NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Republican Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a politically charged bill that would have banned the use of certain pig cages in his state, a move many observers see as aimed at appeasing Iowa voters ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.In a veto message issued Friday, Christie called the bill opposing gestation crates a "solution in search of a problem.""It is a political movement masquerading as substantive policy," he said.The crates, which are so small that pregnant pigs can't turn around in them, have been criticized by animal welfare activists as cruel. Pigs can spend years in them, and advocates say they don't want their use to spread.The bill had overwhelming support from Republican and Democratic state lawmakers but would have had little to no impact in New Jersey, whose roughly 300 pig farms don't regularly use the crates.But the crates are widespread in Iowa, which is home to millions of pigs and the nation's first presidential nominating caucuses. Christie has invested significant time building relationships in Iowa, campaigning on behalf of its Republican governor, Terry Branstad, who had urged him to squash the bill.New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat and the bill's lead sponsor, expressed disappointment after the veto and accused Christie of "capitulating to political influences in a state thousands of miles away.""Obviously, the governor is putting his personal political ambitions ahead of the humane treatment of animals," he said.The fight over the legislation had become one of the most heated in recent memory.Animal welfare advocates launched a public relations blitz, complete with celebrity endorsements, and staged events at which activists stood inside cages. They also commissioned polls to show support for the ban in New Jersey and Iowa and said they flooded the governor's office with thousands of phone calls and emails.The National Pork Producers Council, based in Washington, D.C., sent a lobbyist to New Jersey to try to scuttle the attempt. It was pleased with Christie's action."Gov. Christie recognized that it's the hog farmers not national animal rights groups who know best how to ensure the well-being of pregnant sows," Council spokesman Dave Warner said in an email.The Humane Society of the United States' vice president of farm animal protection, Paul Shapiro, characterized Christie's decision as a "cynical political calculation."But Christie said it was the other way around. In his veto message, he urged lawmakers to stop "using their lawmaking authority to play politics with issues that don't exist in our State" and shilling for groups that "want to use the law making process as a political cudgel on issues outside our borders."New Jersey is "at the vanguard of protecting domestic livestock from animal cruelty," he said.Christie vetoed similar legislation last year, but advocates had hoped changes would address his concerns. Instead, Christie said he would leave state policy in the hands of the Board of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture."I will rely on our in-state experts rather than the partisan politicians who sponsor this bill," he said.
Christie vetoes politically charged pig crate bill
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Killing of Guatemalan hunter likely to go unsolved
ZACAPA, Guatemala (AP) — Jose Miguel Ramirez went hunting for iguanas on a melon farm, and paid for it with his life. The 19-year-old's body was dumped by a stream near the property line, a bullet hole above his left eye.What happened to Ramirez remains in dispute, though no one is pushing for answers any longer. The private security guards alleged to have killed him were never prosecuted. A witness who said he saw the shooting recanted. In a country that averages some 100 homicides a week, the killing barely drew headlines and public attention moved on.The case of Ramirez, whose body was found outside the ZacapaEx plantation in March 2013, reveals just how convoluted security and justice have become in Guatemala, where private guards outnumber police 5-to-1, and the soaring crime rate is married with shocking levels of impunity. Those with means buy protection the state cannot provide, those without take matters into their own hands."You don't call the police. You don't call 911. You deal with it yourself," said Frank Moseley, a private security analyst based in Guatemala.Ramirez, a young corn farmer with a pregnant girlfriend and toddler son had set off with his two brothers-in-law that Sunday, a slingshot in his pocket for hunting. They left the trash-strewn arroyo where the family lives to search for food — fat, green iguanas.ZacapaEx is one of the large farms producing melons that locals proudly tout as the sweetest in all of Central America. The company is a significant source of jobs in the Guatemalan highlands where opportunities are scarce. Residents get seasonal work in the fields and packing plants, or are hired as guards to patrol the farms against thieves, who take everything from fruit to tires and equipment.Ramirez had just crossed the fence onto the farm when the shots rang out and he was hit, his brothers-in-law said. They hid as they watched three men dressed in street clothes and a fourth wearing a security guard's uniform drag the body and dump it off beyond the property line. They summoned police, who found Ramirez with his Daytona 500 baseball cap resting neatly on his stomach, saliva foaming at his mouth and a trail of blood that suggested he had been dragged.Days later, police arrested three men identified by one of Ramirez's brothers-in-law. One of them was Angel Aldana Cruz, a 26-year-old who was alleged to have fired the fatal shot. Authorities described the suspects as private security guards who worked on the farm, although the men claimed they were only hired to do odd jobs. Later, authorities arrested a fourth man, a guard hired from a private security firm, Gevas, to patrol the melon farm.Over the following weeks, all four men were freed, and ZacapaEx was cleared of any responsibility.After Ramirez's death, the family was visited by Osmany Giron, the melon company's director of operations, who offered his condolences. Giron knew the family, he told The Associated Press, because two of Ramirez's sisters had worked for him during harvest time. He was saddened to learn that Ramirez left behind a 14-month-old son. He brought tamales, bread and a "small" amount of money for the family.Ramirez's mother, Odilia del Carmen Sintuj, told AP she was too distraught to pay much attention to the visits by Giron. She recalled that he promised to care for her. The company, she said, helped her go to a hospital for treatment of her diabetes and bought her medicine.Weeks later, she said, Giron asked her and her husband, Esteban Ramirez, to go with him to an office. He wanted them to sign a document, even though neither of them could read or write. She said the company paid her $4,500.A local prosecutor who was there, she said, encouraged them to sign, saying it was the best resolution they could expect.The prosecutor, she said, told them the case wasn't worth pursuing and encouraged them to accept whatever the melon farm offered. "There's nothing here," she recalled the prosecutor saying about the case. "If they want to help, you should take advantage of it."The couple signed the document with their thumb prints, but say they never understood what it was. By doing so, according to the document filed in court on April 12, 2013, the couple absolved ZacapaEx and the three suspects of any charges and agreed to drop their court action. The prosecutor assigned to the case, Olga Hernandez, declined to meet with AP and did not return telephone calls.Giron denies Sintuj's version of events, and says he knows nothing of a court paper or indemnification. As for the killing, he says ZacapaEx had nothing to do with it, that the three workers in plain clothes were not guards, and none would have been armed while on duty.Investigators initially did seize weapons from three of the suspects, but not from Aldana Cruz, the alleged gunman. Ballistics testing on the seized weapons came out clean.The sworn statement given by Mario Ramos, the brother-in-law who identified the three suspects that day to the police, also was withdrawn and his testimony recanted.Ramos told AP that a stranger approached him and warned: "You're not going to say anything because if you do, we'll kill you." Soon after, Ramos signed a court document saying he couldn't be sure of the suspects' identities because he hadn't seen their faces. It was, he said, his only option."It really hurts me, what they did to my brother-in-law," he said. "But what would you do if someone killed a relative and you saw who it was, and (they) threatened you and said, 'Look, you're not going to say anything because if you do, we'll kill you too?'"Aldana Cruz and the two other men were freed from custody and their bail money returned, and Mario Antonio Santiago Carranza, the guard charged with being an accessory, was absolved.It didn't end there.A week after charges were dropped, Carranza was patrolling the perimeter of the melon farm when he was shot to death by a man passing by on a motorcycle.Like Ramirez's death, his killing remains unsolved although a representative of the Gevas security company suggested responsibility lies with friends of Ramirez and his brothers-in-law, whom she described as "criminals.""An innocent had to pay for something he didn't do," said Alba Rosa Asturias, Gevas' legal representative.The family denies any role in Carranza's death, though in their minds it was a just ending."He who kills by the sword, dies by the sword," Ramos said.___Follow Katherine Corcoran on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kathycorcoran
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UNH-produced milk gets award
DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — A dairy center at the University of New Hampshire has received recognition by the Dairy Farmers of America.As a result of receiving the Gold Quality Award, UNH is paid the highest price for its milk from the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center.The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center is celebrating its 25th year of operation this year.Dairy Farmers of America is the leading national milk cooperative with nearly 13,000 dairy producers in 48 states. UNH's milk goes to the Hood plant in Concord."We have multiple tiers of quality premiums, and they are not easy to achieve," said Tim Riel, area supervisor for the Dairy Farmers of America. "Farms really have to stay on top of things to get these extra premiums."The center at UNH houses 87 milking-age Holstein and Jersey cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals.Cows at the Fairchild Dairy Center produce an average of about 26,000 to 27,000 pounds of milk per cow per year. The national average is about 22,000 pounds per cow a year.
