Please be safe in the field

#Harvest2014 is underway across rural america. Here in Northwest Iowa, there are some early beans coming out, and silage chopping is somewhere in the middle of harvest. This has not been a good year for farm safety.

 Do a Google search for 2014 Farm accidents, and along with the humorous (for us) failures of common sense that got caught on video, you will find these headlines:

That's too many lives lost on the farm.  And too many YOUNG lives lost.  It is difficult to keep safety top of mind, we all get in a hurry, stressed by the pressures of the job, keeping an eye on the markets, the weather, the monitors.... everything.

Remember please, if something gets jammed, turn the machine off, take the key out, put it in your pocket, and only then start to work on the problem.  When I had John Hansen here to talk about Creekfest (which was AWESOME!) I took the opportunity to chat about farm safety.

 John can speak to farm safety from a couple different angles... He's a farmer and a truck driver, hauling livestock all over the region, and he's a Paramedic, who has responded to many farm accidents. John is also one of  the most requested trainers in the country to talk about responding to agricultural accidents. I've taken his class.... he truly is one of the best!

So, please take a few minutes to listen to our conversation.


Check this out on Chirbit

Download it, share it with your neighbors, and please, please, please, be safe this harvest.

Logistics and Lifeguarding: Really Living with Cystic Fibrosis

 In November 1992, The Paullina Times featured 11 month old Ethan Pauling, and his recent diagnosis with Cystic Fibrosis. His Parents Craig and Susan were just learning how to manage his medical needs. In  the mid-90s the family moved to Texas. Ethan is now  in his 20s, and in his 5^th year at University of Texas, Austin majoring in environmental science. He works as a life guard on a beach in Galveston.

Looking at Ethan, and talking with him,  you wouldn’t know he spends hours of his day managing his medical condition.  Google Cystic Fibrosis and this is what it tells you: “Cystic fibrosis is a disease passed down through families that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. It is a life-threatening disorder.” Treatment involves a strict routine of nebulizers and medications to keep the symptoms at bay.

Ethan says he hasn’t let that stop him from doing what he wants to do, well, it did keep him from playing football, there was too much risk of dehydration. “I played soccer, and swam in high school, and was good at it. I’m pretty happy with my life right now. I don’t get disappointed or depressed, really about anything. Sometimes I think it would be nice to not have to worry about going off camping somewhere and not worry about waking up and having to feel better. But I have been able to go camping.”

He says he has inhalers that work really well for him, but the nebulizer needs electricity, which makes it challenging to go backpacking.

Ethan does have advice for parents whose child is diagnosed with CF: “My parents never really discouraged me from doing anything… if I had a kid with CF I would let him do what he wants to do and find a way for him to be happy. That’s mainly it.”

He says the logistics of managing CF are always in the back of his mind, but he doesn’t let it keep him from having fun with friends and pursuing the things he wants to do. “It’s time consuming.” He says if he stays with friends he takes a backpack full of his medications and nebulizer, but he still goes and has fun.  “always in the back of my head I have to think about my treatments and medicines.”

He also plays on the club water polo team at UT, noting that exercise is very important to help keep his lungs clear. He says lifeguarding has been a good job for him, they have mandatory workouts where they might have to run 3 miles or swim as far. He says Galveston Bay is fairly calm, but they do have to keep swimmers away from the jetties and the sea wall.

To learn more about Ethan, listen to our interview!  

Check this out on Chirbit

Time for a party in the pasture

From humble beginnings, to a premiere music event headlined by one of the hottest bands in the country, Creek Fest has come a long way in 5 years. I sat down recently with one of the organizers, John Hansen to talk about the event coming up this weekend.

Check this out on Chirbit

You can also get the details at the event website. If you go to the show after hearing about it here, stop at the EMS tent Friday night and say hey.

The Wind blows a lot... time to harvest the power

Every day we see white trucks drive by our farm. We see construction equipment moving from site to site. we see the signs of a large construction project. The project is the Highland wind farm, a 200 Turbine 500 megawatt project owned by MidAmerican Energy. You can find more information about MidAmerican and wind energy at their website.   I had an opportunity recently to go for a ride with Site Lead Shannon Bell and MidAmerican Energy Supervisor of Wind Energy Adam Jablonski. I asked these gentlemen questions for almost an hour, Some of my questions are rather silly, culled from what I've heard around town and at council meetings, and of course, for those who know me, know I will keep asking questions when given the opportunity! But each was answered. It was an enjoyable interview, give it a listen, I think you will learn a lot about the future of wind energy in O'Brien County.


Check this out on Chirbit
This is the article I culled from the interview for the Paullina Times.

The signs of a major construction project are everywhere, signs like this, and signs warning of children at play. Increased traffic as trucks and equipment move from site to site. 

