One of my favorite events of the year happens this week:  the Franklin County Fair, Iowa’s second largest county fair. Ever since I joined 4-H in the third grade, I’ve loved going to the fair.  Fair- time brings together a few of my favorite things:  family, friends, fun and food.  (Not to mention the annual corn dogs, mini donuts and funnel cake!)

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds will have a booth at the Franklin County Fair and would love to have you stop by for a visit! We’ll share information about our exciting new product lineups for the 2011 season and invite you to join us on this year’s Latham Freedom of Independence Ride. We’ll also have giveaways available for those who take a minute to sign up for our Facebook page or register for the Freedom Ride.

The Franklin County’s 151^st fair runs July 14-18 in Hampton.  It includes a lineup of great artists including Luke Bryan and David Nail Friday evening at 8 p.m. and activities for all ages to enjoy. Visit http://www.franklincountyfair.com/ for a schedule of events and more details on the Franklin County Fair.

Thanks to everyone who entered last week’s “Tall Corn Contest” on Facebook. Congratulations to Keesia Wirt! Winner of the first official “Tall Corn Contest” with a guess of 3’9” — just two inches off from the actual corn height in Uncle Jim’s field at 3’7”. We’ll send a prize your way by mail and you will be entered for the grand prize drawing in September.

Enter today!

Below is an updated picture of the corn in Uncle Jim’s field — as you can see it’s gotten so tall we can’t take pictures of him standing “in” the field anymore or guessing would prove pretty difficult. (You’d have to find Uncle Jim first!)

Simply visit www.facebook.com/LathamSeeds and enter your guess answering the question, “How tall is the corn in Uncle Jim’s field?” The person with the closest guess will win a prize and be entered to win the grand prize in September. (Winners will be selected every Thursday between now and September). For a list of contest rules, click here.

We also wanted to share recent news from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, on crop conditions in Iowa. While some welcome sunshine helped many fields suffering from too much moisture, rain over the weekend meant many areas in Iowa are still threatened by flood water. Click here for the full June 6 Iowa Crop and Weather Report released by the USDA.

There’s an old Midwest saying that if corn is going to “make it,” or mature before the first frost, then it needs to be knee-high by the Fourth of July.  ISU Extension Corn Specialist Roger Elmore says that with progressively earlier planting dates, as well as improved genetics and management, we’re more accustomed to at least “nose high” by the Fourth of July.  Depending on planting date and growing conditions, as well as the hybrid itself, some corn is oftentimes over our heads at this time of year.  Regardless of planting date, it always depends on the farmer!

Let me further explain: No one has ever clarified whose knee was used as the measure or whether he or she was wearing boots with a heel.  (Honestly, I don’t think my knee caps would be even with my husband’s if I was wearing stilettos and standing uphill.)  No one, at least to my knowledge, has ever documented the height of the farmer doing the measuring.  That is, no one has until now …

To consistently measure corn growth weekly on one north central Iowa farm, we’ve asked Uncle Jim to serve as our “measuring stick.” Uncle Jim is undoubtedly one of Latham Hi‑Tech Hybrids biggest fans — and with good reason!  He’s been achieving bin-busting yields since he started planting Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids five years ago.

Despite threats from hail, wind and floods, Jim’s corn crop is once again standing tall.  That’s why we’ve decided to have a little fun with this by sponsoring a Tall Corn contest.  After all, there’s a reason that Iowa is nicknamed “the tall corn state”!

Enter today! See directions below. A winner will be picked each week from here to September with a grand prize winner being selected at the end of September. Our first Tall Corn Contest “winner” will be named one week from today, on Thursday, July 8.  Below are the contest details.

Tall Corn Contest Rules

1) How to Enter/Eligibility: To enter, visit www.facebook.com/LathamSeeds and type in your guess to those entries asking “How tall is the corn in Uncle Jim’s field?” Comments must be received by submitted weekly by midnight on Wednesday.

2) Eligibility Restrictions: Entrants must have their own valid Facebook account. The contest is not open to Latham® employees or their spouses.

3) Selection of Winners: A weekly winner will be selected at random from those Facebook users who commented with a guess to the question, “How tall is the corn in Uncle Jim’s field?” The winner will be notified by direct message on Facebook each Thursday. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

4) Prizes: All weekly winners will be entered to win the grand prize ? a Latham jacket. All weekly winners will also be given a Latham® corn mug valued at $5 dollars. In the winner notification message, we will ask for a mailing address where the prize can be shipped. The grand prize will be awarded in September.

