Farm and Ranch Exchange by Telegraph Webmaster

JANUARY 2015

Group connects aspiring farmers with educational options, business planning, grants and other support

By STEVE LIEWER World-Herald News Service

World-Herald News Service

Jason Carthel checks one of five bee hive boxes on his farm west of Denton on Jan. 8. Carthel is a military veteran who received a grant from the Farmer Veteran Coalition to expand his honey production to 10 hives.

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

Please see FUTURE, Page 4

Jason Carthel has traveled a long way from the talcum sands of Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War to the black soil of the 25 acres he farms today near Denton. The West Texas native flew on a medevac helicopter crew during his five-year Army career. In the war, his job included retrieving the bodies of dead soldiers, some of them mangled by land mines. Several years ago, he took up gardening to

grow food that wouldn’t inflame his daughter’s and his wife’s food allergies. But he also found a pastime that would soothe his own combat-troubled soul. “There’s something very cathartic about working in the soil,” said Carthel, 45, of Lincoln. “They say the way to a clean heart is dirty hands.” Last week, Carthel’s small beekeeping operation, New Hope Gardens, became the fourth agricultural venture in Nebraska to earn the label of “Homegrown

by Heroes.” It’s a label bestowed by the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a Californiabased organization that helps veterans make the transition from the military to agriculture. The coalition connects aspiring farmers with a military background to educational opportunities and ag-related internships. It also helps entrepreneurs write business plans, and offers small grants to get them started. It’s a useful networking tool, too. “When you get out of the military, you need a new purpose and calling. You want something that’s bigger than you,” said Chet Bennetts, a Marine Corps veteran from Nebraska who is the coalition’s director

JANUARY 2015

Veterans get help planting new future

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

▼

AG BRIEF

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Nebraska Farm Bureau endorses 4 property tax measures LINCOLN (AP) — The Nebraska Farm Bureau has endorsed four measures designed to lower property taxes for farmers and ranchers. President Steve Nelson said Jan. 20 that the bills would ease the financial burden on producers. The bills were introduced by Sens. Lydia Brasch, of Bancroft, and Dan

Watermeier, of Syracuse. Two measures would lower the taxable value of agricultural land, although one would only apply to schools. Those schools would likely see an increase in state aid. A third measure would send 20 percent of state income taxes collected in a local school district back to that district. Under current law, the state only returns 12 percent. The fourth proposal would boost the state’s property tax credit fund by $60 million annually.

Time & Temp — 532-6007

FUTURE from Page 3

of farm business development. “This is letting them dream out loud a little bit.” Bennetts has begun the legal process to make Nebraska the third state chapter (after Iowa and Maine) of the Farmer Veteran Coalition and hopes to complete it this spring. In September, Bennetts was part of a team that organized a daylong launch party in Seward for the new chapter. The event included ag demonstrations, a fundraising auction, a dinner, a live country band and a patriotic color guard. The publicity helped the coalition grow from 20 to 70 members in the state. Bennetts would like to see that number double or triple. The fundraiser raked in $20,000, which the coalition has dispensed to seven farmer-veterans across the state who applied for the grants — including Carthel, who bought five additional hives and some honey-processing equipment with his $3,000 grant. The “Homegrown by Heroes” campaign grew out of a similar program in Kentucky that went national in November 2013. So far, about 150 farmers nationwide have been certified. “There’s a lot of states that have really gotten behind this movement,” Bennetts said. “From a political standpoint — you’re talking about agriculture, and you’re talking about veterans. There’s no controversy.” Dan Hromas of York has blazed the “Homegrown for Heroes” trail in Nebraska with his Prairie Pride Poultry egg farm, which includes a flock of 300 chickens. He started less than two years ago and gained the “Homegrown” designation last May, the first Nebraskan to do so.

“

“I wanted to show that veterans who are wounded, physically or psychologically, can succeed.”

”

—DAN HROMAS, PRAIRIE PRIDE POULTRY EGG FARM, ABOUT VETERANS SUCCEEDING I FARMING

“I was able to get this farm off the ground,” he said. “I wanted to show that veterans who are wounded, physically or psychologically, can succeed.” Hromas, 38, was born in North Dakota, and his family moved to Lincoln when he was young. His mother served in the Marine Corps and his dad in the Air Force. He never doubted that he would carry on a family tradition of military service and follow his mom into the Marines. He enlisted in 1995, soon after graduating from Lincoln Northeast High School. He spent four years in the Marines, then two in the Army. Hromas qualified for an ROTC college scholarship to get a degree and become a commissioned officer. He majored in microbiology at North Dakota State University, graduated and joined the Nebraska Army National Guard in 2004. He entered a doctoral program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Two years later, Hromas got the call-up he had been expecting: Deployment to Iraq as a transportation officer with the Guard’s 755th Chemical Company, during the troop surge of 2006-07. He led a platoon that provided security to supply convoys in central Iraq at an especially dangerous time. Two members of his unit were killed. He came home empty and aching, and suffering from post-traumatic stress. “I don’t have anything shot off, but my spirit was amputated,” Hromas said. “There wasn’t any anesthesia to fix that.”

He couldn’t find a job in his field and drifted through a series of going-nowhere jobs. Hromas had worked on dairy farms in the past and thought agricultural work might suit him. He couldn’t afford dairy cows, so he settled on chickens. He got help from a number of farm-support groups. The Farm Beginners Course — jointly sponsored by UNL Extension and the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society — helped him network with people who could get him started in the business. The Center for Rural Affairs offered advice and steered him to the Farmer Veteran Coalition. And the Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation program gave him a grant to get his operation off the ground. “The farm doesn’t make a ton of money, but it’s very therapeutic,” Hromas said. “Chickens are fun. They make me laugh damn near every day.” HyVee stores in Grand Island and Lincoln have carried his eggs, and they’re currently available at Grand Central Foods in York as well as through the Nebraska Food Cooperative. He plans to expand his flock this spring to meet the growing demand from local retailers. “The eggs are sold before they’re laid,” Hromas said. “If I had the land, I could quadruple in size and still sell eggs.” Carthel hopes to follow in his footsteps. For years after he left the Army in 1993, he worked as physi-

cian’s assistant in Texas. His wife, Elizabeth, is a doctor. After they moved to Lincoln in 2006, he stayed home to take care of their daughter, who is now 10, and to tend to his ever-growing garden. Until recently, he had grown a variety of fruits and vegetables — red peppers, lettuce, eggplants, corn, tomatoes, figs, boysenberries — for his family and friends. He got three hives of bees to pollinate the crops. Last year, they produced about 10 gallons of honey, far more than he could consume. He gave some away. People raved about how great it tasted. Some offered him $25 a quart. “I said, ‘Maybe I should market some of this stuff and sell it. It would be a good way to finance my gardening habit,’ ” Carthel recalled. Bennetts, whose hay farm abuts Carthel’s property, encouraged him and told him about the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Carthel applied for the grant and the “Homegrown by Heroes” designation. It’s a rigorous process that includes preparing a detailed business plan and a food safety plan. The coalition doesn’t want tainted food to tarnish the “Homegrown” brand. Last week, his marketing kit arrived in the mail, and he put his first “Homegrown by Heroes” sticker on a jar of New Hope Gardens honey. His project will start growing in the spring, when his now-dormant hives come alive. He hopes to sell his honey at farmers markets. The HyVee stores that carried Hromas’ eggs also have expressed interest in retailing his honey. He’s not sure what the future holds, but the prospects are exciting. “I don’t know yet,” Carthel said. “We’ll just see how it unfolds.”

