Siouxland Life - August 2015

What’s the buzz?

Bees stay active

Bad arteries could be the source of pain

Blueprints for home: Keeping the past alive

A GUIDE FOR LIVING IN SIOUXLAND

GROWING CHANGES FARMING GOES BEYOND THE USUAL TODAY

ON THE FARM WITH BILL NORTHEY

AUGUST 2015

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August 2015

Siouxland Life

CONTENTS August

2015

Today’s farm isn’t like yesterday’s – in more ways than one. In addition to advances in agriculture, farmers are looking to different kinds of crops, different revenue streams, different livestock. This month, we look at those changes and talk with the farmers who are making them happen. Included in the buzz: a talk with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey who, yes, still farms.

16 HORSE SENSE

Training horses was a passion. Now it’s a career.

28 ON THE COVER Clint Brown harvests tomatoes in July at C. Brown Farms’ greenhouses in rural Merrill, Iowa. Brown sells his fresh produce at area farmers markets and to local restaurants. Photograph by Tim Hynds

FEATURES 4 HOME memories blueprint 8 FARMING century farms 10 FARMING goat soap 13 FARMING growing smiles 16 FARMING riding an idea 18 FARMING a spit away 21 FARMING chick magnet 24 FARMING ag secretary 26 FARMING ranching out

28 30 33 36 40 42 45 47

21 CHICK MAGNET

FARMING productive life FARMING women’s place 20 QUESTIONS veterinarian FARMING in the classroom FARMING what’s the buzz HEALTH artery woes HEALTH medical answers PARTING SHOT

It’s possible to have chickens in town. Just ask.

PUBLISHER Steve Griffith EDITOR Bruce Miller EDITORIAL Dolly A. Butz, Tim Gallagher, Earl Horlyk, Ally Karsyn, Michelle Kuester PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Hynds, Jim Lee, Justin Wan DESIGN Diane Cunningham ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Gevik ADVERTISING DESIGN Kayla Fleming ©2010 The Sioux City Journal. Siouxland Life is published monthly by The Sioux City Journal.

For advertising information, please call (712) 224-6275. For editorial information, please call (712) 293-4218.

30 WOMEN IN FARMING

Necessity brought women into fields. A love for the profession keeps them there.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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HOME blueprint

for memories

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August 2015

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SIOUXLAND

HOUSE TOUR

10 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT A NEIGHBORHOOD GEM

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Text by Ally Karsyn | Photographs by Justin Wan

THERE’S A LOT OF love about this Historic Heights home – from its charming façade to interior features that signal an affluent lifestyle of yore, unfettered by modern amenities.

Many original details have been left intact since the home’s only had three owners, starting with local jeweler Jacob Greenberg in 1926. Chuck Corbett, a third generation lawyer in Sioux City, bought the home in 1989 and shares it with his wife Lisa, a colorist at Belle Touche and occasional house flipper.

He didn’t know much about the history when he bought it. He just liked the neighborhood and this home happened to be for sale. Now, the Corbetts undoubtedly have an appreciation for the craftsmanship of the home steeped in history, and they’re making some memories of their own.

1. CURB APPEAL The arched openings of the portico and parlor windows are defining features of Romanesque Revival style architecture. Another unique detail of the home is its Spanish tile roof.

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2. FRONT PORCH SITTING From the front porch, which overlooks the southwest corner of Grandview Park, Chuck and Lisa can enjoy an evening meal or glass of wine while melodies carry over from the band shell. “That’s a

nice reason to sit out on the porch too, being able to hear the municipal band on Sunday nights,” she said.

3. WELL-LAID PLANS Left behind by the previous owner, the blueprints of the home hang above the stair landing. The 2,732-square-foot home was built by Beuttler & Arnold, a Sioux City architecture firm that also designed the Insurance Exchange Building, YWCA and six-story building for T.S. Martin Department Store, once called the Marshall Field’s of the Midwest, formerly at Fourth and Nebraska.

4. RESTORING FORMER GLORY The Corbetts pulled up the carpeting in the living room to reveal the original hardwood floors that they were able to have restored. Some wallpaper came down and pieces of furniture were reupholstered to give this room an update while trying to stay true to the period.

5. FAMILY HEIRLOOMS In one corner of the living room, Chuck keeps his Edison disc phonograph from the early 1900s that belonged to his grandparents. “They had a cottage at Okoboji, and my aunt wanted to turn it into a planter. I think this was back when I was in college, and I said, ‘Well, you can’t do that.’ Shortly after that, they gave it to me.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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6 6. PEAK INTO THE PAST The formal parlor or sunroom was a popular home feature in the 1920s. Historically, the parlor was a place for entertaining special guests, playing games and hosting funerals.

7. CABINETS AND MARBLE COUNTERS Bringing an old home into a new century presents certain challenges. Back in the day, the Greenbergs had an icebox in the pantry and the Corbetts wanted to fit a refrigerator in the kitchen. They reconfigured the small space slightly, preserving the original marble countertops and cabinetry, but they removed a large cast iron sink – and turned into a patio planter – to make way for a smaller basin with a garbage disposal and dishwasher nearby.

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August 2015

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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8 8. ALL THE REMAINS When they tore up the carpet, they discovered an odd hole in the middle of the floor. “We learned that is actually a butler bell,” she said. Whenever the family was eating and wanted something brought in from the kitchen, they could ring the bell by foot and the butler would appear. “The butler hasn’t shown up yet for us,” she said with a laugh.

9. PERIOD PIECES Chuck collected furnishings, circa 1926, from auctions, estate sales and eBay. A neat feature of the master bedroom is a roof terrace that can only be

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accessed through the window.

10. LIVING HISTORY The window-lined sleeping porch on the second floor is a callback to days before air conditioning. There are other remnants of the era like two sets of stairs – one in the reception hall and another narrow set right off kitchen for the maid, who had a second floor bedroom with a little balcony. “You think, gee, that’s pretty nice,” Chuck said. “But on the blueprints, it also called this the drying porch.

So the idea was this is where she would bring the laundry up and hang it up to dry.”

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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FARMING century

farms

SIOUX CITY FARM CELEBRATES

100 YEARS

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Text by Dolly A. Butz | Photographs by Jim Lee

DERRILL TOWNLEY, 92, RETIRED from farming this year – the same year his family’s farm located one mile east of the Leeds neighborhood hit the century mark.

Townley never dreamed the 140-acre farm his grandfather, Joseph, bought in March 1914 would stand the test of time.

“I’m very surprised,” Townley says of his farm’s longevity. “I’m surprised that I’ve been going for 90 years.”

The original outbuildings and farmhouse are gone, as are the livestock that were once raised there. A tenant now plants and harvests the corn and soybeans. Townley’s grandson, Edward, owns two acres.

Besides the land itself, the only thing remaining from the Townley farm’s early days are “can’t sag gates.”

“This is the only thing left on the farm,” Townley laments as he grasps the top of a white wooden gate that separates his gravel driveway from his quaint peaked roof farmhouse that is flanked by green fields.

“Outside of you,” Townley’s wife, Dolores quips. The two share a smile in the bright summer sun as a train’s whistle sounds in the distance.

The Century Farms Program will recognize the Townley farm at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will issue certificates and markers to 366 new century farms.

The Century Farms Program, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation with the endorsement of the Iowa American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, honors farmers who have owned land for 100 years or more.

The program began in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration, when more than 5,000 certificates and farm markers were distributed across Iowa at local ceremonies.

Becky Lorenz, Century Farms Program coordinator, says reaching the century mark is a major achievement for a family farm.

“Between mother nature and the

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August 2015

Derrill and Dolores Townley’s farm will be honored by the Century Farms Program at the Iowa State Fair in August.

Founded in 1976, the program honors farmers who have owned land for 100 years or more.

economy and interest down the line in your family to keep it 100 years is exceptional,” she says.

A VERY GOOD LIFE Derrill Townley started milking cows when he was 8.

He was driving a tractor by 12.

He loved the independence that came along with farming – being outside and being his own boss. He enjoyed planting crops in the spring, watching them grow throughout the summer and then harvesting his crop in the fall. Eighty of the farm’s acres lie inside Woodbury County limits, while 60 acres are in Sioux City city limits.

Weather, Townley says, poses the greatest challenge to Iowa farmers. After a particularly bad drought in 1956, he recalls having to mow down his corn crop in order to receive aid from the government.

“It had some ears on it but it was very little,” he says.

Hail and flooding, over the years, have also caused widespread damage to

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Townley’s farm.

“We used to have land by the Floyd River before the Floyd River project went through. That used to get flooded just about every year,” he says. “Flooding, hail and drought were the biggest problems we’ve had.”

There are now nearly 18,700 century farms in the state, according to Lorenz.

When the program began, she says there were just those 5,000 century farms.

More than 160 of them are located in Woodbury County.

