FEBRUARY 2014
Pasture-raised pork reaping dividends under Niman brand Enterprise generates $200 million annually for family farmers selling value-added products By LORI POTTER World-Herald News Service
KEARNEY — The old-fashioned way of raising hogs is paying dividends for about 500 mostly Midwest farmers who are part of the Niman Ranch Pork Co. Company founder and manager Paul Willis couldn’t have imagined when he bought his first sow about 50 years ago that he would lead an enterprise that generates $200 million annually for
family farmers by selling value-added pork products to customers that include Ritz Carlton, Whole Foods Market, Chipotle, Dodger Stadium and the Google campus. “This is true economic development,” Willis said, because farmers generally spend their money locally. Speaking at the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society’s Healthy Farms Conference in Kearney Friday, Willis said that
after he came home to Thornton, Iowa, to farm, a neighbor offered to sell him a sow and add her five pigs for free. “All of a sudden, I was in the pig business,” he said. “Raising field hogs was something I always enjoyed.” In a few years, he was producing 2,500 to 3,000 a year. “Then we started to see the industrialization of the pork industry rolling
Please see PORK, Page 3
New nutritional scoring system helps consumers Formula makes it easier to decipher confusing data found on most food labels By IRENE NORTH World-Herald News Service
SCOTTSBLUFF — You need to pick up a few groceries for dinner, but there’s no time to stop and read all the labels. How do you know if you’re picking a nutritious option? The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System can help you decipher confusing nutrition information to make quick and easy decisions about the food you choose. “It’s an investment in the health of the community,” said Kevin Chamberlain of NuVal Nutritional Scoring System. Members of CAPWN, Main Street Market, Scottsbluff Public Schools and UNMC attended a presentation by NuVal at the Panhandle Coop on Monday. The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System was developed as a direct response to troubling health trends of rapidly rising rates of obesity and diabetes in adult and child populations and increasing rates of heart disease in adults. NuVal is not a diet. It is a tool to use while shopping to help make better nutritional food choices. “It has a broad age range appeal from teens to adults. When scores are on the shelf, 71 percent will try and use it,” Chamberlain
The NuVal System uses a scoring system in which a number between one and 100 provides comprehensive nutritional information. The closer the number is to 100, the better a product is nutritionally. Each category has its own set of scores. Cookies, for example, range from one to 52, with an average of six. “Don’t go looking for a 99 in cookies because you won’t find it,” Chamberlain said. NuVal scores are inclusive, from fresh fruits and vegetables to packaged goods. Some fresh produce can score a perfect 100. It includes store brands and national brands, but there are no scores for deli items or baked goods from local businesses. The Main Street Market in Scottsbluff has begun transitioning the entire store to using the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System. “NuVal will be going into all three stores. It will change the way people shop,” said Susan Wiedeman, Marketing Director for Panhandle Coop. The scores will be located on shelf tags next to the price throughout the store, making it easy to compare overall nutrition between similar products. At Main Street Please see HELPS, Page 6
PORK from Page 2
in on us,” Willis said. Producers of pasture-raised pigs initially were docked as the market swung toward the lean pork from largescale operations that was marketed as “the other white meat.” Willis said the ads compared pork to chicken “and they were successful in growing pork that was a lot like chicken — tough, dry and tasteless.” He said Friday the alternative is to get fat in the right amount in the right places, which works best with Chester White, Berkshire, some types of Duroc or crosses of those breeds. “It’s not at all what a commercial pig would be,” Willis said. The idea that his kind of pork still had a future came to him when he saw premium prices for freerange chicken in grocery stores and wondered if there was a place for freerange pork. He’d been studying the idea for five years when he visited a friend in California who raised lambs marketed by Bill Niman. Niman told Willis to send him some pork. When Willis called officials at Sioux-Preme Packing in Sioux City, Iowa, to do the processing, they thought he was
crazy to think anyone would pay extra when “a pig is a pig.” Niman shared the Willis pork with some California restaurant owners. They liked it, and Niman ordered 30 more hogs. That was in 1995. Willis put together a pig production protocol and started contacting other farmers who shared his interests in caring for animals and producing better pork. “I wanted to distance myself as much as possible from the industrial model. ... I want to get it right for the environment and the animals,” he said. When he was a producer, Willis used a five-year rotation of pigs and crops on his 100 acres. That meant there always were pigs on 20 acres of pasture leaving behind natural fertilizer for the grain planted the following years. Niman Ranch criteria includes no antibiotics, no meat products in feed and no farrowing crates or gestation stalls. “The cornerstone still is animal welfare,” Willis said. “... and starting small is still something you can do.” The company gives smaller farmers an opportunity to be part of a brand that is marketed throughout the country. Every pig is tattooed with a farm number —
BLACK ANGUS BULL & COMMERCIAL HEIFER SALE
Saturday, March 1 2:00 pm Located at the Ranch 6 miles north of Moorefield or 20 miles south of Brady
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Willis has 001 — and a pig number. “Consumers want to know their farmer,” Willis said. “If they can’t know the farmer, they want to know a brand that represents something.” Niman Ranch Pork uses field agents to ensure producers follow the company’s protocol. Pork samples from each week’s processing are tested for eating quality. The top 10 producers identified from those tests receive $100,000 worth of premiums at the company’s annual Farmers Appreciation Dinner. Premiums also are paid to producers who keep their pig numbers up during the winter and other times of lower natural pig production to ensure a steady supply of hogs ready for processing every week year-round. Most of the company’s production of 3,000 finished hogs a week go to Sioux-Preme Packing for special processing runs that preserve the brand identity. Willis said about 10 percent are produced in the eastern United States and go to a plant
north of Philadelphia. He’s always looking for more farmers to raise hogs for the company. At the NSAS conference, he distributed copies of a graph showing the higher premium prices paid to Niman Ranch producers compared with commodity pork prices. Willis said the company has a price floor that’s now based on corn and soybeans prices. He noted that when commodity pork prices plunged to 8 cents per pound in 1988, Niman producers were paid 43.5 cents. “If we had 20 percent more [hogs], we could sell them all,” Willis told the Hub. Niman Ranch Pork Co. still would be a tiny part of a U.S. industry that processes 400,000 hogs a day. “I think we’ve made an impact,” Willis said, “but we’re still small in the big picture.” Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, was to be Friday’s keynote speaker but was unable to attend because bad weather on the East Coast prevented him from getting a flight to Nebraska.
Farm Rescue helps farm families in need A mission field for airline pilot is found right in his home state By GORDON WOLF World-Herald News Service
DENISON, Iowa — A person has a lot of time to think when logging windshield hours – about life, about family and about the future. Bill Gross often thinks about these things as he travels – only his windshield hours occur miles above the earth, in the stratosphere, as a Boeing 747 captain for United Parcel Service. On some trips Gross thought about his mission trips through the Presbyterian Church to Romania and Croatia where he helped rebuild houses, conducted Bible
studies and worked in orphanages. “There must be something I can do back home,” he said to himself. About seven years ago he was flying over the ocean when the subject of life after retirement arose. “On a 12- to 14-hour flight you have a lot of time to talk,” said Gross, age 47. “I was in my late 30s at that time and said I was going to get a John Deere planter and plant crops for farmers as a random Good Samaritan.” The idea was to help farmers in his home state of North Dakota. The image of some crazy old guy planting
“
“There must be something I can do back home. On a 12- to 14-hour flight you have a lot of time to talk.”
crops for other people evoked laughter from the other pilots in the cockpit. But the idea struck home for Gross, and for a very good reason. As a teenager growing up near Cleveland, N.D., he had seen the need in the rural area. His parents, hit by financial trouble, had to sell a portion of their farm, which Gross’s grandfather had homesteaded. That was during the farm crisis of the 1980s and other farm families in the area had done the same
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—Bill Gross, boeing 747 captain, about forming idea for farm rescue
thing and had moved away. That meant fewer farm children to fill seats in the classrooms, forcing the closure of the school in Cleveland. Gross had to finish his senior year of high school through correspondence. With the exodus of farm families and the school closure, the business community in Cleveland began to dissolve. The grocery store, café, gas station, vehicle repair shop and other businesses all closed. Today Cleveland consists of
an elevator and a few residences, said Gross.