By JONATHAN STEARNS Washington Post News Service

The Associated Press

In this October 2014 file photo, a grocery store employee wipes down a soup bar with a display informing customers of organic, GMO-free oils, in Boulder, Colo. A large majority of Americans support labeling of genetically modified foods, whether they care about eating them or not. According to a December Associated Press-GfK poll, 66 percent of Americans favor requiring food manufacturers to put labels on products that contain genetically modified organisms, Please see NATIONS, Page 6 or foods grown from seeds engineered in labs. Only seven percent are opposed to the idea, and 24 percent are neutral.

ISABELL’S AUCTION: WEDNESDAYS

2006 EAST 4TH • NORTH PLATTE, NE FURNITURE - APPLIANCES - TOOLS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS - ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES PLUS ALOT MORE!

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

STRASBOURG, France — The European Union agreed to let its national governments go their own way on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in a bid to end years of regulatory gridlock that fueled trans-Atlantic trade tensions. The European Parliament voted Jan. 13 to allow individual EU countries to ban the planting of gene-altered crops so member nations that favor such seeds may gain easier approval from the bloc to grow them. The legislation endorsed by the EU assembly in Strasbourg, dents a free-trade tenet of the bloc, reflecting the deep split in Europe over biotech foods. The law gives national governments, when it comes to cultivating gene-altered crops, an opt-out from rules making the 28-country EU a single market. The opt-out option will accompany or follow any EU authorization to grow such foods, known as gene-modified organisms, or GMOs. “This agreement will ensure more flexibility for member states who wish to restrict the cultiva-

tion of the GMOs,” said Frederique Ries, a Belgian member who steered the measures through the EU Parliament. EU governments have already signaled support for the legislation, making final approval by them a formality in the coming weeks. The law, a response to what has become one of Europe’s most tangled policy areas, aims to accelerate endorsements at EU level of requests to plant gene-altered seeds made by companies such as Monsanto and declared safe by European scientists. A political divide in Europe over the risks posed by GMOs has delayed EU permission to grow them and prompted complaints by the U.S. and other trade partners seeking to expand the global biotech-seed market, valued at almost $16 billion in 2013. The European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm that put forward the proposal in 2010, wants to enlarge Europe’s share of the biotech-seed market in the face of resistance by half or more of the bloc’s members. Surveys show opposition to gene- altered foods by European

5 JANUARY 2015

EU gives its nations flexibility on biotech-crop cultivation

CHECK OUT OUR DISPLAY FLOOR

LOW EVERYDAY PRICES

(308) 532-6944

Check us out on Facebook for sale dates & start times!

SEE YA AT THE SALE!

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

New Bedroom Furniture & New Mattress Sets & Used Furniture! New Furniture, Recliners & Sectionals added to our display floor!

What goes up ...

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Drop follows 10 years of rising land prices By RUSSELL HUBBARD World-Herald News Service

Farmland values in Iowa and Nebraska have fallen in the past year, according to Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America. The member-owned ag lender said Jan. 20 that 15 of the 21 benchmark farms tracked in Iowa decreased in value during the past year, with an average drop of 8.8 percent. Only one benchmark farm increased in value. Iowa benchmark farm values were down 6.1 percent in January 2015, compared with July 2014. Farm Credit said the drop follows 10 years of rising land prices in Iowa, with values almost triple what they were 10 years ago. “In areas of Iowa, sale prices remain near historical highs,”

Farm Credit said. “The highest sale in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $15,300 per acre in Plymouth County.” Nebraska benchmark farm values decreased 1.7 percent in the last six months of 2014 and were down 0.2 percent in January 2015, compared with January 2014. Five of the 18 benchmark farms rose in value, and four remained unchanged. Nebraska farmland values have almost quadrupled from 10 years ago, Farm Credit said. The decline in land values follows significant drops in grain prices, Farm Credit said. “As corn prices settle at about $3.50 to $4 per bushel, profitability on higher-priced land is top of mind for many producers, putting downward

pressure on cropland prices and cash rents,” Farm Credit said. As far as actual sales go — as opposed to valuations — prices are higher, according to Omaha-based farm operator Farmers National. The company said Tuesday that sales prices for high-quality Nebraska land increased by an average of $500 an acre in the past year, to $12,000 an acre. Iowa prices rose $1,000 an acre to $12,000 an acre. “Location and quality of land continue to be main drivers of prices for a given tract of land,” said Farmers National, which manages 4,850 farms in 24 states. “The lower supply of land for sale and the continued demand for agricultural land is maintaining general stability of the land market.”

Absolute Land Auction 76.15 Acres Gravity Irrigated

Monday, January 26, 2015 American Legion, Hershey, NE 2:00 pm CST

JANUARY 2015

Located: Three miles east and one mile north of Sutherland NE. Legal:

Pt. E ½ SE ¼ Section 14, Township 14, Range 33, Lincoln County Nebraska.