To be named a century farm, Lorenz says, the farm has to be run by a relative of the initial owner for 100 consecutive years and consist of at least 40 acres. All farmers have to do is fill out an application to be considered for the designation.

“It doesn’t have to have a building on it anymore,” Lorenz says. “It doesn’t have to have somebody living there.”

Townley says hard work is the key to successfully maintaining a farm.

“Be prepared to put up with a lot of troubles,” he says. “But overall, it’s a very good life.”

Siouxland Life

August 2015

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FARMING goat

soap

GOAT’S MILK CHIEF INGREDIENT FOR SPECIALTY SOAPS

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Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Tim Hynds

VANESSA WODTKE KNOWS THAT beauty can come from unusual sources.

After all, her four white Saanen goats, Vasha, Maggie, Willow and Ruby, represented a large part of the success for her Bloom Wild line of soaps and beauty products.

“Goat’s milk is packed with nutrients and vitamins,” Wodtke said at her rural Sioux City farm. “It’s also loaded with a lot of anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.”

For several years, the wife and mother of five sold her scented bar soaps, scrubs and body butters at the Sioux City Farmers Market as well as at area specialty stores.

Earlier this year, Wodtke was able to open her own Bloom Wild retail space at 111 West Main St. in Hinton, Iowa.

Which is quite a leap for a woman who initially created her homemade soaps for use only by her family.

“I’ve never been a fan of factory-made beauty bars,” Wodtke said. “If you don’t recognize any of the ingredients on the label, you probably shouldn’t be putting it on your face.”

With the encouragement of her family, she continued making the soaps that consisted of a handful of ingredients, like essential oils or herbs she purchased or had grown in her garden.

Still, there is one chemical that Wodtke said is essential to soap making: lye.

A common ingredient in cleaning products, lye works as an alkaline to fat, such as that found in goat’s milk.

“The lye combines with the fat on a molecular level,” Wodtke said, “and it makes for a more consistent product.”

That makes soap-making both an artistic and scientific endeavor. “(The process) is a lot like baking a cake,” Wodtke explained. “Only you’re

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August 2015

Above: Vanessa Wodtke stands in the barn at her rural Sioux City, Iowa, farm. Wodtke uses milk from her small herd of Saanen goats to make Bloom Wild bar soaps that she sells from her store in Hinton, Iowa. Below: Vanessa Wodtke pets one of her goats at her rural Sioux City, Iowa, farm.

DETAILS

What: Bloom Wild Retail Store Where: 111 West Main St., Hinton, Iowa When: 12 - 5 p.m.

Wednesdays and Fridays; 12 - 7 p.m.

Thursdays; 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Saturdays Website: ibloomwild. com

using lye.”

Milking her goats from April through August, Wodtke stores hundreds of gallons of milk in her freezer. This allows her to make soap for her customers all year.

“People still ask me if the goat milk is fresh,” she said with a laugh. “When you’re milking your own goat, you know it’s always going to be fresh.”

Yet Wodtke is affectionate toward her four-legged employees.

“You certainly learn a goat’s mood when you’re trying to milk her,” Wodtke

SIOUXLAND LIFE

said. “If she’s in a good mood, you’ll get plenty of milk. If she’s tired or hot, the goat will be more difficult.”

It should be noted that her goats are usually in a good mood.

“Goats are an interesting animal,” Wodtke said. “Mine are as affectionate and, sometimes, as needy as any dog.”

Still, they react well to a diet of alfalfa and the occasional tickle under the chin.

“My goats are a big part of Bloom Wild’s success,” Wodtke said. “I couldn’t do what I’m doing without them.”

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August 2015

Siouxland Life

FARMING growing

smiles

SUNDANCE RANCH OFFERS UP SMILES FOR MID-STEP CLIENTS

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Text by Michelle Kuester | Photographs by Justin Wan

SITUATED ON THE EDGE of Sioux City, Sundance Ranch is home to several unique animals (including a miniature cow) and more common animals like horses and goats.

Worker Shelby Mosier helps owner Gary Turbes care for the ranch’s dwarf rabbits, pygmy goats, chickens, miniature horses, standard horses, miniature donkey, alpaca, sheep, the miniature cow, and pot-bellied pigs.

Clients of Mid-Step Services, of which Turbes is the director, go to Sundance Ranch in groups of 12 four times per week to pet, play and help take care of the animals.

“Our main focus is Mid-Step,” Mosier said, “although we welcome other people to come volunteer. Anyone over the age of 14 can come and help lead horses for the riders.”

She noted that college students will often volunteer at the ranch to fulfill community service requirements for graduation.

“Students from (Western Iowa Tech Community College) will come out here a lot and help out,” she said.

Mosier focuses mostly with the horses and helps the clients work with them in a safe manner.

“I see the impact that the animals have on the people who come out here,” she said. “I have people come out who are hearing impaired and the riding helps with their balance.”

She said the horses help visually impaired people become more aware of feeling movements.

“It’s so rewarding,” said Mosier. “I love the smiles that I get. Especially from the people who ride. Getting to use animals to make people smile is the best. I’m definitely an animal person.”

Riders are on the horses for 30 minutes at a time, unless they want to get down sooner.

“Sometimes they are so excited to see the other animals,” Mosier explained. “They might also be tired or sore and want to get down.”

Mosier has been with the ranch, which has been open since 1989, more than a year.

Shelby Mosier pets a horse at the Sundance Ranch in Sioux City. The riding facility and petting zoo works with Mid-Step to let those with special needs care for farm animals.

A pig rests at the Sundance Ranch in Sioux City.

Miniature horses can be found at the Sundance Ranch in Sioux City.

“I’m always trying to find a balance between what can be improved and what shouldn’t be messed with,” she said.

Mosier grew up around horses and felt the job was perfect for her.

“I never thought I would get to work with horses as an adult,” she said. “I moved here specifically for this job.”

Although the animals have stayed consistent in her time at Sundance Ranch, Mosier said that Turbes used to

raise ostriches on the property as well.

“I know people from Mid-Step weren’t allowed to be in with the ostriches, but they could look at them,” she said.

Flexibility and organization are keys to making her job work, Moser added.

“When you’re working with the disabled, things don’t always work smoothly,” she said. “And I have to stay organized. It just keeps things running smoothly.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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FARMING riding

an idea

SIOUX CITY HORSE TRAINER MAKES RIDING

ENJOYABLE

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Text by Ally Karsyn | Photographs by Tim Hynds

SENSING SOMETHING’S UP, THUNDER Nation begins prancing in place, ready to lunge from his stall. The American Saddlebred is a spirited, high-stepping horse with speed, stamina and style. He’s anything but average.

After the five-gaited show horse has been groomed and saddled, Isaac Deurloo slips his boots into the stirrups. Heels down, shoulders back, the owner of 7 Wonders Stables sits poised as Thunder Nation smoothly moves around the arena, carrying his head high, displaying a distinct style of riding within the English disciplines called saddle seat.

Deurloo, 38, moves with the horse.

He’s not a rag doll rider. Nor should he be.

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AUGUST 2015

He’s been working with horses since he was a boy. His parents started a side business of raising, breeding and training Arabians. His dad was working on the railroad, so the family was constantly on the move. Once they got more horses that got harder to do.

They settled in Sioux City in 1989 and bought a property along 41st Street. About 10 years ago, Deurloo and his wife, who is a teacher, took over the operation after he learned the ropes of running a horse business through three apprenticeships, which meant low pay and long hours. But that’s what it takes.

“Ever since I was 5 years old, I knew I wanted to do something with horses,” he says. “I had no idea it was going to look like this. It’s been a long arduous

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Above: Trainer Isaac Deurloo works with Thunder Nation, getting the horse ready for his owner to show for the first time. “A lot of our clients are in their 40s, 50s,” Deurloo said. “They don’t want to clean stalls.

They want to come out and ride, enjoy it.” Top: Isaac Deurloo, owner and principal instructor of 7 Wonders Stables in Sioux City, talks about horse training while worker James Walker puts tack on Thunder Nation, a five-gaited American Saddlebred. The show horse is owned by Gayle Greendyke, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

process, but I mean, what else are you going to do? What else is worth it?”

At 7 Wonders Stables, he boards and trains 30-40 horses at a time from all over the country in addition to offering riding lessons. The owner of Thunder Nation lives in Idaho. Deurloo is getting him ready to show for the first time at an event in Kansas City, Mo. The horse elegantly ambles along a wall of mirrors in the indoor training arena. Like a choreographer, Deurloo watches their movements in the reflection.

“They want to be guided and worked,” he says about the horses he trains, adding that they don’t want a bumbling rider jerking at the metal bit in their mouths. “They want a dance partner.”

Thunder Nation gets a good workout, circling a set of stalls with other horses anxiously watching from behind bars.

Usually, they get pretty riled up when one of the horses is let out.

