News Update
December 10, 2012
Angus Foundation Encourages
Participation in The $75,000 Card Challenge
In The $75,000 Card Challenge, for every new and activated American Angus Association Platinum Visa® booked, Intrust Bank will make a $100 donation to the Angus Foundation to help support Angus education, youth and research programs. Most people use a credit card anyway, and by simply opening a new card account and activating that card by making $100 in purchases within 30 days, Angus producers and other Angus enthusiasts are making an easy contribution to support the future of the breed.
If 300 more cards are activated through the end of this year, making a total of 500 new activated accounts, Intrust Bank will add a $25,000 donation. This makes the program worth $75,000 for the Angus Foundation. Go to www.angusfoundation.org and click on Angus Credit Card Application to learn more.
iPhone, iPad Training for Agricultural Producers
Set for Dec. 19 in Muleshoe
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Bailey County will conduct an iPhone, iPad workshop for agricultural producers from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 19 in the AgriLife Extension office for Bailey County, 118 West Avenue C, Muleshoe.
“Our goal is to train farmers and ranchers to use their iPhones and iPads to make decisions to increase their bottom lines whether they are in the field, on the tractor or in the pickup,” said Curtis Preston, AgriLife Extension agent in Bailey County.
Preston said instructors will train producers to utilize specific apps to more effectively manage risks in their business and improve the profitability of their operations.
He said they will learn to access market data to help them evaluate relevant pricing strategies and learn to use the training team’s Cost of Production app to improve their knowledge of costs and break-evens of various commodities produced on the South Plains.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Educational Farm Tours Change
Public Impressions About Modern Farms
As consumers and the public become further removed from farms, their ability to understand and evaluate information about food and food production has diminished. As a result, agricultural organizations are making efforts to educate the public about modern farming practices to build trust in farm products and the methods used to produce them.
Breakfast on the Farm (BOTF) is one such public educational effort lead by Michigan State University Extension. Each BOTF event includes an educational tour of the host farm with stations highlighting various aspects of a modern farm operation as well as a free Michigan-grown breakfast. A total of 40,865 visitors and volunteers participated in 21 events hosted on farms across the state since 2009.
The 2011 breakfasts involved seven dairy farms where 93% of visitors indicated in an exit survey that they now have a better understanding of modern dairy production. Similarly, 92% of visitors left BOTF with an improved general impression of dairy farming.
BOTF is not just about improving impressions; it’s about building trust, as well. After experiencing BOTF, 86% of visitors views of milk safety increased.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Stakes Raised for NFU, Feeding America
Matching Grant with Howard G. Buffett Foundation
With one week remaining before the deadline to reach $50,000 in donations to Feeding America, National Farmers Union (NFU) has been issued a second challenge by Farmers Union Enterprises (FUE).
President Doug Peterson recently announced that FUE would donate $10,000 to the challenge if Farmers Union members, families and supporters contributed $10,000 in the next week.
“We are thankful for this recent announcement by FUE,” said NFU Vice President Claudia Svarstad. “We are well on our way to meeting the original challenge from Mr. Buffett of $50,000, and this presents even more motivation to get the word out about hunger in America and how we can make a difference.”
NFU and Feeding America partnered to help fight hunger throughout the United States with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. For the second consecutive year, the foundation has pledged matching funds up to $50,000. According to Feeding America, one in six Americans struggles with hunger, including one in five children.
All member-driven donations go to food banks that serve hungry people in their communities. Feeding America’s more than 200 member food banks serve 61,000 agencies across the United States that addresses hunger through emergency food assistance and programs.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Food Facilities Must Register with FDA by Dec. 31, 2012
All facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food (human and animal) within the United States are required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in accordance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed into law January 2011. The registration renewal is a biennial requirement and must be completed by Dec. 31, 2012.
The FDA registration renewal can be completed online at www.access.fda.gov/oaa/. An Iowa State University Extension and Outreach team of Iowa Grain Quality Initiative and Food Science specialists has prepared a Web-based tutorial to assist facilities in the re-registration process. The tutorial is available at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p6xjpfazy65/ and www.iowagrain.org.
“While many of the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations are expected to be announced in the near future, certain actions are already required by the law. One of those is the registration and re-registration of food handling facilities,” said Charles Hurburgh, Iowa Grain Quality Initiative professor-in-charge. “This tutorial is a guide through the registration process.”
Through FSMA, the FDA has been given wide latitude in creating preventative action plans, the recall of potentially hazardous products and other actions intended to support safe foods, Hurburgh said. FSMA will apply to all grain handlers, processors, haulers and feed mills. The extent of the application to each type of facility will not be known until the rules are released.
“One thing we do know is everyone in the bulk grain industry must have a verified food-safety preventive-action plan,” said Angela Shaw, extension food-safety specialist. “Verified means facilities must demonstrate the ability to prove the effectiveness of prevention and control of food-safety concerns on an ongoing basis.”
The team, led by Shaw and Hurburgh, has created a checklist to assist facilities in assessing present food safety preparedness. The food safety plan checklist is a guide for future development. It is not an audit outline, nor is it the structure of the coming regulations. It can help facilities identify risks and potential food safety gaps in their operations, Shaw said. The checklist can be downloaded from the Iowa Grain Quality website, www.iowagrain.org, under the FDA-FSMA, Grain Handling and Processing tab.
Feral Hogs Running Wild Throughout OK
While they are not native to the United States, feral hogs have made Oklahoma their home, and farmers and ranchers have the damage on their property to prove it.
Much like white-tailed deer, hogs are quite secretive, making population estimates difficult. However, the Noble Foundation initiated a survey in 2007, which was conducted by Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cooperative Extension, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
The survey estimated the population at approximately 500,000 or less, with a presence in all 77 Oklahoma counties.
There are several indicators that prove the existence of hogs on your property, said Dwayne Elmore, OSU Extension wildlife specialist.
“They have tracks that are similar to deer, but more rounded,” he said.
Rooting is the most evident footprint left by hogs, however. In softer soils, the rooted areas can be up to 3 feet deep, leaving large wallows. They root around a lot looking for food, usually in broad areas leaving massive soil disturbances, loss of plant material and erosion problems. The hogs then rub on trees, removing bark and leaving mud plastered to tree trunks a few feet off the ground.
Counties in the southeast portion of the state have bigger population numbers, but feral hogs have been leaving destruction in their paths throughout Oklahoma.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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