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Study highlights ag law needs across Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Environmental regulations and land use restrictions top the list of legal concerns for the state's agricultural community, according to a recent study conducted by a trio of University of Maryland schools.While those matters cross geographic boundaries, representatives from different parts of the state cited different legal topics as most relevant to their region, according to the report, which was compiled from interviews with 23 leaders in Maryland's agricultural community, as well as a survey of University of Maryland Extension faculty.The reason for the variation is simple: agriculture takes different forms throughout the state, said Paul Goeringer, a co-author of the report and an extension legal specialist with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.George Ritchie, co-chair of Gordon Feinblatt LLC's agricultural law practice group, was not involved with the report — but he agreed with Goeringer."There's a wide degree of diversity in the agricultural community," Ritchie said. "On the Eastern Shore, the poultry industry is very large and drives concerns, but if you move up to Baltimore County, you find smaller farms that aren't involved in poultry, but have issues with respect to dairy farms or land preservation."The study was conducted by the Agriculture Law Education Initiative, a collaboration between the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.The initiative stems from legislation the Maryland General Assembly enacted in 2011. At the time, litigation was pending between Berlin farmers Alan and Kristin Hudson and the Waterkeeper Alliance, which was represented by the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic. The school's involvement in the lawsuit, which the Hudsons eventually won, angered the governor as well as many lawmakers.In the 2011 legislation, the General Assembly tasked the University System of Maryland with helping to preserve Maryland's family farms by assisting their owners with the legal issues associated with agricultural production.The result is the Agriculture Law Education Initiative, which is now part of the "MPowering the State" collaboration between the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.The interview subjects contacted for the study included leaders of agricultural producer groups, such as the Maryland Pork Producers Association and Maryland Vegetable Growers Association, as well as state government agencies, including the Maryland Department of Agriculture.One of the initiative's major goals, Goeringer said, was to identify the best outreach or educational methods to address agricultural producers' top legal concerns.Many of the University of Maryland Extension faculty members, who are located in counties across the state and work directly with farmers, said localized workshops that highlight specific legal issues would be the best means of reaching agricultural producers who are highly concerned about the impact that legal restrictions could have on their production."The farm community views the current regulatory system with some suspicion and a great deal of frustration because of its complexity," Ritchie said.To better understand the community's concerns and the needs of specific groups of producers, the next step for the Agriculture Law Education Initiative will be a survey of individual farmers, planned for early 2015.Goeringer said he hopes reports like these serve as a jumping-off point for lawyers looking to focus on agricultural law."It would be very useful if private attorneys could look at it and say, 'These are the needs; we need to focus on this area and develop our practice to help this clientele,'" he said.Ritchie agreed that agricultural law attorneys should actively seek out this information to better tailor their practice to what is in demand across the state."Lawyers like myself spend a fair amount of time trying to understand the industry and get familiar with the players and the individual farmers, and that's an ongoing engagement for us," he said. "Anything that can help us actually focus on what the clients need, as opposed to what we think they need, would be welcome."___Information from: The Daily Record of Baltimore, http://www.mddailyrecord.com
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Poor durum crop likely to impact pasta consumers
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A poor durum wheat crop means the pasta sold in supermarkets likely will be pricier or of poorer quality.Durum is ground into the semolina flour used to make pasta. About half of the nation's durum is produced in North Dakota, where wet weather during spring planting and the fall harvest led to a crop that's more than 4 percent smaller than last year's and of poorer quality.Nationally, the crop is about 8 percent smaller than last year. And similar production problems in Canada and Europe brought global production to its lowest in 13 years.National Pasta Association Executive Director Carol Freysinger says consumers will see an impact. But North Dakota Wheat Commission Marketing Director Jim Peterson says it likely won't be enough to turn shoppers away from noodles.