They’ll buck and kick at the walls, demanding their turn. But on this humid day in July, their energy seems to be sapped by the heat. One horse rears, but it’s a short-lived protest.

After a brisk warm-up, Deurloo puts Thunder Nation through the paces.

“James, crack the whip,” he calls from the far end of the arena. The stable hand flicks the object above the ground as the horse rounds the corner.

Wuh-pah. Wuh-pah.

Thunder Nation breezes by, unfazed.

That’s what you call bombproofing a horse. Exposing him to strange sights and sounds makes him less likely to spook and, in the long run, a safer horse to ride.

“We dictate every single thing we want,” Deurloo says.

He can control the rhythm of the canter by putting pinky pressure on the reins. The horse’s perked ears cock back to listen to the sound of the rider’s voice. He changes gaits. Once he starts to canter and trot, he doesn’t want to stop, but Deurloo brings him to a halt, crooning, “Good boy, good boy.”

The dark chestnut horse is huffing slightly and his nostrils flare a bit with each breath. His coat glistens with sweat. Deurloo dismounts.

“We make riding enjoyable,” he says.

“I want everybody that comes here to have a good experience. You don’t want luck or chance to be your plan. Once we keep people safe, you can have a lot of fun.”

After a morning workout with Thunder Nation, Isaach Deurloo talks about how horses made a difference in his life, teaching him life lessons in hard work, consistency and strength of character.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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FARMING a

spit away

t Chloe the llama walks with her pen mates at Pumpkinland north of Orange City, Iowa. Chloe is part of the pumpkin farm’s petting zoo.

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August 2015

SIOUXLAND LIFE

LOW MAINTENANCE LLAMAS PROVIDE

Text by Dolly A. Butz Photographs by Tim Hynds

GOOD PROTECTION

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TWENTY-SOME YEARS AGO DAVE and Helen Huitink decided they wanted to have an animal that was little different than the standard sheep, goats and ponies that reside at their pumpkin farm’s petting zoo.

They thought a llama might be a good addition. They purchased their first llamas at an exotic animal sale in Sioux Center for $150.

Four or five llamas roamed the farm at a time for several years, wowing young children who frequent Pumpkinland, 4123 Jackson Ave., in the fall with their families. The llamas produced a few baby llamas, that Dave Huitink said were always popular with visitors.

“If you could get one in the fall, that was a big hit for the kids,” he said of a baby llama. “If you had a little one running next to mommy, that was pretty impressive for the kids.”

One summer the Huitinks hauled a baby llama to Sheldon for a petting zoo held in conjunction with a Fourth of July celebration.

Now the Huitinks are down to a single llama named Chloe, who was born on the farm more than a decade ago. Llamas, Helen Huitink said, tend to live 20 to 25 years. She’s hoping to add alpacas to the petting zoo by the fall.

A llama, Dave Huitink said, can cost up to $30,000. He said he was once quoted $10,000 for an alpaca that was registered and had papers.

Helen Huitink said an alpaca is sort of a smaller version of a llama.

“I feel they’re a little more kid-friendly,” she said as Chloe trotted near the barn among a slew of goats, stopping to munch on green cornstalks lying on the ground.

“Because we’re down to the one llama, we think it’s a good time to transition.”

Chloe, in contrast to a male llama the Huitinks once owned, is quite friendly.

Helen Huitink said their grandchildren, ages 3, 4 and 5, will sit along the fence

ON THE FARM

Helen Huitink feeds a handful of grass to Chloe the llama at Pumpkinland north of Orange City, Iowa.

DETAILS

WHAT: Pumpkinland – produce, crafts, baked goods, corn maze, petting zoo.

WHEN: The 2015 season runs from Sept.

1 to Oct. 31. The farm is open from 10 a.m. until dark.

WHERE: 4123 Jackson Ave., 2 3/4 miles north of Orange City CONTACT: 712-737-8364 or pumpkinlandiowa.com. and feed grass to Chloe.

When Helen Huitink called Chloe by name, she came over to the fence and ate grass out of her hand. Dave Huitink said some children have tried to engage Chloe in a spitting contest, which he said isn’t a good idea. “(Llamas) get knocked on for spitting, but you really have to work hard to make them spit. It’s not a first reaction for the animals. You don’t win a spitting contest with a llama, you always lose,” he said with a chuckle.

Overall, Dave Huitink said llamas

are low-maintenance. He said they eat grain and hay and pretty much anything green. Their wool doesn’t contain lanolin, a waxy substance that coats a sheep’s wool. He said a llama’s coat serves as a good material with which to make sweaters and blankets that are hypoallergenic.

“It’s really not a big deal for us for the wool,” he said. “A couple of times over I gave somebody a bag of wool ... I’ve never gotten anything back from it.”

Llamas, Dave Huitink said, are good at protecting other farm animals. He said they’re very social animals that don’t like being alone.

“They get a little schizo if they’re alone themselves. They have to be in a group setting,” he said.

Anyone considering adding a llama to their farm, Helen Huitink said, needs a sturdy fence. Her biggest nightmare is for Chloe to get lose.

“They run like deer,” she said. “Over the years, I had them out a few times.

Even with a four-wheeler you can hardly catch them.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

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August 2015

Siouxland Life

FARMING chick

magnet

NOTHING TO BALK ABOUT BACKYARD CHICKENS OFFER UP MORE THAN BREAKFAST

h

Text by Michelle Kuester | Photographs by Justin Wan

“HERE CHICKY CHICKIES,” CALLED Autumn Conrad as she made her way to the backyard of her Ponca, Neb., home.

Soon enough, several chickens popped up from some bushes, no doubt hoping food was going to accompany the voice calling them.

“For the most part, chickens aren’t picky,” said Conrad as she threw feed to the eager fowl, “but mine are. They’re divas.”

Conrad raises seven egg-laying chickens of various breeds in her backyard in town.

Neighbors don’t mind the sometimes noisy birds as she shares the eggs with everyone around her. Also, older neighbors say the birds remind them of their younger days growing up on the farm.

Even though the chickens are egglayers, Conrad doesn’t keep them specifically for that reason.

“They are more pets for me. I love animals,” she said. “They just have the

bonus of laying eggs. We don’t have to buy eggs anymore.”

The only potential complication is Conrad’s two dogs: Maybelline, a standard poodle, and Diesel, a corgi. Poodles are bird dogs, but, despite this, all coexist peacefully.

“They all interact pretty well,” she said. “Sometimes the corgi will sneak into the coop and eat the chicken food, but I work with the dogs a lot and they are really well-behaved.”

Some of the chickens even sport colored feathers thanks to Conrad’s occupation.

“I’m a dog groomer, too, a creative groomer,” she said.

Her grooming skills come in handy when it comes to the chickens’ hygiene.

She gives the chickens regular baths to keep them clean and healthy.

“They are easy upkeep, but it’s constant,” Conrad said. “They can get smelly, so you have to clean them and their coop.”

Above: Dolly, one of Autumn Conrad’s hens, eats watermelon as her owner stands in the background.

Top: A hen looks for food in Autumn Conrad’s backyard in Ponca, Neb.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

AUGUST 2015

21

Autumn Conrad picks up a chicken in her backyard in Ponca, Neb.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Conrad wheels the used bedding from the coop over to the neighbor’s yard every time she cleans the coop so that the neighbor can use it as compost on her garden.

“I try not to throw anything away,” she said. “It works great as compost and it’s another reason the neighbors love the chickens.”

Despite stereotypes, chickens aren’t dumb birds, she added.

“They all have names and personalities,” she said, motioning toward a chicken with a mop of blonde feathers on its head. “Her name is Dolly, after Dolly Parton.”

Not only do the chickens have unique personalities, but they lay different colored eggs as well. There are the classic white and brown eggs, but one of her chickens, an Easter Egger, lays light green eggs as well. Conrad also noted that mixing breeds of chickens that lay different colored eggs will make chickens that lay eggs of the combined colors.

“All the eggs taste the same and look the same on the inside, though,” Conrad said. “Just like people, they’re all the same on the inside. They just look different on the outside.”

Siouxland Life

August 2015

23

FARMING the

ag secretary

IOWA’S AG SECRETARY STILL

PLANTS, HARVESTS AT SPIRIT LAKE FAMILY FARM

3-term secretary is Iowa’s second-ranked farmer, trailing only Sen. Chuck Grassley

w

Text by Tim Gallagher Photographs by Tim Hynds and provided

WORK AS IOWA SECRETARY of Agriculture takes Bill Northey far and wide from his farm two miles east of Spirit Lake.

He could be in Keokuk, Iowa, one day meeting with grain farmers; in Washington, D.C., the next visiting with members of the U.S. Senate. By week’s end, he might be stepping on a plane destined for China, one of Iowa’s biggest and most important trade partners.

