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Connecting farmland owners with farmland seekers

The website FindAFarmer.net, which is managed by Practical Farmers of Iowa, recently underwent a redesign in order to better serve landowners and land seekers. Steve Carlson, next generation coordinator at PFI, said FindAFarmer.net was launched in 2011 on a much smaller scale and has been updated throughout the past eight years. “Due to the nature of technology, the website needs updated, upgraded every couple of years,” he said. “We did an overhaul to try to modernize the website, but also added a few new tools and bells and whistles to make it more friendly. We have been able ...

SMCH to sell Community Pharmacies

LAKE CITY — Stewart Memorial Community Hospital has agreed to sell Community Pharmacies — the hospital’s retail pharmacies located in Lake City, Lake View, Rockwell City, and Gowrie, according to a press release from Stewart Memorial Hospital. Pharma340, of Coralville, will buy Community Pharmacies. The transfer process is anticipated to be complete by July 2019, according to Cindy Carstens, CEO of SMCH. “As providers of health care, our goal is to always provide the best care possible to every patient, every time,” Carstens said in a written statement. “Our pharmacy ...

Scents that bring smiles

MANSON — What started as a class project became a career for Janis Miller, of Manson. Miller was a student in the accounting program at Iowa Central Community College when she and three other students were tasked with marketing a product. That product was scented candles. “We ...

Markets falter in response to China, Mexico export news

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted the news that Chinese officials planned to purchase 10 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans. What he referred to as a “good faith” gesture occurred during trade talks between the two countries, and Perdue said it was an indication of “more good news to come.” Initially, the futures markets responded positively as Globex futures were sharply higher and at their highest levels in premarket trading. But the rebound didn’t last long. Chad Hart, agriculture economist with Iowa State University, said that the markets heading ...

Aristocrats, or entrepreneurs?

I never knew I was an aristocrat. Yet that’s how I was being described, along with anyone else whose family has a Century Farm or has farmed land in Iowa for multiple generations. It happened during a recent Story County Board of Supervisors meeting in February. I wasn’t there, but a friend forwarded me a link to the video of the contentious meeting, where supervisors voted 2-1 to request that the governor and state legislature impose a moratorium on new or expanding confined animal feeding operations. During the public comment period, a gentleman named John Monroe from Nevada ...

Online calving management resource now available

AMES— In the beef industry, calving management is critical to production and profitability of the cow herd. Proper care prior to and at calving can help reduce incidence of dystocia, and also minimize deleterious impacts should dystocia occur. Knowing how to prepare, what to do and not do, and when to take action all are critical aspects of correctly managing calving in your herd. That’s why the Iowa Beef Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach developed the Calving Management Manual. ISU extension beef veterinarian Dr. Grant Dewell led the effort with ...