A friend offered encouragement Some time after the conversation with his colleagues, Gross was having dinner with a former college roommate, who had also been an Army chaplain, and the subject of retirement came up. The friend asked Gross how many more years he would work for UPS before he retired, and Gross spoke of his dream to become a Good Samaritan farm helper. “Instead of telling me I was crazy, he said, ‘You know, Bill, I have a couple questions for you. I’m thinking, number one, why don’t you do it now? You don’t
know what tomorrow is going to bring.’ “I had always thought I would do this when I retired,” said Gross. “I had never thought that I may not be around or not be physically able to farm.” The friend’s second question was instead of randomly going around the countryside to help farmers, why not help those who are truly in need? Don’t farm accidents happen in which farmers are injured or killed? More children are leaving the farms to work in the cities and are not able to return home to help neighbors in need. And farms today are bigger, resulting in fewer families and fewer people to help a neighbor. The friend said Gross
Please see NEED, Page 6
Neb. man in midst of extended therapy after crash McKiernan takes step back from farming operation following a devastating auto accident Jan. 7 LINCOLN (AP) — Beloved Belgian draft horses Duchess and Duke are gone, sent back to their previous owner until they can come home to Robinette Farms near Martell. Some of the pigs weren’t so lucky. Those that weren’t slaughtered were moved to nearby farms. The grass-fed lambs shared a similar fate. “We just had to step back from the business this year,” Alex
In this Jan. 31 photo, Alex McKiernan uses his legs to push himself up from a seated position for the first time since he was injured in a Jan. 7 auto accident as he is steadied by physical therapy student Angela Link, left, and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Physical Therapist Kristi Rocole in Lincoln. McKiernan has been home just twice since the accident where he found himself strapped to a stretcher in a helicopter flying to a Lincoln hospital.
McKiernan said in his room at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln. “I won’t be doing any farm work.” Robinette Farms is home to McKiernan and his wife, Chloe Diegel, and their kids, Nina, 3½, and twins Roisin and Fiona, 10 months. It’s also home to the couple’s chemical-free vegetable operation, which has dozens of customers in the Lincoln area. Please see CRASH, Page 8
The Associated Press
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NEED from Page 4
should unify the project and develop an application and screening process. “I had never thought about forming a non-profit organization,” said Gross. “In my mind, it was still a random Good Samaritan mission.” Gross was less than 10 minutes down the road after the dinner with his friend when he decided that he would start a non-profit organization to help farm families in need with planting and harvesting. “This is what I was looking for years before, a mission field,” said Gross. “I thought at the time, ‘My mission field will be in the fields of the farm families.’” Gross worked the dream over in his mind.
He would need to get other people involved — volunteers and sponsors. “Would it really work?” he asked himself. But he reasoned other people must feel the same way he did. He thought of the many retired farmers for whom farming never left their blood. They would want to help out. “Would businesses sponsor this?” he wondered. “I think they would because it is in their best interest for family farms to continue to operate. It is in everyone’s best interest.”
Non-profit formed Gross started the non-profit organization Farm Rescue in 2005. That year he set up camp at farm shows to raise awareness and to find sponsors. He put his own money into the
non-profit organization to get it started. The next year, Farm Rescue helped its first farmer, a man whose right hand had been cut off in a farm accident. Farm Rescue helped nine other farm families in North Dakota that same year, 2006. “Pretty soon we received requests from farmers in South Dakota and Minnesota, and businesses wanted to be sponsors,” said Gross. Farm Rescue has grown every year. Last year the non-profit helped 50 farm families, and the year before it helped 42 families. “To date we’ve helped 252 farm families,” said Gross, adding that Farm Rescue hopes to help at least 50 families in 2014. The geographical scope of Farm Rescue has also grown. Now it is available to help farm families in the
Farm and Ranch Equipment & Misc.
entire states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, and the eastern part of Montana. “We do this with a database of volunteers,” Gross explained. “The first year we had three volunteers, including me, and I used my vacation time. I don’t get any money from Farm Rescue and put in about 1,000 hours a year.” In fact, everyone associated with Farm Rescue is a volunteer, except for a small staff of employees and a field operations manager. Farm Rescue now has 700 volunteers from all over the United States, among them a retired dairy farmer from Pennsylvania, retired pilots from Fed Ex and Frontier, ministers and a man who comes from Oregon to drive truck “Our volunteers come from all walks of life. They help from two weeks to a month,”
HELPS from Page 3
Location: West Highway 30
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COLE 308-530-7312
CONSIGNMENTS TAKEN UP TO SALE DAY Advertising deadline is MARCH 10, 2014
Market, retagging has already begun. Starting with next week’s ads, customers will begin seeing NuVal’s double-hexagon emblem in weekly fliers. “We are hoping to have everything retagged by Feb. 26,” Wiedeman said. Tags cost one to three cents each in addition to signage and fliers. “We’re not passing any of that cost onto the consumer,” Wiedeman said. NuVal was funded by Griffin Hospital, a non-profit community hospital and teaching affiliate of the Yale University School of Medicine. A team of nutrition and medical experts, led by Dr.
Gross explained. “Our volunteers who were farmers love meeting the other farm families and say it is better when they farmed for themselves because they don’t have to worry about the finances.” Gross described the Farm Rescue effort as a big, mobile farm, planting and harvesting hundreds of thousands of acres a year. The non-profit organization does not give money to farmers in need. “This is not a government program,” said Gross. “It’s a grass-roots Good Samaritan effort. We don’t get any federal funds. We do take freewill donations.” Farmers who receive the help have been injured, have an illness or were the victim of a natural disaster. The application lists the criteria, and Gross said Farm Rescue focuses on
medium- to small-sized family farms. About half the farm families that apply for help have heard about Farm Rescue or know about the non-profit organization through its website (www.farmrescue.org) and call at 701-252-2017. To apply, farm families just fill out the application. The other half of farm families that receive help are referred to Farm Rescue by a neighbor or a friend who provides an address and telephone number. This can be done anonymously and often is. Gross encourages people to provide contact information for farm families that aren’t likely to apply for help themselves. Farm Rescue contacts the farm families that are referred to the organization to see if they are willing to accept the help.
David Katz of the Yale Griffin Prevention Research Center, spent two years developing the Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI) algorithm, which powers NuVal. It uses the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (advice from the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture about how good dietary habits can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases) to quantify the presence 30 nutrients. The ONQI algorithm is a tool for improving public health in the face of America’s troubling health trends. “The algorithm is 22 pages long,” Chamberlain said. In its simplest form, it’s a score of nutrition
by the number. “There is no outside influence by any packaged goods companies. It’s independently researched,” Chamberlain said. NuVal has been endorsed by the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Harvard School of Public Health and the American Journals of Prevention Magazine. It is currently in 1600 supermarkets and seven school districts in 32 states. NuVal has a database of approximately 90,000 items. A typical store has 25,000-40,000 items. Main Street Market has approximately 35,000. “Wherever food decisions are made, NuVal can be used,” Chamberlain said. Chamberlain said you don’t want to immediately change to 100 on everything. “Start with small changes and trade-ups,” he said.
