Leadership Washington class members are farmers for a day

Members of this year?s Leadership Washington class boarded a school bus Wednesday, March 9, and traveled the roads of Washington County to learn about agriculture.

The day began at the Washington County Extension office where the group did a feed-mixing exercise. They learned about different ways feed can be mixed, different equipment, and why it is important for feed to be formulated and mixed correctly.

The first presentation was by Mike Bates of Bates Family Farm, who spoke about turkey production. Due to bio-security measures being taken because of the threat of Avian Influenza the group was unable to visit the farm. However, Mike brought the farm to the Extension Office via a slide show and video. The group learned about the labor involved in keeping the birds healthy, productions costs, utilities, technology, and bio-security issues. Bates told the group about West Liberty Foods and the processing of the meat and that their product is marketed to Subway and Costco.

At the next stop Matt Wulf told the group about his cattle operation. They had an opportunity to see a new baby calf, learn what calving season is like, view feeds, and learn of costs associated with beef production. The group moved on up the road to the Brayton Turner farm where they learned about the lambing process, what is needed to raise sheep, and production in general. They saw several baby lambs.

Over lunch, a presentation was given by Bob Shepherd, Market Master of Washington?s Farmers Market, and the role value-added agriculture plays in our community. Aaron Putze of the Iowa Soybean Association also gave a presentation on agriculture in Iowa and shared many interesting facts.

The class traveled to the Jim and Jane Cuddeback farm where Jim told the group about grain farming and showed some of his equipment. The group felt as though they were in a tractor cab with Cuddeback as he shared a video he took while he was planting, illustrating how GPS works and hands-free steering. Cuddeback shared a worksheet he prepared showing what it would cost to purchase equipment for a beginning farmer. Jane Cuddeback took them to their equipment ?museum? where they house antique equipment and items that have been in their families for many years.

The afternoon concluded with a trip to JWV Pork where the group learned about the pork industry and operation of JWV Pork. Amanda Adam presented a PowerPoint about their 75 employee hog business, talking about bio-security, the growth from a small family business, and human resources. The group toured the feed mill.

Leadership Washington is a program offered through the Washington Chamber of Commerce. Ag Day is sponsored by Washington County Farm Bureau. Leaders for the day were Rachel Fishback, Amanda Russell, and Nancy Adrian. The day was dedicated to longtime Ag Day Co-Chair Sheryl Lewis. Contact the Washington Chamber at 319-653-3272 for more information on the program.