Rural Route 4: We are proud to be Iowa pork producers - Quad City Times

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Jennifer Ewoldt, Rural Route 4 columnist

This past week I got to do something that I haven’t been able to do for a while. I helped load a couple of semis of finished hogs headed to market. We have started shipping out our hogs again, as they have reached market weight. Normally, the loads go out on days or times that I cannot help because of my full-time job at the veterinary hospital. However, last week we had two loads the night before my day off, and they were short a helper. When I asked Robb if he needed me to go, I got the famous “Well, we wouldn’t turn it down if you wanted to help, but you don’t have to…..” Which of course means “yes, please.”

So, we all went to bed early and got a couple hours of sleep before getting up at midnight to head to the buildings. The boys came along too, as it was going to be one of their virtual school days that day and they could sleep in a little when we got home. So, it was 1 a.m. and -1 degree F when we got to the buildings. Why do we load at 1 a.m. you ask? Well, it comes down to slaughter plant capacity and distance from the plant.

We contract feed for a large pig breeding operation. They supply the pigs and we take care of them and raise them to harvest weight. That company arranges for the space at the processing plant, which is limited based on how many pigs the plant can process at a time. They book the space at the plant, and they get told what time to deliver the pigs. Then they factor in how long it takes the driver to get from our farm to the plant, and that determines when we have to load the pigs.

Sometimes we load late in the evenings, sometimes in the middle of the night, and sometimes early in the mornings. This way, the pigs have the least amount of time to wait on the truck at the plant. Rarely do we load during the day, as the pigs wouldn’t arrive at the plant until afternoon or evening. Wait times can be critical especially in very hot or cold weather, because you don’t want the pigs sitting on a trailer in extreme heat or cold conditions.

As for the cold, you may notice that livestock pots have holes in the sides. These are for ventilation while travelling down the road or sitting still. During the summer, you want all these holes open to allow for maximum ventilation for the animals. There are also roof vents to let in even more air flow. In the winter, however, this is a problem. The trailers are closed up in cold weather with large slats or boards that run from top to bottom of the trailer, covering over the holes. You can put in as many or as few as you need, depending on the outdoor temperature or the animals you are hauling.

Obviously, if you are hauling little baby pigs, you would close it all up to keep them warm. If it’s very cold outside, you would close up most of the trailer even for large pigs headed for slaughter. However, you do need to leave some of the holes open for air flow, as a trailer load of 300 pound hogs generates a lot of body heat. You can see the trailers steaming if they stop in cold weather – that’s all body heat escaping.

We got our pigs sorted out of the pens and loaded that morning. They will be processed into bacon, pork chops, and many foods that you may enjoy eating. We are proud to be Iowa pork producers, producing quality pork products for your table. Enjoy the bacon!

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February 01, 2021 at 03:55AM
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Rural Route 4: We are proud to be Iowa pork producers - Quad City Times

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Charges dropped against activist who secretly recorded pork producer - Salina Post

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Matt Johnson photo courtesy Direct Action Everywhere

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped trespassing charges against an activist who helped secretly record Iowa’s largest pork producer using heat to kill thousands of hogs last year as the pandemic devastated the industry.

Matt Johnson, an activist with the group Direct Action Everywhere, had been scheduled to stand trial in Grundy County, Iowa, on Monday on two counts of trespassing at Iowa Select Farms properties in May.

County prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges Thursday at the request of Iowa Select, whose personnel had been subpoenaed but said they didn't wish to testify, court documents show.

“We cannot be distracted by individuals who choose to break the law and grandstand,” Iowa Select spokeswoman Jen Sorenson said Friday.

Johnson was planning a necessity defense, arguing that his actions were lawful because they were the only way to expose the inhumane treatment of animals. He was hoping to draw more attention to the company's use of a method known as ventilation shutdown to cut the size of its herd in May.

Johnson had acknowledged, however, that his defense was likely to fail and that he could face fines or jail time if convicted.

Iowa Select's animals are raised and sent to be slaughtered by Tyson Foods and other meatpackers, and they end up in grocery stores as bacon and pork under several brand names. The company is an influential backer of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Last spring, some producers said they had no choice but to euthanize hogs after coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants led to closures and production slowdowns. They said they had no markets to sell them and ran out of space to house them.

One of the methods they used to trim herds was ventilation shutdown, which involves stopping airflow inside a facility to raise the temperature high enough to kill animals inside.