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Proposed rule for farms aims to improve Lake Erie
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's lawmakers are taking their first step toward slowing the spread of algae in Lake Erie since a toxin contaminated the drinking water for more than 400,000 people.Legislation approved in the state House would ban farmers in much of northwestern Ohio from spreading manure on top of frozen or saturated fields. Another provision would set new rules on dumping dredged sediment in the lake.Both are thought to contribute to the algae blooms that produce dangerous toxins. But how much those proposed changes — they still need approval in the Ohio Senate — would help isn't certain.Research is limited on how much of the phosphorus that feeds the algae blooms comes from dredging and from livestock farmers spreading manure onto frozen and snow-covered fields in the winter.Still, both are thought to be factors and pressure has been rising on state and federal officials to fix the troubled lake in the months since toxins from the algae left residents around Toledo and in southeastern Michigan without water for two days in August."We need to start doing something," said Rep. Mike Sheehy, a Democrat from the Toledo suburb of Oregon who called for a ban on the spread of manure on frozen ground well before Toledo's water crisis."It's not something that all of a sudden somebody just thought up," he said. "There's some pretty good science that suggest those are major contributors."The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service says less than 20 percent of agriculture-related phosphorus in western Lake Erie comes from livestock manure; the rest is from commercial fertilizer. This past spring, Ohio put in place a law requiring most farmers to undergo training and be certified by the state before they use commercial fertilizers on their fields, though that requirement is not yet in effect.It's not clear how many livestock farms spread manure onto frozen fields, which allows the phosphorus to wash away and end up in the lake.Glen Arnold, a manure management specialist with Ohio State University Extension, said most farmers rarely put manure on frozen ground. That's why he thinks banning the practice when the ground is frozen or saturated will not significantly improve water quality.But he also knows lawmakers can't wait to take action."We can't say we're doing this research and we'll have an idea in five years," Arnold said. "That's not soon enough."The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation had been against banning farmers from putting manure on frozen fields even though it said the practice was not a good idea. The farm industry's powerful lobbying group had argued such a move would be costly for farmers who lacked storage for manure.But the organization has changed course and now supports the proposal. The legislation also would prohibit farmers in most northwestern Ohio counties from spreading manure if heavy rain is in the immediate forecast. Farmers who inject the manure into the soil would be exempt.Yvonne Lesicko, the farm bureau's policy director, said they plan on finding out how many farmers will be affected by the proposal and determine if financial help is available for those that will need to add storage space."We want to be good stewards of the land," she said.
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Beekeepers eye Appalachian surface mines for hives
HERNSHAW, W.Va. (AP) — Up a tree-lined trail still marked "no blastin on Sundays," swarms of bees now patrol a mountain once partially broken apart for coal.It's been 15 years since the severed West Virginia mountainside produced any of the fossil fuel. Pritchard Mining Company has filled the adjacent valley with broken-off rocks, re-sloped the mountain and planted new trees and flora."Mining for honey" is the new extractive business here, one with no impact on the land. Behind two security gates, seven small hive boxes are surrounded by a short electric wire fence, which helps fend off hungry adversaries of honey producers."Our biggest threat is that bear," Wade Stiltner, state Department of Agriculture apiary inspector, said earlier this month before flipping on the voltage.In Appalachia, beekeepers say reclaimed surface mines make a lot of sense for the trade.The controversial mining method often involves scraping off sides of mountains or literally blowing off their peaks for coal, and filling nearby valleys and streams with the remnants.Environmental groups decry the footprint left on the land and polluting and health impact possibilities of what's being dumped. Several also say repurposing the land gives the industry a free pass to divert attention away from the harm being done."It's a creative use for wasteland," said Vivian Stockman of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "Of course, I don't know if it can match the scale of the destruction we have. That would be a lot of beehives."But for bees, which fly about 2 miles in any direction from their hives, the result sounds pretty good: expansive areas that coal companies restored, replanted and relined. They can grow young flowering plants and trees across hundreds of continuous square acres, all at once."The stuff we plant in reclamation and restoration, the beekeepers love it," said Bill Raney, West Virginia Coal Association president.Since April, West Virginia has test-run its tiny beekeeping operation on one former surface mine. The first year yielded more than 400 pounds of honey, which exceeded expectations and was an easy sell.Kentucky provided a formula to follow. The Coal Country Beeworks program, which started in 2008 and uses various coal company partnerships and grants, includes 35 bee boxes at five mine sites and research with Eastern Kentucky University. A transition in leadership, not to mention skunks, bears and a bad winter, cut the hives down from about 80."We don't have to teach appreciation for bees. Many people already have it," said Tammy Horn, Kentucky state apiarist and former head of Coal Country Beeworks. "And we have unique varietals, which make our honey quite unique."Next, West Virginia wants to introduce beekeeping training for veterans and out-of-work coal miners, install hives at other mines and provide honey from the initiative in schools.Stiltner, a former underground miner himself, said there's no specific testing of the honey from strip mines, as some environmentalists are urging. But he said nothing is getting into the nectar of the plants, and pesticides aren't being used.Dwindling honeybee populations need any boost they can get.Due to habitat loss and pesticide use, commercial honeybees and their wild cousins have declined for more than a decade, threatening agricultural production. The sudden disappearance or death of honeybees, called colony collapse disorder, has exacerbated the problem. Winter losses have grown to up to 30 percent per year. Mites are also cited as part of the problem.In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $3 million program to help dairy farmers and ranchers in five Midwestern states reseed pastures with plants appealing to both bees and livestock. The problem was also pressing enough that President Barack Obama formed a pollinator task force in June.In the two Appalachian states dabbling most in mine beekeeping, there's no shortage of usable sites. Of course, bees don't take up much space. The fenced-off site in West Virginia is less than 500 square feet, and another nine hives could fit there.The Associated Press reported in 2010 that more than 345,700 acres had been approved for post-mining uses in eastern Kentucky; only about 1.8 percent was used for commercial, industrial or residential development. Those figures dated to 1999.In West Virginia, covering about 84,800 acres of 218 mining permits awarded since 2001, only 7 percent was designated for industrial/commercial, public service or residential use.Federal law requires restoring surface mines to pre-mining conditions. A provision allows exemptions for "higher or better uses," often used for development projects. Golf courses, an airport, a prison, subdivisions and businesses have been constructed on reclaimed mine sites, though most are used for habitat, forest or pasture lands.
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Outlook of high cattle prices headlines convention
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Cattlemen from across Kansas will be converging in Wichita next week for the annual convention of the Kansas Livestock Association amid all-time high cattle prices.The three-day event touches on nutrition, cattle markets and retail sales.The event kicks off Wednesday with Nina Teicholz, author of "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet." Her keynote address is being touted as focusing on the possible unintended consequences of Americans being told to cut back on saturated fat for more than 40 years.Thursday will feature a presentation from CattleFax Executive Vice President Randy Blach talking about the cattle market outlook. He will analyze on the factors behind the record prices along with a prediction for how long that profitability might last. He is expected to also discuss the rate of expansion of cattle herds and what that bodes for beef supplies.Other speakers that day include James Herring, president and chief executive officer of Friona Industries, the third-largest cattle feeding operation in the United States. His company's feed yards have a capacity of 300,000 head of cattle, and his session is touted as assessing the prospects for the beef industry.Walmart executive Brittni Furrow is on tap Friday to explain her company's global approach to sustainably produced food items and is expected to talk about where beef fits in it. Her presentation will be followed by Kim Stackhouse, director of sustainability research for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, talking about how the industry works in meeting the demands of Walmart and others.
