Monthly Archives: March 2012

Food & Family“Living to Serve” Defines this Northwest Iowa Volunteer

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Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

The FFA motto is comprised of just 12 short words but, when lived out, these words can make a big impact on rural communities. Just ask Pam Fuller of Paullina, a community of 1,044 in northwest Iowa.

Whether Pam looks for community service opportunities or whether such opportunities find her is a lot like asking, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” But the bottom line is that Pam has a passion for helping others. She has become a tireless fundraiser for high school organizations and activities in her area. Her current priorities include fundraising for Close Up, the nation’s premier non-profit, civic education organization, and for the South O’Brien FFA Boosters, a Booster Club for the South O’Brien FFA Chapter.

To help raise money for the Close Up students, who will spend one week of their summer in Washington, D.C., Pam started making lollipops 10 years ago. She makes 40 different flavors in shapes ranging from snowmen and tulips to hearts and balloons. Then she sells them at home tracks meets, as well as at home football and basketball games. If it sounds like she’s spending lots of time in the kitchen, she is! Pam spends about two to three hours making each batch of 50 lollipops, and last year she made over 6,500 lollipops. The biggest sellers are cotton candy, strawberry daiquiri and strawberry-watermelon. (If you’re ever in the area, these lollipops are a real treat! My kids are a big fan particularly of the strawberry-watermelon ones.)

In addition to making lollipops, Pam is currently busy planning a pancake fundraiser. It’s become a tradition for the Southwest O’Brien FFA Alumni Board to host a free-will breakfast the day before Easter. The menu includes pancakes, sausage and applesauce. This is just one of three fundraisers the FFA alumni host to help support FFA members’ trips to state and national convention. They also host a football tailgate that consists of hamburgers, chips and lemonade. During the basketball season, they’ve become known for their succulent pork loin supper with a side of baked beans. Today Pam is sharing their bean recipe on TheFieldPosition.

Pam, who’s a full-time substitute teacher during the school year, doesn’t take off summers from fundraising or working with high school youth. She and students involved with the Close Up program run a concession stand at the O’Brien County Fair. In addition to organizing the concession stand, Pam sells ice cream on the fairgrounds.

The Ice Cream Truck had become a fixture at the O’Brien County Fairgrounds after 25 years. So when the proprietors decided to retire, Glenn (Pam’s husband) saw it as an opportunity to keep the tradition alive. He bought the 1962 Chevy ice cream truck in 2009, and Pam started selling ice cream at the 2009 county fair. Her product offerings include soft serve chocolate and vanilla cones, sundaes and ice cream sandwiches, homemade chocolate chip cookies, plus Wizzards, which are similar to a Dairy Queen® Blizzard®. Pam also bought a smoothie maker and a sno-cone maker, and at the 2011 county fair, sno-cone sales topped her ice cream sales.

Year-round Pam serves her community in various ways. She’s active on church committees and launders and fits the school’s band and chorus uniforms. Early each morning she delivers the Sioux City Journal – and has done so for 31 years!

Pam and Glenn also enjoy spending time with their six children and nine grandchildren. This year they’re hosting two exchange students, one from the Czech Republic and one from Venezuela. It’s no wonder this family knows how to cook for a crowd! Perhaps their recipe for Big Batch Baked Beans is just what you need when your family gathers soon to celebrate Easter or reunites this summer. Pair it with Big Batch Brownies and you will easily be able to feed a small army.

Big Batch Baked Beans

    • 1 gallon of baked beans
    • 1 lb ground beef
    • 2 C. BBQ sauce (we use Cookies®)
    • 2 C. ketchup
    • 1½ lb. bacon
    • 1 C. brown sugar
    • 1/4 C. or less mustard

COOK’S TIP: Increase this recipe as you need. We fill a couple of electric roasters and let beans simmer forseveral hours.

How early is “too early” to plant?

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After experiencing several unseasonably warm days this month, we’re hearing reports of farmers who have planted corn. That just begs the question, “How early is too early to plant?”