American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines say the method should be a last resort after others are ruled out, that it should be done quickly enough to kill 95% of the animals within an hour, and that all must be eventually killed.

Acting on a tip from a whistleblower, a team of activists that included Johnson placed equipment inside an Iowa Select barn and recorded audio of pigs shrieking, some for hours, as the temperature rose and killed many of them.

They also captured video showing workers hours later walking through the pile of animals and shooting those showing signs of life with a bolt gun. Then, they used heavy machinery to remove the carcasses.

Johnson said that his investigation has found some of Iowa Select’s own employees dissented from the practice, a claim he wanted to explore at trial.

“This company knows that the public ... is horrified to learn what ISF is willing to do in the name of profit,” he said. “They’re desperate to conceal their abhorrent and criminal conduct.”

Johnson said that activists snuck in and placed a wireless home security camera in the barn that they could control remotely as well as an audio recorder that they were able to retrieve the next day.

Johnson, an Iowa native who now lives in Berkeley, California, was charged with trespassing after returning to the farm and confronting Iowa Select chief operations officer Noel Williams about the practice. He faced a second trespassing charge related to an incident days later on a different property.

Iowa Select blasted Johnson and other activists at the time, saying they were trying to exploit the coronavirus crisis to advance their agenda. In June, after The Intercept published some of the material captured by activists, the company announced that it had discontinued the practice as the industry rebounded.

“We are cautiously optimistic that we will never again have to face a difficult decision like we had to face last month,” the company said then.

Johnson said that before the practice was exposed, a whistleblower alleged the company had been planning to kill more hogs through ventilation shutdown.

Johnson still faces more serious charges in Wright County, where he is charged with placing recording equipment inside another Iowa Select barn and taking a piglet that he says he rescued from slaughter. He is charged with electronic eavesdropping and third-degree burglary, which are both felonies, and is awaiting trial.

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January 31, 2021 at 11:07PM
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Charges dropped against activist who secretly recorded pork producer - Salina Post

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Local man working on expanding his beef jerky business - Seymour Tribune

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Shawn Akemon's A and S Jerky Co. LLC beef jerky is among the local products available for purchase at Darlage Custom Meats in Seymour. Zach Spicer | The Tribune

When he’s not assembling Ford Edge headlights at Valeo North America in Seymour, Shawn Akemon is working on expanding his beef jerky business.

The 42-year-old Scottsburg man started A and S Jerky Co. LLC in January 2020 and began selling in June.

He’s now up to five flavors and soon will have a sixth, and his products can be purchased at nearly 10 locations in the area.

His ultimate goal is to reach 10 flavors, and he wants his beef jerky available in at least 50 stores by the end of 2021. Plus, if events go on this year, he wants to sell there, too.

Shawn Akemon adds bags of his A and S Jerky Co. LLC beef jerky to a rack inside Darlage Custom Meats in Seymour. Zach Spicer | The Tribune

Sweet and Hot, Sweet BBQ and Teriyaki are among the flavors of A and S Jerky Co. LLC beef jerky.

Teriyaki was the first flavor of beef jerky offered by A and S Jerky Co. LLC. Now, there are five total with a sixth coming.

One of the places his jerky can be purchased is Darlage Custom Meats in Seymour, which is where he got his meat when he first tried making jerky from home nearly five years ago.

“It started with deer jerky. It was just kind of an outlet for me to continue my culinary journey,” he said.

Akemon took culinary classes at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, and worked in nursing home kitchens for a while until deciding to return to manufacturing.

As he was starting his business, Akemon reached out to former co-worker Aaron Hacker of Columbus to be a co-owner. They had worked together at AK Tube in Walesboro.

“I brought him in, and he has been a real big help. He’s more of the retail side. He approaches most of the stores,” Akemon said. “I’m more of the online presence. I built the website, I try to drive traffic to the website, do the Facebook page, that kind of thing is more where I center myself, dealing with the packaging and dealing with all of the business side of it.”

Akemon said it took about four years for him to hone it down to where he knew he had jerky that people liked.

“I went through a lot of marinades and narrowing down what people liked in coming up with my recipes,” he said.

After starting the business, he provided his recipes and packaging to a co-packer because the jerky has to be made in a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility.

Teriyaki and Sweet and Hot were his first two flavors, and they remain his most popular sellers.