5) Publicizing the Winner: The winner’s name will be posted on the Latham’s blog, www.thefieldposition.com, Facebook, www.facebook.com/LathamSeeds, and Twitter page, www.twitter.com/LathamSeeds. All entrants agree to having their name publicized on these accounts.

6) Miscellaneous: By entering, entrants agree to the above terms and conditions.

Join us for the Second Annual Latham Freedom of Independence Ride!

What: Join us Monday, August 30, for the second annual Latham Freedom of Independence Ride across central Iowa. The 100-mile route will include three stops at Latham® technology showcase plots. The ride begins in Ames, Iowa, with registration from 9:30-10:30 a.m. We will finish about 6 p.m. in Boone with a hog roast and live entertainment by Bubba Blackwell, the American Daredevil, world record-holding motorcyclist. Click here to see photos of some of his record-breaking stunts in action.

Who: Dealers, customers, and friends of Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.

Where: The ride begins in Ames, Iowa, with registration from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and ends around 6 p.m. in Boone, Iowa. Route maps will be provided at sign-in the morning of the ride.

Entertainment: After the ride, enjoy a hog roast and live entertainment by Bubba Blackwell, the American Daredevil, world record-holding motorcyclist.

How to sign up: Pre-registration is required. Click here to register. Register by August 1, 2010, and get a FREE T-shirt or Do-Rag for you and your rider! Registration will be limited to 250 bikes and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.  Any make of cycle is welcome!

Why you should join us: Here’s a look at last year’s ride — you’re bound to have fun if you join us this year! Thanks to the 225 riders who participated in 2009. We hope to see you again this year!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC0_nozTBrE[/youtube]

Agricultural and political leaders are concerned about the potential economic impact the Gulf oil spill could have on barge traffic along the Mississippi River. Congressmen are urging President Obama and the Coast Guard to fully evaluate the impact of the BP Oil Spill on Mississippi River shipping lanes, according to an article posted Friday on the Wallaces Farmer website.

More than half of the nation’s soybeans were exported from the Mississippi Gulf region in 2009. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition headquartered at the offices of the Iowa Soybean Association near Des Moines says the United States’ ability to meet customer demand would be compromised. Farmer incomes would be reduced due to a likely widening basis.  A disruption of shipping from the Mississippi Gulf region would have a detrimental impact on agriculture, in general, and the soybean industry, in particular. Click here to read the full article.

In true agriculture fashion, an innovative idea has been brought to the table as a possible solution to the Gulf oil spill to safeguard the Midwest’s ag economy. Check out this video:

http://www.wimp.com/solutionoil/.

Two weeks ago we wrote about our upcoming participation in Alexander, Iowa’s Quasquicentennial parade. John’s uncle Jim videotaped the parade for us (you can see the Latham trucks come in at about 6 minutes and 45 seconds), and we thought it was such a great representation of Iowa’s communities we wanted to share it with you.

We were proud to be a part of the celebration!

In support of June Dairy Month, today’s blog post will feature an Iowa family whose entrepreneurial spirit allows seven families to be supported by a 150 milk cows.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of touring Hansen’s Dairy Farm near Hudson, Iowa, as part of the Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative. I’ve shared some photos below, so you can take your own “virtual tour” of their operation.  (Note the calf with a perfect heart-shape on her forehead… How could you help but love her?  There’s also a photo of Hansen’s milk truck and even a wallaby!) The Hansen logo (at right) is of a wallaby with a Holstein calf in her pouch. The Hansen’s have several New Zealand wallabies that help attract people to the farm.

The Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative, sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association, fosters collaboration between ag and urban leaders to provide sustainable solutions for the state and her communities.  A large part of the program involves educational tours and discussions with Iowa business owners such as Jay and Jeanne Hansen.

The Hansen farm has been in the family since Jay’s ancestors emigrated from Germany in 1861, and J&J’s dairy herd originated in 1953.  When all four of their sons desired to return to home and farm, the family needed to find a way to produce more revenue without a large expansion.  After extensive research, they decided to process their own milk.  A creamery was constructed in November 2002, and in February 2004, their first gallon of non-homogenized whole milk was produced.