Terms:

20% down day of sale. Closing date on or before February 23, 2015. Title insurance split 50/50. Trudy Swedberg Eastwood - Owner

308-534-5514 Joe A. Nutter - Broker 308-530-0101 Brad Atkins - Listing Agent /Auctioneer 308-530-9012 landbrokersne.com

▼

AG NEWS IN BRIEF

New officers elected for Neb. Beef Council KEARNEY — New officers for the Nebraska Beef Council were elected Jan. 12 at the Nebraska Beef Council office in Kearney. Election results are as follows: William “Buck” Wehrbein, a feedlot operator from Waterloo, was elected chairman. Wehrbein represents producers in District 7 including Platte, Colfax, Dodge,

NATIONS from Page 5

consumers, who worry about risks such as human resistance to antibiotics and the development of so- called superweeds that are impervious to herbicides. Biotech foods range from corn to oilseeds in which genetic material has been altered to add traits such as resistance to weed-killing chemicals. Under the legislation, any EU government will be able to demand that “the geographical scope” of an application for authorization to grow gene-modified crops in the bloc “be adjusted to the effect that all or part of the territory of that member state is to be excluded from cultivation.” Alternatively, any EU government will have the right to “adopt measures restricting or prohibiting the cultivation in all or part of its territory of a GMO, or group of GMOs defined by crop or trait, once authorized” by the bloc. “This is another nail in the coffin of genetically modified crops,” said Mute Schimpf, a campaigner for Friends

Washington, Nance, Merrick, Polk, Butler, Saunders, Douglas, Hamilton, York, Sarpy and Cass counties. Dawn Caldwell, a cow-calf producer from Edgar, was elected vice-chair. Caldwell represents producers in District 8 including Seward, Lancaster, Otoe, Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Saline, Gage, Johnson, Nemaha, Webster, Nuckolls, Thayer, Jefferson, Pawnee and Richardson counties. Anne Burkholder, a feedlot operator from

Cozad, was elected treasurer. Burkholder represents producers in District 9 including Dawson, Frontier, Gosper, Phelps, Kearney, Red Willow, Furnas, Harlan and Franklin counties. Patrick Knobbe, a feedlot operator from West Point, was elected secretary. Knobbe represents producers in District 3 including Cedar, Dixon, Dakota, Pierce, Wayne, Thruston, Madison, Stanton, Cuming and Burt counties.

of the Earth Europe, which opposes GMOs. “While not perfect, this new law allows governments to shut the door on biotech crops in Europe.” EU governments struck a deal among themselves on the legislation in June last year, when Germany swung behind the flexibility proposal after initially opposing it and pledged to make use of the optout possibility. The governments then ironed out technical differences with the EU Parliament in December, clearing the way for Tuesday’s endorsement by the 751seat assembly. The biotech-food industry has criticized the planned rule changes, with the European Association for Bioindustries saying they amount to a “non-cultivation agreement” under which EU governments can reject safe products for non-scientific reasons. “That really is quite a bad precedent for the internal market,” said Beat Spaeth, director for agricultural biotechnology at the Brussels-based association, known as EuropaBio. “It’s also a

bad precedent for science-based regulation. What’s next, a ban on yellow-colored cars?” The EU ended a six-year ban on new gene-altered products in 2004 after tightening labeling rules and creating a food agency to screen applications. In a case brought by the United States, Canada and Argentina, the World Trade Organization ruled in 2006 that the European moratorium was illegal. Neither the rule changes during the moratorium nor the WTO verdict altered an impasse in the EU over planting GMOs. Since 2004, the EU has let new gene-modified products be imported for food and feed uses while stopping short of endorsing any request for cultivation with the exception of one application for a potato developed by BASF to be grown for the production of industrial starch. The BASF potato is no longer grown in the EU, leaving a Monsanto corn variety approved in 1998 as the only gene-modified crop commercially cultivated in the bloc.

By JEFF BAHR World-Herald News Service

Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center. The 39 genetically pure bison came from the RimRock Ranch near Crawford and will live on Shoemaker Island.

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

Please see BISON, Page 8

Before they went to see monster trucks Jan. 17, the Wayne and Crystal Schrader family of York gazed at some monster-sized animals. The Schraders were part of a large crowd that welcomed 39 bison to the Crane Trust land southwest of Grand Island. Wayne Schrader was looking forward to seeing the big trucks. But their 12-year-old daughter, Cara, was much more excited about the bison. The animals arrived at the Crane Trust property a couple of hours late. But many people, such as the Schraders, came back later in the day, or simply stuck around to see the bison. “It was worth the wait,” said Barb Froistad of Ashland. She and her husband, Jerry, and their 12-yearold granddaughter, Sidney, amused themselves for three hours after arriving. “It’s amazing,” Froistad said. “We’ve seen bison before, but we’ve never seen a big group like this before.” Sidney, who lives in Lincoln, has seen bison on two trips to Wyoming.

“But I’ve never seen a three-legged bison. That was cool,” she said, referring to one of the animals that rumbled out of the trucks. The genetically pure bison will make their home at Shoemaker Island. The animals that made the trip Saturday were calves and cows. Two 7-year-old bulls will arrive from Crawford the end of January. When you’re a bull, you travel on your own schedule. All a human can offer is encouragement. “You suggest that they get on the truck,” said Chuck Cooper, president and chief executive officer of the Crane Trust. The arrival of the bison was the culmination of a project that began 2½ years ago. The animals will make their home on 4,500 acres of historic prairie, most of which has never been tilled, Cooper said. That land is the largest piece of tall and mixed grass praire left in the state. One of the goals of the Crane Trust is to restore, maintain and protect natural habitat. But keeping the land in its natural state is very diffiWorld-Herald News Service cult without its dominant species, he Genetically pure Bison are released Jan. 17 into pens on land owned by the said.

7 JANUARY 2015

Crowd welcomes genetically pure bison to natural prairie

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Peterson advances ag section to become bureau of AG office

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

World-Herald News Service LINCOLN — As one of his first actions of taking office, Attorney General Doug Peterson advanced an existing section of agriculture and environmental issues within the Consumer Protection Division to become a Bureau of the Attorney General’s office. Justin Lavene is the Bureau Chief of the newly formed Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Bureau. “Elevating these important areas to the Bureau level reflects the longstanding battles we have had to address in Nebraska related to water as well as the imminent concerns of what is on the horizon with federal regulations.” Peterson said.

Peterson goes on, “As an agriculture rich state, we are proud to recognize Nebraska’s rich agricultural heritage with a dedicated Bureau in the Attorney General’s office.” Justin Lavene supervises the litigation support for Nebraska state agencies and boards, including Doug the Department of Peterson Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Ag, Game and Parks Commission, Environmental Trust and the State commodity boards.

World-Herald News Service

In your hand or on the web, we have all the news you need!

The first bison is coaxed out of a trailer by Louis LaRose of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Jan. 17 on land owned by the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center. The genetically pure bison came from the RimRock Ranch near Crawford and will live on Shoemaker Island.