On July 14, Northey spoke while traveling to a meeting in Iowa. He was pleased to be heading home for the 80th birthday of his mother, Margaret Northey.

“I’ve not seen my beans since I planted them,” said Northey, 56. “The corn was only six inches tall when I last saw it. I’m told they both look pretty good.”

Keep in mind that Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture isn’t complaining about the travel required to promote Iowa products or to ensure Iowa farmers who now compete on the global level. Northey enjoys it and feels it must be done for him to adequately represent the interests of those growing corn, soybeans, beef, pork and more across Iowa.

“I love getting out,” said Northey, who was raised two miles east of the Dickinson County seat. “We were with dairy farmers a few weeks ago and saw what they’re doing with cover crops.”

Northey put cover crops on his farm two years ago. That fall, Northwest Iowa was dry and he didn’t get much cover to grow.

“I did it again last fall and we had a wet fall,” he said. “By this spring, we had knee-high rye that we sprayed. We planted soybeans in there and we have a great stand. I like cover crops as a tool here and I think I’ll keep growing them.”

Growing. It’s what Bill Northey has

24

AUGUST 2015

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is shown in a field of corn at his farm near Spirit Lake, Iowa. Though he spends much of his time in Des Moines and around Iowa and the U.S., Northey still plants and harvests his own crops each season.

known since joining his grandfather, Sid Northey, on the farm not long after his graduation from Iowa State University in 1981.

“My grandpa came to me between my junior and senior year in college and said that he was maybe interested in slowing down,” Northey said. “He wondered if I might be interested in coming back.”

Bill Northey came back to the farm, rented the ground from his 81-year-old grandfather and bought his equipment over a 10-year period, saving interest costs through an agreement that allowed young Bill to get his feet on the ground.

“The 1980s were tough,” he said. “I watched some friends who didn’t make it. It caused me to be pretty conservative.”

Northey ran for a position on the state board serving the Iowa Corn Growers Association in the mid-1980s. He served a trio of three-year terms and benefited from the expertise of veteran farmers. The organization plowed through a range of ethanol issues that helped set the stage for a new frontier in Iowa’s economy.

“The Groundwater Protection Act was also something the organization cared about and I became engaged in it,” he said. “It was a really good experience.”

All the while, Northey farrowed some pigs and finished just a few cattle on a little pasture area. He and his wife, Cindy, also raised three daughters.

“I expanded a little bit,” he said.

“Grandpa and I bought a farm together.

I spent my time doing (Corn Growers) Association stuff. I was away to that and tried to get home to tend to business.”

Northey served as the state president for the Iowa Corn Growers in the early 1990s. He ascended to the national presidency for the group in 1995-96 and served as chairman in 1996-97.

In 2006, he entered the political arena and found himself on the ballot in Dickinson County, not far from the name of his father, Wayne Northey, a cattleman from Spirit Lake.

“Dad was a county supervisor for 22 years, until five years ago,” the son said. “His last term was in 2006; he was on the same ballot as I was.”

Bill Northey, a Republican, won election that year to be Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, a post he’s held under Govs. Chet Culver, a Democrat, and Terry Branstad, a Republican.

During his tenure, Northey has pledged to travel to each of Iowa’s 99 counties to hear from Iowans and

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, right, looks at a clump of dirt as he and farmer Lee Westergaard discuss farmland flooding recovery efforts in this November 2011 photo at Westergaard’s farm along the Missouri River in Monona County.

HOW LONG IN OFFICE?

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, right, listens as farmer Lee Westergaard talks about the changes to his land during a tour of farmland flooding recovery efforts in November 2011, at the Westergaard’s farm near along the Missouri River in Monona County.

their stake in the state’s biggest business. Much of that time recently has been focused on helping poultry growers get back on their feet in the wake of the avian flu outbreak, Iowa’s worst animal health emergency, a tragic turn of events that resulted in the death and euthanization of more than 33 million commercial layers, pullets and turkeys, including nearly 27 million egg-producing chickens.

“Over time, more issues in agriculture have become higher profile,” he said.

Among the biggest unknown variables is how the flu outbreak, now seemingly contained in the heat of the summer, will act once migratory movement returns as temperatures cool

Republican Bill Northey, the Spirit Lake, Iowa, farmer who serves as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, is currently in his third term.

When asked if he’d run again, Northey, a Republican, hedges his bets a bit.

“I will have done this 12 years by the time I’m done (2018),” Northey says. “I don’t know that I want to run again. I love it, but it might be another person’s turn.”

More than 670,000 Iowa voters marked the box for Northey in November 2015, returning him to office by a landslide.

“I’m also not sure if I’m done with electoral politics,” he adds. “I love being in Iowa.”

come fall.

Northey will work with the United States Department of Agriculture and state leaders to help protect farmers and the food source with which they’ve been entrusted.

And only then will Northey return to his corn, soybeans and cover crops. He’ll make the time to climb in the combine, just as he has done each year since he joined his late Grandpa Sid, back in 1981.

While on the road, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, the state’s No. 2-ranked farmer (politically, at least, and trailing only Sen. Chuck Grassley) makes two things clear: “I still plant,” he said. “And I still harvest.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

25

FARMING ranching

out

HORSE ENTHUSIAST EYES CAREER AS

RANCHER, BEEF GROWER

f

Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher

FRESH OFF A GRAND champion effort in the halter exercise, Jill Berkland dismounted her horse, Sonny, and headed to the Sibley-Ocheyedan FFA Lunch Stand for a bite to eat.

This was the opening day of the Osceola County Fair and maybe the last chance for Berkland, a junior to-be at Sibley-Ocheyedan High, to catch her breath.

The next day would see Berkland hopping from the pig show to the dogagility exercise to the dairy goat show to another horse show. A cow-calf show would follow that.

The “meat” of Friday’s fair slate consisted of the beef show, at which Berkland would show a feeder calf, a heifer calf, a breeding heifer and a lead steer.

“Friday night I’ll watch the mini rodeo,” she said.

And catch her breath, presumably.

If the veritable dance card for this 4-H member seems full, that’s normal.

And, it’s what the daughter of Drs. Dan and Loretta Berkland (both are veterinarians who practice in Sibley) prefers.

She’s also a four-sport athlete for the Sibley-Ocheyedan Generals, taking part in volleyball, basketball, track and softball.

When softball ended in mid-July, it left a little spot for the Osceola County Fair.

“We start volleyball on Aug. 10,” Berkland says.

She also participates in speech and band (French horn in concert band, mellophone in marching band) and served as president of her sophomore class.

The activity prepares her for a life of motion in what may one day be her job, a dream job, that is. “I really think it would be cool to one day have my own ranch and provide food for our country,” she says.

Berkland’s mission is to own her own ranch and work cattle with horses.

The fourth child of a pair of veterinarians is no novice. Beyond her skill with horses, she’s shown skill in the barn, helping pull baby calves and dairy goats.

“I’ve pulled tons of calves,” Berkland

26

August 2015

Jill Berkland poses with her horse, Sonny, following the horse show at the Osceola County Fair in Sibley, Iowa. Berkland is a member of the Westerners/Those Crazy Goat Kids 4-H Club. Berkland, 16, would like to own and operate a cattle ranch someday.

says, recalling how she once connected a chain to a calf’s front two legs and then pulled gently to deliver the animal.

She also saddled up to help round up a wayward calf not that long ago, a ride that gave this 16-year-old a taste of what’s to come.

To prepare for the Osceola County Fair, Berkland tried to ride Sonny, a 13-year-old, as much as possible. She also began working with her cows months in advance.

“You have to get a steer that weighs 1,390 pounds used to walking on the lead,” she says.

In 2014, she remembers, her steer dragged her a bit and gave Berkland the sensation of skiing across the show ring. Two years ago, she had a steer that topped the fair scales at 1,500 pounds.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Little surprises her any longer. She’s a seasoned veteran of the 4-H circuit, an Iowa State Fair participant since she was a fifth-grader.

The one surprise came in her first year. It happened when she noticed the word “market” written on a tag marking one of her cows.

“I cried and went to my dad and asked if it was going to market,” she says. “He said it was.”

That’s often how it works. In a way, that’s where the burgers come from that Berkland ends up serving from her post at the Sibley-Ocheyedan FFA Lunch Stand. It’s likely where her steer, Thor, is headed not long after this fair season concludes. He’s 1,390 pounds and, thanks to this future rancher and beef producer, he’s ready.

Siouxland Life

August 2015

27

FARMING productive

life

FROM FARM TO

TABLE MERRILL MAN GROWS AS PRODUCE BUSINESS PROSPERS

c

Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Tim Hynds

CLINT BROWN, 25, IS a stickler when it comes to tomatoes.

He carefully inspects the Heirlooms for cleanliness and color before packing them into a van heading for Sioux City’s Farmers Market.

“Appearance and proper refrigeration are very important,” Brown insisted. “I want my produce to look good and taste good. I take a lot of pride in what I do.”

