News Update
September 3, 2010

Teachers Learn How to Heighten Beef’s Flavor Intensity

About 70 family and consumer science (FACS) teachers from across the state attended an educational workshop coordinated last month by the Kansas Beef Council (KBC). During the event, held at Sysco Foodservice headquarters in Kansas City, Sysco Chef John Landry led a presentation titled “Perk Up Your Taste Buds.” His comments focused on pairing beef with umami-rich foods for a great beef-eating experience.

Teachers learned about taste vs. flavor. Landry taught them how the various tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty work together in synergistic fashion when paired with beef to heighten flavor intensity. The information was packaged in a format allowing FACS teachers to use it for educational purposes in the classroom.

KBC works with FACS teachers on a regular basis. Checkoff dollars are offered to FACS instructors to teach courses on beef cookery. In addition to the financial support, classroom educational materials are available free of charge.

— Release by the Kansas Livestock Association.

AFA Alliance Forum Is Nov. 5-6 in Kansas City

Agriculture professionals will gather for a two-day conference to learn about trends in the agriculture industry and network with their peers at the 2010 Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Alliance Forum.

The 2010 Alliance Forum promises a dynamic agenda during the intensive two-day event. Through interaction with national leaders and discussions with peers, participants examine their roles, gain insight into effective leadership and identify tools for day-to-day use.

The 2010 Alliance Forum will focus on identifying key issues in the agricultural industry. Issues that will be discussed include the environment, population and global food security, and food quality and nutrition. Sessions of the Alliance Forum include “Stand Out!,” presented by Scott Burditt, Personal Branding Expert and COO, Two West, and, “Let’s Talk,” presented by Diane Bennett, Bennett Coaching and Consulting.

The Alliance Forum provides the opportunity for Alliance members to interact and network with more than 800 students, industry professionals and community leaders during the AFA Leader in Agriculture Awards Dinner held in conjunction with this annual event.

The AFA Alliance, developed in 2001, allows young agriculture professionals across the nation to gather, virtually and physically, to chat about the future of the agriculture industry and common situations they face. This alliance is about more than professional development and hot industry issues. It is about pooling resources from a diverse group of individuals who can help each other become better leaders in the agriculture industry.

— Release by AFA.

Americans Urged to Prepare for Disasters, Include Animals in Their Plans

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a participant in the seventh annual National Preparedness Month sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Ready Campaign, encourages Americans to take action now to prepare for emergencies.

This year, National Preparedness Month focuses on encouraging all Americans to take active steps toward getting involved and being prepared. Preparedness is everyone’s responsibility, and working together as a team ensures that individuals, families and communities are ready. Individuals are encouraged to make a family emergency plan, put together an emergency supply kit, be prepared to help your neighbor and work as a team to keep everyone safe.

And that includes family pets and other animals, including livestock, according to AVMA President Larry Kornegay.

“It is often too late to react properly to an emergency or disaster — either natural or manmade — after the fact, and things become even more hectic when pets or other animals are involved,” Kornegay says. “That’s why the AVMA believes it is critically important for everyone to have an emergency plan in place — and to practice that plan. Being prepared is some of the best insurance you can have when it comes to dealing with an emergency situation and minimizing the trauma.”

The AVMA has a wide variety of disaster preparedness resources available on its website at www.avma.org/disaster.

For more information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, visit www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY, TTY 1-800-462-7585.

— Release by AVMA.

Walnut Disease Closer to Missouri

First it was the American chestnut, then it was American elm. Get ready to add eastern black walnut to the threatened and endangered species list, said a University of Missouri (MU) Extension state forestry specialist. A fungal infection called thousand cankers disease (TCD) has ravaged black walnut trees in a handful of western states over the last decade. In July, foresters discovered infected trees in Tennessee.

Unlike the western states, Missouri and Tennessee are native homes to the eastern black walnut tree, supporting extensive natural populations that could fuel an uncontrolled TCD outbreak in the eastern U.S., said Hank Stelzer, who discussed the disease at a recent field day at the MU Hundley-Whaley Research Center in Albany, Mo.

“Missouri has more black walnut trees than any other state within the species’ natural range,” he said.

According to Missouri Department of Agriculture estimates, the disease could cost the state more than $850 million over a 20-year period due to losses in the wood products industry and nut production as well as costs associated with the removal and replacement of urban trees.

Before the discovery of infected walnut trees in Knoxville, Tenn., Colorado was the easternmost state with reported cases of TCD. The big jump could be the result of people transporting firewood or hobbyists buying wood on eBay, Stelzer said.

Researchers and foresters from MU, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Agriculture are working with the USDA Forest Service and scientists from those western states where TCD originated to develop an effective monitoring program before next year’s growing season.

“Finding TCD this late in the growing season is a mixed blessing,” Stelzer said. “Since the obvious symptoms of wilting, yellowing or collapsed brown leaves still attached to the branches are best observed in June and July, we have some time to put together a good monitoring program and educate the natural resource professionals and the general public.” However, he added, “It gives the disease more time, too.”

Stelzer notes that TCD should not be confused with walnut anthracnose, a very common foliar disease on walnut this time of year. “Anthracnose-infected leaves are yellow and have black spots all over the leaflets,” he said. “The compound leaves also lose their leaflets from the bottom up.”

TCD is a bit different. “Entire leaves remain intact. They have a collapsed appearance and remain attached to the branch. Leaf color can range from yellow to entirely brown and they lack the visible black spots associated with anthracnose.”

TCD is caused by a fungus that attaches to walnut twig beetles. These tiny bark beetles inflict very little damage themselves, but the fungus creates small patches of dead tissue under the bark. As these cankers grow and merge, nutrients can no longer move through the tree. By the time the first symptoms appear, the damage has been done and the tree dies.

“All walnut plants and plant parts, as well as all hardwood firewood from TCD-infected states, are now prohibited from entering Missouri,” Stelzer said. “This includes nursery stock, bud wood, scion wood, green lumber and other material living, dead, cut or fallen, including stumps, roots, branches and composted and uncomposted chips. Exceptions are nuts, nutmeats, hulls and processed lumber. Processed lumber means 100% bark-free, kiln-dried with squared edges.”

If you suspect that your black walnut has TCD, contact either your county MU Extension center or your local Missouri Department of Conservation office, Stelzer said.

“TCD has not been detected in Missouri yet,” he said. “But we do need to be aware of this serious threat to our most valuable hardwood species.”

Fore information on the disease is available from the Missouri Department of Agriculture at  http://mda.mo.gov/plants/pests/thousandcankers.php.

— Release by MU Extension.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.