BISON

RANCHERS AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS THIS BUNK’S FOR YOU!

from Page 7

Steel Formed 20’ Long Seamless with NO Welds

15”Deep• 32” Wide•26” Tall• Holds 53 Bushels When Level Full•20 ft. long•Body made of 11 gauge material•Legs made of heavy pipe• Strong rolled rails & ends • Weighs 735 lbs. •Many other sizes available • Call to inquire

Custom Gates & Continuous Fencing

JANUARY 2015

•5, 6 and 7 Bar or Custom Sizes •20 ft. long •High Tensile Tubing•Comes w/ connecting sleeves •Ends & Clips available•Many panel sizes available •Call to inquire

Change the way you drive posts!

Lightweight & Portable at only 32 pounds! Drives up to 1000 posts on one gallon of gas! Powerful as a pneumatic driver at 1720 bpm!

Call or Stop by for a demonstration

1st on the Market 1st in Quality 1st in Service... Guaranteed!

See one of our dealers or call about these or other livestock products, custom metal fabrication, repair and machine work.

Delivery Available

Hutt Enterprises 76155 Hwy 61• 1 mile north of Grant Grant, NE 69140

308-352-4888

“So now the dominant species is back. I’m really excited,” Cooper told the crowd. “They’re a historic animal, and they belong here,” said Louis LaRose of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. LaRose delivered a prayer and a talk about the importance of the bison, surrounded by about 60 people. The animals came to the Crane Trust land from the RimRock Ranch near Crawford, owned by T.R. Hughes. It’s unlikely they got as much attention at the ranch as they did Saturday. As the animals headed out of the trucks, many people took pictures with their cellphones. Because they’re buffalo, there were no roaming charges. A lot of people thought the Crane

Trust people were crazy when they started talking about reintroducing bison to their native habitat, but Jan. 17 was a “special day,” Cooper said. The bison are descended from animals that Hughes purchased several decades ago in Wyoming, he said. Of the 500,000 bison in North America, only about 1 percent are genetically pure, Cooper said. Duane Hovorka, executive director of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, said the presence of the bison will change the land and alter the relationship between the prairie and many different creatures. Biologists working for the Crane Trust will study the effects. Although cattle are similar, buffalo have their own unique habits and characteristics, Cooper said. For one thing, they herd closer together than cattle.

A total of 42 bison were expected to inhabit the property, but a cow died this past week, Cooper said. The herd is expected to evenutally grow to about 200. To get ready for the bison, Crane Trust representatives visited a bison ranch near Mullen. A dozen bison, which are not genetically pure, were also brought to the area near the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center to serve as an exhibition herd. Those animals will eventually be replaced by the new arrivals, Cooper said. The Crane Trust also built a catch pen to handle the bison, and fenced in 1,000 acres. Trails are being developed so that members of the public can get a good view of the animals. The bison are in the area surrounding Wild Rose Ranch, which is at 6611 Whooping Crane Drive.

STAY HEALTHY IN 2015 The New Year has arrived and many of us set Resolutions to stay healthy. Your health insurance plan may help you do that. Many of you under the age of 65 have now moved to an Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant health insurance plan. Part of the requirements built into the plan are a series of preventative services designed to help keep you healthy. Preventing disease and detecting health issues at an early stage is essential to living a healthy life and also reduces healthcare costs. Catching blood pressure or cholesterol problems early can minimize lasting damage to the heart, kidneys, and eyes. It's much better to control your blood pressure than to have to go to dialysis or transplant a kidney.

Only the ACA compliant plans have these preventative services. If you have a grandfathered plan, these services are not free and in some cases won't be covered. If you had a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that you kept since 2010 or in a group plan that hadn't changed, you may have a Grandfathered plan. You can ask your employer whether it is an ACA compliant plan. Short-term or Temporary plans also are not ACA compliant as they don't cover pre-existing conditions. Over the counter medication, vitamins, exercise classes, and health club memberships are not considered preventative services and are not covered. There may be some age restrictions for some of these such as with a colonoscopy. It's not covered until age 50. These services are specific to all adults, women, and children. Each has different services covered. Here is a small listing. Review your policy for a complete list of covered services.

Preventative care evaluates your health when you are symptom-free. Routine checkups and screenings can help you avoid more serious health problems later. Even if you think you are perfectly healthy, a serious condition with no signs or symptoms may put you at risk. The ACA contains a provision to make certain important preventative services available without having to pay co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles. You pay nothing.

The Affordable Care Act makes certain preventative services available to plan members without co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles. But the tests, exams, and other medical services must be preventative, and not part of a diagnostic procedure or ongoing treatment for an existing condition. These free services also only applies to network providers so be sure that your physician is in the network.

Another example would be getting a blood test that measures cholesterol at an annual wellness exam with your primary care doctor. The office visit and the blood test would be a preventative service, because the patient is being screened with no known symptoms, illness, or injury. On the other hand, if the patient makes a quarterly visit to his doctor for a cholesterol check to confirm his medication dosage is appropriate, the quarterly blood test would not be a preventative service and may require deductible or co-pays.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Many of you have Health Savings Accounts (HAS) with a high deductible. Because of that, I hear stories from clients not using their plan because they don't want to pay out of pocket. Now, whether it be an HSA or a co-pay plan, these services are covered as long as it's an ACA compliant health plan. So you have no excuse! Get your checkup. Take advantage of these new plans so these routine services can help keep you healthy, wealthy, and wise. Start 2015 with a Healthy You! Footnote: Open Enrollment for health insurance continues until February 15, 2015. Talk to your favorite insurance agent if you don't have coverage or need to shop alter native carriers. If you have any questions or want a complimentary appointment, call Rebecca Nordquist at Phares Financial Services at 308-532-3180.

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

Some examples of these preventative services include blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol screenings. Routine vaccinations, smoking cessation, and depression and alcohol abuse, and well-baby checks. Mammograms and colonoscopies are also included. But all of these need to be preventative in nature, not a treatment follow-up. For example, a woman has her annual well woman exam. The exam falls under the preventative services in the plan. She gets her pap smear and mammogram which are also a covered preventative service. But if something shows up in the mammogram, and the doctor thinks another mammogram 6 months later should be done, then it is not a preventative service and deductible and co-pays will apply on the 2nd mammogram.