Indeed, he has been growing vegetables from his parents’ farm since he turned 14.

“When Clint started using his birthday money for equipment, I knew he was getting serious,” mom Audrey Brown allowed.

At first, Brown started small.

“I began by selling homegrown green beans at the Le Mars Farmers Market in 2004,” he remembered. “A few years after that, I started selling more kinds of vegetables at the Sioux City Farmers Market.”

Over time, C. Brown Gardens became known for its tomatoes, peppers, carrots, asparagus, cucumbers and eggplants.

In total, Brown sells more than 30 different kinds of veggies from 8 a.m.

- 1 p.m., Wednesdays and Saturdays at Sioux City Farmers Market.

While his son is content to sell

28

August 2015

Above: Steve Brown, left, and his son, Clint, move trays of freshly-picked tomatoes into a cleaning and sorting shop at C. Brown Farms’ greenhouses in rural Merrill, Iowa. Top left: A tray of peppers are shown at C. Brown Farms’ greenhouses in rural Merrill, Iowa. Clint Brown sells his fresh produce at area farmers markets and to local restaurants.

DETAILS

What: C. Brown Gardens When: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays Where: Sioux City Farmers Market, Corner of Tri-View Avenue and Pearl Street Phone: 712-568-2567 pesticide-free veggies, dad Steve Brown sells naturally aged Angus beef that was raised on the family’s farm while Audrey sells her homemade jelly and jams,

SIOUXLAND LIFE

including a pepper jam utilizing her son’s juicy peppers.

“When I started as a kid, I wasn’t thinking of (farming) as a career,” Brown said. “Now I do.”

That’s because he’s able to grow crops well beyond the gardening season through high tunnel farming.

Similar to a greenhouse, a high tunnel is made with a frame covered piping and UV-resistant greenhouse plastic.

This protects early season crops from the threat of cold weather but Brown also uses the high tunnel for other

vegetables like peppers and his prized Heirloom tomatoes.

“Clint spoke to Iowa State University’s (horticulturist) Eldon Everhart, who thought (Northwest Iowa) may be too humid for high tunnel Heirlooms,” Audrey Brown said. “But our tomatoes always turn out fine.”

This process also allows Brown to have plenty of fresh produce to harvest every Thursday.

“I never thought I’d have employees helping me get things ready for the Farmers Market,” he said with a smile. “I had to learn how to make payroll and really run things as a business.”

Still, Brown inspects every vegetable before it goes to market and makes sure it is washed before sold.

“I like knowing that my produce can leave my stand and be ready for somebody’s table,” he said.

Walking through his high tunnel of tomatoes, Brown can’t help but feel proud.

“There’s something special to see your crops grow,” he noted. “You plant it and care for it and take care of it.”

As he looks on his rows and rows of Heirlooms, Brown smiled to himself.

“Yeah, that’s a very good feeling.”

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

29

FARMING women’s

place

WOMEN WEATHER

UPS & DOWNS

WITH FARM

t

Text and photographs by Ally Karsyn

THERE USED TO BE one word for women in farming: wife.

Traditionally, the men made an honest living by digging it out of the dirt while women worked in the home. It was a way of life Dorothy Hinkeldey knew well from growing up on a quintessential family farm near Alta, Iowa.

Everyone had chores to do. She milked cows and took care of the chickens. A truck came by and picked up some of the eggs. And of course, there was a big garden for cooking and canning to feed the family of 12. They were mostly self-sufficient, producing their own meat, milk and cream. They churned their own butter and made soap from lard.

For decades, women were homemakers who kept everything in order and bolstered the family’s farm business, but they were not always recognized for their work.

In 2002, the Census of Agriculture began counting women’s involvement in daily farming and ranching decisions.

For the first time, the form requested demographic data for up to three operators

30

August 2015

Trudy Hinkeldey, 55, is a farmer and a nurse. She got more involved in planting and harvesting crops after her husband was paralyzed in a highway accident.

instead of one.

Nationally, women represented 30 percent of all farmers in 2012. They were the primary operators of 14 percent of farms, up from 5 percent in 1978, when the census began tracking numbers based on gender.

While Iowa has the third highest number of farms in America, only 8 percent are run by women, compared to 39 percent in Arizona, according to the latest census report. Overall, states in the Northeast, Southwest and West had the largest concentrations of women-run farms.

The women in the Hinkeldey family may have started out offering support to their husbands who were planting and harvesting crops and feeding livestock, but as years passed, things changed.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Dorothy Hinkeldey, 79, has outlived her husband, and a life-altering accident 17 years ago thrust her daughter-in-law, Trudy Hinkeldey, into being more active in the family’s farming operation.

Before a fatal highway crash in 1998, Trudy, a nurse, used to haul wagons out to the field and hook them up. Maybe she’d help during harvest if they were running behind, but mostly, she was bringing meals out to the men and picking them up from the tractors and combines after a day’s work was done.

Everything changed in a split second when a drunk driver blew through a stop sign and rammed into her family’s van, carrying six passengers. The crash left her husband Myron paralyzed from the neck down and killed their youngest son, Ben. He was 7.

Deb Hinkeldey

They had to make a tough decision about their future on the farm. They thought about leaving, but Trudy’s fatherin-law, Dwaine Hinkeldey, wouldn’t hear of it. His son couldn’t climb into the cab of a combine anymore, but she could.

She was born and raised on a farm. She could do it, and Dwaine could teach her.

So, Deb Hinkeldey, who’s married to Myron’s older brother Jim, and Trudy split combining duties on their days off from working as nurses. After a while, Trudy started taking off about 10 weeks in the fall to farm.

“You kind of get pulled in and then, you think, oh, well, I can help. I can do this,” Trudy said.

For about 20 years, it wasn’t uncommon to find Dorothy in the combine either. And up until six years ago, Dwaine

Dorothy Hinkeldey

“I like the quiet, the peace and quiet at night. In the fall, especially, I like crawling up on top of a grain bin and looking out over the horizon. It’s just so peaceful. There’s no phones.

There’s no internet, no Facebook.”

TRUDY HINKELDEY SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

31

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32

August 2015

Siouxland Life

Dorothy Hinkeldey, center, and her daughters-in-law Trudy Hinkeldey, left, and Deb Hinkeldey stand in front of the gain bins on the farm where Dorothy and her husband Dwaine raised their three children near Alta, Iowa. Deb and her husband Jim live there now while Trudy and her husband Myron live a quarter-mile to the east of the Hinkeldey homestead.

had been doing most of the spring planting, but heart problems and leukemia slowed him down.

Once again, Trudy climbed into the cab of a big green machine. Dwaine taught her how to plant and she showed him how to use a GPS system to steer the tractor and sow seeds in the soil in more precise patterns.

“The first spring we were planting he just couldn’t believe that he could be that far off with the planter,” she said.

“I literally had to slap his hands. He just couldn’t keep ’em off the wheel.”

Dwaine died in 2011.

Now, Trudy and her youngest son Jordan plant and spray for bugs, fungus and weeds. She was surprised to see him come back to the farm after he graduated from Iowa State University with a business degree. She semi-jokes that, out of her three sons, he pulled the short straw and questions if he felt obligated to help her keep the family’s farming operation up and running.

One of Deb’s sons recently returned to rural Alta, too, and he took over some of the livestock chores that she would cover like vaccinating piglets, power washing and loading hogs.

Both women, who grew up as farm girls, thought they’d leave small-town life and move to Minnesota’s biggest cities to pursue their nursing careers. That was before they met Dorothy’s sons. Trudy and Deb find simple joy and satisfaction in farm life.

“I like the quiet, the peace and quiet at night,” Trudy said. “In the fall, especially, I like crawling up on top of a grain bin and looking out over the horizon. It’s just so peaceful. There’s no phones. There’s no internet, no Facebook.”

Just a farmer and her field.

20 QUESTIONS with

a veterinarian

1. What made you want to be a veterinarian?

“It was something I’ve always wanted to do. I grew up around livestock and animals.”

2. How is working with livestock different than working with smaller pets?

“The biggest thing is the safety issue.

Fido or Fifi might bite you, but a cow can kill you.”

3. Do you visit the livestock on the farms or do the farmers bring them to you?

“Depends on what we’re doing. For individual animals, we try to get them to come here. For herd work, I’ll go there.”

4. How far will you travel?

“About a 45- to 60-mile radius.”

5. How often do you go out to farms?

“A couple times a week.”

6. Is it dangerous working with livestock?

“There are dangers in any of it.”

7. What are common health problems associated with livestock?

“Pneumonia and nutritional issues.

Those are the biggest ones I can think of.”

20 QUESTIONS with a livestock veterinarian

Dr. Jeff Bottger Dr. Jeff Bottger is a veterinarian at Art and Science Veterinary Services located at 1555 US-20. He is certified to care for household pets like cats and dogs in addition to farm animals like cows and horses. He answered 20 questions about what it’s like working with such large animals.