Please see NEED2, Page 8
Focus is on the benefits of cover crops planted between seasons OMAHA (AP) — Seeing the challenges farmers in the developing world face made philanthropist Howard Buffett realize how important conservation practices are for all farmers. Buffett changed habits on farms he owns in Illinois, Nebraska, Arizona and South Africa after that, and this week’s invitation-only conference in Omaha that Buffett co-sponsored with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the latest outgrowth of that realization. “People look to countries like the United States and how they are doing it. And we aren’t getting done what we need to get done,” said Buffett, whose father, investor Warren Buffett, funds his philanthropy. The conference is focusing on the benefits of cover crops, which are planted between growing seasons to limit erosion and replenish nutrients in the soil. Buffett and the USDA hope to expand the current 2 million to 3 million acres of cover crops
The Associated Press
Philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, son of investor Warren Buffett, center, sits between his son, Howard W. Buffett, right, and C. Wayne Honeycutt of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, left , at the conference on cover crops and soil health, in Omaha on Feb. 18. Buffett is sponsoring a national invitation-only conference on the benefits of cover crops in Omaha to get American farmers interested in keeping their soil healthy. planted each year to about 20 million acres by 2020. Planting cover crops can produce tangible benefits for farmers by reducing the need for fertilizer while improving crop yields. Farmer Gabe Brown said using cover crops and other practices on his farm in North Dakota had made a significant difference in
his soil and he hasn’t used chemical fertilizer since 2008. “Nature has the template for regenerating the soil,” Brown said. The current restrictions on cover crops in crop insurance rules could make it hard to dramatically expand their use, said Brown and Please see SOIL, Page A2
t
Howard Buffett and USDA want farmers to protect soil
AG NEWS AT A GLANCE
UNL Ag Research to host ‘Big Idea’ seminars LINCOLN (AP) — A series of seminars by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is looking for the next “big idea.” The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Big Idea Seminars begin on Wednesday, with a presentation from Rodger Bybee, chair of the Science Forum and Science Expert Group for the Next Generation Sciences Standards. He will talk about science education initiatives that emphasize the effective management of food, water and natural resources. Organizer Tonia Durden says the seminar will build on the national science agenda and the applied research being conducted across the state, university system and UNL
Extension Centers. More information is on the division’s Big Idea Seminar website at www.bigideaseminars. unl.edu.
Quality of US soybean crop even higher ST. LOUIS — The average protein and oil levels in the 2013 U.S. soybean crop ticked upward, according to the soy-checkoff-funded Crop Quality Survey. Average oil levels jumped to 19 percent, a 0.5- point increase from 2012 levels, while average protein levels grew by 0.4 percentage points to 34.7 percent. U.S. soy’s biggest customer, the global animal agriculture sector, takes note of the protein content in the soybeans it uses, says Laura Foell, chair of the United Soybean Board’s Meal Action Team. “Our customers buy our soybeans for the
components: protein and oil,” says Foell, who farms in Schaller, Iowa. “The animal agriculture sector uses protein to feed animals, and the food industry uses the majority of soybean oil for human consumption and the rest for industrial-like biodiesel. The more protein and oil we have in our soybeans, the more product we have for our end-customers. And more demand could lead to a better price for our crop.” The study found less regional variation in protein and oil levels in 2013 than in previous years. These typical regional differences result from climate events and other factors outside of farmers’ control. Foell says farmers should talk with their seed representatives about soybean varieties that will produce higher levels of protein and oil without sacrificing yield. — United Soybean Board
CRASH from Page 5
McKiernan has been home just twice since Jan. 7, the day he found himself strapped to a stretcher in a helicopter flying to a Lincoln hospital. Down below, near the intersection of U.S. 77 and Saltillo Road, his buddies from the Southwest Rural Fire Department had cut him out of his mangled 1999 Subaru Impreza. It’s also where he realized he couldn’t move his legs. n
The Lincoln Journal Star reports Aaron Pospisil, an EMS supervisor for Lincoln Fire & Rescue, was driving over the hill on Saltillo Road when he saw the wreckage. “People were running out of their cars and up to the vehicle,” said
the former Southwest Rural Fire member who jumped out to check on everybody. He didn’t recognize any of the vehicles, but when he looked through the passenger window he recognized McKiernan from their years together on the volunteer department. “He was awake and talking: ‘I need help. Help me out,’” Pospisil recalled. He couldn’t do much for his friend. “The frustrating thing for me is, I’m a trained rescuer and I had no equipment — nothing,” said Pospisil, who was on his way home to Cortland. He supported McKiernan’s head and made sure he kept his neck straight, and they both listened to the Southwest pager McKiernan was wearing. “That almost made it tougher,” Pospisil said.
“We heard when they were getting dispatched and we heard when they were clearing from the station. For me and Alex, it seemed to make it worse. We understood what was going on. “It seemed like it took forever for everybody to get there.” n
McKiernan struggles, the pain and determination clear on his face as he does leg presses on a special machine that allows him to exercise his legs. Physical therapist Kristi Rocole and student Angela Link support his hips and help move his legs. He can’t support his weight with his legs, so he sometimes relies on his arms to help. “Don’t think about your arms,” Rocole scolds gently. “Think about your legs.” Progress is painfully slow and he gets light-headed and men-
tally tired, but the work is paying off. Today, he wiggles his left ankle. “I would say you learned a new trick today,” says Rocole. A few days earlier, he lifted his legs for the first time and has about 35 percent movement in them, with new muscles “returning” almost every day. n
McKiernan arrived at Madonna on Jan. 10, and he’s anxious to go home, but it may take a while. The accident slightly fractured his T11 vertebra and bruised his spine. “I’m starting to regain some function,” he said. “Initially, I was paralyzed for two weeks.” Authorities said a 2012 Dodge van driven by Bradley Boeckman hit McKiernan’s car, which was stopped at a light at the intersection. Both vehicles were headed north on U.S. 77.