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Kansas ranchers warned of possible rustling surge
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas livestock expert is urging farmers and ranchers to take precautions against rustlers as historically high cattle prices make the animals a prime target for thieves.Steers were selling between $1,300 and $2,000 per head in late November, according to a Farmers & Ranchers Livestock Commission's market report."Right now we are looking at record prices," said Anthony Ruiz, livestock production agent for the Central Kansas Extension District. "That's a lot of money."Earlier this month someone stole a dozen or more Black Angus bulls and heifers — worth an estimated $20,000 — from a northwest Kansas ranch, The Salina Journal (http://bit.ly/1FkIl86) reported.The cattle were reported missing Nov. 19 from a Cheyenne County ranch south of Wheeler."It was a quick grab-and-go," Cheyenne County Sheriff Cody Beeson said.In September, someone dumped a load of cowhides in McPherson County. The Sheriff's Office said it received several leads but none panned out.Ruiz said the hides could indicate that the cattle had been stolen."But that isn't your run-of-the-mill rustler," he said. "That's a pretty sizable chunk of meat. Where are you going to put that? That's taking it to a whole new level."Ruiz advises ranchers to register a brand and brand their cattle, making it harder to sell stolen cattle by simply removing an ear identification tag. He also encourages ranchers to change their routines and not feed at the same time so potential thieves can't take advantage of a schedule."Another thing is to install some deer cameras," he said. "Take a look at who's coming onto your property. Any way you can be vigilant to know what's going on at your operation when you're not there will help."The U.S. cattle herd is as low as it has been since the 1960s, causing prices to surge, Ruiz said.___Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com
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Group makes quilts together each week
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Diane Summers received her first lesson in hand quilting from Ann Reimer 30 years ago.Now, the two spend every Friday afternoon quilting together at the Homestead National Monument of America.The women belong to the Homestead Quilters, a group of about a dozen who hand quilt together for three hours each week, the Beatrice Daily Sun (http://bit.ly/1potAiu ) reported.They make quilts of all sizes, colors and patterns, and have a good time doing it."We like to talk," said LeeAnn Genrich. "That's part of the purpose of it."Eight women showed up the first Friday in November. They split up and worked on four different projects, ranging from an embroidered baby quilt to an antique flour sack quilt.The group first formed about three years ago, completing its first quilt in March 2012."Susan Cook (a National Park Service employee) got a call from someone, then she asked me if I knew anybody who would be interested," Summers said.That first quilt hangs on a wall in the Homestead's Education Center, where the group meets each week.It boasts a yellow and white color scheme with whimsical colored triangles woven in a wavy pattern throughout."They wanted to keep the hand quilting going," said Peggy Redl.The group usually finds old, antique quilt tops that were pieced together by hand or machine but never made into quilts with batting and backing."A lot of the old quilts were made from dress scraps," Summers said. "They were utility quilts, so they weren't necessarily for beauty like they usually are now."Some of the old quilts they find are in need of new batting or material. The wool filling pioneers used to use often attracted bugs that chewed holes through the blankets.Now, Summers said, people use cotton and preserve them better.The group members often bring their own projects to work on, but also take projects from other people looking to have something quilted.They supply their own batting and thread for personal projects, but charge the cost of supplies for other quilts."The money goes to Friends of the Homestead because they pay for the supplies we need," Redl said.The cost varies depending on the size and pattern of each quilt. A typical queen size quilt runs $500-$700.The group has finished close to 10 quilts of varying sizes. Some take up to a year to finish, depending on how many people show up to quilt each week.One of the women's favorite quilts hangs in the Homestead Heritage Center, marking the 150th anniversary of the monument. It features a cabin, trees, a wheat field and a river flowing down both sides.Others in the community with an interest in quilting are invited to join the Homestead Quilters."There's always somebody who has new knowledge or a new method to share," Ann Reimer said. "There's so many women who work now, it's becoming a lost art."___Information from: Beatrice Sun, http://www.beatricedailysun.com
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Experts project high number of grain bin accidents
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It took only seconds.Tim Hansen climbed inside the grain bin with a long pole, planning to shove it down into the corn to clear a crust of kernels stopping corn from funneling out to be loaded into trucks.His grown son, Chris Hansen, stood outside the 60,000 bushel bin northeast of Dixon with a two-way radio that let him talk to his 60-year-old dad. They knew going inside a bin could be dangerous and liked to keep in contact as a precaution.Chris tried to radio his dad but got no response. He banged on the side of the bin, turned off the auger then climbed to the top."When I got to the top of the bin and looked in, his bar was sitting dead smack over the center of the hole where it should have been but there was no dad," Chris said.Chris jumped in and dug with his hands but couldn't find his dad and business partner.It took rescue workers more than two hours to find Tim Hansen's body at the bottom of the bin under 10 feet of corn. Chris believes there was a void in the grain that collapsed, causing Tim to fall backward and sucking him under.One to three people die in Nebraska each year from becoming entrapped in grain, the Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1y2mwLp ) reported.Nationally, this year is expected to be the deadliest for grain engulfment since 2010, which was the deadliest year on record, according to Bill Field, professor in the department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue publishes an annual summary of grain-related entrapments and engulfment in the United States.The number of incidents recorded this year surged passed last year's total of 33 about midsummer, the final numbers will be released early next year, Field said.Those are only the numbers researchers hear of, he said. The actual number likely is about 30 percent higher. About two-thirds of grain storage in the United States is on farms exempt from the OSHA reporting requirements. Often, when a person is rescued, people wipe the sweat off their brows and go home. The incident doesn't make the news and researchers never hear of it.In 2013, about 40 percent of recorded entrapments ended in death, a figure that has been steadily declining. From 1964 to 2008, 73 percent were fatal. Experts believe it's due to a combination of factors, including safer confined-space entry procedures, more emphasis on first responder training and public awareness and greater willingness to report nonfatal cases.Getting trapped in grain is far from the most common cause of death in the agricultural industry. Overturned tractors kill the most workers, an average of 125 lives in the United States each year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.But grain bins, which claim only about one-tenth of the lives as tractors each year, stand out in the news just as they do on the horizon. The incidents make for gruesome tales: A farmhand goes into a bin to do some dull task and gets crushed under an avalanche of grain or gets sucked down as in quicksand. Bits of grain have been found in the lungs of victims.Adding to the shock often is the young age of the victims. Farming is the only industry that employs children as young as middle school. About 20 percent of all documented entrapments involve people younger than 21, the Purdue survey says.In Nebraska, 18-year-old Joseph Teague went into a grain bin in Lorenzo to shovel millet on May 7, 2007. He got caught in the flow of grain being emptied by an auger and was pulled under and suffocated.OSHA cited the elevator owner, Crossroads Cooperative Association, for allowing the teen to go into the bin without supervision or without a proper harness while grain-moving equipment was running. Crossroads also was cited for failing to provide equipment for rescue operations. The initial federal fine was $130,050; after appeal the fine was reduced to $50,000.This year, with the last few acres of corn being harvested across the Midwest, grain bins are full to bursting. