Turkey Day Talk

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!

You make your grocery list, count how many people are coming (multiple times), plan the seating arrangement so that crazy uncle Ted doesn't sit by grandma, and recruit all the members of the family to help clean the house all for the big day. Thanksgiving day is the perfect time for stuffing your face and spending time with the people you love. It is also the perfect time to refresh your knowledge of food safety!

 Food Safety is a bid deal. One in Six Americans will get food poisoning this year. foodsafety.gov is a great website for information on recalls and food safety steps and tips. Read more in the link below on how to safely cook your turkey this holiday season! Another resource available for food safety questions from the USDA is the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov.

USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish. - See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/18/countdown-to-thanksgiving/#sthash.I8LgZEdd.dpuf

USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish. - See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/18/countdown-to-thanksgiving/#sthash.I8LgZEdd.dpuf

the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish.
If you need help on Thanksgiving Day, the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  You can also ask questions of “Karen,” FSIS’ virtual representative, 24/7 at AskKaren.gov.  Visit PregunteleaKaren.gov for questions in Spanish.
- See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/18/countdown-to-thanksgiving/#sthash.I8LgZEdd.dpuf

the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish.
If you need help on Thanksgiving Day, the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  You can also ask questions of “Karen,” FSIS’ virtual representative, 24/7 at AskKaren.gov.  Visit PregunteleaKaren.gov for questions in Spanish.
- See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/18/countdown-to-thanksgiving/#sthash.I8LgZEdd.dpuf

the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist at AskKaren.gov available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish.
If you need help on Thanksgiving Day, the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  You can also ask questions of “Karen,” FSIS’ virtual representative, 24/7 at AskKaren.gov.  Visit PregunteleaKaren.gov for questions in Spanish.
- See more at: http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/11/18/countdown-to-thanksgiving/#sthash.I8LgZEdd.dpuf

Keep you and your guests safe this Thanksgiving day and make sure to follow these guidelines as you prepare for your Thanksgiving meal! http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/events/thanksgiving/

http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/events/thanksgiving/

At the End of the Day, It's All About the People

This past weekend I took a vacation from school. Not to some exotic location with warm sandy beaches but to a place I can call home in Southwest Iowa, 4K Farms. Being an Oregon native, going to school in Kansas can be difficult at times since I don’t get to go home as often as I’d like.  However, the generosity and hospitality of the Swanson family has become one of the things that keeps me in the Midwest. That and the pigs. This Saturday was filled with pigs, puppies, and time spent with lots of good people. 


Max feeding a boar a Gatorade

When I hopped in the farm truck on Saturday morning, I knew it would be a long day of work. As Drake, the neighbor farm help, and I started in the farrowing house (where the sows and piglets are), we fed the sows and checked on the babies while carrying on a conversation on how his high school football season went. We continued from barn to barn, to the Double L nursery where we found a sick pig that would need treated. Part of being an excellent caretaker of livestock involves spotting out the animals that aren’t acting “normal” and nursing them back to good health.

I then got to climb from pen to pen with Kirk (my Iowa dad), his friend from Missouri, Jesse, and Jesse’s five-year old son, Max. We spent this time looking at the young pigs, sorting through gilts and sows, and discussing pedigrees with genetic lines that go back to the early nineties. While many people would think that sounds crazy, standing there listening to the conversations taking place, I got to see two individuals talk with passion in their eyes about the swine industry and ways to help it progress. Even little Max was in on it. He came walking over to us after looking at the pens and pens of boars to say “Kirk, you have some very impressive boars.” I just smiled and laughed, thinking that the ordinary 5-year old probably doesn’t talk about boars everyday. 

It takes many moving parts to get the best picture

The main task of the day was to take pictures of some of the elite breeding stock on the farm.  We would wash the pigs and then take them to a big grassy area to capture the perfect shot. It takes a lot of patience, creativity and perfect timing to get those photos, but the end result is highly satisfying. Several hours and over 400 photos later, it was time to call it a day for the pig photo shoot.

As the sun began to set on Saturday evening, Jerra (my Iowa mom) and I worked on feeding the pigs their second meal of the day while the boys snuck in one last picture of a boar before the sun was all the way gone.  After finishing up the evening chores, we gathered in the kitchen where Jerra had whipped up my favorite lasagna and cherry pie. Exhausted from a long day at the farm, and full from supper, we all talked late into the night about hogs, dogs and the livestock industry. One quote that resonated with me came from a conversation Kirk had had a few years back with another swine enthusiast. He said “When leaders begin to follow, the breed will fail to progress.” I think that line is one that could be taken and applied to many different aspects of life.



Kirk feeding sows at the bunk

Sunday I rode around in the farm truck with Kirk to work on morning chores before I headed back to Manhattan. The life conversations in between bedding down pens and vaccinating piglets are when some of the most valuable advice is given.

