Dustin Vande Hoef
Communications Director
515/281-3375 or 515/326-1616 (cell)
or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey this week will join with a group of Iowa farmers and agricultural leaders to host a delegation of Mississippi farmers as part of the “Iowa-Mississippi Farmer to Farmer Exchange.” The Mississippi farmers visit is a follow up to a visit by the Iowa delegation to Mississippi on May 27th to May 30th.
A variety of conservation practices used in Iowa to prevent erosion and protect water quality, both here in Iowa and downstream, will be showcased during the visit. The goal of the exchange is to develop relationships between the agricultural leaders in both states and promote the sharing of information and technologies that will help address the hypoxic area, or “dead zone,” in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I know we all learned a lot during our visit to Mississippi earlier this spring, and we hope to provide a similar experience that will give a better understanding of Iowa agriculture and care our farmer have for the land to the farmers from Mississippi,” Northey said.
The agenda for tour follows here (all times are approximate):
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Lunch at the Machine Shed Restaurant, 11151 Hickman Rd., Urbandale
1:30 – 2:30 pm Tour Lincolnway Energy, 59511 W. Lincoln Way, Nevada
3:00 – 4:00 pm Tour ISU BioCentury Farm, 1314 U. Ave., Boone
4:30 – 7:00 pm Tour and Dinner at Couser’s Cattle Farm, 20408 620 Ave., Nevada
Thursday, July 8, 2010
8:30 – 9:30 am Tour cover crop trials at ISU Kelly Farm, X Ave. and 210th St., Ames
10:00 – 11:30 am View CREP wetland, 500th Ave. and 140th St., Ames
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch with Dean Wintersteen and ISU faculty/researchers, ISU Farm Bureau Pavillion, Osborn Dr. Ames
1:30 – 3:00 pm View Reynoldson Research Farm, 300th St. and Violet, Ave., Slater
3:15 – 7:00 pm Tour and Dinner at Monsanto Channel-Bio Facility, 1551 Hwy 210, Huxley
Friday, July 9, 2010
8:00 – 11:00 am Tour Iowa Soybean Association Research Demonstrations, Denny Friest farm, 14263 CR-D65, Radcliffe
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch at Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 5400 University Ave., West Des Moines
1:30 – 2:15 pm Hy-Line International
3:30 – 4:30 pm Tour Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, 9981 Pacific St., Prairie City
The tour started out of discussions between Northey and agricultural leaders in Mississippi as part of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force. The hypoxic zone is a result of nitrogen and phosphorus from the Mississippi watershed flowing into the Gulf and spurring the growth of algae. When the algae decays, it depletes the water of oxygen to levels that cannot support marine life.
During the visit to Mississippi, the Iowa participants toured conservation sites and farming practices, attended the Delta Council Annual Meeting, and visited the Gulf of Mexico to learn more about the impact of hypoxia.
The Mississippi Farmer participants are Mike Lamensdorf, Bowen Flowers and Dan Branton. Dan Prevost and Richard Ingram from Delta F.A.R.M., which organized to assist farmers to achieve environmental stewardship, will also participate in the tour.
The Iowa participants in the tour were nominated by a variety of farm organizations. The participants are Doug Gronau from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Bill Tentinger from the Iowa Pork Producers Association; Don Elsbernd from the Iowa Corn Growers Association; Denny Friest and Tracy Blackmer from the Iowa Soybean Association; Matt Helmers from Iowa State University; and Harlan Hansen from the Iowa Drainage District Association. Reporters from the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman and Iowa Farmer Today have also participated in the tour.
Northey, a corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, is serving his first term as Secretary of Agriculture. His priorities as Secretary of Agriculture are promoting the opportunities available through renewable energy, encouraging conservation and stewardship, and telling the story of Iowa agriculture.
