UPFRONT

Otterbox give-away

In our August edition we announced that Today’s Farmer would give away an Otterbox PDA protection case in exchange for the best story about lost data due to mishaps with electronics. Our winner is Melvin Beadel from Blockton, Iowa. Beadel said that while baling hay his cell phone fell out of its holder and into a windrow of hay. “That’s where the baler ate it,” he added.

Of course, as these things usually go, he hadn’t noticed the phone was missing until he arrived home.

Upon discovering that it was missing, Beadel and his father returned to the hayfield. Beadel senior used his phone to dial the missing phone. Young Beadel walked from bale to bale with a careful ear. During the search, one bale emitted a unmistakable ring. It was Beadel’s phone. Undoing the baler’s work by rolling out the bale, Beadel was eventually reunited with the phone. Problem was, the screen had been at the business end of a tine. While the phone still rang, all the information stored in it was lost with no way to transfer it.

There’s a black and yellow lining to this gray cloud, however. For sending his story, Beadel will receive an Otterbox 1900. Built to fit a wide range of PDAs, the Otterbox is waterproof, dustproof and shock-resistant. But remember, that won’t guarantee it will make it through the rigors of a baler. Better clip it on tight.

Sign-up deadline approaches for conservation programs

Missouri landowners interested in participating in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program or the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program should apply by Nov. 17 to be eligible for the next round of funding. Through EQIP, farmers and ranchers receive financial and technical assistance to help install structural conservation practices and to implement management systems that promote conservation. Through WHIP, landowners get technical expertise and cost-sharing to enhance habitat on eligible land for upland and wetland wildlife, threatened and endangered species and other types of rare or declining wildlife. Many types of land, including grassland, woodland, wetlands, stream and riparian areas may be eligible for WHIP funds.

The Wetlands Reserve Program deadline is Dec 1. WRP is a voluntary program that helps landowners protect, restore and enhance wetlands. NRCS provides technical and financial support to help landowners with their wetland restoration efforts. By signing WRP easements, landowners receive cash payments in exchange for restoring or converting marginal agricultural land to shallow wetland areas. They also agree to maintain the new or restored wetlands. Easement values for WRP represent the property’s appraised value, the maximum easement value for that region or the landowner’s offer, whichever is lowest. Landowners can see the WRP rate cap map for Missouri’s five WRP geographic regions via the Internet at: www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/wrp_eligibility.html

To get more information about these programs, contact the NRCS office serving your county. You  can also get information about NRCS programs online at www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.

Find biodiesel by telephone

As truckers and other motorists increasingly demand biodiesel, a new toll-free number will help locate biodiesel pumps anywhere in the United States. Dial (866) 246-3437, a toll-free number, to find the nearest pump. Created by the National Biodiesel Board, this “biodiesel hotline” is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hotline staff has access to mapping software linked to a database that is populated and kept up to date with retail outlets carrying biodiesel.  Information including truck accessibility and blend percentage of biodiesel to petro-diesel is available from the database.  

Another resource for users of biodiesel is www.biodiesel.org.

Time to think 'grain condition'

If you haven’t been to the web log produced by the folks at the University of Illinois, it’s worth a visit. Go to: www.farmgate.uiuc.edu. In a recent post Stu Ellis sorts through guidelines from a half-dozen Corn Belt universities to find details on keeping stored grain in condition. Here are some of the suggestions:

From Penn State: Be aware of the column of broken kernels, fines and other debris that stays in the center of the bin. Unless the bin has a distribution system, most of the fine materials end up in a column down the middle of the bin as the grain is augured in the bin. Because air always takes the path of least resistance through the grain, the middle of the bin is not properly aerated. As a consequence, the middle of the bin experiences moisture buildup and heating, which are conducive to insect outbreaks.

From North Dakota State: Many people think their average grain moisture is most important for safe grain storage. However, it is the wettest seeds in grain mass, not the average grain moisture, that determine storability. For example, if the average grain moisture is 13 percent but immature grain or weed seeds are above 15 percent moisture, molds will grow on the wetter seeds. As molds grow, they produce water and heat, enabling surrounding seeds to be attacked and damaged by mold.

From the University of Minnesota: Cool grain to temperatures below 50 degrees by gradually cooling the grain through the fall. Insect activity is reduced at this temperature. Local [Minnesota] winter temperatures allow  a target temperature for stored grain of 25 degrees [your local conditions may call for additional fan work as temperatures fluctuate]. At this temperature, insect activity ceases and some mortality will occur for a number of insect pests. The grain mass should be cooled and dried uniformly. Move [the] cooling front completely through and out of the grain mass and maintain low grain temperatures as long as possible during storage.

And finally, some drying economics from the University of Wisconsin: If grain is clean before it enters the drying phase, that means the airflow will not be restricted by fines, and spoilage will reduce. A heat recovery system on your fans will save 10 to 15 percent in energy costs. A stirring device can save 20 to 30 percent in drying costs. Older grain dryers should be replaced with high-efficiency units. Field dry-down and earlier maturing corn hybrids reduce energy outlays.

Meat packing, 100 years later

One hundred years ago Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called The Jungle, and the nation’s meat packing industry was forever changed. Written through the point of view of a Lithuanian immigrant working in Chicago’s factories, and specifically the Union Stockyard, the book detailed the poverty and dangers met by immigrants as they found work in Chicago’s meat industry. The Jungle was a muckraking novel—a relatively new literary form—used by Sinclair to affect social change. His well-researched descriptions of work and sanitary conditions in the stockyards induced a public furor. In its wake, Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which established the Food and Drug Administration.

This year, the American Meat Institute celebrates its centennial. Started in 1906, the same year that Sinclair published The Jungle, the American Meat Institute is the nation’s oldest and largest meat and poultry trade association. While food safety has obviously improved in the past 100 years, the institute points out that the last decade has been especially productive in reducing pathogens in the nation’s meat supply. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control show that food borne illness from E. Coli 0157:H7 has dropped by  30 percent since 2005. Listeria reportings have dropped by 32 percent in those 10 years and campylobacter and salmonella incidence have declined by 30 percent and 9 percent respectively.

The total bacteria count found today on raw ground beef is lower than the level typically found on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold already cooked in the early 1970s.