“Teriyaki is safe and everybody knows it. It’s actually the bestselling because anybody who comes up and doesn’t know what they want, they get Teriyaki,” he said. “The returning customers, it’s usually Sweet and Hot is the favorite.”

Sweet and Hot (medium), Sweet BBQ (mild) and Parental Advisory (hot) are made with the same base.

Teriyaki and Peppered are more for the traditional jerky lovers, Akemon said.

“These are made with honey, so they are still sweeter than other jerkies of the same name but much more savory than the other three,” he said.

The sixth flavor is Reaper, which is his hottest jerky. Parental Advisory and Reaper are both made with Carolina Reaper, one of the hottest peppers in the world.

“When I made (Parental Advisory) at home, I made it way hotter than this, and that’s why I’m making another flavor because when they made (Parental Advisory), I knew it was way less hot than what I normally made, but everybody who really liked hot stuff really liked it,” Akemon said.

All of the flavors, including Akemon’s favorite, Peppered, are made with solid strips of premium whole muscle beef and crosscut for tenderness.

“It’s cut across the grain, so it’s more tender than most, but it’s still tough enough to be jerky,” he said. “Its unique flavor and the texture are the two things that really kind of set it apart.”

His tagline is “Sweet jerky, perfectly balanced.”

“It’s less salty tasting than most. It’s sweeter,” Akemon said.

His next flavor will be Bourbon Salt and Pepper. He’s talking to Bear Wallow Distillery in Nashville about a partnership using its bourbon in his jerky. His products can be purchased there.

“I have several other flavors that I want to make once I get into my own place,” he said.

Besides some area stores, A and S Jerky can be purchased online at aandsjerky.com and at shows and festivals.

“It looks like we’ve got about 20 events scheduled right now that all say that they are going to go on, and we add more just about every day,” Akemon said.

The Link Lonk


January 30, 2021 at 08:55AM
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Local man working on expanding his beef jerky business - Seymour Tribune

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Diabetes Quick Fix: Mexican Pork and Bean Chili - Grand Island Independent

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Linda Gassenheimer

This pork and bean chili can be made in 20 minutes. The great thing I find about chili is that some like it hot, some like it mild, but almost everyone likes it. The degree of heat is up to you. Add more chili powder or fresh chili peppers to suit your taste.

Serve the chili with bowls of sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro as garnishes along with rice.

SHOPPING LIST: To buy: 3/4 pound pork tenderloin, 1 package frozen chopped onion, 1 package frozen chopped green bell pepper, 1 package frozen corn kernels, 1 can low-sodium, red kidney beans, 1 can low-sodium diced tomatoes (see note), 1 bottle chili powder, 1 bottle ground cumin, 1 carton nonfat sour cream and 1 bunch cilantro Staples: olive oil, salt and black peppercorns.

Mexican Pork and Bean Chili

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup frozen chopped onion
• 1 cup frozen chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup rinsed and drained canned low-sodium, red kidney beans
• 2 cups canned low-sodium diced tomatoes (see note)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:

• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Note: Look for canned low-sodium, no-sugar-added diced tomatoes, containing per cup: 41 calories, .3 g fat, .04 g saturated fat, 24 mg sodium

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high-heat. Add the pork, onion and green pepper to the skillet. Sauté 5 minutes, tossing to brown meat on all sides. Add beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and ground cumin. Lower heat to medium, cover with a lid and simmer 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chili in large bowls. Place the sour cream and cilantro into small bowls and pass with the chili.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 510 calories, 96 calories from fat, 10.6 fat, 2.2g saturated fat, 5.4 g monounsaturated fat, 112 mg cholesterol, 51.1 g protein, 57.3 g carbohydrates, 13.6 g dietary fiber, 12.5 g sugars, 538 mg sodium, 2179 mg potassium, 743 mg phosphorus

Exchanges: 2 starch, 4 vegetable, 4-1/2 lean protein, 1 fat

Recipe from: “Delicious One-Pot Dishes,” by Linda Gassenheimer, published by the American Diabetes Association;

reprinted with permission.

Diabetes Quick Fix is a Tribune News Service column from Linda Gassenheimer. She is the author of more than 30 cookbooks, most recently, of “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.” Find her online at dinnerinminutes.com or on Facebook ,or follow her on Twitter @lgassenheimer. Email: linda@dinnerinminutes.com.