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“In a lot of cases, when they open the door and we explain what we will do, they say, ‘We could really use the help.’,” Gross stated. “Farmers are pretty independent,” he added. “They are hesitant to ask for assistance. We find that especially true in Iowa.” Information on the application is kept confidential. Only Farm Rescue’s board of directors, which selects the cases that have the most need, sees the applications. Farm Rescue now accepting applications for spring planting assistance. Farm Rescue, a nonprofit organization that provides planting and harvesting assistance free of charge to farm families that have expe-
McKiernan, who just turned 34, doesn’t recall much about the accident. He was on his way to Open Harvest with a delivery. “My understanding is he (Boeckman) was distracted while driving,” he said. Boeckman, 46, of Lincoln was cited for reckless driving and is set to be in court on Feb. 19. n
McKiernan has no illusions. His doctors say recovery from such spinal trauma could take as long as two years. Some patients regain full or partial use of their legs. Others do not. “There’s no treatment to heal a spinal cord. The treatment is for muscles — to make them stronger and coordinated,” McKiernan says matter-of-factly. He considers himself lucky: no head trauma and just four stitches
rienced a major illness, injury or natural disaster, is now accepting planting applications from farmers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and eastern Montana. Farm Rescue assisted 50 farm families in 2013 and plans to assist a similar number of families as available funding and volunteer staffing allows. “Now is the time for farmers to apply for planting assistance. Priority consideration will be given to applications received by April 1,” said Bill Gross, Farm Rescue founder and president. “Friends and neighbors may also anonymously refer a family that is in need of assistance since some families are hesitant to ask for assistance themselves.” Farm Rescue introduced a SponsorA-Volunteer program,
on the back of his right heel. “Every day you see people here with far more challenges than I have,” he said, “and they’re succeeding, and that’s the best motivation in the world.” n
McKiernan is also grateful. To his Southwest brothers, who cut him free, drove his wife and kids to the hospital and have been doing chores at the farm, given money, dropped off food and built a wheelchair ramp and deck onto the house. “It’s amazing,” McKiernan said. “They take care of their brothers. That’s the deal. I want to get well so I can take care of them.” He’s grateful to his neighbors, too. Kevin Loth, co-owner of ShadowBrook Farms on West Denton Road,
Please see CRASH2, Page 11
which will provide an avenue for potential donors to help further the nonprofit organization’s mission of assisting farm families that have experienced unexpected crises. By making a donation via check or Farm Rescue’s website, anyone can contribute to the important work of the good-hearted, compassionate volunteers. “We are requesting people to consider helping us offset some volunteer costs, which in turn will allow Farm Rescue to mobilize more volunteers,” said Gross. “By sponsoring a volunteer, you are helping us assist more farm families who have experienced major injury, illness or natural disaster.” Sponsor-A-Volunteer donations may be mailed to: Farm Rescue, PO Box 1100, Jamestown, North
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John Kerry mocks those who deny climate change Secretary likens doubters to folks who believe the Earth is flat JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday called climate change perhaps the world’s “most fearsome” destructive weapon and mocked those who deny its existence or question its causes, comparing them to people who insist the Earth is flat. In a speech to Indonesian students, civic leaders and government officials, Kerry tore into climate change skeptics. He accused them of using shoddy science and scientists to delay steps needed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases at the risk of imperiling the planet. A day earlier, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to cooperate more closely on combating climate change. American officials hope that will help encourage others, including developing countries like Indonesia and India, to
CRASH2 from Page 8
helped take the pigs to the butcher and is doing some of the chores — never mind the fact that his business competes with Robinette Farms. “I think it’s a pretty small community that we live in,” Loth said. “Just because we are competitors doesn’t mean we can’t be friends as well.” And many others have
The Associated Press
In this Nov. 22, 2005, file photo, a Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad train sits on tracks in Huron, S.D. South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard says he will not oppose the sale of the west end of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad line. Canadian Pacific Railway announced in January 2014 that it’s selling the line to Genesee & Wyoming Inc. for about $210 million. The Associated Press
Secretary of State John Kerry pauses as he delivers a speech on climate change on Feb. 16 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Climate change may be the world’s “most fearsome” weapon of mass destruction and urgent global action is needed to combat it, Kerry said on Sunday, comparing those who deny its existence or question its causes to people who insist the Earth is flat. follow suit. China and the United States are the biggest sources of emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that cause the atmosphere to trap solar heat and alter the climate. Scientists say such changes are leading to drought, wildfires, rising sea levels, melting polar ice, plant and animal extinctions and other
extreme conditions. Also in the Jakarta speech, Kerry said everyone and every country must take responsibility for the problem and act immediately. “We simply don’t have time to let a few loud interest groups hijack the climate conversation,” he said,
signed up for chores and more through a page created by McKiernan’s sister Deirdre on the website Lotsa Helping Hands. “Chloe hasn’t cooked for a month because everybody has brought food for us,” McKiernan joked. Until an insurance claim is settled, he and Diegel won’t have much money coming in, and he said he may need to find a summer job. The farm’s vegetable
operation will be cut by about 70 percent this year, but his wife, who McKiernan says is the “real farmer,” will run the business with the help of hired apprentices. “The biggest part for me has been the support of Southwest and my farmer friends,” he said. “I couldn’t do this without them. It’s incredible and very humbling. I can’t wait ‘til we can give back, you know.”
Please see MOCKS, Page 20
Daugaard says he will not oppose sale of DM&E line PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Friday he will not oppose the sale of the west end of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad line, a track that runs mostly through South Dakota. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. an-
nounced last month that it is selling the line to Genesee & Wyoming Inc. for about $210 million. The sale is subject to U.S. Surface Transportation Board approval, and Daugaard this week sent a letter to the board saying he has
reviewed the sale and won’t oppose it. “I have great hope for G&W’s future in South Dakota, and I want to express a warm welcome to them,” Dugaard said in the letter. The deal includes
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Ag-based curriculum invigorates Kansas school Since making switch to charter school in 2007, enrollment has grown to 183 students WALTON, Kan. (AP) — The door to a hen house burst open on a chilly winter day and several south-central Kansas charter school students scrambled inside, squealing “Thank you!” to the chickens as they checked for eggs and replenished their grain. It’s a morning ritual at Walton 21st Century Rural Life Center, whose focus on agriculture saved it from closing. The school now attracts a steady stream of visitors from around the country who watch students learn through projects that range from selling eggs to showing pigs at the county fair. The farm curriculum, although still relatively unusual, has been replicated in other Kansas schools and proven successful in more urban
environments, including Chicago and Philadelphia. “Kids love it,” said Walton Principal Natise Vogt, adding that the students fight over cleaning up the animals’ droppings. “That’s one of the things that’s important to us. We want kids to enjoy school. We want them to be happy and want to come to school, and that’s what the hands-on learning does.” Located in a farming community of 235 people, the Walton school had barely 80 students when the school district decided to transform the kindergarten to fourth-grade building into an agriculture-focused charter school. Since making the switch in 2007, enrollment has grown to 183 students. Only about 10 percent of the students at the school about 30 miles north of Wichita live on
farms. But all of the kids beg to give Freckles the calf his bottle and Eeyore the donkey his breakfast ration. Cody Eye, 10, of Newton, said students learn math by measuring food and make money for the school by selling the animals. “It teaches us responsibility,” he said. “It teaches us how to take care of animals.” The school’s profile got a boost when the U.S. Department of Education, which provided a grant to get the school started, produced a video about the transformation. The community also bought into the project, with one farmer donating runt pigs and another loaning the donkey during the school year. Today, parents frequently call the school, eager to nab a spot for their children; one of
The Associated Press
In this Dec. 12, 2013, photo, second grader Hannah Greene bottle feeds a calf during morning chores at the Walton 21st Century Rural Life Center in Walton, Kan. Located in a small farming community, the school faced closing before re-establishing itself as an agriculture-focused charter school and more than doubling enrollment. the latest additions to the waiting list was a 3-week-old baby. The farming theme also has a long track record of success at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, where students care for
piglets, chickens and horses and grow plants. More than 3,000 students apply each year for about 180 freshman-class openings, principal William Hook said. “The nice thing is
SOIL from Page 7
other farmers participating in panel discussions Tuesday. Buffett said getting American farmers to improve their practices would help change practices worldwide and help preserve resources. But he said changing human behavior is difficult even when the evidence is convincing, like with getting people to quit smoking. Farmers in places such as Africa can’t afford to use many of the tools U.S. farmers use, but concepts like cover crops can apply. And farmers can set a strong example with their practices. “You can’t talk about
that even the kids who never revisit the idea of agriculture; they still benefit from their ag education, the ideals of get up early, work hard and stay late,” Hook said. In Philadelphia, the
Please see SCHOOL, Page 25
global food security and take the big elements out of the picture. You can’t say the United States doesn’t count. You can’t say Brazil doesn’t count. You can’t say Europe doesn’t count,” Buffett said. “I started to realize that it takes a whole combination of success. Everybody has to participate.” Buffett said he’s already thinking about planning another conference focused on conservation next year. Generally in his giving, Buffett tries to focus on programs that can be continued after the initial grant ends, so he doesn’t support introducing expensive hybrid seeds and irrigation in places where farmers can’t afford them.