JANUARY 2015

By Rebecca Nordquist, RD, MHA, CLTC

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Pheasants pay strong dividends for farmers Keeping bird numbers healthy is a necessity By DAVID HENDEE World-Herald News Service

TOLSTOY, S.D. — Eric Johannsen is a pheasant farmer. His fourth-generation family farm in north-central South Dakota produces one of the greatest concentrations of wild ring-necked pheasants in a state famous for the long-tailed game birds. While cattle, corn, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat — plus offfarm income — still pay the bills, Johannsen said his focus on pheasants pays dividends not only toward a stronger balance sheet but also a healthy and sustainable landscape. “Some people say make every acre count,” he said. “We

make every square foot count.” Johannsen’s farming philosophy reflects a sense of urgency in pheasant country across the United States. South Dakota and Minnesota held “pheasant summits” during the past year in response to falling bird populations. In Nebraska, the State Game and Parks Commission is reloading pheasant management initiatives to target large swaths of habitat. Pheasant numbers have been trending down nationally for years mainly due to lost habitat, according to Pheasants Forever, a hunter-based organization devoted to upland conservation. South Dakota’s premier habitat made it a world-class destination for pheasant hunting for nearly a century, but the landscape and times are changing, said Dave Nomsen, director of Pheasants Forever’s South Dakota

regional office in Brookings. “We’ve seen a substantial loss of native prairie in the state — and pheasants are a grassland bird,” he said. “But if every farmer and rancher thought like the Johannsens do, I wouldn’t need to be here. There’s a place for conservation on every farm, every ranch, every acre.” Johannsen, 37, operates a commercial hunting business on the family farm near Tolstoy, a community of about three dozen people 75 miles southwest of Aberdeen. Creating Johannsen Farms Outfitting was his ticket back to the farm after college. A 2000 agricultural graduate of South Dakota State, Johannsen convinced his father and older brother to consider enhancing the wildlife habitat on their farm. The property had pheasants, but they

Please see BIRD, Page 12

Courtesy photo

Farmers and ranchers say a focus on pheasants pays dividends not only toward a stronger balance sheet but also a healthy and sustainable landscape.

11 JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

BIRD

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

from Page 10

were an afterthought. “I thought that if we could put a little more time and effort into the habitat, we could produce more wild birds,” he said. “Then we would focus on small hunting groups who felt like they were coming to their grandfather’s farm.” Johannsen manages a 5,000-acre landscape that includes only 300 acres of grassland in the Conservation Reserve Program, a voluntary federal land-idling initiative that has been critical pheasant habitat. “We’re using a lot of other things for nest-

ing cover to produce birds,” he said. Fields of wheat and corn, cattail sloughs, wooded shelterbelts and grain sorghum food plots provide dense nesting habitat and valuable feed sources for countless wild pheasants. Chasing late-season pheasants — South Dakota’s hunting season closed two weeks ago — can stir up blizzards of ringnecks erupting from winter cover. “That’s what people come to South Dakota for,” Johannsen said. During a typical year, the farm is home to an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 wild birds after the spring-summer hatch. The pheasants

don’t live rent free. For example, 10 acres of sorghum or corn left unharvested as a winter food plot is worth about $110 an acre — or more than $1,000 — in lost cash rent revenue, Johannsen said. “A food plot has to pay for itself,” he said. “So that food plot has to produce $1,000 worth of pheasants.” Johannsen captures that income by charging hunters $300 or more per day for guided wild bird hunts on the farm. The hunting operation produces about 10 percent of the farm’s profit, he said. “You don’t do it to get rich,” he said. “It’s a diversified form of income. It pays for the habitat projects.” Johannsen said the hunting income is less than he would receive if he farmed every acre, but a healthy landscape helps the

family survive the inevitable years of drought or low commodity prices. Johannsen considers spring nesting and winter habitat needs of pheasants when planning everything from how long his cattle will be allowed to graze in a pasture to how he rotates his crops around the farm. “Most ranchers and farmers will look at it and think, ‘Can I make money grazing it?’ or, ‘Can I making money farming it?’” Johannsen said. “That’s where they stop. There’s nothing wrong with them, but we look at it more intensely. Can we graze it? Can we farm it? Can we hunt it? Then what’s the best way to do all that?” Johannsen said he tries to manage the farm in a way that every acre is available for a pheasant to nest. The

entire farm produces pheasants, but 80 percent of the birds are hatched and raised in greening winter wheat or wheat stubble. “You don’t need huge, undisturbed expanses of grassland for pheasants,” Johannsen said. “It’s taking little things here and there and adding them all up together and seeing how they work. That will get you the. habitat you’re looking for” The practices are common-sense stewardship, he said, but blending intensive habitat management into a farming operation wasn’t an overnight success. “For everything we’ve done right, we’ve done five or six things wrong,” Johannsen said. “But if you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never succeed.” The family farming philosophy is to consistently stay profitable. Pheasants are part

of the mix. “It’s all about longevity,” Johannsen said. “If you try to hit a home run every year, you’re going to strike out a lot. In farming and ranching, if you strike out one year, you may be able to survive it. If you strike out two out of three years, you’re done.” Weather is a wild card, even with prime wildlife habitat, Johannsen said. The farm had ideal nesting habitat in 2013, but pheasant numbers were down more than 60 percent. Countless pheasant chicks died during cool spring and summer nights that year. Frost formed on corn in the middle of July. “Weather can affect bird numbers over the short term rather drastically, but if you don’t have the habitat, your bird numbers will never increase,” Johannsen said.

13 JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Success is due to inspiration from flagship product known as ‘cream can suppers’

By COLE EPLEY World-Herald News Service

“

”

—SETH MCGINN, COMPANY OWNER, ABOUT BUSINESS TAKING OFF

cream can could easily hold enough food for dozens of people and required nothing more than sliced vegetables, sausage, spices, a little water and a heat source. McGinn said he got the idea to move the method off the ranch and onto the patio when he realized he was spending hours behind a grill during summer cookouts. “I thought to myself, ‘This is dumb. I’m having a party and doing all the work while everyone has a good

time and I only get to see these people two or three times a year,’ ” he said. The first attempt to replicate his grandfather’s method failed, however. After the lid blew off the top, the lead solder on the base of the can got too hot and the bottom fell out. So McGinn and a friend fashioned a square vessel first out of stainless steel and later out of aluminum to test an improvised version. When those worked, they made a

Please see SEAMS, Page 19

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

the seams and it’s time to pull the trigger,” he said of the expansion. Think of the CanCooker as a vessel for a sort of Midwestern low-country boil. It’s a commercial take on “cream can suppers” that were a fixture on McGinn’s grandfather’s ranch in northeast Nebraska. On that ranch and others across the Plains, daylong cattle brandings called for a low-maintenance, high-volume method of cooking, and that’s where cream cans came in. Instead of tasking someone with spending hours preparing and cooking a meal in a far-away kitchen, a

round one more akin to the cream cans of yore and McGinn started seeing the potential. “People saw it and were like, ‘I want three for Christmas gifts,’ and it grew from there,” McGinn said. The full-size version retails at full price for about $90 and the smaller version for about $60. The cooker’s latched lid locks in heat and steam, cooking meals similar to a slow cooker but faster. It can be used indoors and outdoors on any stovetop, campfire, burner, grill or portable cooktop. Five years ago, the business consisted of a rented storage unit and, when enough orders rolled in, operations overflowed into McGinn’s garage.

