Northwest Area Extension
Beef Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pork Informational Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Challenges of Day-to-Day Dairy Management
Upcoming Dairy Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quantifying Soil Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Horse Grazing Field Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
June 2003
1
1
2
2
3
3
by Beth Ellen Doran, ISUE Beef Field Specialist
Beef Solids Settling Field Day - Kris Kohl, ISU
Extension Ag Engineer, will hold a solids settling
field day on June 19 from 1-3 p.m. The field day
will be at the Percy and Keith Zylstra Feedlot, 5123
210th St., Ashton, IA. In case of rain, the field day
will be June 20, 1-3 p.m. at the same location. The
feedlot is located two miles north of Ashton on
Highway 60 on the west side of the highway.
June 10 Satellite Program - Beef producers have
heard a lot about Country of Origin Labeling
(COOL) and its ramifications. What hasn't been
specifically outlined is what changes, if any, need to
be made and how beef producers are to implement
these changes on their farms.
During the afternoon, the Zylstra's will show the
forms and engineering design they are using and will
actually be pouring concrete to create the solids
settling basin for their open beef feedlot. Kris Kohl
will explain the minimum environmental
requirements for all open beef feedlots.
Currently, COOL is a voluntary USDA program
passed as part of last year's Farm Bill. It applies to a
number of agricultural commodities, including beef,
veal, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities
and peanuts. This voluntary system will be replaced
with a mandatory system on Sept. 30, 2004.
Participants are encouraged to contact the Osceola
County Extension Office at 712-754-3648 to help us
plan for meeting supplies. There will be a $5 per
person fee taken at the field day to cover the cost of
plastic boots, publications and refreshments.
Beef Programs
This fall, feedlots will be asking for country of origin
confirmation on calves they purchase because
packers need verification on all animals in the fall of
2004. USDA has not yet specified what record
system to use, and livestock producers are uncertain
of their roles and responsibilities in the process.
To learn about COOL, ISU Extension is sponsoring a
satellite program from 10 a.m. to noon on June 10.
Bill Sessions, USDA-AMS, will explain COOL, time
frame for implementation and answer questions.
John Lawrence, Iowa Beef Center Director, and ISU
Extension veterinarian Jim McKean will discuss
expectations of and implications for Iowa livestock
producers and options for meeting COOL
requirements.
Cost of the program is $10 per person. Questions
may be asked during the program. Please contact
your local County Extension Office to determine a
site near you and to pre-register.
Pork Informational Meetings
by Dave Stender, ISUE Swine Field Specialist
A series of informational meetings have been
scheduled to provide pork producers with Iowa’s
new requirements. Information updates will include
complying with current requirements, filling out
manure management plans, new construction, odor
monitoring and balancing nutrients for crop uptake.
Speakers will include Eldon McAfee, Attorney with
Beving, Swanson & Forrest; Jeff Lorimor with ISU
Bio Systems; and Wendy Powers with ISU Animal
Science. The meetings will last approximately two
hours and are free to all pork producers who attend.
Northwest Iowa regional meetings will be held on
June 11 from 1 to 3 pm at the Carrollton Inn in
Carroll and from 7 to 9 pm at NW Iowa Community
College in Sheldon.

Challenges of Day-to-Day Dairy Management-- Whose Monkeys are These Anyway!!??
by Chris Mondak. ISUE Dairy Field Specialist

Do you ever have a day at your dairy when you have
so much to do and so many “fires to put out” that you
feel like you have the weight of a thousand monkeys
on your back? This is the scenario that Dr. Jim
Bennett, DVM, used to capture the attention of
producers, professionals, and ag-business
representatives at the Northwest Iowa Dairy Days
program, March 5- 7.
Defines what people at dairy are working
towards; and what they should have as an
outcome or product of their work each day.
Goals should be specific. For example
“having a profitable reproductive program”
is not a specific goal. Instead, define the
reproductive goals specifically as “Average
Days Open< 125”, or “Heat Detection Rate
>55%”, or “Pregnancy Rate > 19%”.
4. A dairy should set up a simple system to
monitor results and give feedback to the
members or workers so they know when goals
are/are not being met.
 Set up a simple monitoring system and post
it. For example, if one of the dairy’s goals is
a SCC of 200,000, this can be monitored by
posting the daily or weekly herd SCC levels.
All family members and workers then have
immediate feedback about the progress.
 Monitoring progress towards goals gives
useful feedback: if goals aren’t met,
owner/managers & employees can reevaluate and change processes. If goals are
being met, owners and employees have an
opportunity to modify processes for ways to
meet the goals better (or cheaper).