LRNRD board OKs new 2014 pooling rules By LORI POTTER World-Herald News Service
ALMA — Lower Republican Natural Resources District irrigators now have more options to use their groundwater allocations in 2014 and the future. Following a public hearing Thursday, the LRNRD board approved changes to district rules related to pooling allocations. Irrigators can pool all, some or none of their certified irrigated acres. They can use their allo-
cations as they want, but cannot exceed the water use allowed for their total acres. This is the second year of a five-year allocation period with a limit of 45 inches per acre. LRNRD General Manager Mike Clements said the new rules set 2014 caps of 10 inches per pooled acre and 11 inches on non-pooled acres. Other requirements are that pooled acres must be within the same county or an adjacent county within the NRD and June 1 is the dead-
line for farmers to submit 2014 pooling plans to the LRNRD office. The NRD staff will confirm that all the acres listed are certified for irrigation. The plans will roll over unless changes are filed with the office by June 1 of each year. Clements said 51 people attended Thursday’s hearing, but only three testified — one in favor of the proposed rule changes and two neutral. The LRNRD directors also approved a change Please see RULES, Page 25
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AG NEWS AT A GLANCE
Nebraska Wheat Board announces March meeting The Nebraska Wheat Board (NWB) will hold its next meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at the Hampton Inn, 507 W Talmadge Rd., Kearney, NE 68845. The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. and adjourn at 3:00 p.m. It will include a first reading of contract proposals
for FY 14-15, reports from NWB board members, contractor reports, a review of lately received funding proposals and a list of upcoming events and travel. The public is welcome to attend
any open portion of the meeting. Interested individuals may contact the NWB office at wheat.board@nebraska.gov for a copy of the agenda or for more information. — Nebraska Wheat Board
The Farm & Ranch Exchange is the place to find your ag news. Look for it online at www.nptelegraph.com
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Q&A: Farmers, shippers wary of winter’s fallout Fast-melting snow in northern Midwest will likely not soak into frozen ground ST. LOUIS (AP) — While winter has been unforgiving to most of the Midwest, the next several months will dictate the season’s impact on all-important sectors, such as shipping and farming. Fast-melting snow in the northern Midwest likely won’t be able to soak into the frozen ground, meaning excess water would feed into tributaries and ultimately the Mississippi River, raising water levels and affecting barge traffic. Meanwhile, more snow on key farming states could delay the planting of corn, mirroring last year’s late start. Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, spoke to The Associated Press about how the rest of the winter could impact agriculture and river shipping. Here are edited excerpts of the interview: Q: Can you describe the severity of the winter in terms of the snow accumulations in the
Midwest so far? A: The further east you go, they have had more snow, more moisture. And the further west you go, as you get into central Iowa into eastern and central Nebraska, there hasn’t been a lot of snow. This time of year ... we look at how deep that frost layer does go into the soils, because realistically that is the frozen moisture in the ground that we’re going to be looking at come spring. With a lot of the snow that sits atop that, if we get these warmups during the winter, very little of that water will infiltrate into the ground because of the frost, so you do get more runoff this time of year. Q: For states that are no stranger to brutal winters and abundant snowfall, is the Corn Belt seeing above-average snowfall? A: Not really. I think the places in the central to western areas of the region have below-normal snowfall where others eastward have had what I consider typical. The further east
you go, it has been colder and wetter. But I just don’t think we’ve had a winter like this for a while, with the cold especially. It’s way too early to say that we’re going to end up below normal for the winter as far as snow. There’s still a lot of time. Even for some places that are kind of lagging for snow and moisture this winter, from what we saw last year it can change in a hurry. When melt-off does come it could be messy. Q: What are the implications for spring in terms of melt-off and inland rivers? A: I think it’s a little too early. Even with the good fall rains and the recharge of the soil, it went really well into the top 18 inches or so of the soil — what I call the topsoil layer. That deeper soil layer didn’t see as much of that moisture. That being said, with the snowfall that we’ve had this winter and as we go into spring melt, there is room for more of that moisture to go
The Associated Press
In this Feb. 6 file photo, a group of barges are seen left on a frozen Mississippi River in Godfrey, Ill. While the unfolding winter has appeared unforgiving to many in the nation’s midsection, weather experts say the next couple of months will dictate what kind of legacy the season actually leaves for the all-important businesses of shipping and farming. A fast melt-off of northern snowpack could funnel that water into rivers, swelling them enough to squeeze barge traffic. Lingering or prolonged snow could delay spring planting. into the soil profile. If we end up getting some of those wet, heavy snows toward the end of
the snow season again, and we warm up right away ... that’s going to be more cause for flood
potential than if we see a slow, gradual melt-off and slower warm-up.
Please see WARY, Page 23
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Has portable grain-bin rescue simulator, will travel Fire Science director at MPCC
offers training to keep public safe By BRENT L. COBB McCook Community College News Bureau Coordinator
When Tim J. Zehnder was named Fire Science Director at Mid-Plains Community College almost a year ago, he looked at his new home state with the eyes of someone trained in keeping the public safe. He saw how grain bins dominated the rural landscape and knew the dangers those structures can have. When he arrived in
Nebraska last March, Zehnder immediately saw the need for his new employer to help train area fire departments in grain-bin safety. Now, almost 1,000 hours of man-power later, his dreams of delivering a grain bin rescue simulator have become a reality. Zehnder took the new rescue simulator to the Nebraska Society of Fire Service Instructors Les Lukert Convention in Kearney where he used it for
the first time training emergency responders from around the state. “This prop allows us to take it out to local fire departments, feedlots, co-ops, schools and virtually anywhere there is a need to teach grain bin rescue safety,” Zehnder said. The training structure features a simulated grain bin and utilizes a training dummy that is sucked down into the structure. Emergency responders will be trained on how to setup a rope system to raise the victim up out of the bin. The prop is
mounted on a trailer with augers so that it all can be transported to various locations, requiring only a 16 foot clearance. It is 28 feet long and seven feet wide with functioning augers and plastic pellets in place of grain. Zehnder said responders need to know the types of bins they may encounter, the dangers associated with specific designs, the mechanics of bins and how to operate a safe and successful rescue/recovery. An important part of that training includes the proper ropes, Please see GRAIN, Page 23
MOCKS from Page 11
referring to what he called “big companies” that “don’t want to change and spend a lot of money” to act to reduce the risks. Kerry later singled out major oil and coal concerns as the primary offenders. “We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists and science and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific facts,” Kerry told the audience at a U.S. Embassy-run American Center in a shopping mall. “Nor should we allow any room for those who think that the costs associated with doing the right thing outweigh the benefits.” “The science is unequivocal, and those who refuse to believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand,” Kerry said. “We don’t have time for a meeting anywhere of the Flat Earth Society,” Kerry said the cost of inaction will far outweigh the significant expense of
Courtesy photo
Mid-Plains Community College Fire Science Director Tim Zehnder has helped bring a portable grain-bin rescue simulator to the MCC campus and is ready to bring it to anyone interested in learning the proper rescue methods.
reducing greenhouse gas emissions that trap solar heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the Earth’s rising temperatures. He outlined a litany of recent weather disasters, particularly flooding and typhoons in Asia, and their impact on commerce, agriculture, fishing and daily living conditions for billions of people. “This city, this country, this region, is really on the front lines of climate change,” Kerry said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that your entire way of life here is at risk.” He added: “In a sense, climate change can now be considered the world’s largest weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even, the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.” The solution, Kerry said, is a new global energy policy that shifts reliance from fossil fuels to cleaner technologies. He noted the President Barack Obama is championing such a shift and encouraged others to appeal to their leaders to join.