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted a record 14.4 billion bushels of corn will be harvested in the United States this fall. Low prices have many producers holding onto their grain in hopes of better prices later.Despite the mountain of grain that will be in the bins, Field isn't predicting a spike in engulfment incidents. It's not the amount of grain harvested in a given year that increases the risk of suffocation deaths, he said, it's the moisture level of the grain. Wetter corn tends to stick together and create crusts. That means more people crawling into bins to knock it loose.The deadliest year on record was 2010 with 59 recorded grain entrapments following a wet 2009 harvest, according to the Purdue summary.The Midwest Farmers Cooperative, which has 26 locations in southeast Nebraska, reports the majority of corn coming in this year at 15 percent moisture or less, which is about optimal for storage, according to Marketing Manager Austin Benes.Midwest Farmers Co-op recently donated a six-piece tube for use in emergency extraction of people from grain to the Tecumseh Volunteer Fire Department for use in Johnson County and another tube to Cass County Emergency Management. The cooperative also has offered to open its facilities up to rescue workers to train how to save people from the crushing embrace of grain.Grain handling facilities subject to OSHA regulations have to follow strict standards and have equipment like harnesses on hand to prevent workers from being trapped in grain. Most farms don't have the same requirements, said Lee Paulsen, Midwest Farmers Cooperative safety and compliance manager.Paulsen advised farm workers to stay out of grain bins if they can. But if they have to go in, he said to turn off the auger that moves the grain, have a buddy nearby and use a harness connected to a rope that can pull them out just in case they get sucked in.It's advice Chris Hansen echoed. Tim Hansen had gone into grain bins countless times to knock grain free, and they thought they had taken proper precautions, he said.Tim Hansen had been a local business owner, an emergency responder and former fire chief in addition to having farmed with his son for 15 years. He knew the dangers.It took only one slip for a tragic result. Emergency responders, neighbors, family and friends dug by hand, with shovels and tore the bin apart with heavy equipment to get Tim Hansen out."I don't want that to happen to any of my friends. If I see somebody crawling inside a bin now, I'll stop and yell at them," Chris Hansen said.___Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
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Wisconsin barn reborn as Iowa lake home
LAKE SUNDOWN, Iowa (AP) — Lorin Hayden wandered beneath the massive wooden skeleton that had risen on the lakeshore and craned his neck to glance at the peak nearly 30 feet above.The lanky builder caressed the sturdy bones — 10-inch-thick beams that still bear the ax marks (beauty marks in Hayden's eyes) from when this 30-by-40-foot barn was hand-hewn in the 1870s more than 400 miles north near Manitowoc, Wisconsin, The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/1FsLi6r ) reported.What had been a Wisconsin barn will become a southern Iowa vacation home for Craig and Becky Christensen of Des Moines and their 11-year-old son, Gehrig.The family hopes by May to bask in the glorious sunsets that blaze across the water of this private, 400-acre lake. Perhaps the couple will retire here one day."We didn't realize this was going to be so impressive," Becky, a pharmacist, said earlier this month in the bitter cold.Craig, a bank examiner, is a city boy who was raised in Urbandale — although he does have barn blood in his veins from grandparents who farmed near Royal.Becky grew up in Bellevue along the Mississippi River in far northeast Iowa. Her dad worked at John Deere but also tended a 160-acre hobby farm. Becky helped bale hay in the barn.If you've spent about 5 minutes in Iowa, you already know that barns, more than any other type of structure on the prairie, are the acknowledged temples of our agricultural heritage. They're also an increasingly endangered species, with their weathered lumber in high demand far beyond the farming Heartland."A man's barn bespoke his worth as a man," reads the introduction to the book "The Barn: A Vanishing Landmark in North America" — published in 1972. "It expressed his earthly aspirations and symbolized the substance of his legacy to his children."Craig said of the couple's own barn-to-home brainstorm, "Driving back and forth from Bellevue we just noticed a lot of barns that are falling down and in disrepair."So the Christensens turned to Dan Schmitt of rural Guttenberg, whose iowabarnsavers.com business specializes in preserving barns even if it means relocating and reinventing them."I didn't want to be called the 'demolition guy,' " Schmitt explained. "I fell in love with barns."Schmitt dismantles at least a few barns per year, meticulously labeling each piece so that the structure can be reassembled as if it were a giant Lincoln Logs play set.He also works with Hayden, whose Backcountry Builders based in Oregon reassembles barns nationwide. Earlier this month, the barn guys employed a crane to help raise the Christensens' frame between two conventional homes on a concrete foundation that includes a tuck-under garage and walk-out basement."We're always sitting up here going, 'How did the Amish do it?' " Hayden chuckled.Once the boards and beams are locked into place, Hayden said, it's almost as if the barn sighs and relaxes back into its intended shape.Every bent was within a quarter inch of where it should have been.The exterior of the Christensens' barn will be masked in fiber cement siding and the roof topped with standard shingles in keeping with the covenant of the private lake association.But the beams will be showcased inside in a great room overlooking the lake.It's a sin to apply stain to such beautiful wood, Schmitt added."You could still smell the barn when we power-washed the frame," Craig said.The aroma of hay, grain, accumulated dust, I wondered?No, no, Craig laughed: the unmistakable smell of pig manure.Minus the manure, barn homes have become almost common in some places. Four were simultaneously on the market this fall in Ridgefield, Conn."Back in the heyday of spending more" before the Great Recession, Hayden said, barns were being converted into "anything you could imagine."Even now, Schmitt has sold a barn to become a winery in California and another for a church in North Carolina (complete with the vintage water trough as a baptismal font).Two Rivers Trading Co. based in New Sharon deals far and wide in salvaged barn lumber that can cost up to $5 per square foot."It'll be a long time before they're all gone," John Livezey of Two Rivers said of Iowa's barns. "There's lots of them around yet."Livezey's 70-year-old father, Bill, died of a heart attack nearly a year ago while hauling a load of barn boards to clients in Texas — a hot market for the wood. (Bill's death was a tragically bizarre incident in which an off-duty police officer threatened him, ran him off the road and handcuffed him; the officer agreed to a plea deal last month and permanently lost his badge.)The Iowa Barn Foundation launched in 1997, however, caters to the purists. The nonprofit to date has helped to save 139 barns with matching grants that range from $500 to $25,000 for owners who must sign a perpetual easement to preserve the barn.The foundation's president, Jacqueline Schmeal, said that she was sad when I described the Lake Sundown barn."I think the barns should stay where they are and certainly stay in Iowa," she said. "Because they are sculpture. They are folk art."Barn-saver Schmitt keeps his own barn on his acreage near Guttenberg."I go out there at night and just turn on some music, and that's my solitude," he said.The Christensens next year will begin to make their own memories while "living in a piece of art," as Hayden put it."You can create a family history in a place like this," said the barn-lover from Oregon.This Wisconsin barn represented the heart of agrarian commerce and culture back when it was built in predominantly rural America. I guess it gets to enjoy its own belated lakeshore retirement with the Christensens in today's urban, digital era.___Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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Tests show no vineyard pests in Washington