 Allows producers to benchmark against each
other and constantly learn.
Drawing from his years of experience serving dairy
clients and helping them trouble-shoot typical dairy
problems, Dr. Bennett proposes that every dairy –
whether it has 50 cows or 5000 cows – can benefit
from applying basic concepts of organization, goal
setting, process description for essential tasks, and
simple monitoring-feedback schemes.
Here is a summary of his key points:
1. A dairy should have a structure - Make an
Organizational Chart and identify
responsibilities of everyone on the chart.
 It defines who is the boss and the role and
assignment of all people who work at the
dairy- both family and non-family.
 It establishes the flow of communication.
 It establishes who has what jobs, and helps
prevent one person from becoming
overloaded with too many “monkeys” –
(tasks).
If you would like to obtain a copy of the Dr.
Bennett’s presentation and the NW Iowa Dairy Days
Proceedings, contact the Sioux County Extension
Office, 712-737-4230, or Chris Mondak at
cmondak@iastate.edu.
2. A dairy should have a defined set of processes
that describe how essential tasks get done.
 Written processes can be simply stated as
flow charts, lists, or diagrams. They are
dynamic – can adjust to changing situations.
 Most problems stem from one of two critical
process problems: the wrong process is being
used, or the right process is being performed
wrong.
 When essential processes are performed
correctly and consistently by all workers or
family members, the desired outcomes of
quality milk, healthy cows, and happy
employees can be achieved.
Upcoming Dairy Events
June 9,
Sioux County Dairywomen’s Peer Group
Orange City Pizza Ranch, 11:30 – 1:30pm.
June 16, Sioux County Dairy Banquet
Sioux Center Community Center,
serving 6:15 – 7pm; program starts at 7:30pm.
June 23 Sioux County Dairywomen’s Peer Group
Sioux Center Pizza Ranch, 7- 8:30pm.
June 24 Osceola- O’Brien County area Dairywomen’s Peer
Group Tour at Plymouth Dairy, 11:30 – 1:30pm.
July 1
3. A dairy should have a set of goals in general,
and goals for each worker or team.
2
Quality Milk & Mastitis Control Workshop- Updates
on Methods and Products. Two locations and times:
Boyden- Demco Community Center, Noon- 3pm
Cherokee County Extension office, 7pm – 10pm.
hard look at soil conservation programs and consider
making a change.
Quantifying Soil Erosion
By Todd Vagts, ISUE Field Crops Specialist
Here are some simple and easy to implement
conservation practices:
 Plant corn directly into soybean stubble
 Plant soybeans using no-till – or high residue
methods
 Contour plow and plant
 Maintain waterways
 Install and maintain filter strips where water
drains from fields.
A short drive though the countryside reveals once
again the problem northwest IA has with soil erosion.
I thought in late April the area might be spared the
heavy and continuous rains that cause excessive
erosion on hillsides, but as May rain kept falling,
soils became saturated and excess water moved
downhill, taking soil with it. Often, erosion events
appear small and insignificant, but when they happen
one or more times per year for successive years,
serious and long-term damage is inflicted on the soil
and water resources. Research in Iowa has shown
that long-term erosion that reduces the thickness of
the A soil horizon (top layer) reduces corn grain
yield potential.
Visit this ISU Web Site
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soilmgmt for an
interactive analysis of your current conservation
practices.
Soil is lost through three major erosive actions:
sheet, rill and gully erosion. I think the predominant
and probably most overlooked erosion is Rill
erosion; which is characterized by small “rills” that
are less visible and easily removed with tillage.
Once the visible signs of rill erosion are covered up,
the short and long-term consequence is soon
forgotten. But let’s take a moment to characterize
just how much soil is being lost by rill erosion. A
quick mathematical equation can be employed to
quantify the destructive nature of rill erosion.
Horse Grazing Field Day
by Beth Ellen Doran, ISUE Beef Field Specialist
Horse owners are invited to a twilight grazing field
day on June 17 from 7-9:30 p.m. at the ISU
Demonstration and Research Farm, near Calumet.
The farm is located one mile south of Calumet on
Highway 59 and 1/4 mile east on County Road B-62.
Dr. Steve Barnhart, ISU Extension Forage
Agronomist, will take participants on tour of small
forage plots at the farm. Steve will discuss the
characteristics of various forage plants, including
ease of establishment, suitability for grazing and
haying, hardiness and anti-quality factors. He will
also explain which forages are more suitable for
various drainage conditions.