As I sit on here on Monday back at school and reflecting on the weekend, I can’t help but realize I have been blessed to have the weekend I did. It’s not very often that you find a warm sunny Iowa day in mid November, with views of harvested corn fields, all while being surrounded by people that share the same passion as you. A wise person once told me “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” I didn’t know what that meant at the time it was said to me, but after this weekend I finally do. The classroom is a valuable place to pick up facts, but it’s the unscripted days that I have spent in Iowa outside the walls of a classroom that I have learned the most.  At the end of the day, agriculture is a way of life, and it’s the people that make it worthwhile.

Until next time,
Kiah

 

 

           

How Much Food Do You Waste?

I said no jalapenos, but they arrive anyway. Classic food waste problem.

Food waste is a big issue for everyone: farmers, ranchers, consumers, food retailers, policy makers etc. Everyone has a stake in food waste and has something to lose.
Which is why it's an issue that all people should be fully aware of and should be working together to find a solution. I mean, Americans waste 40% of the food we buy at the grocery store. Imagine this: you go buy your fruits and veggies, Cheetos, lean meats and chocolate milk, go through the checkout and dole out your hard-earned cash. Then go home and through almost half of it in the trash, straight away. Boom gone. That's what Americans do, we waste food.

U.S. residents spent on average about $2,273, or about 6.4 percent of their annual consumer expenditures, on food in 2012, according to the USDA. In other countries, like Pakistan, residents spend almost half of their income. HALF. In India and China that number is upwards of 25%. I mean, why wouldn't we throw away our food, we have can always buy more?

While we tend to talk about food waste on a personal level, there is also a level of responsibility to retailers and restaurants. I can't remember how many times I have been at a restaurant and asked for them NOT to send out lettuce and tomatoes for my cheeseburger and a) the waitress will say "well, it comes on the side" and not write it down or b) the chef will forget and include it anyway. Guess what happens when that tomato and lettuce gets to my table? You guessed it - nothing. I don't eat it and it undoubtedly goes in the trash. That is food waste!

The bottom line is that we can all do a better job of not wasting food because honestly, I don't believe that we have a food production problem in the world. If we could cut back our food waste and improve our food distribution throughout the world, we could make giant steps in world hunger.

So, next time you go to a restaurant, if you don't want your veggies don't order them. Additionally, think twice about the jumbo size items - because do you honestly consume the whole jumbo bag of cereal before it goes stale?

Just some Food For Thought!

Buzzard

Sometimes All You Need is a Foot in the Door...Or the Barn

My name is Annie Clark, and I was raised in Overland Park, a suburban area outside of Kansas City. I want to share with others who grew up in non-rural areas like myself how I not only got involved in agriculture, but became an advocate for and plan to make a career for myself in an industry I am passionate about.

I am fortunate and proud to say that although I grew up as a “city kid”, I have roots to agriculture through my dad’s side of the family. My dad grew up on a Minnesota dairy, beef, and crop farm that is still operated today by my grandpa and two of my uncles. When I was growing up, visiting  “the farm” was always my favorite summer vacation. Feeding the baby calves in their calf hutches and walking the milking parlor with Grandpa are some of my favorite memories. I’ll never forget seeing a cow give birth, as I watched wide-eyed for hours, and the pride I felt when they named the calf, “Annie”. Although I wasn’t raised doing the daily chores like my cousins (who I envied, they thought I was crazy), I had an appreciation for the hard work and lifestyle that raised quality meat and milk for consumers.

However, it wasn’t until I got to K-State, enrolled in the animal science program, that I was really able to articulate that understanding and grow that passion. I knew I was drawn to study agriculture because of my interest in animals, particularly in livestock, but the more I learned, I realized my draw to agriculture was because I was invested in the effort to produce food for people by raising healthy and efficient animals. While I was never against large-scale farming or confined animal feeding, I lacked exposure to these practices compared to some of my College of Ag colleagues because of where I was raised. Fortunately, I had some experience from family vacations, which is more than many students from urban areas can say. The more information I gained from my coursework and extracurricular activities, the more I tried to share with friends and others around me who were not involved in agriculture. I became determined to make a career in this field, and I am now pursuing a Master’s in swine nutrition, with the same ultimate goal of producing healthy and efficient pigs to provide safe and abundant pork to consumers.

Agriculture is charged with the daunting task of feeding an ever-growing and changing global population, and we need the support of consumers to continue to produce food. Therefore, I challenge any readers that may be in backgrounds similar to myself to start asking questions. Find out where your food comes from. Visit local farms and learn about animal production. Educate yourself and make decisions based on science. What you find may not only surprise and impress you, but also leave you wanting to come back to the barn, farm, or pasture, just like me.