Today the Hansens run a farm-fresh milk route and have expanded their product offering to include:  whole milk, 1% milk, Skim milk, Chocolate 1% milk, butter, heavy cream, cheese curds, hard ice cream, soft-serve ice cream, ice cream pies, ice cream cakes, egg nog (seasonal) and ground beef.

Hansen’s Dairy Outlet in Cedar Falls sells butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, European-style yogurt, cheese baskets plus Holstein beef, cheese curds and soft serve ice cream.  The family also operates Moo Roo retail store in Waterloo. The name combines their cows with their logo.  (Wallabies, or miniature kangaroos, came to live on their farm after son Blake Hansen traveled to New Zealand.)

“Farm Fresh Dairy” has become a point of differentiation for the Hansen family. Their mission is “to deliver the best quality farm-fresh dairy products from our family to yours.”

Those of us who operate family-owned businesses can certainly appreciate the time, energy and passion that goes into producing products that we’re proud put our name on.  In honor of the Hansens – and all of the Midwest’s hardworking dairy families – I’m posting one of my favorite cheesecake recipes today.

Laura Larson, marketing coordinator for Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, recently returned from Greece where she toured through Iowa State University’s Ag Study Abroad program. The trip’s focus was Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which was a great match for Laura’s educational pursuits, as she was very involved in studying entrepreneurship and business development throughout college.

Laura said she was intrigued by the program because Greece’s agricultural industry is facing some of the same issues we are realizing in American agriculture: industry consolidation, increased regulation and the need to grow more food on fewer acres. Due to Greece’s diverse and small-scale ag production, producers in the region have to become entrepreneurial to remain viable in tough economic times. Laura said the constant innovation and niche marketing that is driving agriculture in Greece can be applied to help American farmers remain competitive in the global agricultural market.

The 26 ISU students who participated in the trip toured one of the top 100 wineries in the world, Domaine Gerovassiliou (acres of vines at Gerovasiliou below). They also toured Kri Kri dairy processing plant, a dairy operation focusing on Feta cheese production (pictured above), and a pistachio farm on the island of Agina (pistachio trees at right). (Greece is the largest producer of pistachios in Europe and the sixth largest exporter in the world). Other stops included a water buffalo feedlot, Barbastathis frozen vegetable production plant, a winery focused on producing canned grape leaves for the food market instead of wine, Agriplant high tech nursery and Spirulina algae production plant.

One big highlight of the trip was the opportunity to interact with the American Farm School, what Laura called the “ISU College of Ag of Greece.” The school was founded by a missionary, who traveled to Greece from America, with the goal of preaching about religion.  Upon arriving, however, he found a country suffering from famine and drought, so he decided it would be much more important to teach them about agriculture. This school is the only one of its kind teaching agriculture in Greece.

Laura’s greatest learning experience came from talking with Greek producers about the use and acceptance of biotech ag products. She was surprised to find that many of them were very open to the biotech industry but, admittedly, were not well educated on all the industry had to offer.  They told her the main reason European producers are reluctant to approve biotech is for simple economic reasons; they don’t want the United States controlling genetics for products they produce.  Hopefully, increased pressure from a growing population will help these producers overcome economic opposition and accept the benefits these products can bring to their fields.

U.S. farmers can choose an additional risk management tool with Biotech Yield Assurance(SM) for the 2011 growing season. The crop insurance program links an insurance policy to the yield benefits of Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Soybeans and Genuity SmartStax™ corn.

For an incremental premium, Biotech Yield Assurance will enable eligible farmers to increase coverage by 10 percent of the existing yield guarantee for each insured unit that is 100 percent planted to Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Soybeans in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, and each insured unit that is 95 percent planted to Genuity SmartStax™ corn in the states of Iowa and Minnesota.

“Biotech Yield Assurance(SM) policy can help address the risk gap between new high-yielding genetics and actual production history (APH) used for insurance purposes,” said Ted Etheredge, President of ARMtech. “For example, a grower with an APH of 50 bushels and a Biotech Yield Assurance(SM) policy for Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybeans can bring his total unit coverage to 93.5 percent and insure an additional 4.25 bushels. That’s compared to a Multi-Peril Crop Insurance policy covering 85 percent of APH – the highest coverage possible under federal crop insurance policies today.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Source: Monsanto press release