The U.S.-China statement issued just after Kerry left Beijing on Saturday said the two countries agreed on steps to carry out commitments to curb greenhouse gases, including reducing vehicle emissions, improving energy efficiency of buildings and other measures. Beijing and Washington launched a climate change discussion last year, promising progress in five areas: reducing vehicle emissions; advanced electric power grids; capturing and storing carbon emissions; gathering greenhouse gas data; and building efficiency. Kerry was in Indonesia on the last leg of a three-nation tour of Asia that started in South Korea. After leaving Indonesia on Monday, he planned to visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Before the climate change speech, Kerry toured Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest in the world, to pay his respects to Indonesia’s Muslim majority population.
Calif. water politics complicate Brown’s decisions Gov. is facing increasing pressure to tackle longstanding problems SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California struggles to cope with its historic drought, Gov. Jerry Brown is facing increasing pressure to tackle longstanding problems in the state’s water storage and delivery systems at a time when the politics of the issue have never been more tangled. For Brown, the drought presents both opportunity and risk for a governor facing re-election who also was in office during California’s last ma-
jor drought in the mid-1970s. It comes as he is pitching a costly and contentious proposal to drill two 35-mile-long, freeway-size water tunnels beneath the Northern California delta, a project that will cost at least $25 billion and is opposed by environmentalists who say it will all but destroy the imperiled estuary and has divided the agricultural community. The governor also faces mounting pressure from the state Legislature to address
an $11 billion water bond measure that lawmakers from both parties agree will require a major overhaul before it goes to voters in November. Few things are more politically divisive in California than water. Who gets it, who pays for it, where and how it is captured and transported have proven to be political minefields for California governors for nearly a century. The state’s current crisis has gained national attention through pictures of reservoirs turned to mudflats, rivers slowed to a trickle and farmers ripping out orchards and fallowing their fields. The
two Republicans in the race to contest Brown’s expected re-election campaign are intensifying their criticism and say his administration has not done enough to improve California’s water supply or help the hardest hit communities. Yet policymakers, water agencies, farmers and worried local government officials hope the crisis will produce enough urgency to yield a rare political compromise. Brown told reporters in Tulare last week that “if anybody can get it done, I can get it done.” Now may be the time, said Jay Lund, director of the Center for
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 9 file photo a visitor to Folsom Lake, Calif., walks his dog down a boat ramp that is now several hundred yards away from the waters edge, in Folsom, Calif. Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. “Floods and droughts and lawsuits always
bring attention to the water issues,” Lund said. “You rarely see
Please see WATER, Page 24
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5 GENERATIONS
GRAIN from Page 20
rigging and equipment to use in the rescue, the proper techniques for building a barricade around a victim, and the need maintaining proper air quality. “Grain bin rescue and recovery operations are labor-intensive rescues and this will allow us to address major element of an operation,” Zehnder said. Over the years, farm-safety campaigns have helped reduce the number of grain-bin related fatalities but Zehnder said the sad reality is that 98 percent of those types of emergency calls end with a recovery mission. With only a 2 percent chance of successful rescue responders need to know the proper way for recovering a body, including the safest methods for cutting a bin and where the grain will go. There are so many factors involved, that most responders won’t have the background to anticipate everything that could go wrong. Usually the person ends up in a grain bin when there is al-
WARY from Page 17
The conditions we see in the end of March and the first part of April are really going to dictate flood potential. Q: Along those lines, will the climate this spring dictate how quickly farmers can get back in their fields? A: Yeah. Last spring, we were cold and we stayed cold. Most producers were several weeks behind in getting their crops in the fields
ready a problem, such as rotting grain, a malfunctioning auger, grain bin maintenance or repair. The only way to prevent grainbin related deaths is to prevent people from going in them in the first place. MPCC is offering two types of grain bin safety training. One for firefighters and responders the other is a grain-bin awareness class for those involved in grain-bin operations. For firefighters, the training sessions will be 12 hours unless additional rope and rigging training is needed. Classes can be split up into whatever works best for the trainees whether it’s in two six-hour sessions or three four-hour sessions. The grain-bin awareness class is an eight-hour class aimed at making those employed in agriculture-related businesses aware of the types of things emergency responders need and will ask about in responding to a grain-bin rescue operation. For Zehnder, the delivery of the portable grain-bin to campus Feb. 4 was a personal one. His father designed a similar
and even those who got in early had some issues because it just didn’t warm up until mid-May. As much as you like to plan and prepare, the one thing we can’t control is the weather, and that’s always the curveball. Q: We’ve dealt routinely in recent years with questions about river levels. What’s your gut telling you about them this season? A: In 2012, we were at the very low end of the spectrum, and 2011 we were at the very high
prop 10 years ago in Minnesota when fire departments began seeing more and more grain-bin incidents. MFS York of Grand Island donated the grain bin. Ruggles Trailer Sales, Doak Construction, Swanson Sign and Kildare Lumber worked with Zehnder who manufactured most of it himself to the right specifications. “The MPCC welding instructors and students at the Center For Applied Science and Technology helped with the welding, the MCC maintenance staff pitched in at various times and a number of people helped make this project a reality,” Zehnder said. The city of McCook and the McCook Fire Department allowed Zehnder to use the fire station for housing the trailer during construction, MPCC has rewritten their two year fire science degree to be implemented in the fall of 2014. The changes will move them toward an academy style setting, primarily utilizing day classes with less evening classes and following a more traditional college setting. For more information, contact Zehnder at his office 308-345-8126, on his cell phone at (507) 84806535 or email at: zehndert@mpcc. edu.
end with a lot of flooding. Then last year we still had some reduced flows and levels, but they seemed to rebound fairly quickly. To see that quick rebound is telling me that ... we’re in way better shape than we were in 2012. We still have ample opportunity to accumulate moisture through the winter. How quickly we warm up in the spring is going to ... dictate how much stress is put on those rivers with the water that they can handle.
SALE
line ships grain, bentonite clay, ethanol, fertilizer and other products. “It’s our intention to make full use of all of it. It’s a great piece of railroad, and there’s a tremendous traffic base across it,” said Jerry Vest, Genesee & Wyoming’s vice president of government and industry affairs. The company has asked the Surface Transportation Board for a quick review, with the hope it can gain ownership and control of the line by mid-year, Vest said. Genesee & Wyoming started in 1899 with a short line in upstate New York, and it still operates that line as part of its system of 108 freight lines, Vest said. “We are in it for the long haul, so to speak,” he said. In his letter, the governor said he met with Genesee & Wyoming’s
from Page 11
660 miles of track between Tracy, Minn., and Rapid City; north of Rapid City to Colony, Wyo.; and south of Rapid City to Dakota Junction, Neb. Also included are connecting branch lines and track in Nebraska from Dakota Junction to Crawford. Daugaard earlier said he wanted assurances that Genesee & Wyoming would maintain and operate the line between Pierre and Rapid City, provide a high level of service over the long term and maintain competition in shipping rates and access to markets. Genesee & Wyoming officials said the company will continue to provide freight service on all parts of the line it is purchasing. The
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top executives, shippers and officials in other states before deciding not to oppose the sale. “I felt it was necessary to conduct this level of due diligence because the future viability of these rail lines is imperative to South Dakota’s future growth. Agriculture is the backbone of South Dakota’s economy and access to competitive shipping options is essential to South Dakota’s agricultural economy,” Daugaard wrote. He did say, though, that it’s still unclear whether Canadian Pacific has met its obligation to invest $300 million in upgrades as part of its 2007 purchase of the line. The Surface Transportation Board has decided that Canadian Pacific must provide that information.
