Click on the picture above to watch the ABC News Channel 5 broadcast of Iowa Choice Harvest
Product Types: Frozen sweet corn, sliced apples, whole asparagus
About Iowa Choice Harvest
Iowa Choice Harvest LLC formed in 2013 with 24 member owners. 60% of our member owners are Iowa producers and 40% are Iowa non-producers.
"Our mission is to connect customers with earth-conscious Iowa farmers," Huber says," who grow high quality fruits and vegetables."
Our plant is located in Marshalltown, Iowa and we began processing sweet corn in August. Our company purchases crops from Iowa farmers at their peak of ripeness and then flash freezes it to maintain the highest quality taste possible. Our sweet corn this year was harvested and frozen on the same day.
The sweet corn seed was non-GMO seed and was raised by one producer. Our apple product comes from six orchards in Iowa.
Our producers may use integrated pest management practices on their farms. We do not add any additives...
According to a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, 30 percent of parents with children in kindergarten through fifth grade say that their child's school put too little emphasis on science curricula. There is a need in science education today to "spark learning" and genuine curiosity in young students. Students feel forced to understand and memorize facts instead of figuring out the reason why the answer is that answer.
This ignorance of science is one of the main reasons why the Next Generation of Science Standards was developed. NGSS is a "multi-state effort to create new education standards that are "rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education." Minnesota teacher Mary Colson, a contributor to the development of the new standards, said that the standards aim to get the students thinking more like a scientist. Other efforts...
2014 is a New Year with new initiatives and opportunities for many organizations and this is true for Prairie Rivers of Iowa. Beginning in 2014, Prairie Rivers of Iowa will partner with Dwolla to provide partners with an electronic payment option. This payment option will be available for donations and eventually for online product purchasing.
Dwolla is a cash-based payment network that provides real-time, low cost, online and mobile payments. Instead of charging a percentage-based fee for goods and services that you purchase, they charge a flat $0.25 on any transaction over $10, while anything $10 and under is free. Better yet, Dwolla was created and is based right down the road in Des Moines!
Why use Dwolla?
Stop writing checks
Easily (and securely) donate to your favorite non-profit online
Your banking information remains confidential and is not transferred or released
How do I sign up and make a payment?
Go to www.prrcd.org/donate and make a tax-deductible donation to Prairie Rivers of Iowa.
What if I have questions?
Please call us at...
Like other animals and many living things, we humans grow when we're young and then stop growing once we mature. But trees, it turns out, are an exception to this general rule. In fact, scientists have discovered that trees grow faster the older they get.
Once trees reach a certain height, they do stop getting taller. So many foresters figured that tree growth — and girth — also slowed with age.
"What we found was the exact opposite," says Nate Stephenson, a forest ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, based in California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. "Tree growth rate increases continuously as trees get bigger and bigger," Stephenson says.
Follow the link below to read the full article on the NPR website:
Old Trees Don't Grow Taller, But Pack On Weight Like A Body-Builder...
Inside the Nation’s Largest Conservation Program – Part III
This blog post highlights participation of beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as well as organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers and ranchers in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and looks at trends in program participation unique to these categories of farmers.
CSP rewards farmers, ranchers, and foresters for how they grow what they grow. The program has enrolled over 58 million acres of crop, range, and private forest land between 2009 and 2013 in advanced conservation. This is the third and final part of a three part series. Earlier posts looked at overall enrollment and at conservation enhancements.
Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
NSAC pays particular attention to how federal programs impact beginning farmers and ranchers as well as socially disadvantaged producers across the country. The data here provide an overview of how CSP impacts these farmers and ranchers and compares their participation to the general farmer population enrolled in the program.
Between 2009...
CSP Sign Up Extended Until February 7
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has extended the deadline for applications to participate in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
Farmers and ranchers interested in enrolling in CSP now have until February 7 to submit their initial applications to NRCS.
The original deadline was January 17, which gives producers an extra three weeks to get into their local NRCS office and submit the initial application to enroll. NSAC has issued an Information Alert (PDF) with information on the timeline and process for applying to enroll in CSP, including application ranking criteria and other helpful information.
About the Conservation Stewardship Program
CSP is an innovative working lands conservation program that rewards farmers and ranchers for the conservation and environmental benefits they produce. In the first five enrollment years for CSP (2009-2013), approximately 46,000 farmers and ranchers have enrolled nearly 60 million acres of farm and ranch land. That land is now under five-year, renewable CSP conservation contracts valued at $804 million a year.
NSAC periodically analyzes...
The University of Illinois Extension is hosting some free webinars that may be of some interest. You can attend these webinars from the comfort of your home, on your home computer. For those that can’t attend during the day, they will all be archived for viewing at a later date.
Topics for this years’ webinar:
Jan. 16- Organic overview
Jan. 23- Pumpkins
Jan. 30- Small scale composting
Feb. 6- Organic insect management
Feb. 13- Organic disease management
Feb. 20- Organic weed management
Feb. 27- Asparagus production
March 6- Orchard insect management
March 13- Orchard management
March 20- Orchard disease management
March 27- Ethnic markets.
There is no cost to attend these sessions. You must register to receive the log on instructions. Our home page allows you to register for any of our programs, simply select “winter webinar series” at web.extension.illinois.edu/abhps
They also have the previous years’ webinars archived for your viewing. These are available on our home page, under the “Local Food Systems and Small Farms” icon. Topics are varied and most will cover some...
The Squaw Creek Watershed Management Authority involves a team of people from large and small communities, rural and urban areas in the counties of Boone, Story, Hamilton and Webster who share an interest in Squaw Creek. There has been a great deal of work conducted over the past ten years in this watershed culminating in the formation of the Squaw Creek Watershed Management Authority (SWMA).
Paul Toot, Story County Board of Supervisor and Chair of the Squaw Creek Watershed Management Authority says, “based on feedback we’ve received from public surveys there is a definite interest in improving the quality of Squaw Creek and its tributaries. With financial support from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the time has come to develop a comprehensive watershed management plan to provide guidance for watershed activities over the next twenty years.”
The Squaw Creek Watershed Management Authority was created in 2012. With this foundation in place, the next step is to create a watershed management plan. ...
AMES, Iowa—Along with the increasing consumer interests in buying locally grown foods come food safety expectations from buyers. Good Agricultural Practices, or GAP, certification can be used by fruit and vegetable producers to meet buyer requirements for food safety. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will hold GAP workshops this fall for farmers who sell directly to consumers and those considering sales to retail foodservices.
The one-day workshops are offered as Level 1: KNOW and Level 2: SHOW. Level 1 is training for growers who provide food to consumers through community–supported agriculture or farmers’ markets, or are considering retail foodservice sales. Training covers good agriculture best practices and market considerations.
Level 2 workshops guide farmers in the development of a written farm food safety plan. Farmers considering sales to retail foodservices such as grocers, restaurants, hospitals and other institutions, and those interested in adding value to fresh produce and selling products in a convenience form will have the tools to demonstrate GAPs...