Tons of soil lost = (A*B*C*D)/2000
Where A = Average width; B = Depth; C = Length;
D = Soil Unit Wt. (85 lb/ft3)
Using the above equation in a simple example yields
the following soil loss. An 80-acre field (1320 ft x
2640 ft) with one long-sloping hillside with crop
rows that run up the hill. After one heavy spring
rainfall just after planting, water runs down each row
marker, creating an (average) 2-inch wide by 2-inch
deep rill. Although the size of each rill seems small
and insignificant, the total soil lost in each row
marker would be 76 ft3 or 3.2 tons. Total soil lost
from the 80-acre field (43 marks) would be 3,281 ft3
or 139 tons. The simple solution to this problem
would be to plant along the contour of the hill.
Dr. Peggy Miller, ISU Extension Horse Specialist,
will discuss various grazing systems (continuous,
rotational and highly intensive) and emphasize
stocking rates, fencing and grazing precautions. She
will also explain the role of forages in the horse diet,
balancing rations that include forages, and evaluating
hays for horses.
Pre-registration ($10/person) is required by June 13
at the Lyon County Extension Office. Checks should
be made payable to Lyon County Extension and
mailed to Lyon County Extension, P.O. Box 348,
Rock Rapids IA 51246. Please indicate the names
and number of people attending.
As responsible farmers and agronomists, it is
important to ask, “Can we do a better job of keeping
the soil from eroding?” Maybe it’s time to take a
3
JUNE 2003 FIELD AND FEEDLOT
Iowa State University Extension Connection
By Al Grigg, County Extension Director
Livestock producers are invited to attend this free
meeting and no registration is necessary.
THANK YOU to all who have responded with
your e-mail address so we can send you the Field
and Feedlot publication electronically.
BEEF SOLIDS SETTLING FIELD DAY
A beef solids settling field day will be held at the
Percy and Keith Zylstra Feedlot located north of
Ashton on Thursday, June 19 from 1-3 pm. Kris
Kohl, Iowa State University Ag Engineer, will
explain the minimum environmental requirements for
all open beef feedlots and will show the forms and
engineering design to create a solid settling basin for
the Zylstra feedlot. Call the Osceola County
Extension office at 712-754-3648 if you plan to
attend so meeting supplies can be arranged. Cost of
the field day is $5 per person.
COOL SATELLITE PROGRAM JUNE 10
The Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program
included in the 2002 Farm Bill will require retailers
to notify their customers of the country of origin of
several commodities, including pork, beef, and lamb,
effective September 30, 2004. Although the
language applies specifically to retailers, producers
also will have a role in making sure the retailer has
correct and appropriate information.
RESEARCH FARM FIELD DAY
The annual field day for the NW Iowa Experimental
Farm located south of Calumet will be Wednesday,
June 25 starting at 9:30 am. Four speakers will be
featured on the farm tour. ISU Extension Soybean
Specialist Palle Pedersen will discuss soybean
management issues for 2003. Mark Westgate, ISU
Associate Professor of Agronomy, will discuss
pollen drift. Dr. Jon Tollefsen, ISU Entomologist,
will present information on corn rootworm research
and management. Dr. Robert Hartzler, ISU
Extension Weed Specialist, will discuss weed
management issues including herbicide resistance.
Livestock producers are invited to attend a satellite
program hosted by Iowa State University Extension
in partnership with the Iowa Pork Industry Center
and the Iowa Beef Center on Tuesday, June 10, from
10 am to noon at county extension offices.
Speakers will be William Sessions of USDA Ag
Marketing Service, and John Lawrence and James
McKean of Iowa State University Extension,
presenting information on the COOL program,
including expectations of and implications for Iowa
livestock producers, dates for mandatory
participation in COOL and options for meeting
COOL-related requirements.
Audience members can ask questions by phone, fax
and e-mail during the program. Cost to attend is $10
per person. Please call the Osceola County extension
office at 712-754-3648 to reserve a seat.
LIVESTOCK REGULATION MEETING
A meeting on Wednesday, June 11 at NW Iowa
Community College in Sheldon beginning at 7 pm
will provide the latest information on new Iowa
regulations for livestock production. Eldon McAfee,
attorney, and Wendy Powers, Jeff Lorimor and Kris
Kohl of Iowa State University Extension will present
information on current environmental regulation
compliance, manure management plan development
and new construction requirements, odor monitoring
and learning to balance nutrients for optimal crop
uptake.
4