Text by Michelle Kuester | Photograph by Jim Lee

8. Why did you want to work with livestock?

“I’d rather deal with cows than cats.

Not that I don’t like cats, but it’s what I’m more comfortable with.”

9. What is your background in farming?

“I grew up on an acreage. I was in 4-H showing horses, sheep and cattle.

10. How do you weigh livestock?

“For cattle, you just have to guess. For horses, you use weigh tape to estimate.

It measures around them and uses a formula that gives you a weight that gets you within about 50 pounds.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

33

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11. What is the most difficult livestock to work with?

“Llamas and alpacas. Most people around here don’t know how to handle or properly restrain them.”

12. What is your educational background?

“I’ve got a master’s degree in animal science from the University of Wyoming and my DVM (Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine) from Kansas State.”

13. What is the most unusual livestock you’ve ever worked with?

“Probably the alpacas or llamas. Or pot-bellied pigs, those are kind of a challenge.”

14. Do big animals require special veterinary instruments?

“They use the same size instruments, for the most part. The biggest thing is the stocks and chutes to restrain them.”

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34

August 2015

Siouxland Life

15. Is vet care for livestock typically more expensive?

“Most of the procedures are about the same cost, but the anesthetics and medicines cost more because it requires so much more.”

16. What kind of pets do you have?

“I’ve got a dog and a couple horses.”

17. Do you get extra busy when livestock diseases become rampant, like bird flu, swine flu, etc.?

“No, not really. Just more phone calls.”

18. Where are there sudden outbreaks?

“They’re sensational. The outbreaks occur but you only hear about them because they’re sensational.”

19. What is the best part of vetting livestock?

“Working with the people and clients and being outside the office.”

20. Worst part?

“The injuries. I’ve been injured a couple times due to kicks. Never too seriously, just enough to slow me down.”

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Siouxland Life

August 2015

35

FARMING in

the classroom

YOUNG PRO BRINGS AG INTO CLASSROOM

o

Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher

ON A STEAMY DAY in July, nearly leaving the classroom.” one dozen teachers file into a room The workshop for teachers that at the Moville Community Center.

Nelson presided over in Moville was This particular day of their summer called “Using Ag to Teach Concepts “vacation” is filled with talk about and Skills.” Members of the Iowa Ag corn, soybeans, wind power, soil Literacy Foundation assisted with structure. the conference.

This is where the classroom “I think this is outstanding,” says meets the farm.

Dee McKenna, a parent and volunMelissa Nelson organizes the teer serving the Lawton-Bronson gathering, one way she’s hoping to Community School District. “I’m very help solidify the Siouxland Agriculexcited to see teachers have this ture in the Classroom program she kind of research within their reach. oversees as agriculture education Melissa has a lot to share that the specialist. teachers may not have access to.”

Too many students, it appears, McKenna, who works for a probelieve milk is produced at the grogram called Nutrients for Life, shared cery store. Too many students, and, with teachers portions of a soils curperhaps, adults, in Siouxland, believe riculum that can be implemented by corn growing in fields from Onawa a range of educators, from elemetary to Ocheyedan is for direct human to high school. consumption, as in off-the-cob.

“I grew up so close to Omaha and Nelson, a native of Springfield, saw the disconnect of kids who did Neb., works to bridge such gaps. not know what we did on the farm,” “My mission is to promote agNelson says. “That sparked my pasriculture to teachers,” says Nelson, sion for this.” whose program and position is Nineteen months ago, Nelson’s funded, in part, by Iowa Farm Bureau position didn’t exist. She met with units in Woodbury, Plymouth, Sioux, leaders of the Woodbury County Ida and Cherokee counties. ContriMelissa Nelson is an agriculture education specialist for the Siouxland Farm Bureau and asked, “How can I butions from Farm Bureau members Agriculture in the Classroom program. Nelson is a graduate of the help you?”

University of Nebraska at Lincoln. and corporate concerns help keep The local entity agreed to fund Nelson on the road, visiting classher position for one year. During that rooms to spread the word about span, four other Farm Bureau agenFOR INFORMATION agriculture and what it means to our cies have joined the effort, allowing Agriculture in the Classroom is a nationwide program families and communities.

Nelson to connect farm life and farm designed to help students develop awareness and “The average person is now two work with more than 6,000 students. understanding of our food system and how agriculture to three times removed from a farm,” “I cover 64 elementary schools in impacts daily lives. For information about Siouxland says Nelson, who raised corn, soyfive counties,” says the 24-year-old.

Agriculture in the Classroom, contact Melissa Nelson, beans and angus beef on the family “It’s hard to get over the hump to say agriculture education specialist, at 402-669-5126, or farm before heading to the Univerhow important this message is. That see www.aitcsiouxland.com sity of Nebraska at Lincoln to study is the challenge.” agriculture leadership, education She need not sell McKenna on the and communication. “I’m trying to virtues of Siouxland Agriculture in get teachers excited about ag education County Fairgrounds in Moville to visit the Classroom. and show kids where food comes from. with 4-H members, who gave tips on “The whole organization is very There’s a huge disconnect.” livestock handling, project-based learnknowledgeable about matching agriNelson visits Northwest Iowa classing and more. culture to current teacher standards,” rooms at least once per week during the “We do pen-pals with farmers and we says McKenna, the mother of three academic year. She also helps host field have Farm Chats, where a farmer will, Lawton-Bronson students. “As a parent, trips to places like Plymouth County through an iPad, show us how a farm op- I’m excited our teachers are choosing to Dairy. She helped arrange a visit by 300 erates,” Nelson says. “That way, students connect with her and bring her into the children, who stopped by the Woodbury can be visiting a farm without even classroom.”

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August 2015

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Melissa Nelson, agriculture education specialist for Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom, makes a presentation to Northwest Iowa teachers during a summer session at the Moville Community Center in Moville, Iowa.

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Visit us online at www.siouxlandhba.com for a complete list of members or e-mail us at hbasooland@siouxlan.net 3900 Stadium Dr., Sioux City, IA

712-255-3852

Siouxland Life

August 2015

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ask a professional Q: Doctor, I always wake up in the morning & don’t feel rested. Why is that?

A: That’s a great question! While a lack of proper sleep, which is between 7-8 hours, is typically to blame, there’s another culprit that typically goes unchecked: your pillow. When was the last time that you changed your pillow? It’s a common question that we ask our patients, because if your muscles can’t relax and allow you to count those sheep, you’ll be tossing and turning Dr. Joel all night, keeping your muscles, tendons, and ligaments Pistello, DC tight – and tender. Waking up without that rested feeling? A great place to start is looking at your pillow.

When we recommend a pillow, it’s not as easy as simply saying, “This pillow is the best!” Indeed there are a lot of options, shapes, colors, thicknesses, and prices out there. We recommend setting the last option aside until you find something that you are comfortable with – and then remembering you can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep. What IS most important is that you get a pillow that will support how you sleep.

Do you primarily wake up on your back, side, or stomach? Let’s get the last position covered first: if you are a stomach sleeper, it’s time to turn over. Try to fall asleep on your back or side, as sleeping face down not only contorts your neck by twisting it, but keeps it in a potentially painful degree of extension every night.

The next best position is on your side. For this position, you want a higher pillow, about the thickness of your shoulder to your neck, so that the neck stays in perfect position, nice and straight all night. Keep a pillow in between your legs too, to ensure that your lower half doesn’t twist and turn too in the night, giving you that achy low back feeling in the morning.

By far the best position is to sleep on your back. While it may feel uncomfortable, it’s the best for your neck, keeping a good curve in it, allowing it to fall back and truly relax. Many cervical pillows have a weird curve shape that is higher on one end and lower on the other. These are going to be the best to get a good night’s sleep. They come in various thicknesses, so have someone size it up for you. Always feel free to stop by and let us take a look at your pillow, let us help you sleep a little easier!

Call 276-4325 today for an appointment 3930 Stadium Drive. (Between Wal-Mart & Explorer Stadium)

38

August 2015

Siouxland Life

PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM SEVERE WEATHER Imagine trying to stand erect and stay in one piece in the midst of high-speed winds and torrential rains. Your house may face this challenge, during summer storms or throughout the year.

During Mother Nature’s wicked rages, you and your family can evacuate your home or, in less severe conditions, snuggle within its cozy walls.

But your house must always face the elements and protect your family and possessions.

Equip your home with the accessories it will need to survive a storm. Don’t wait until the forecast calls for severe weather because, at that point, you may not have enough time to take necessary preparations.

Before you do anything else, look over your insurance policies to make sure you’re covered for losses incurred as the result of a natural disaster or brutal storm. Damage caused by flooding, earthquakes and hurricanes is generally not covered by your regular homeowner’s policy, but can be purchased separately. Make lists or videotapes of your belongings as documentation for the insurance company, and keep that documentation in a safe location away from your house.