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — The most extensive trapping for certain wine grape pests conducted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture has resulted in a clean bill of health.The department trapped and took leaf and root samples at a total of 3,186 sites, from the San Juan Islands to the Columbia Gorge but mainly in the Eastern Washington counties of Yakima, Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla. Trapping went from the end of June into September, looking for four species of destructive moths, vine mealy bug and grape phylloxera.Root samples were taken at 165 of the sites looking for grape phylloxera, an aphid-like pest that attacks grape roots and is considered the most serious grape pest in the world, said Mike Klaus, a WSDA entomologist in Yakima."We looked for several species of pests and other diseases and everything was negative except for one old positive site for phylloxera near Wapato," Klaus said.It was found at that same site in 1988 and it was surprising more wasn't found, he said.A genetic analysis of root samples still is being conducted in Olympia and could show positive for phylloxera, but otherwise it looks like the pest just doesn't do well in Eastern Washington, he said.Phylloxera almost wiped out French vineyards in the 1880s and was detected in Washington vineyards in 1988, 1989 and 2002, Klaus said.But it has never been severe in Washington and scientists at Washington State University believe it just doesn't like Eastern Washington's soils or dry climate, Klaus said."We suspect it's out there at low levels," he said, "but different grape varieties coming in could be more susceptible, so it's good to check."The four species of destructive moths — European Grapevine Moth, European Grape Berry Moth, Grape Tortrix and Grapevine Tortrix — also were not found, Klaus said.Pheramone traps were placed in most of the state's 13 wine grape growing regions.European Grapevine Moth was found in California's Napa Valley in 2009 and became a serious threat.In 2013, USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service released $16.9 million in emergency funding to combat it. Mating disruption and other control techniques had some success, he said.Ten counties in California have vine mealy bug but it has not been found in Washington, he said."If any of these pests were to become established here, they could pose a serious threat to our grape and wine industries," Klaus said.Washington wine grape growers do deal with leaf roll and grapevine red blotch, viruses that delay ripening, hinder color and sugar in grapes and result in higher acidity. They are acerbated by cool weather and were held in check this season by warm weather."Grapes are a relatively new crop in Washington, so we don't have a lot of pests that are in older grape areas," Klaus said. "That's why we do vigilant monitoring. We might be able to mitigate some of these pests if we catch them early enough."
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West Virginia beats Iowa State 37-24
AMES, Iowa (AP) — West Virginia might have found its quarterback of the future in the final game of the regular season.Backup quarterback Skyler Howard threw three TD passes, Rushel Shell ran for 146 yards and West Virginia beat Iowa State 37-24 Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak.Howard, a sophomore, was 21 of 40 for 285 yards in his first career start in place of Clint Trickett, who missed the game with a concussion.Mario Alford added two TD catches for West Virginia (7-5, 5-4 Big 12), which finished above .500 in the Big 12 for the first time.The Mountaineers (7-5, 5-4) closed the game on a 30-3 run, going up 34-24 with 9:10 left on a 15-yard TD catch by Daikiel Shorts from Howard.Howard also ran for 69 yards, the most for a Mountaineers quarterback since 2009."The one that stands out is that touchdown to Daikiel. A mobile quarterback, a versatile quarterback," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "Skyler did a great job of, when the protection broke down, of extending the play and keeping his eyes downfield."Sam Richardson threw for 275 yards and two TDs for Iowa State (2-9, 0-8), which lost its fifth straight.The Cyclones had their chances though.Iowa State appeared poised to at least tie the game at 27 after a spectacular catch by freshman Allen Lazard — who juggled the ball about a half-dozen times before corralling it — and a successful fake field goal.But Richardson floated a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Terrell Chestnut to open the fourth quarter.Alford then answered Lazard's catch with a juggling 40-yard reception, setting up the TD grab by Shorts. Josh Lambert's 43-yard field goal with 5:35 left put the Mountaineers ahead 37-24.Iowa State's Dale Pierson recovered a fumble with 2:06 left, but the Cyclones turned it over on downs.Iowa State played without standout E.J. Bibbs, who injured his leg in last week's loss to Texas Tech. Bibbs entered the weekend ranked first among Power 5 tight ends with eight TD receptions.The Cyclones certainly missed him. They scored just three points on 10 possessions after going up 21-7.Aaron Wimberly ran for 77 yards and scored two touchdowns for Iowa State, which finished 0-5 at home against league opponents."I felt like the second half we got a little bit more pressure (from West Virginia) than we did in the first half. We tried to adjust but just couldn't do it. Credit their defense. They played well," Iowa State wide receiver Tad Ecby said.Iowa State's losing streak, coupled with the fact that its students were still on Thanksgiving break, made for a lackluster atmosphere at Jack Trice Stadium.The Mountaineers and Cyclones did all they could to entertain the fans that bothered to show up.Shell turned a short rush up the middle into a 54-yard TD run, giving the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead just 2:10 into play. But Wimberly answered with a 3-yard TD run on Iowa State's first possession, and Richardson found Wimberly for a 5-yard TD pass to give the Cyclones a 14-7 lead.Iowa State pushed its advantage to 21-7 when Richardson found Tad Ecby along the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown.But Howard responded with TD passes of 29 and 4 yards to Mario Alford.Field goals of 46 and 32 yards by Lambert put West Virginia 27-21 at halftime."We just talked about finishing, and we came out and did it. The first half we were a bit shaky — the first quarter, actually — but we came back," Howard said.Iowa State's offensive struggled in the second half ensured that that would be plenty for the Mountaineers — who allowed the Cyclones to post the biggest comeback in school history in a 52-44 triple-OT win in Morgantown last season."It was about proving to ourselves that we were able to finish this year in the appropriate way," Holgorsen said. "We wanted to prove to ourselves that the last 11 months wasn't a waste of time."___Follow Luke Meredith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP
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Iowa State loses 37-24 to West Virginia