A caution sign erected by contractors for MidAmerican Energy

The O’Brien County turbines, are part of  MidAmerican Energy’s Wind VIII project.  The total project, which includes several counties will provide more than $3 million dollars in landowner payments and is expected to create        more than $360 million dollars in property tax revenues. Supervisor of Wind Operations Adam Jablonski says the project wouldn’t happen without the support of the landowners. “They let us use their land for a certain amount of things and they get financial compensation for that. I think that's number one, we are part of the community, but we are only here because the landowners let us be here.”   

The future site of a wind turbine in the distance.

The construction process for a wind farm is hard to miss: increased traffic, construction equipment moving from one site to another, it’s not an easy process. The wind farm under construction in O’Brien County will produce 502 megawatts of power for MidAmerican Energy customers. The project is widespread through central O’Brien County. Jablonski says there are 300 unique landowners involved in the project. “ This will be one of the top ten in the United States built in one phase.  So, a very large project. The reason it's being spread out over two years is the massive volume. we did construct a 193 turbine project in southwest Iowa and we learned some lessons from there. There was just too much going on at once, it created safety issues.”

How does a project of this scope be a good actor, a good neighbor?   Logistics. Jablonski says meeting that challenge with all the different locations of the project is very important and difficult. “Getting all the components, the rebar, and the concrete from place to place. To do that you have to drive a lot of times by households.  And so the dust control is a big one, making sure we keep that up and always respecting the local traffic or the farm traffic. I know a lot of the crews will either slow down or completely pull over when local traffic is on the same road.”

While chemical dust control is applied in front of acreages, Mortenson Construction also applies water to control the dust elsewhere on roads that are being heavily travelled at different stages of the project.

There are signs that safety is also a top priority, overhead wire signs whenever construction traffic will have to cross under a wire, either while going down the road or when turning onto an access road.  They have also installed “watch for children” signs on either side of acreages that have young children.  Site Lead Shannon Bell says that crews will be mowing around those signs and maintaining them through the summer so that they will remain highly visible.

Construction is scheduled to be finished by the end of next year. The last several weeks have been a challenge because of rain delays. Bell says it takes 24 hours to drain each foundation and wash the rebar.  Bell says the wet conditions have slowed the work. He says the focus is on working safely, so everyone slows down and helps each other out more. “We take it slow and safe, that’s our policy.” He gave some examples, such as tasks that are a one person job in ideal conditions become a two man job when the footing is muddy and slick.  The rains have slowed construction this summer, and the project will again slow in the winter when it gets too cold.

To meet the construction goal of the end of 2015, the work is done methodically with crews focusing on specific segments of construction. For example there is one crew that builds the access roads, another that digs the foundations, and yet others who install rebar, and concrete.

Jablonski says the workers definitely respect their neighbors. “But, keep your eyes open. There's going to be a lot more traffic going up and down the roads than what everyone is used to. As much as we try to be safe, we ask the land owners and residents of the area to keep that watchful eye out there. Midamerican has the job trailers out there and we have a 1800 wind hotline, if you see a safety issue or have any questions feel free to call or stop in and we’ll address your issues or questions.” 

Spring is in the air....

The calendar says it's spring.... the smidge of green I can see in the grass says it MIGHT be spring, and the pollen count from the trees says spring is definitely in the air. I just wish there weren't more snow in the forecast! 

And a new laptop means the blog is back in business. I'm very excited to get some farmers back around the table before they get too busy with planting. Also hope to get more South O'Brien FFA members to the table, those kids have been having a great year! But for now, as promised long before the old laptop gave up the ghost... I'm going fangirl. I want to tell you about my new favorite musician. He's a fella by the name of Corb Lund. I think he's wonderful. If you're tired of the fluffy country music that we hear on the radio here in the U.S., if you loved Chris LeDoux and his songs about horses and life and cows....well, Corb is just as awesome.

 Check out the video for September. When I fell in love with this guy.. I can quote the interview. He said when he sits down to write a love song it usually ends up being about a horse. Who wouldn't love a guy like that? Seriously. But it's more than that. He writes about more than drinking, beer, girls in painted on jeans, and getting the truck muddy... okay he does have a song about getting the truck stuck.... actually all the trucks getting stuck .So the bottom line, if you want to listen to music about more than partying and cheating.... Check out our neighbor from the north... I think you'll be as impressed as I was after hearing Bible on the Dash for the first time. In fact, when you check out Corb, Check out Texan Hayes Carll... There's a whole world of great music that doesn't make the airwaves in the U.S. But the state of the radio industry is something that I don't want to discuss. So, check him out and let me know what you think of this artist and storyteller from Alberta.