This fall in the midwest has been an unusually warm, dry season. As the temperatures fall as we get closer to the end of November and approach December, it is always a good idea to look at ways to prepare our homes for winter. I came across this article, Winterizing Your Home and it has…
Category Archives: Midwest Laboratories
Calories are affected by food preparation
There is an article, “Calories Depend on Food Preparation” in Scientific America, November 9, 2011 that offers some interesting information. A study was performed with two mice that showed the following: “Food’s energy value is usually measured before consumption. But Harvard scientists fed two groups of mice either meat or sweet potatoes and prepared the…
Arsenic in Water Report
I came across this article, Arsenic in Iowa’s water supplies and took a closer look at the numbers listed in the report. Here is a summary of some of the numbers that stood out for me. The article has more specifics with respect to locations and reports. Check out these numbers: “Arsenic accounted for about…
Happy Veterans Day!
Please take some time out of your day today to give thanks for those people who have served in our armed forces and protected our freedom as a country. This service is truly appreciated and we need to recognize all of the great blessings we have as a country.
Harvest Yield Loss
Growers are very efficient in their harvesting processes and are always looking for ways to improve their process. I came across this video which really explains this issue in a little over one minute. Missy Bauer looks at this issue and demonstrates the “square foot” method for determining loss. 2 kernels in a square foot…
Corps of Engineers Open Houses and Plans for Missouri River in 2012
Yesterday in the Omaha World-Herald, the Corps of Engineers announced several open houses to highlight plans for 2012. A final 2012 plan will be released in December after the Corps of Engineers has listened to comments received during these upcoming meetings. Two highlights from this article are the following: “The draft plan provides no more…
Submittal Paperwork
Everyday, we receive thousands of samples and each day, we will receive samples with no paperwork. The paper may have name, address and phone, but no paperwork indicating what type of analysis to be performed. Here is some advice for quicker turnaround time: (Required for Good Turnaround Time) Make sure to include your paperwork with…
3 Reasons For Fall Soil Sampling
Fall Corn Harvest is beginning and this is evident by the large number of soil samples received at Midwest Laboratories yesterday, October 18, 2011. This year has been quite a year of unpredictable events like volatility in grain prices, precipitation, flooding in some areas, hail and high winds in other areas. Because of these factors…
Pumpkin Patch and Harvest
This time of year I watch my kids excitement as they like to go out to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, Nebraska. I saw this video and thought I would give you a taste of what they see. It is a lot of fun and the weather was super this fall. If you have never…
Using syrup to clean up contamination
This is really a cool story about a way we can use a natural substance to help us clean up contaminated sites. The original article is entitled Syrup is the key to cleaning contaminated industrial sites, posted October 15, 2011 by James O’Neill. Here are some points that I thought were very interesting. Molasses, like…