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State had everything going its way for first 18 minutes of its home finale.Then the offense went into a shell, West Virginia put together a couple of quick scoring drives and the Mountaineers rolled to a 37-24 victory on Saturday, keeping the Cyclones winless in the Big 12.Backup quarterback Skyler Howard threw three TD passes and Rushel Shell ran for 146 yards for West Virginia (7-5, 5-4), which rallied after Iowa State (2-9, 0-8) zipped to a 21-7 lead.Some West Virginia adjustments on defense foiled the Cyclones, who managed only three points the rest of the way."They started really dropping people into coverage to take advantage of certain down and distance situations when they knew we had to throw the ball," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "And they were eating up our run game, which was almost non-existent."We were having trouble picking out combinations and identifying where to get the ball. Nice job by their defense."Howard was 21 of 40 for 285 yards in his first career start in place of Clint Trickett, who missed the game with a concussion. Mario Alford added two TD catches for West Virginia.The Mountaineers erased their early 14-point deficit by closing the game on a 30-3 run. They went up 34-24 with 9:10 left on a 15-yard TD catch by Daikiel Shorts."They didn't really change what they were doing too much," defensive end Dale Pierson said. "They're a good football team. They were just executing what they do."Sam Richardson threw for 275 yards and two TDs for Iowa State, which lost its fifth straight and has won only twice at home in the past two seasons.The Cyclones had their chances though.Iowa State appeared poised to at least tie the game at 27 after a spectacular catch by freshman Allen Lazard — who juggled the ball about a half-dozen times before corralling it — and a successful fake field goal.But Richardson floated a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Terrell Chestnut to open the fourth quarter."We've had a few occasions where we got a momentum swing like that and really have a chance with a defense on their heels to push in and take advantage of it," Rhoads said. "In the end, they played a certain coverage and dropped into it and we weren't able to identify it and threw it in there. That's the chess game football is and they played that move better."Alford then answered Lazard's catch with a juggling 40-yard reception, setting up the TD grab by Shorts. Josh Lambert's 43-yard field goal with 5:35 left put the Mountaineers ahead 37-24.Iowa State played without standout E.J. Bibbs, who injured his leg in last week's loss to Texas Tech. Bibbs entered the weekend ranked first among Power 5 tight ends with eight TD receptions.Rhoads is uncertain if Bibbs will play in next Saturday's finale at No. 6 TCU. With that game looming, the Cyclones face the prospect of going without a conference victory for the first time since 2008.The Cyclones certainly missed him. They managed just a single field goal on 10 possessions after going up 21-7.Iowa State's losing streak, coupled with the fact that its students were still on Thanksgiving break, made for a lackluster atmosphere at Jack Trice Stadium. But the Mountaineers and Cyclones did all they could to entertain the fans who did show up.Shell turned a short rush up the middle into a 54-yard TD run, giving the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead just 2:10 into play. But Aaron Wimberly ran for a touchdown and caught a pass for another and Richardson found Ecby along the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead."We were just clicking as an offense (at that point)," tackle Jake Campos said. "Sam had time to throw, the offensive line was picking them up, the running backs were hitting the seams."But after that?"They changed up their pressure a little bit," he said. "I think a lot of it was we just weren't hitting those seams like we were in the first half."
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Study to investigate high mercury in Bighorn fish
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A three-year study at Bighorn Reservoir will attempt to determine the source of high mercury levels in the lake's fish.A 2004 study by the U.S. Geological Survey determined fish from Bighorn Reservoir had the third-highest mercury levels of more than 500 fish sampled nationwide.Bighorn Reservoir sprawls over some 200 square miles in Wyoming and Montana. USGS officials say mercury in the lake could come from both natural and man-made sources.The Helena Independent Record reports (http://bit.ly/1A2b0xJ ) possible man-made sources include mine tailings in the nearby Pryor Mountains. Natural sources could include forest fires and geologic features.___Information from: Independent Record, http://www.helenair.com
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Ohio/Indiana center to fly drones to aid farmers
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A joint venture between Ohio and Indiana is teaming up with an Ohio college to fly drone missions aimed at helping farmers boost crop yields.The Ohio/Indiana Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center in Springfield, Ohio, and Ohio State University are teaming up to fly a small drone that will gather sensor data for the agricultural research.The Ohio/Indiana UAS center in western Ohio says the Federal Aviation Administration granted authorization for the flight operations supporting research at OSU's Molley Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.Scott Shearer heads the university's Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.He says data gathered with the small unmanned aerial system will be analyzed to assess various things such as environmental factors affecting crop growth.
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Lawsuit on state shellfish bed lease withdrawn
A local shellfisherman has withdrawn his lawsuit against state regulators after reaching a settlement on the terms of a lease for state-owned shellfish beds."The document is less unacceptable," said Joe Gilbert, owner of Empire Fisheries, who harvests shellfish from beds he leases in Stonington, Groton, New London and western Long Island Sound and has homes in Stonington and Milford. "I won't say it's perfect, but it's been toned down."Commercial shellfishing is regulated by the Bureau of Aquaculture, a division of the state Department of Agriculture. Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky said Friday the revisions made to the lease through the settlement agreement leave key elements intact. The revised lease will serve as a template for future agreements with commercial shellfishermen, he said, and will be offered to eight other shellfishermen who had signed the same agreement as Gilbert.In his lawsuit, filed Aug. 20, Gilbert alleged that after he was named the high bidder in the spring for about 67 acres of clam and oyster beds in Westport, the state changed the terms of the lease that had been in place since 1915. The new version, he contended, included onerous conditions he said would jeopardize his business, so he refused to sign it. Most objectionable, he said, was a provision that the commission could, with 30 days notice, terminate the agreement without cause."You can't run a business that way," he said.Reviczky said the lease always allowed shellfishermen due process before a lease could be terminated. The main change in the new version, he said, is that termination notice is extended from 30 days to 60 days.Gilbert's lawsuit was seen by some commercial shellfishermen and members of recreational shellfish commissions as a manifestation of the contentious and adversarial relationship between them and the Bureau of Aquaculture. Gilbert said he hopes the settlement of his lawsuit will mark a turning point."If the bureau begins to consult industry in their planning, shellfishing in Connecticut could skyrocket," he said. "I'm hopeful."Reviczky said the lease changes were necessary after a commercial shellfishing company in the western part of Long Island Sound defaulted on $450,000 in lease payments to the state. Outdated language in the old lease made it difficult for the state to take proper action, he said.The new lease, he said, has four main components that strengthen protections for the state and taxpayers over the old version.These include requirements that lease payments be made within 30 days of the due date; that leaseholders adhere to all requirements and license policies at the local, state and national levels; that leaseholders make a "good faith effort" to harvest shellfish while the lease is in effect, and document that effort; and that they provide records of harvest catch. This information will be used as part of the state's management plan for vibrio, a warm-water bacteria, required by the January 2014 Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.Reviczky said he looks forward to a better relationship between his office and shellfishermen."I'm hopeful that the industry will be more cooperative with the Bureau of Aquaculture and the Department of Agriculture," he said. "Our door is open. Our main mission is public health and making sure that the product is safe to eat."