Try to prevent wind and water from entering through windows, cracks, entry doors and garage doors. Wind funneling through your house pushes upward, and could lift the roof, allowing heavy rains to damage the interior of your home.

If you live in an area that frequently gets heavy storms, consider installing steel entry doors.

High winds can easily tear through double doors,

French doors and sliding patio doors that have no structural support between the two sides. You may need to purchase and install special hardware to more adequately secure the doors where they meet.

Try bolts that fasten the door into the framing at the top and the bottom.

If it’s in good condition, your home’s roof can shield its interior from the storm outside. So roof work is another essential step in preparing your house to withstand a severe storm. Apply sealing around your home’s chimney or vent pipes. This will help prevent water from seeping into your home. Hire a contractor to check the structural integrity of the roof system.

Clean out clogged gutters and downspouts. If the rain that accompanies a heavy storm can’t run through the gutters and downspouts, it will spill over the sides, landing in areas where it can soak through to your home’s foundation, causing flooding and structural damage.

Next, take steps to protect your home from objects that take flight during a storm. Do a little yard work. Remove all dead and dying limbs from your trees, and secure lawn furniture, trashcans, flowerpots and other yard ornaments. Disconnect and remove exterior television antennas from the roof. Then take all lawn furniture, grills, potted plants and other lawn accessories inside your house.

If you can’t secure lawn furniture or other outdoor items, bring them inside as well. High-speed winds could transform any of these objects into flying missiles. Tie down the larger items such as sheds,

doghouses, playhouses, swing sets and boats.

Finally, stock your cupboards and closets with anything you might need if you have to take shelter inside your house during a summer storm. Keep a battery-operated radio, several flashlights in case you lose electricity, and plastic sheeting to cover exposed areas. And fill your drawers with brand new packages of live batteries for the flashlights.

Stash canned foods and other non-perishable food items in your cupboards in case you can’t get out to the supermarket for a while. And pile blankets into your closets in case you lose electricity and your house becomes cold.

When you and your house are prepared, you’re more likely to weather the toughest storm. Taking time now to prepare your home for storm season could save you a lot of money later.

To find a builder in the Siouxland area that can make improvements to your home before harsh weather hits, visit www.siouxlandhba.com.

Rich Callahan President Heritage Homes of Siouxland

712-255-3852

www.siouxlandhba.com

AUGUST 14-16, 2015 • OKOBOJI, IOWA • Polaris factory tours • Victory demo rides • Charity ride hosted by Okoboji Harley Davidson (benefiting Rally 4 Veterans) • Vendor fair on Preservation Plaza (Fri. & Sat.) • Cowboy Mouth on Preservation Plaza at 7:30pm (Sat.) • Fireworks over West Lake Okoboji (Sat.) Call for your FREE Vacation Guide Today! 800.270.2574 www.VacationOkoboji.com

Siouxland Life

August 2015

39

FARMING what’s

the buzz

SIOUX CITY MAN CREATES A BUZZ IN A STICKY BUSINESS

a

Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Jim Lee

HIVE MENTALITY

40

AUGUST 2015

SIOUXLAND LIFE

AS AN EMPLOYER, JUSTIN Engelhardt refuses to bite the hand that feeds him.

This is especially smart since his workforce is made up of approximately 4 million bees.

“I don’t know if the bees work for me or if I’m the one who works for them,” Engelhardt explained while gingerly reaching into a hive. “To the bees, I’m simply the guy who keeps on stealing their honey.”

Marveling at the bevy of buzzing bees, the Sioux City man is experiencing some sweet success with the business that was started as a sideline career.

A full-time roofer, Engelhardt began Wild Hill Honey with his wife Tori Engelhardt more than three years ago.

“I became interested in bees after hearing an interview with (worldrenowned scientist) Thomas Seeley on National Public Radio,” Engelhardt remembered.

In his 2010 book “Honeybee Democracy,” Seeley noted that honeybees make life-or-death decisions by choosing and traveling to a new home on a yearly basis.

And how do the busy buzzers come to this mutually agreed upon decision? By collective fact-finding, vigorous debate and consensus building.

“We can learn a lot by following the example of the honeybee,” Engelhardt suggested.

In fact, these hard-working honeymakers caused Engelhardt to make a bee-line into entrepreneurship.

Jars of Wild Hill Honey’s raw and creamed honeys are available for purchase at such stores as Coffee Works (1920 Pierce St.); Sioux City Gifts (1922 Pierce St.); and Palmer’s Gourmet Specialty Foods (405 Wesley Parkway), among other places.

But maintaining more than 65 separate hives in the Stone State Park area isn’t about to send Engelhardt into sugar

Beekeeper Justin Engelhardt checks the bee hives at his Wild Hill Honey bee farm in Sioux City.

shock. Instead, he enjoys the pilgrimage he makes, snatching the daily allotment of liquid gold made by such flighty cohorts.

“When you’re a beekeeper, you will get stung,” he reasoned. “If you’re stung just 10 times, that’s OK. If you’re stung 20 or more times, it’s gonna be a bad day.”

Luckily for Engelhardt, he remained sting-free on this warm and humid July day.

According to Engelhardt, honeybees begin their honey-making process by visiting a flower to gather its nectar.

Traditionally, honeybees will attach themselves to such plants as wild clover, catnip and purple verbena.

Nectar – a sugar-rich liquid produced in the glands of plants – can keep a colony of bees alive during lean winters.

However, when left in its natural state, the sweet stuff will ferment. That’s why the bees will turn the nectar into honey, a greater source of energy.

The process, Engelhardt said, requires a lot of teamwork. From the worker bee on the lookout for nectar-rich flowers to the hive bees tasked with turning nectar into honey, each member has an important role to perform.

Above: Bees work on a honeycomb in one of the hives at Justin Engelhardt’s Wild Hill Honey bee farm. Below: A bee seeks nectar.

“I’ve always admired the work ethic of honeybees,” he said. “They’re singleminded when it comes to their jobs.”

Well, they sort of have to be. The average lifespan of a typical honeybee is just 42 days and a single bee produces only 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.

Working as a team, thousands of bees can produce up to 200 pounds of honey for the colony in the space of a year.

That’s a whole lot of honey for Engelhardt, who said Wild Hill honey is 100 percent free of chemicals.

“People always ask me why I keep my beehives within city limits,” he said. “I tell them that plants in the country may be affected by pesticides that city plants aren’t.”

“When you taste my honey,” Engelhardt added, “you can really taste the difference.”

Through it all, he doesn’t mind his sometimes temperamental team of workers. Especially when the rewards remain so sweet.

“I can’t wake up in the morning without a few spoonfuls of pure honey in my coffee,” Engelhardt insisted. “That makes the occasional sting worthwhile.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

August 2015

41

HEALTH artery

woes

Nurse practitioner Michael Garrett takes a look at Myra Wessel’s left ankle. Wessel had a non-healing ulcer on her ankle for 13 months that was caused by peripheral artery disease.

A NON-HEALING WOUND COULD SIGNAL PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE

m

Text and photograph by Dolly A. Butz

MYRA WESSEL DEVELOPED AN ulcer on her left ankle in January 2014.

The wound, which was about the size of a half dollar, wouldn’t heal.

The 66-year-old, who thought the ulcer was caused by running shoes, sought treatment in her hometown of Ida Grove, Iowa.

The wound began to yellow and increase in odor and pain. Eight months later, Wessels asked to be referred to Mercy’s Advanced Wound Care Center in Sioux City.

“It wasn’t getting better,” said Wessel, who works as a manager at Bomgaars.

42

August 2015

Wessel underwent some tests at the Wound Care Center before going to Mercy Heart Center, where staff evaluated the arteries in her legs.

“I never had anybody check that stuff out before,” she said. “It’s a good thing they did.”

Wessel wasn’t getting enough oxygenated blood, which is pushed with each heartbeat through the arteries to all areas of the body, to her left ankle.

“If we were to take the foot and ankle and divide it into zones, there’s six different zones for perfusion,” Michael Garrett, a nurse practitioner who

SIOUXLAND LIFE

treated Wessel at the Wound Care Center, explained. “Her one zone where her ankle was showed no oxygen at the skin surface.”

This condition is called peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which is the narrowing or blockage of the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lower extremities. It’s caused by atherosclerosis, fatty plaque build-up in the arteries, and is most common in the arms and the legs.

Some 8 million people in the United States have PAD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

including 12 to 20 percent of people over age 60.

People who smoke, are older than age 65, have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and or atherosclerosis, are at risk for developing PAD. The chances of men and women developing PAD increases as they age. The only risk factor for PAD Wessel had was her age.