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WATER from Page 21
big strategic changes in water management without that sort of motivation and attention there.” If the motivation has arrived, so have the politics. Last month, the Brown administration announced that for the first time it will deny any water allocations to thousands of Central Valley farmers and communities. In explaining the severity of the situation, Chuck Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, urged people “to take a deep breath, put down the
arguments we’ve all had in the past and come together as Californians.” “This is not about picking between delta smelt and long fin smelt and chinook salmon, and it’s not about picking between fish and farms or people and the environment,” he said. But those arguments are ever-present in California water conflicts, as they are this year. Republicans in Congress last month pushed through legislation to override federal limits on pumping water from the delta and stop efforts to restore the San Joaquin River, which Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, said was
a “commitment to putting California families over fish.” Brown called the legislation an “unwelcome and divisive intrusion” that would “re-open old water wounds.” It is not expected to clear the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, but it did prompt Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Democrats from California, to respond with a proposed $300 million drought-relief package. President Barack Obama also paid his first visit to Fresno on Friday to address the drought, but it’s not yet clear whether his administration will push for a long-term solution such as building more reservoirs.
from Page 13
in requirements for surface water irrigators seeking exemptions from the district’s $10-per-irrigated-acre occupation tax. Clements said the board changed the wording on the tax-exemption form. A clause will be removed that required irrigators to certify that surface water allocated to a field going into dryland production was not being moved to another field or sold. Now, Clements said, those irrigators need to confirm only that the water won’t be used on the field to which it was assigned. Letters with the corrected occupation tax-exemption form will be sent to surface water irrigators along with a reminder that it must be returned to the LRNRD office by March 1. Clements updated the
SCHOOL from Page 12
W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences’ 130-acre campus features an area for field crops and livestock pastures. Students at the magnet school have designed an exhibit for a flower show and participate in meat and dairy cattle judging clubs. The ag curriculum efforts aren’t without bumps, though. Next Frontier Academy, an Akron, Ohio-based charter school serving seventh- to ninth-graders, had a goal of 150 students when it opened last fall. But by January, its enrollment was hovering around only 45 students, said John Hairston, one of the founders. Still, Hairston was encouraged, saying the
board on the N-CORPE project and how it fits into the district’s plan to comply with the Republican River Compact if 2014 is another dry year. The Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement Project will repurpose groundwater from a 19,200-acre Lincoln County farm from irrigation to streamflow augmentation. The land was purchased by the Twin Platte and Lower, Middle and Upper Republican NRDs. New wells and pipelines are being linked to tributaries that flow into the Platte and Republican rivers. Each NRD will get 25 percent of the water credits, so 75 percent will go into Medicine Creek, a Republican River tributary, and 25 percent will go into a Platte River tributary. Each Republican Basin NRD will get 8,916 a-f of credits annually, based
on a 53.5 percent credit to the river for water going into Medicine Creek. Clements told the Hub Thursday that the second phase of the project has caught up with the weather-delayed first phase. That means all 30 wells and related pipelines are expected to be operational by the end of next week. LRNRD’s fiscal year 2013-2014 budget included the district’s $35,715,000 share of land, pipeline, and operation and maintenance costs. The debt on bonds issued to pay those costs will be repaid over 25 years with revenues from the occupation tax. In a Jan. 24 letter to state Department of Natural Resources Director Brian Dunnigan, the managers of the three Republican Basin NRDs described their plans to offset a projected compact compliance deficit of 42,560 acre-feet for 2014 if it is another dry year.
The LRNRD’s plan to offset 17,370 a-f includes 2,325 a-f of credits from a dry-year lease program that pays incentives to farmers to not irrigate some acres and 15,045 a-f from the N-CORPE project — its 8,916 a-f share plus an additional 6,129 a-f of credits to the river from the N-CORPE pool. Clements said there is a shared-services agreement that says if any part of the Republican Basin’s share of the water is not needed, it remains in the pool and can be used by another NRD willing to pay the additional pumping costs. He said those costs are about $45 per acre-foot. In other business Thursday, the LRNRD board approved $1,000 for the new Nebraska Building on the State Fair grounds in Grand Island, which will focus on agriculture. Each of the 23 NRDs was asked to contribute $1,000.
school is receiving more applications and that businesses are coming forward with donations, including a greenhouse. “The whole premise of agriculture is sustainability, and that’s what we are trying to teach our kids, to learn how to sustain themselves,” Hairston said. The Walton school, though never low-performing, has seen test scores increase by about 8 percentage points since switching to the agriculture theme. For the past four years, all of its third- and fourth-graders have measured proficient or higher in math, Vogt said, crediting that to the “excellent problem-solving skills” students learn. Vogt said agriculture-themed schools owe much of their success to the hands-on projects. Some fall flat, she says, recalling the boys who
tried to make their own incubator to hatch duck eggs. The eggs went bad, but Vogt didn’t mind because the students figured out that the reason was the incubator wasn’t keeping the temperature consistent. Other projects are wildly successful. Take the students who worried the barn wasn’t warm enough for the newborn lambs, and designed a solar-powered heater. Kindergartners make lip balm from soybeans, one of the crops they study, and sell it for $3 a tube. Students learn about liquids and solids, fill the order themselves and have used the money they’ve raise to purchase two iPads for the classroom. The kindergartners also hatch chicken eggs in an incubator to help them learn about the life cycle and help out with the school’s pigs. After
two first-graders show the hogs at the county fair, the animals are processed and the meat is used in school meals. “My kids understand farm to plate,” kindergarten teacher Rhonda Roux said. “We love (the animals). We care for them. But they understand that we do it to raise a quality product.” The older students are responsible for the sheep. During a recent class period, some turned raw wool into thread, while others practiced weaving and knitting using storebought yarn. Clayton Smith, 10, said he likes that students don’t just sit around. “We don’t want to do papers all day,” said Smith, who lives on a farm in Walton. “We can just learn from our teachers and being outside.”