FREMONT — An entrepreneur here has taken a cooking technique from the Great Plains and turned it into a business that is growing fast enough to warrant a 10,000-square-foot addition to its headquarters and distribution center. Seth McGinn’s CanCooker, the name of both the business and its flagship product, has made its way from humble beginnings shipping out of a local storage unit to selling in stores that include Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and Wal-Mart. The addition, expect-

ed to be completed in early spring, will push the company’s total space to 27,000 square feet and make room for additional offices and employees. Today, CanCooker has 17,000 square feet of space and about 10 fulltime employees, but McGinn said, “It’s all getting bottlenecked.” That’s because the company received orders for more than 60,000 CanCookers in 2014. This number doesn’t include orders for its other products, which include a smaller version of the CanCooker, a portable gas burner and folding cutting boards. “We’re bursting at

“People saw it and were like, ‘I want three for Christmas gifts,’ and it grew from there.”

JANUARY 2015

Fremont company is bursting at the seams

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

FA R M & R A N C H E XC H A N G E

BANKING

AUTOMOTIVE

C A RR O L’S REPAIR & TOWING

EQUAL HOUSING LENDER

121 S. Jeffers North Platte

308-532-5936

Contact Jackie Jo Curtis to set your marketing plan in motion!

308.532.4722 or 308.289.3363

We have a rollback for all your special towing needs. 24 HOUR SERVICE Days: 532-7901 Eve: 534-2203 Approved Emergency Service Amoco Motor Club Custom & Dealership Towing

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

YOUR AD COULD BE HERE! CALL 308.532.6000 FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Call AJ Today! 532-1500 910 East 8th St. • North Platte, NE Toll Free (800) 685-1825

TIME TOOL AND

EQUIPMENT RENTAL 908 Rodeo Road

308-534-9370

JANUARY 2015

SPRAYS THE ORIGINAL

Sprayed-on Truck Bed Liners

1920 W 9th St.

308-532-4411 877-532-4411

YOUR AD COULD BE HERE! CALL 308.532.6000 FOR MORE INFORMATION!

By PAUL HAMMEL World-Herald News Service

from Page 15

development organization GROW Nebraska, said products like McGinn’s are most successful when they are marketed more as an experience. And it’s an added bonus when that experience has roots in the Midwest. A GROW Nebraskaaffiliated company also has worked to commercialize the method of cream can cooking. The Ogallala Cream Can Supper Co. was formed in 2009 by John Marquis and Phil Cone and, instead of importing aluminum vessels from China, the pair contracts with manufacturers in India to ship stainless steel vessels to the U.S. Marquis describes his cream can business as more of a side project that he manages in addition to a full-time endeavor running a business that manufactures bay rum, an aftershave product. The company sold about 600 cream cans in 2014.

Ogallala Cream 19 Cans come in four sizes, the smallest of which Marquis said sell best in the winter. The largest model sells best in the summer. Still, describing the practice to someone who has never heard of it remains a tricky part of the sales pitch, Marquis said. “When you try to explain it to people they want to think it’s a soup or a stew. Unless you’ve had one before, it’s really hard to explain,” he said. “I just tell people it’s really tasty and very unique and a good way to feed a lot of people pretty cheaply.” For people that have partaken in a cream can supper, however, the unspoken nostalgia can quickly jog one’s memory. “These products are sort of an old-fashioned way of doing things, and that makes people happy,” Ehrke said. “My parents had one in their RV and they relished that for a lot of years.”

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

There, McGinn and his wife spent nights and weekends after his full-time job in product development at Hewlett-Packard putting shipping labels on boxes that contained the first CanCookers. “We would bring a pallet home from the storage unit, put them in the garage to put labels on them and then take them to the UPS store in west Omaha,” McGinn said. “Now, we’re the largest FedEx shipper in Fremont.” McGinn’s wife, Sonja, who previously worked in the animal health industry, is national accounts manager and chief financial officer for the business. The company has also grown large enough to require three Chinese factories with which McGinn contracts manufacturing of the aluminum vessels, up from one when he launched the compa-

ny in 2009. McGinn said he was introduced to Chinese contract manufacturers while running his side business that imports raw materials used in health supplements for people with arthritis. Making CanCookers here, he said, would cost four times as much, but the company’s growth has opened the door for local manufacturing of other product lines. There are about 20 different CanCooker products, including a line of seasonings that is made down the street at International Spices. There, CEO Eric Hochstein said he’s just doing his part to help expand the local economy. “If we’re doing business for them and producing product for them, it’s in our best interest that they grow,” Hochstein said. “We’ll do everything we can to help out.” Janell Ehrke, CEO and founder of nonprofit economic

LINCOLN — Only four months after resigning his post, former Lt. Gov. Lavon Heidemann has found a new political job: Contract lobbyist for the state’s largest farm group. Heidemann will lobby during the 2015 legislative session for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, getting paid $4,000 a month, according to his lobbyist registration form. The hiring of such a well-known former senator — who served in the State Legislature for eight years — is seen as a clear sign that the farm group is serious about property tax relief this session. Heidemann, a 56-yearold Republican, resigned as the state’s second in command in September, after it was revealed that a sister had taken out a protection order against him after a heated argument in which the lieutenant governor

grabbed and shoved her. resigHeidemann’s nation forced then-Gov. Dave Heineman to name a new lieutenant governor, John Nelson of Omaha, for his last few months in office. Heidemann was already at work on Monday morning, chatting with senators and other lobbyists in the State Capitol Rotunda. “I love being back in the building,” he said. “I love the process and the people.” Heidemann has agriculture in his bones — he farms near Elk Creek. During his tenure in the Legislature, he introduced and prioritized several bills seeking property tax relief for farmers and ranchers. During his two terms as a state senator, Heidemann served as chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

SEAMS

JANUARY 2015

Heidemann joins farm lobby

Mr. Marland has specialized in providing quality, knowledgeable services to the Ag Real Estate Industry for over 35 years in the areas of Farm and Ranch Real Estate Sales, Financing, Appraisals, Consulting and Management.

He continues to be associated with Great Western Bank in North Platte as their Ag loan officer servicing special Ag accounts. He is also associated with MetLife Ag Investments as a correspondent for long term real estate financing. If you are considering any real estate services or have consulting questions please feel free to contact Skip via mobile or e-mail.