Providers originally thought Wessel’s ulcer wasn’t healing because her lower legs were swelling. This made sense since Wessel is on her feet while she works.

“If you don’t look for it, you’ll never know that it’s there,” Garrett said of PAD. “A lot of people figure it’s something else.”

Wessel was prescribed antibiotics to treat a staff infection in her ankle. The ulcer had three individual holes tunneling underneath that connected beneath her skin. She visited the Wound Care Center twice a week to have her ulcer cleaned and dressed. She said Garrett told her she was lucky the infection hadn’t spread to the bone.

After some time, Wessel noticed the wound slowly starting to heal. She read an article about the Wound Center’s hyperbaric chamber. She asked Garrett if hyperbaric oxygen therapy would benefit her condition.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment in which patients breathe 100 percent oxygen while under pressure in a hyperbaric chamber. The atmosphere in a hyperbaric chamber allows more oxygen to dissolve into the blood, which is then delivered to areas that are struggling to heal.

After Garrett got the OK from Wessel’s health insurance provider, she started making the hour-plus drive from her home to Sioux City five times a week to receive HBOT. “The chamber... I call it a safe haven.

It’s very restful,” she said. “I never felt so good in my life as when I was doing all of those treatments. I would love to have one at home.”

After having 40 HBOT treatments, Wessel’s ulcer finally healed, 13 months after it first appeared. A rosy discoloration marks the spot where it was. Wessel walks regularly and wears a compression sleeve to promote circulation in her foot and ankle.

“When (Garrett) told me that I would have to wash this thing out daily with this little syringe, I thought, ‘Oh my god, I can’t stand to look at it,’” she said of the ulcer. “I look at it now and I’m just totally amazed.”

Myra Wessel rings a bell at Mercy’s Advanced Wound Care Center in Sioux City to celebrate the end of her treatment.

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August 2015

43

The back to school countdown has begun! Make sure your child has their pearly whites cleaned before they start the new school year. Need to get your child in for an exam and cleaning before school starts?

Call us now at 712-274-2038 to make an appointment!

New Patients Welcome!

Wheelock, Bursick & Jensen Dentistry 4100 Morningside Ave, Sioux City | 712-274-2038 44

August 2015

Siouxland Life

HEALTH medical

answers

‘DOC, I’VE GOT A QUESTION …’ answers to your medical questions I have a friend who’s going without sugar, caffeine and carbs. Is this a good way to diet?

Like with any diet, there are always risks, benefits, and concerns about adequate intake of appropriate nutrients to maintain good healthy metabolism. Now let’s talk about some specific definitions of “sugar” and “carbs.” There is a distinction between types of carbohydrates including simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are what we consider sugars. Some examples of sugars or simple carbohydrates are table sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, jams, jellies, fruit drinks, soft drinks, and candy, and are found in many processed foods. Complex carbohydrates include foods such as green vegetables, whole grains such as oatmeal and some pastas, starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn, and beans, lentils, and peas. Complex carbs are generally more nutritious compared to simple carbs because complex carbs contain lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Low-sugar and low-carbohydrate diets have been shown to help with weight loss and have also been shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Caffeine can have some benefits if consumed in safe amounts, which for adults is up to 400 milligrams per day, and it tends to carry more risks when consumed in excess and when consumed in the form of sugary drinks as opposed to coffee or tea.

In my opinion, cutting out sugars, simple carbs, and caffeine found in sugary drinks can be beneficial because of the potential weight loss and decreased risks for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, which are all very significant concerns in the American population today because of the epidemic of eating high-calorie diets and diets high in processed foods, which contain high amounts of sugars and simple carbohydrates.

The main thing to keep in mind with any diet is to make sure you are still getting appropriate nutrients and minerals by eating whole foods that provide your body with necessary protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates, which can be accomplished by eating whole, unprocessed foods such as whole fruits, vegetables, and protein either as lean meats and/or nuts and legumes.

Are compression socks good for your athletic performance?

Compression socks have been useful in certain situations such as helping with leg swelling from a variety of causes, preventing blood clots in the legs, and preventing swelling in the legs after treatment of a blood clot. Benefits of compression sock use in athletes without any of the above medical problems have been less readily identified. There are a few studies out there that suggest compression socks improve athletic performance, but the results from these studies are weak and actually most studies seem to show no difference between wearing compression socks and actual, measured athletic performance. The best studies out there have suggested that wearing compression socks may help with muscle fatigue, may prevent muscle damage and cramping, and may improve recovery times after athletic

MEET THE DOC Jesse Nieuwenhuis is a first-year family medicine resident physician at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation in Sioux City, Iowa. He grew up on a farm near Primghar, Iowa, and chose to attend the University of Iowa and Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, for his undergraduate college education, graduating from Northwestern with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in 2009. performance rather than actually improving athletic performance. Therefore, wearing compression socks may be beneficial for preventing some complications related to athletic activity.

WHAT KINDS OF HEALTH QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE? Submit your questions and they may be used in this monthly feature. Write to Siouxland Life at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, Iowa 51102.

Bridal

ExpO

Sunday, October11 Stoney Creek Inn · 1 pm - 4 pm Downtown Sioux City

Created for the bride, this expo showcases local businesses and their talents, services and products to help make planning the big day exciting and effortless!

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August 2015

45

NEW PATIENTS WELCOME

EMOCLEW

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46

August 2015

Siouxland Life

PARTING SHOT By

Bruce Miller

CLEANING MAY BE

HAZARDOUS

a

TO YOUR HEALTH

After months of promising myself I’d finally get in the basement and clean, I did.

For a while, that is.

If your basement has become a catchall (and, let’s face it, whose isn’t?) there’s a lot of stuff down there. Worthless stuff.

Big stuff. Stuff that needs to be moved.

Sensing this was a roadblock, friends built me shelves. Incredible shelves designed to hold all of my Rubbermaid bins.

The ones that resided under the stairs (not unlike some troll) got first dibs on the space. Most returned to their original resting spots but, now, in an orderly fashion. The rest were scattered around the basement, just waiting to find a home.

With another bank of shelves, there really was no excuse.

So, I said I’d wait until vacation and plunge in. Armed with a roll of garbage bags, I started moving the easy bins – the light ones. Then I started sectioning off the basement. One area became the” throw zone.” Another, the “donate zone.” A third, the “eBay zone.” (And, if you know me, the eBay zone will quickly merge with the throw zone because I don’t have the energy to sell anything online, much less package and mail it.)

The process worked quite well. I even did laundry while I was messing with the bins. As soon as I got one bag full of garbage, I toted it upstairs, checked my phone and had something to drink.

This went on for quite a while until I decided I needed to take a break. I found my grandmother’s scrapbook (through a process of “willing,” it wound up with me) and started looking at pictures.

In the world of “organization,” this is considered a slippery slope. One photo album can lead to a box of household junk.

That can give way to old clothes (see how many of those you can still fit!) and, eventually the coveted shopping bag collection.

As I started gathering those bags and giving them a sense of order, an avalanche occurred in “holiday decorations” and a three-foot glass cylinder tipped over and broke, causing chaos in “stuffed animal land” and threatening the sanctity of “school

supplies.”

Huge shards of glass were everywhere. Not willing to use one of the shopping bags, I went upstairs for more garbage bags to gather the pieces. One by one, I picked up the remnants of the candleholder. What I didn’t realize was that they also had the ability to poke out of plastic. Before I knew it, my leg, my elbow and my wrist were bleeding.

Afraid to get blood on the carpet (thus opening yet another can of cleaning trauma), I searched in the basement for something to hold on each of the wounds. Torn sheets? Ratty towels? What?

I decided to sacrifice a T-shirt that didn’t fit but was still in good condition. Quickly, the white turned red and I knew I was in a big ol’ mess of something. (I could see the headline: “Hoarder killed by stuff.”)

I made it upstairs, searched through “bandage land” and could only find “extra-long” ones (who buys extra-long bandages?). Wrapping myself like a mummy, I was able to keep the bleeding down enough to go back into the belly of the beast and sweep up the rest of the glass. When I deposited the garbage bag in the receptacle, one of those shards scraped me on my shin.

I saw that as a sign: No more cleaning.

In the middle of the night, a storm knocked over the trash receptacle, spilling the contents on the driveway. I braved the rain, pushed the bags back and realized this was much greater than all of us.

Junk, I reasoned, has a will to live, no matter how hard we try to kill it. Dust bunnies form a cocoon so we can’t arbitrarily toss a potential treasure. Lost socks create a “Shawshank”-like tunnel where they can lead quiet lives amid empty boxes and unused luggage.

So, the next time you feel you’ve got to tackle that garage, that kitchen drawer or that bedroom closet, be prepared for a big fight.

No matter how much you think you’re doing the right thing, worthless knickknacks will cut you.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

AUGUST 2015

47

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creative-cabinetry.com 48

August 2015

Siouxland Life