t
RULES
FSA BRIEF
FSA offers Farm Bill updates by email USDA Nebraska Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director, Dan Steinkruger, encourages farmers, ranchers, and landowners to sign up for our free online news service, GovDelivery. GovDelivery is a more efficient, timely option for receiving important USDA Farm Service Agency program information. This service is the primary means FSA uses to distribute timely information on new Farm Bill programs. Through FSA’s GovDelivery elec-
tronic news service, producers can establish subscriber preferences by choosing to receive federal farm program information by topic, by state and/or by county. Producers can select as many subscriber options as they want, which allows producers who farm in multiple counties or across state lines to receive updates from each county in which they operate or have an interest. To begin using GovDelivery, subscribe online at www.fsa.usda.gov/ subscribe or contact your local FSA office for subscription assistance. — Farm Service Agency
5 Residential Real Estate
613 Feed/Hay/Grain EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
554 Houses For Sale
5 1 6 S o u t h P o p l a r, 3 Bdrm, basement, garage, $69,000. (308) 532-0297
& 6 Farm Ranch
EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
601 Custom Farm Work DAY WORK WANTED Ranch work preferred over 30 years Ranching experience. Please call 308-368-5215
604 Farm Machinery 1963 3010 John Deere Diesel (308) 872-6033 or 308-870-0196 New, Used & Rebuilt tractor parts. Most makes and models. Buying tractors, combines & hay equipment for salvage. Miller Repair LLC, Maxwell, NE. 308-582-4303. Email: millerrepair@yahoo. com
613 Feed/Hay/Grain 130 Cool season Alfalfa mix bales, early cut, very good test, net wrapped in big rounds. (308) 636-2605
800 Round Excellent quality bales 400 oat a n d 4 0 0 c a n e h a y, 1 3 7 5 lbs net wrapped, tested 10.5 to 13 % moisture, nitrates safe, price negotiable. Near Maxwell, NE C o u l d d e l i v e r. C a l l 3 0 8 520-4702 or 308-5306852.
840 Miscellaneous
849 Pets
849 Pets
A K C Ye l l o w M a l e L a b P u p p y. $200, North Platte. 708-772-1235
619 Irrigation / Farm Chemicals A K C R e g i s t e r e d Tr i c o l o r Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies - 5 females & 5 males. 308-530-7277 or 308-530-1040
1031 Pickups
PROWLER 1998- 25.5’’ 5TH wheel, super slide out, totally remodeled inside. (308) 532-5739
Need a Stairlift? Free home estimates Guaranteed Lowest Price www.nebraskastairlift.com 308-325-2759
P r a i r i e h a y, b i g r o u n d n e t wrapped bales, (308) 386-8174 or (308) 3864643.
For Sale T & L PIVOTS, 27 towers total, late 70’s & 80’s models, Call Gothenburg (308) 5290976
1013 Campers/RVs
& 10 Automotive Transportation
MONTANA 2001 KEYSTONE- 30’, 3 slides, Island Kitchen, Rear living room, $14000 OBO. 308-534-1470 days 308-660-1285 evenings.
FORD 2000 F150 LARI AT - S u p e r c a b , s t e p side box, 5.4 L i t e r, 129,200 Miles, 4 wheel drive, runs great, $7300. 308-532-3879 301 South Jefferson Avenue.
1040 Vans
1031 Pickups
1005 Cars
625 Livestock
WE BUY AND SELL TRAILERS
FORD 1992 F2504 wheel drive, 2 door bale loader and snow plow one owner clean runs good 60,000 on motor good tires. 308-8703023
FOR MORE INFO! 308-532-9263
AKC German Shepherd puppies- All German lines, shots current, 2 year guarantee, www.vomspringer.com 308-289-3651 APHC Registered Appaloosa horses. For more information call (308) 537-7321 Please leave message. Klintworth Ranch Black Angus Bull & Commercial Heifer Sale Saturday, March 1 2:00 pm Located at the Ranch 6 miles north of Moorefield or 20 miles south of Brady Nick Klintworth 308367-4583 www. klintworthranch.com
8 Merchandise 828 Household Goods IREST massage chair like new condition. $2000. (308) 532-5739
CHEVROLET 2002 MALIBU LS- Sudan, 3.1 liter V6 engine, front wheel drive, very good condition, 65,000 miles, leather & moon roof. $5900. (308) 534-8607 Purebred Nation Field Champion Labs. AKC registered Black & yellow. 7 weeks old, 1st shots and ready now, $450. 308-340-5853 A K C f e m a l e b l a c k & Ye l low pups. Granddaught e r s o f F C A F C Ta y l o r Labs Downtown Dusty Brown. Dewclaws 2 sets of shots, wormed, EIC C N M c l e a r p a r e n t s O FA good. 308-520-0460 or 308-650-7990
F O R D 2 0 0 7 M U S TA N G GT- Premium Red, 4.6 L i t e r, V 8 e n g i n e , 5 s p e e d automatic, Great condition, 104,000 miles. Asking $12,000. (970) 5908202. Located in Ogallala.
G M C 1 9 9 6 S A FA R I - A l l wheel drive, automatic, 184,000 miles, 8 pasremovable s e n g e r, 2 benches for cargo use. Blue, good condition. SOLD IN JUST 3 DAYS THANK YOU! TELEGRAPH CLASSIFIED’S
Visit the North Platte Animal Shelter today! 1402 N. Sycamore • 308-535-6780
BISHOP - Approx. 1 year old, intact male, German Shepherd Blend. Housebroken, good with dogs. Can cat/kid test. Active, engaging boy. Needs a tall, secure fence and an outgoing family that makes him part of what they do. Real heartbreaker! Homeless since Feb 14.
JUSTICE - *URGENT, has kennel anxiety!* Approx. 1 1/2 year old, neutered male, American Pit Bull Terrier/Chesapeake Blend. Partially housebroken, good with older kids, but not real small kids because of his bountiful energy. Bring in YOUR dog to test for a perfect fit! Really, really needs a forever home! Homeless since Feb 10.
STOCKMAN’S VETERINARY CLINIC N. HWY 83 • NO. PLATTE
308-532-7210
TIME TOOL AND EQUIPMENT 308.534.9370 South Jeffers Small Animal Hospital
308-534-3701
MOUSE - Adult, female, Domestic Long Hair Minimal Calico. Litter trained, good with all. Quiet, polite, tender hearted. Has steel blue eyes and very affectionate! Just a true sweetie! Homeless since Feb 16.
POE - 10-12 month old, intact male, Domestic Shorthair Tabby/White. Litter trained, good with all. He's going to be very spunky and curious about things. No fear in this little guy! Funny! Loves toys, independent but likes people. Homeless since Feb 16.
Fur the Love of PAWS passionately dedicated to saving animals in need at the North Platte Animal Shelter as well as animals in the community facebook.com/FurtheLoveof PAWSRescue
(308) 532-4880 220 W. Fremont Dr • North Platte
POPCORN KITTEN - 10-12 week old, "Popcorn Kitten", meaning needs help being socialized with people and animals. The time is now for this little kitty - immediate socialization is needed to make a great, well rounded pet. Please consider helping this kitten adjust! Homeless since Feb 7.
sjeklocha
VETERINARY CLINIC Dr. Susan Sjeklocha
1306 N. Buffalo Bill • North Platte • 308.534.1257
Westfield Small Animal Clinic 308-534-4480
NORTH PLATTE VETERINARY CLINIC 308-532-0366
308-532-5474
COSMO - 3-5 year old, neutered male, Domestic Shorthair Tuxedo. Declawed, litter trained but tends to mark territory as a result of later neutering - can be overcome with help! Sweet, sweet, unique boy! Charmer!!! Homeless since Feb 13.
SOCHI - Adult, neutered male, Russian Blue. Litter trained, can test with all. Independent, really likes jingly bell balls, could probably play Olympic soccer! Soft, does like to be petted! He has 'gold medal' eyes and is looking for a great, patient forever home to allow him to fully adjust to the newness of things. Homeless since Feb 15.
NORTH PLATTE 308-534-7636 800-303-7636 MAYWOOD 308-362-4228 800-233-4551
Cans for Critters Recycling Program Proceeds benefit the Rescue of Shelter Pets & Homeless Animals of NP Area. Call for Drop Off Locations 520-7762
facebook.com/NPCansforCritters