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The Link Lonk


January 31, 2021 at 06:00PM
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Diabetes Quick Fix: Mexican Pork and Bean Chili - Grand Island Independent

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Marcos warns increasing pork imports may ‘slaughter’ local hog raisers - INQUIRER.net

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MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos on Sunday warned that raising pork importation could push Filipino producers out of business as she called on the government to prevent importers from taking over the local market supply.

“The slaughter of our local hog raisers will begin if the Department of Agriculture (DA) executes its plan to raise the minimum access volume of pork imports by as much as three times the present 54,000 metric tons,” Marcos said in a statement.

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READ: Gov’t allows more pork imports

“The DA may be overcompensating in its rush to increase imports to reduce consumer prices. It may deal the coup de grace to our pork industry before Vietnam could release a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) later this year,” she added.

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Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the DA should instead expedite its investigation into the hoarding of pork products that may be causing an artificial hike in market prices amid the spread of African swine fever (ASF), particularly in Luzon.

“Many local hog raisers have already shut down their business. Importation amid the Covid-19 pandemic means more local jobs will be lost and surrendering the country’s food security to foreigners,” Marcos said.

The senator noted that prices of pork imports from the United States, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Brazil “suggested excessive profits were being made at the expense of consumers.”

She said the import cost of a 40-foot container of frozen pork belly (liempo) from Spain was P117.87 per kilo, already including a 40-percent tariff.

“Compare that to its market price of as much as P450 per kilo. Even if you add cold chain, storage and outlet delivery costs, the meat importer’s costs would only amount to about P153 per kilo,” Marcos said.

Aside from arresting hoarders and profiteers, Marcos said the government can also bring down meat prices by subsidizing the cost of transporting pork products to Luzon, which imports about 80 percent of its supply from the Visayas and Mindanao.

Marcos also pointed out that the DA got the “single biggest item for emergency and stimulus funding” under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, amounting to P24 billion.

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“DA’s spending must be investigated, as well as the failure of the [Department of Trade and Industry] to implement its suggested retail prices,” she said.

Marcos earlier filed a resolution calling the government’s consumer price arbiters to an inquiry which is scheduled to be taken up in a joint hearing of the committees on agriculture, food and agrarian reform and trade, commerce and entrepreneurship on Monday.

The inquiry will also look into the rising food prices in the country.

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January 31, 2021 at 04:54PM
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Where's the beef: Meat lockers booked as pandemic derails food chain - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

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(Back left to right) Troy Rinnels, Don Lemon, (front left to right) Kevin Becker and Dalton Rinnels cut and sort beef Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

Kevin Becker butchers a beef carcass Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

The retail cases at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville have been popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Kristin Guess

It’s all hands on deck behind the retail counter at Orly’s Meat Locker in Clarksville, where owner Troy Rinnels’ joins three staff members butchering a beef carcass on a recent Wednesday. Two other staff members are quickly packaging, weighing and labeling the cuts. The meat will be sold in no time.

“We’ve been fortunate to be busy. Since the pandemic we are extremely busy,” Rinnels said.

Slaughter operations like Orly’s are booming as many large meatpacking plants across the country were closed or drastically slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A soaring demand for beef and a crippled supply chain caused the traditional farm-to-fork cycle to derail.

Kristin Guess

Farmers and meat-lovers began to find alternatives, leaving meat lockers in Northeast Iowa and across the Midwest overwhelmed and forced to turn away farmers. Rinnels’ schedule is so full he can’t take new beef processing appointments until 2022.

Weakest link Last spring, large meatpacking facilities became hotspots for COVID-19. The virus took advantage of crowded work spaces and employees afraid of losing their jobs. It quickly ravaged workforces, shutting down plants and significantly slowing down others.

Two of the seven largest U.S. facilities — those with the capacity to process 5,000 beef cattle daily — were closed temporarily because of the pandemic, according to the Washington Post.

Iowa Premium plant in Tama, owned by National Beef Packing Co., suspended production for a week and had 177 out of more than 500 workers tested positive for coronavirus.

An order given on April 28 by former President Donald Trump classified meat processors as critical infrastructure and forced workers back to the production line.

By April, temporary plant closures and a hollowed out workforce reduced beef production by more than a third, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Dairy cows have a snack Dec. 16 at New Day Dairy in Clarksville. 

Kristin Guess

Production slowed, creating a bottleneck. Farmers still had a steady supply of animals ready for processing, but nowhere to go with them. Grocers were left with sparse — even bare — meat cases, forcing consumers on the hunt for beef to turn elsewhere.