There’s no need to rush into the fields. In fact, years of field research by Iowa State University shows the highest yield potential is with corn planting dates between April 12 and May 8. To achieve 98% of the corn yield potential, the data shows farmers in northeast Iowa should plant between April 12 and April 30. In northwest, west central, central, and east central Iowa the best time to plant is from April 15 to May 9. In the bottom three tiers of counties in Iowa, farmers need t plant corn between April 17 to May 8 to reach the 98% yield window. This same research shows that planting too early (between March 20 and April 5) or too late (between May 5 and May 20) results in significant yield reduction.

Typically, we recommend farmers wait to plant corn until for soil temperatures are 50° Fahrenheit and until soybeans reach between 55-60 degrees before planting soybeans. Warmer temperatures are especially critical to protect seedlings. Soybeans can germinate when soils are about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if the air temperature after germination hits 20 degrees Fahrenheit or less, the young seeding can be killed with the growing point of the plant right at emergence.

Keep in mind, the weather we’ve experienced in the first half of March is a atypical. Record-high temperatures and limited precipitation in early March warmed current soil temperatures to levels that we usually see in late April. Such soil temperatures can be sustained in late April since nearly every day gets warmer as we approach summer. The situation we’re facing now is that the calendar still reads March.

It’s likely that we’ll experience colder air temperatures yet this spring. Remember what happened in April 2011? Rain, snow, and hail fell upon areas of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin on April 19, 2011.

Farmers should probably think twice – maybe three times – before they head to the field with their planters this spring. The seed in their shed right now is most likely their first choice for a hybrid. If farmers have to replant, they may be planting their third or fourth choice for seed products as supplies are tight across the industry.

Industry NewsCelebrating 4-H During Extension & Outreach Week

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Photo courtesy of AgriNews.com

Musings of a Pig Farmer
by Larry Sailer

Today Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will officially sign a proclamation, declaring March 25-31 as Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Week. Last year about 1.8 million people, including almost 94,000 youth, benefited from ISU Extension and Outreach educational programs.

One of the strongest and largest Extension programs benefitting youth is 4-H. 4-H youth programs provide opportunities for youth to develop skills they can use now and throughout their life.

As someone who has farmed for 50 years, I can attest to the value of learning life skills as a youngster. Life skills are abilities individuals can learn that will help them to be successful in living a productive and satisfying life. Goal setting, problem management, resiliency are just a few examples of the skills that have come into play as I’ve raised row crops, hogs and a family in rural Franklin County, Iowa.

My great grandfather bought our home farm in 1904. When his oldest daughter got married, he moved to the farm where I grew up. He kept meticulous notes and passed down his love of the land. You might say that farming is in my blood; it seemed only natural when I bought my first pigs in 1966 when I was a freshman in high school. Those pigs were my FFA project for four years and helped open the door to farming.

I bought my farm in 1972, which was a boom time for agriculture. I was up to 1,000 acres when the 1980s Farm Crisis hit. I lost 700 acres of land that I was renting when my lender refused to let me pay more than $80 per acre for rent, and even in those days, that was far below the going rate.

To make ends meet, I turned my attention from raising crops to raising buildings. I started my own construction company and became a subcontractor. I traveled 10 states, putting up hog buildings. That meant my wife, Janice, and our five children had to run the farm and pigs to feed while I was on the road.

Our kids developed a strong work ethic and learned to take responsibility from a young age. Through their involvement in 4-H, they also developed life skills. As much as they hated doing the paperwork, their 4-H projects helped them understand the importance of keeping good records. I know their 4-H experiences helped them become successful in their jobs today.

And that’s why, during Extension & Outreach Week, I’d like to give a shout-out to the thousands of people who volunteer their time to help guide the next generation of state leaders and life-long learners. Almost 10,000 volunteers guide 4-H members in becoming productive citizens, outstanding communicators, effective leaders, and successful learners. In a recent survey, one Iowa volunteer shared:

“I feel a great sense of excitement and pride when youth accomplish something they never thought they could do. It is wonderful to see kids work through a project and feel proud of what they can do. This keeps me volunteering in school and church, as well as the 4-H program. I believe youth can be encouraged to do great things.”

You can help encourage youth to get things by getting involved in your local communities. In celebration of 100 years of the 4-H program and of Extension and Outreach Week, Franklin County Extension is trying to get 100 “likes” on its Facebook page. I “like” Franklin County Extension and hope you will, too!