Adams County Iowa

Well, the weather turned fairly nice and over 500 people strolled the streets of Corning to sample the goodies, look at the new holiday merchandise, did a little shopping and greeted friends along the way. A big thank you to all our local merchants who put out the red carpet all over town.  It seems we always have a little difficulty getting everyone to meander off of Davis Avenue and visit our businesses on Benton or those further afield, like the Extension office, fitness center, Corning Family Chiropractic, Farm Bureau, and the Mini Mart.  For those of you who missed out, the food was great, people were fabulous, and I even was able to get my flu shot!  We also thank all of you who took the time out of your busy schedules to participate and sample all the goodies, as well as the American Legion for hosting the soup supper.  Again this year, (and never by design) no two recipes were the same.  Don’t forget the next big holiday event with the lighted parade on November 29.  The American Legion is looking for some pie makers to enter their contest and will be serving up some nice, hot soup to start the evening out right.  Our jolly visitor from the North Pole will be in town to hear if you’ve been naughty or nice, hayrides around town will be available and stores will be open late, so make plans to celebrate with us.

By now, hopefully you’ve seen the new “ac” brand mark around town, on the new website (www.adamscountyiowa.com), and on merchandise. We’ve now added the tagline “always creative”. Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “Adams County – always creative? Are we?” You bet we are. Let me give you a few examples to think about. Most of us would agree, I think, that we’re a rural, agricultural area. You might then ask, “How is that creative?” Let’s look at some of the creative ways agriculture is making its way through Adams County.

The Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee (SIFLC) was formed to study alternatives to row crop production on highly erodible land. SIFLC conducts demonstrations to utilize forages as one alternative. They facilitate learning events on topics which include forage suitability, fertilizer alternatives, forage management systems, fencing alternatives, water systems, livestock management in rotational grazing systems, etc. This gives producers with highly erodible, marginal land the opportunity to see alternative ways for profitable production.   SIFLC is developing a new project which will take environmental education and practical land stewardship directly to future land managers in high schools and colleges throughout the region. This education comes at a critical time in the career preparation of future land managers. Now that’s creative.

The Adams County Steer & Heifer Carcass Futurity project looks for ways to transition local cow/calf producers into retaining ownership of their calves until they reach slaughter weight in an effort to put more dollars into producer’s pockets. They provide feedlot and carcass performance data for evaluating herd genetics. They offer a creative, user-friendly financing program for local producers to have calves custom fed in local feedlots. They compare the economics of retained ownership versus selling feeder calves to encourage more cattle feeding in Southwest Iowa as a value-added, rural development measure to both cattle and locally-grown feeds. Now that’s creative.

In 2007 POET joined the creative spirit of Adams County. At POET they use the creativity that comes from common sense to deliver a new bounty of American energy from the eternal bounty of the American Heartland. With hard work, imagination and discipline, the people of POET have replaced hundreds of millions of barrels of imported oil with clean, renewable domestic energy while bringing hundreds of millions of dollars back to the American economy. POET is a leader in the development of cellulosic ethanol with its strategy of using corn cobs as feedstock for the process. Now that’s creative.

Adams County agriculturalists are becoming more involved in the creative process, not only on the supply-side, but also on the use of by-products as feed for cattle and other livestock production. While the growth is both challenging and exciting,  it amplifies the need not only for education for livestock producers, but opens the way for development of entrepreneurial companies who can provide the resources and technical expertise to producers who don’t have the time, staff, or financing to do the research themselves. These new companies are bridging the informational highway as they take lessons learned in the country with the feedyards discussing needs, opportunities, and concerns and deliver that message back to suppliers so that systems and technology can be tweaked to deliver a better product to today’s producers.   Adams County entrepreneurs have opened new doors and created easy access for those producers. Now that’s creative.

As the consumer becomes much more savvy than they used to be and demand a more consistent eating experience, the beef industry continues to evolve into branded beef supply chains, and genetics are recognized as the most powerful quality control tool available. Adams County entrepreneurs are developing cutting edge opportunities for local cattle growers to keep ahead of the curve and increase their economic opportunities in this changing economy. Now that’s creative. 

These are just a few stories of how Adams County is “always creative”. In my next column we will discuss other ways that Adams County is making a name for itself as a creative community. Meanwhile, if you know of other creative agriculture experiences throughout the county, feel free to make a comment. Meanwhile, think about ways you can make a positive, creative effect in our community . . . Adams County . . . always creative.