

Supporting a Future for Agriculture

Farmgate Quotables

“We raise hogs and turkeys and were looking to replace a hog building, so we contacted the Coalition. It’s a great organization and it really helps a lot of farmers. It really came home to help us when we learned what rules and regulations and paperwork we needed to turn into the DNR. We had a very good experience.” – Keith Troyer, Washington County

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