Where’s the beef? Grocery stores like Hy-Vee and Fareway began to ration beef sales. On May 5, Wendy’s fast food chain had stopped serving beef hamburgers at about 20% of its 5,500 U.S. restaurants. Some Subway restaurants temporarily eliminated beef from their menu.

Management at SingleSpeed Brewing Co. in Waterloo reported their cost for beef also spiked.

Ground beef prices increased by 184% from May 2019 to May 2020, and beef eye round prices shot up 264%.

Upcharges for food with beef products are reported at other area restaurants.

“We didn’t have trouble getting it, but we also were making probably less than 40% of the amount of food we were making the year before,” said General Manager Ana Hanisch.

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Customers’ demand for beef sent many straight to the source — farmers. Local farmers began to see double and triple sales of whole, half and quarter cows.

Crystal Blin, co-owner of JJB Cattle Co. in Independence, never thought she’d see a shortage of beef at the grocery store. This is, after all, Iowa.

“It was a supply chain issue, “she said. “There wasn’t a shortage of animals. ... The supply chain that had been built up over the last few decades was disrupted.”

The spike in direct-to-consumer beef sales prompted the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation in August to launch a farm-to-table webinar series to assist farmers.

A variety of beef cuts fill retail cases Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville. 

Kristin Guess

Dan and Lynn Bolin, owners of New Day Dairy in Clarskville, signed up for the webinar after they began selling retired dairy cows to be processed as ground beef.

“We realized there was a need in our community,” Lynn Bolin said.

At first, the Bolins had no problem getting appointments at Orly’s meat locker to process the cows. In April, Lynn booked an appointment for three weeks away. By May, they discovered Orly’s was booked three months out. Today, the locker’s 2021 calendar is full and booking is a year out.

Dan and Lynn Bolin, owners of New Day Dairy in Clarksville, stand in a barn with their children (from left) Vance, 7, Judah, 3, and Amara, 10, on Dec. 16. 

Kristin Guess

“I have the cow and I have the customer,” Lynn Bolin said, “but there’s an in-between piece that’s missing. There’s not a place that animal can be turned into something they can eat.”

The story is the same at the Elma Meat Locker. Owner Roger Meirick said the locker has been in the family since 1937, and he has never seen such high demand for local beef. Retail business doubled for several months last summer as customers were frantically buying beef and other meat in bulk. Sales spiked and have since leveled off, but are still about 50% higher than usual, he said.

Meirick added a handful of part-time staff to keep up with demand, noting, too, that processing has become more difficult as animals grew overweight while farmers waited for processing appointments.

“We were essential and people needed us,” Meirick said.

Back on the farm The Blins at JJB Cattle in Independence stopped waiting for meat lockers to catch up.

“That part of our business is just not going to happen this year,” Crystal Blin said of farm-to-consumer beef sales. “The demand is there, but we can’t get any spots.”

Because of the bottleneck, the Blins found themselves with extra calves that will likely be sold to a feed lot program. Those programs sell beef to grocery stores and restaurants.

“Whether you buy beef from us directly or you buy beef from the grocery store, you are still supporting farmers,” she said.

Dan and Lynn Bolin, owners of New Day Dairy in Clarksville, stand in a barn with their children (from left) Vance, 7, Judah, 3, and Amara, 10, on Dec. 16. 

Dairy cows have a snack Dec. 16 at New Day Dairy in Clarksville. 

Kevin Becker butchers a beef carcass Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

(Back left to right) Troy Rinnels, Don Lemon, (front left to right) Kevin Becker and Dalton Rinnels cut and sort beef Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

A variety of beef cuts fill retail cases Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville. 

The retail cases at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville have been popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Farmers adjust to disrupted food supply chain

Dan and Lynn Bolin, owners of New Day Dairy in Clarksville, stand in a barn with their children (from left) Vance, 7, Judah, 3, and Amara, 10, on Dec. 16. 

Dairy cows have a snack Dec. 16 at New Day Dairy in Clarksville. 

Kevin Becker butchers a beef carcass Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

(Back left to right) Troy Rinnels, Don Lemon, (front left to right) Kevin Becker and Dalton Rinnels cut and sort beef Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville.

A variety of beef cuts fill retail cases Jan. 20 at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville. 

The retail cases at Orly's Meat Locker in Clarksville have been popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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January 31, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Where's the beef: Meat lockers booked as pandemic derails food chain - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

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