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New dining option along the Sterling Highway
STERLING, Alaska (AP) — Sterling residents have another year-round dining option in town and the new owner has juicy plans to attract customers from all over the Kenai Peninsula.Steve Drolet moved to Alaska two months ago from Cancun, Mexico and purchased Otto's Landing and the next door restaurant on the Sterling Highway with the hope to create an elevated resort experience. At the start of November, Drolet opened up the doors to The Restaurant at Shea Drolet Café.Drolet said the name of the restaurant is from a nickname given to him from his time in Las Vegas, Nevada. Drolet has spent his career in vacation services managing timeshares, resorts and restaurants. He said he previously managed the Porterhouse Grill in Cancun. He said he wants to bring high-end food and lodging at a reasonable price to Sterling."The plan is to be the best steakhouse on the peninsula," he said. "We make everything from scratch. Our goal is to have a clean place to go and enjoy a great meal."The dining room has wood panel walls and seats at the counter that wraps around the service area to the kitchen. While Shea Drolet initially started out serving breakfast and lunch, he has opened up another dinning room set up for buffets and space for 80 seats. The extra space can accommodate meetings, events or parties in a smoke-free environment, he said.Starting this week, the restaurant will be open for dinner service until 7 p.m. It will be open on Thanksgiving Day.For breakfast Shea Drolet offers the classics such as bacon and eggs, sausage links, hash browns and pancakes. Dinner entrée options include New York steak or rib eye with baked potato, grilled or fried halibut, pork chops and free soup or salad for a balanced meal. In the future, Drolet said would add prime rib and lobster to the menu."We range from high-end to regular people," he said. "We have a steady group that like to come have biscuits and gravy and coffee. Our prices will be affordable for everybody."To the right of the entrance in the front is a room that will operate as a gift shop. Drolet said he would also like to put in a coffee bar by the window and hire a barista and build a drive up window.Drolet said while he is still in the soft opening stages with hand-painted signs and typed up menus, he is using the first few months to gauge what customers are looking for. So far he has noticed people want choice cuts of steak. He said he sells steaks up to 42 ounces and sold one customer a 36-ounce steak for $72.With Suzie's Café only open during the summer months, Magpie's Pizzeria is the only other restaurant in Sterling to cater to a spread-out population of more than 5,000 residents. Drolet said he isn't trying to compete against anybody, but wants to offer another option."So many locals are happy I'm open," he said. "Instead of driving to Soldotna, we are right here on the highway so people don't have to go so far."The last restaurant in the space, Chloe's Choice Café, closed down fall of 2013. Before, that complex was known as the Naptowne Inn and Restaurant. Drolet said he isn't interested in what happened in the past but is looking forward to the future.Drolet said he is putting the work in the winter with the hope it pays off in the summer tourism season. In the winter he is getting about 30 to 40 people a day. In the summer he hopes that number would grow to 400 a day.In the two-story hotel, Drolet said he plans to renovate all 15 rooms, install new carpeting and give it a fresh new look that would make it worth $200 a night during the peak season. He said he looks to continue lodging for oilfield workers to keep the rooms full, as well as provide a place for them to eat.When Drolet visited the Kenai Peninsula on a fishing trip this summer, he was so impressed with the beauty of the area he moved to Sterling in September. Drolet bought the property from owner Richard Otto and is in the process of transferring ownership.According to Kenai Peninsula Borough Assessing Department, the 2.6-acre commercial parcel is valued at nearly $460,000.Drolet said the price for the property was more than what Otto paid when he bought the property in 2012. He said Otto has been helpful getting him familiar with the area through the transition process, he said.One of the challenges in opening a new restaurant in a new area is staffing, Drolet said. He has found the younger people he has hired haven't been reliable to show up for work and he has hired older people who have more stable situations, he said."I have probably gone through 20 people already," he said. "It's a whole different breed of people here. Kids here haven't found themselves. We have a good crew now."Drolet said he is a gourmet chef but as owner he does a little of everything. With cooks Ken Morrison and Richard Reinhardt in the kitchen, he is able to concentrate on all the management responsibilities, he said."It's my dream to work in this business and help everybody," Drolet said. "I want people to come in enjoy a good meal and have a good time."The Restaurant at Shea Drolet Café is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.___Information from: (Kenai, Alaska) Peninsula Clarion, http://www.peninsulaclarion.com
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Researchers testing plastics made from crops
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — As Californians prepare for an outright ban on plastic bags, some Midwestern researchers are trying to come up with a way to make plastic out of crops, so they can be broken down by a special light and turned into another product.If the technology can be developed, no longer would bags and other long-lasting plastic products pollute ditches, parks and waterways."We make the product, we use the product; when we're done with it, we take it apart and make the next product out of it," said Dean Webster, chairman of North Dakota State University's Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials and a lead researcher on the project along with professors Sivaguru Jayaraman and Mukund Sibi. "That kind of closes that whole loop on the life cycle of a product.'Plastics generally degrade slowly, potentially leaching chemicals into the environment or creating toxins in the air when burned. The plastic bag ban in California, which goes into effect in July, sparked one of the most contentious debates in last year's session, with aggressive lobbying by environmentalists and bag manufacturers.The NDSU scientists are focusing on using oilseed from agricultural crops, cellulose, lignin and sucrose to generate building blocks of molecules that are made into polymers to create plastics. A paper on the team's successful initial experiment was published earlier this month in the international chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.The experiment used fructose, found commonly in fruit, to ultimately create a plastic. By exposing the plastic to ultraviolet light for three hours, researchers degraded the material, reducing it back to the soluble building block molecules from which it began."Real sustainability involves breaking it back into the building blocks. We have shown that we can break it down into the building blocks and re-make the polymer," Sibi said. "Our real breakthrough is we can design triggers which accept light."The group is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Sustainable Materials Science at NDSU, to the tune of about $700,000 so far. Sibi said the thriving agricultural production in the region and North Dakota's strong economy make it a good place to study an idea that could lessen dependence on fossil fuels.Added Webster, "Making chemicals from agriculture products that go into polymers and plastic is much more highly value added than anything related to ethanol."The researchers said further study is needed to evaluate the durability and strength of potential plastics derived from biomass before looking into the potential of commercial products. The group plans to spend the next two years examining how the process might work with plastics used in cars and electronics, as well as other items."This is kind of a crawl-before-you-walk kind of business. We are crawling right now," Sibi said."The best feedback we could get if someone builds on our work and publishes new work," Webster said.
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