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

He holds both the State-Certified General Appraiser’s license with NE and the National ARA designation with ASFMRA.

5 Residential Real Estate

625 Livestock EQUALHOUSING OPPORTUNITY

554 Houses For Sale

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

H o u s e f o r s a l e i n B r a d y, 2 Bdrm, 2 bath, attached single car garage, $75,000. Call (308) 6500617 or 308-650-0618

& 6 Farm Ranch

EQUALHOUSING OPPORTUNITY

613 Feed/Hay/Grain 5 5 b a l e s m e a d o w h a y, 3 0 bales broam grass, net wrapped $100 a ton. 100 bales corn stalks, twine t i e d $ 5 0 a t o n . Yo u l o a d and haul 308-520-5381 or 308-520-5506 190 net wrap round bales alfalfa, 1st thru 3rd cutti n g $ 11 0 p e r t o n . S e m i l o a d s o n l y. N e a r G o t h e n burg. 308-529-2218 503 small square bales of alfalfa, $8 each, 100 or more. 45 small square bales or grass and alfalfa mixed, $6.50 each. (308) 368-5802 or (308)520-5646 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. Wanted 2015 pasture for rent, full care needed. 100-500 pairs, 308-778-6520 Want to buy your damaged grain & damaged ground piled grain. Grain Vac available. (316) 640-3203 Barn stored hay choice, $6 a bale, straw $3.50 a bale. 6 row John Deere head, p o l y, field r e a d y. ( 3 0 8 ) 3 8 7 - 4 2 0 3 o r 308-660-1343 Wanted summer pasture for 50-150 pair, 2015 and beyond. 308-352-6091 BMR Cane- 500 bales, net wrapped, low nitrates, (308) 530-7329

WE BUY AND SELL TRAILERS FOR MORE INFO! 308-532-9263

8 Merchandise 828 Household Goods Nice, comfortable navy/yellow sofa and chair (craigs list pictures); n/s home; well made. I cannot deliver. $400 OBO Cash only. 539-3827

849 Pets AKC Pug Puppies - 1 black male and 1 black female. Shots & wormed, 308-539-6031 Registered To y P o o d l e puppies- excellent quality and temperament, shots, delivered. $350 and up. 308-577-6367 AKC yellow pointing lab pups. Sire has senior hunter and master pointing retriever titles. Dam i s a c e r t i f i e d p o i n t e r. $600 308-760-8813 or 308-762-2063

& 10 Automotive Transportation 1005 Cars

1005 Cars Hallmark 1999 28 ft enc l o s e d t r a i l e r, 5 2 0 0 l b axels, $6500 OBO. 2009 G R T , f u l l r o l l e r r a c e c a r, new body $6000 OBO. (308) 520-4660 SOLD SOLD SOLD IN 3 DAYS I got 7 calls all from the N o r t h P l a t t e Te l e g r a p h Area. I had no Idea how extensive their coverage is. Ve r y I m p r e s s i v e ! T h a n k y o u Ve r y M u c h ! D.B. Lincoln NE CADILLAC 2005 D e VILLE - In Gothenburg, NE. Light cashmere c o l o r, 60,000 miles, good shape. $6,500. C H E V R O L E T 2 0 0 4 C AVALIER, automatic, new tires, runs great, great condition, $4200 OBO. (308) 530-7715 BUICK 2002 REGAL LS sedan, excellent condition, 3800 V6 engine, 88,000 miles, tan exter i o r, w i t h t a n l e a t h e r i n t e r i o r, n e w t i r e s , c a r f a x records, $5800. (308) 534-8607

1025 Motorcycles HONDA 2001 80 dirt bike in excellent condition, $800. (308) 882-8961

1028 Auto Parts/Acc. Bullet resistant 75 gallon rectangular aluminum fuel tanks, $100. each. (308) 537-7659

1032 SUVs CHEVROLET 2000 TA HOE- No Rust, good tir e s & b o d y, t o w p a c k a g e -high miles. $4,500. OBO (308) 870-0766

1040 Vans G M C 1 9 9 6 S A FA R I , a l l wheel drive, 4.3 V6, runs great, great condition in and out, good tires, 8 passenger $2000. (308) 870-5534 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! CALL 532-6000/ 800-753-7092

Organizations join forces to host training programs By NATASHA RAUSCH World-Herald News Service

The Associated Press

New regulations designed to protect farmworkers, people who live and work near agricultural fields

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — California farmers now must abide by the nation’s strictest rules for a widely used pesticide in a change designed to protect farmworkers and people who live and work near agricultural fields but is likely to raise prices on produce. The restrictions an-

nounced Jan. 14 target chloropicrin, a pesticide injected into the ground before planting crops such as strawberries, tomatoes and almond orchards. In recent years, the chemical has caused hundreds of people to suffer from irritated eyes, coughing fits and headaches, state officials said.

New regulations surpass standards required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Brian Leahy, director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, said Jan. 13 that the higher standard is needed in California, the nation’s leading agricultural producer and most populated state, where farms are often next to people. Costs are sure to rise for farmers, who will pass it along to Please see RULES, Page 23

ABOUT WORKSHOPS TEACHING INS AND OUTS OF FARMING

is on the upswing, but the number of Latino farmers is not matching that,” Schoenberg said. The Spanish workshop will be in Crete and the English version will be in Lincoln. De la Paz said that after the workshop he will rent land and begin growing crops, such as basil and parsley, so that he can sell fresh crops to consumers. He hopes farming will supplement his income as a welder in Columbus. “I hope someday I will be only a farmer,” de la Paz said. The Spanish- and Englishlanguage workshops will be most Saturdays from this weekend through April 25. In the past two years the Center for Rural Affairs hosted weekly two-hour workshops in Lexington and Columbus. Schoenberg said that wasn’t enough time to go in depth, so the classes are now six hours each week. Please see CAREER, Page 23

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

California unveils strictest rules on pesticide application

“ ”

—EDUARDO DE LA PAZ, BEGINNING FARMER,

In this September 2012 photo provided by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, workers test soil in Yuba City, California. The California Strawberry Commission announced Jan. 13 awards totaling more than $1 million in recent state and federal research grants to advance the scientific knowledge on sustaining healthy soils to control plant diseases and reduce the need for soil fumigation.

LINCOLN — Three years ago Eduardo de la Paz moved from Florida to Columbus for better job opportunities and in the hopes of one day owning his own farm. Beginning Saturday, he will start down that path. The Center for Rural Affairs and Community CROPS are joining forces for the first time to host 12week workshops, one in Spanish and the other in English, for beginning farmers and ranchers. The workshops will teach attendees the basics of becoming a small farmer and will cover topics such as how to operate a farm, start a business and raise small livestock. Some of the classes will include a farm tour. Erin Frank Schoenberg, the project organizer at the Center for Rural Affairs, said it is important that the classes be offered in both Spanish and English in order to reach out to the growing Latino population in Nebraska. According to the U.S. Census, Latinos now make up 9.2 percent of the Nebraska population, up from 2.3 percent 20 years ago. “We know the Latino population

“I hope someday I will be only a farmer.”

21 JANUARY 2015

Workshops pitched at teaching ins and outs of farming career

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

JANUARY 2015

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

ROBIN, DOVE & CROW - 6 months old, 2 female and 1 male, German Shorthair Pointers. Came in as strays, so full info isn't known. Can kid, cat, dogs test. This is a special breed that should be researched before owning. HOMELESS SINCE 1-20.

NANNY - Approx. 4 year old, female, American Bulldog Blend. Possibly housebroken, excellent with children. Can dog and cat test. Super smart and knows tricks, a huge love bug who adores people! HOMELESS SINCE 1-16

sjeklocha

VETERINARY CLINIC Dr. Susan Sjeklocha

1306 N. Buffalo Bill • North Platte • 308.534.1257

Fur the Love of PAWS

MISHEE - Adult, neutered male, domestic shorthair buff. Declawed, Litter trained, can kid, cat, dog test. He is very scared and sad in the shelter. His owner passed away and he is definitely mourning. Needs a loving, patient home! HOMELESS SINCE 1-13

MONA - Adult, petite female, domestic shorthair black. Litter trained, good with all. Very down in the dumps. She needs a fun, loving forever home to relax in. Truly needs to be pampered and adored! HOMELESS SINCE 1-13

CARLI & CHARLIE - Approx. 5 years old, 1 male and 1 female. Came in as strays, so full info isn't know. Possibly housebroken. Can kid and cat test, good with dogs. Need committed forever homes! HOMELESS SINCE 1-19

TAFFY - URGENT - Younger adult, female, domestic shorthair tabby. Litter trained, good with all. The most perfect, gentle, sweet, loving cat that anyone could ask for. Amazing personality and disposition. HOMELESS SINCE 1-7

ZORRO - Approx. 1 year old, intact male, Greyhound/American Pit Bull Terrier Blend. Came in as a stray, so full info isn't known. Can kid, cat, dog test. Tons of awesome energy, loves toys and playing. Needs some help with manners, but will be a phenominal dog with a little dedication and work. Just a big pup! HOMELESS SINCE 1-16

Please have your pets spayed or neutered! SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER! ADVERTISE HERE - CALL JACKIE JO CURTIS 308.535.4722

308-532-5474

passionately dedicated to saving animals in need at the North Platte Animal Shelter as well as animals in the community

(308) 532-4880

facebook.com/FurtheLoveof PAWSRescue

220 W. Fremont Dr • North Platte

South Jeffers Westfield Small Animal Clinic Small Animal Hospital 308-534-4480 308-534-3701 NORTH PLATTE 308-534-7636 800-303-7636 MAYWOOD 308-362-4228 800-233-4551

NORTH PLATTE VETERINARY CLINIC 308-532-0366

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

from Page 21

Working together to better serve our clients.

Registered Principal dpete@profinadv.com

from Page 21

“In two hours, when you’re talking about how to start a farm, you’re only talking bullet-point info,” she said. In addition to the extra four hours per week, the workshops will also be available online. Those logging in at home still must register for the class. The workshop costs $450 per person. Schoenberg, however, said the cost

of speakers and the time taken to organize the workshops makes the class worth about $1,200. Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program, the Center for Rural Affairs and Community CROPS have made the classes more accessible. Scholarships are available for those who can’t afford the workshops. Executive Director of Community CROPS Ingrid Kirst said the goal is for 75 percent of class attendees to start

In your hand or on the web, we have all the news you need!

a farm or ranch. In 23 the English-language class, 26 people are enrolled and in the Spanish-language class 20 people are enrolled. Community CROPS is a Lincoln-based organization that helps people work together to grow healthy food and live sustainably. “Some people just come wanting to learn,” Kirst said. “But our hope is that most of them begin their own farm.” Community CROPS has been hosting workshops since 2005.

Marc Werkmeister

CFP® Registered Representative

mwerk@profinadv.com

501 So. Jeffers St. North Platte, NE 69101 308.534.8210 • 308.532.4738 fax Securities, Insurance and Investment advisory services offered through SagePoint Financial, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Professional Financial Advisors is not affiliated with SagePoint Financial, Inc. or registered as a broker-dealer or investment advisor.

TARGET PUBLICATIONS

Questions about retirement? Call today for an appointment with the ONLY CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER in town. Douglas D. Peterson www.profinadv.com CFP, CLU, ChFC

CAREER

THE FARM & RANCH EXCHANGE

out of state or the country. Almond and grape growers use chloropicrin once every 20 to 30 years when they plant a new orchard or vineyard, but California’s strawberry growers, who use it each season, may be hit hardest. California produces 88 percent of the nation’s strawberry crop, supporting a $2.3 billion industry, said Carolyn O’Donnell, a spokeswoman for the California Strawberry Commission. It will cost the state’s strawberry growers an estimated $20 million to buy upgraded tarps to cover their crops and comply with the standards, she said. “Farmers and their families live near their farms and work in their fields and care deeply about protecting the safety of their workers, neighbors and communities,” O’Donnell said.

consumers, but Leahy said it is worth it. “It is burdensome,” Leahy said. “But if we’re going to use these tools, we’ve got to ensure that they’re used as safely as possible.” Under the new regulation, farmers are limited to applying the pesticide on up to 40 acres in one day, a reduction of 75 percent. It also expands the distance between fields and human activity — in some cases to double the distance. Farmers who use upgraded tarps to cover their fields while applying the pesticide can follow less stringent regulations, said officials. Farmers use about 5 million pounds of the pesticide a year, most heavily in the Central Valley counties of San Joaquin and Fresno

and along the coast in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. The state has been talking with growers for more than a year about the new standards and will immediately begin implementing them, with full compliance required by 2016. The state documented 787 people as suffering from exposure to the pesticide drifting through the air between 2002 and 2011, according to the most recent records. In 2013, 19 people picking raspberries in Monterey County were sickened, and in 2012, 15 people in their homes and two firefighters near a Ventura County strawberry field reported irritated eyes, officials said. California farmers fear that tighter restrictions will increase the costs of their fruits and vegetables, potentially driving the market

JANUARY 2015

RULES