Farmers Fighting Hunger

Over the past few weeks, the month of March has been recognized as National Nutrition Month. The month represents a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign strives to focus attention on the importance of making informed food decisions and developing sound eating and exercise habits.

However, for many individuals, these choices may not only be a decision of eating healthy, but a concern of, “Am I going to eat at all?” According to the U.S. Census population, there are currently more than 2,818,747 people living in the state of Kansas. Of these families, an alarming 13.7% of them live in poverty.

The Kansas Beef Council (KBC) announced this month the beginning of its Farmers Fighting Hunger campaign in Kansas. KBC along with its farmers and ranchers, are joining the fight against hunger in our communities. By working along side the Kansas Foodbank and Harvesters, as well Feeding America member food banks, they are hosting a county challenge amongst its farmers and ranchers in raising donations for fighting hunger.

You see, farmers and ranchers are dedicated to providing safe and nutritious meals for our families. Check out this short video on the importance of our communities’ farmers and ranchers. You can watch the clip by clicking here. 

Interested in how you can help?

• Donate! From March 1 to May 1, 2011, you may submit your pledge card and monetary donation to the Kansas Beef Council or KLA representative within your county. Or, Donate directly to the National Feeding America Fund
  
• Remind your neighbors, friends and family that hunger exists in your own backyard by passing this information along to them.
• For more information, visit the KBC website.

Until next time,

Kiley Stinson

Spring Break 2011: SWKS or Bust

I just got back from a long-awaited, luxurious break in tropical.....

Southwest Kansas

The only thing actually tropical about SWKS right now is how terribly dry it is. I haven't seen it this dry in a long time and the farmers in the area could really use some moisture. This fall, KSRE documented only .65 inches of precipitation in my home county. It's a "farmer rumor" that we have not received more than .11 inches of precipitation since the first of the year.

And even though I didn't get to hit up a beach on my spring break, I had a blast out at the farm and helping my dad. I got to clean out our calving barn because during calving season it tends to get a little messy! The best part of my trip was getting to check in on these little babies:

One of our first calf heifers, #123, with her baby heifer ready to nurse.

We have a set of first calf heifers that calved in the beginning of March. First calf heifers are female cows that are having their first calf. They take extra attention and management to make sure they raise a healthy calf.

When compared to older cows, heifers have a lot more calving difficulty. When a calf experiences a difficult birth it requires special attention because they often take longer to nurse and may have compromised immune systems. That makes getting them colostrum even more important than normal. If you don't remember what colostrum is, check out this post.

Two of our heifers, #123 and #125, nursing their calves.

We have all of our cow-calf pairs out on the corn stalks directly behind the farmstead, which would be where the yellow star is. They can walk up into the pens where the red star is, and get water and some extra hay that my dad puts out a couple of times a week. We also have protein lick tubs available for them. Our calving barn, blue star, is close to the pens so we can walk the cows up to it if they are having any trouble. Inside the calving barn is a large chute and three pens. That way, we can keep a cow and calf inside and out of the weather if needed. Obviously this winter, we haven't had to do much of that because the snow has not been an issue. Sometimes dad will keep a pair in the barn if the wind is terrible when it gets cold.

It was a much needed break from school and studying to be back on the farm and involved in production agriculture again! I also got a chance to explain to my little nephews that the cows Papa works with everyday become the beef that we enjoy on the dinner table. That is why agriculturists take pride in the animals they raise, because it feeds hungry mouths. The food we produce at our farm feeds my nephews and yours, and that makes it imperative that we produce a safe, nutritious and affordable product.

My Best,

Tera

Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is a major problem in the world and even in our country. I sometimes fall to the naivety that the US doesn't have as big of a hunger issue since we produce so much of the world's food supply.

What does it mean to be food insecure? The USDA puts it simply in saying that it is the lack of access to enough food to provide for a healthy and active lifestyle. Food insecure households are not necessarily always in such a state. In one family it could mean that during a month they had to make the choice to pay for medical bills rather than spending that money at the grocery store.

Feeding America is a pretty neat organization that is working to reduce the amount of food insecure people right here in America. With the Map the Meal Gap tool on their website you can see exactly how many people are food insecure in your home county. I think the numbers will actually surprise you in some cases!

The population is growing and this problem won't be easy to overcome. I choose to support agriculturists because they are working hard to feed the world.

Go check it out and tweet about the #mealgap interactive tool from your account! Remember to follow us on twitter also - @fftgroup

Best,

Tera

Spring Upson Lecture: Senator Jerry Moran

We are pleased to announce that the Spring 2011 Upson Lecture will be given by United States Senator from Kansas, Jerry Moran.

Senator Moran is deeply rooted in Kansas Agriculture and hails from Hays, Kansas, where he raised his two daughters with his wife, Robba.

Senator Moran will be on campus at Kansas State University on April 28th at 7 pm to give his lecture. We are very excited to get the official press release out and I will post more information as soon as it is available.

Make plans to attend this lecture, it is sure to be the event of the semester!

My Best,

Tera Rooney

Agricultural Extension: Still relevant?

Recently, the Progressive Farmer ran a cover story to herald in the upcoming centennial anniversary of the University Extension system and to discuss its relevance to today's farmers. Over the past few decades, Extension has been in the crosshairs of legislators looking to find places to trim budgets. Critics argue that Extension has outlived its usefulness and that it fails to reach out to a populace that has changed over time.

In 1914, 31% of the population in the U.S. were employed in agriculture. Extension was created as an experiment that would attempt to bring a science-based approach to an industry that had been based on tradition and trial by error by providing a middle-man between land-grant universities and farmers. The system was put in place before the U.S. became the agricultural power that it is today, and Extension deserves enormous praise for effectively disseminating scientific discoveries into practice in rural America. With advancement, today's farms are larger and more efficient at producing our food, with less than 2% of the populace employed in agriculture. Although today's farms are still 98% family-owned and operated, their operators are more educated and business-savvy than their counterparts at the turn of the century, and thus some are not always as reliant on Extension as in the past.

1910-2010

While I understand that times have changed, that is not necessarily a justification for the end of a program that has changed rural America for the better. Extension was founded on three principles: research, education, and family living(which includes 4-H) and it still has a tremendous value in communities across the nation. From my limited experience abroad (South Africa and now Australia) you hear very little about the link they have in place between farms and universities. Furthermore, I've yet to see a country with a youth program like 4-H that not only helps train the up and coming generation of farmers, but exposes over 7 million kids a year to agriculture and its values.

I'd have to agree with Alison Robertson, a native of Zimbabwe now working in Iowa State Extension who states, "The Extension system has been the envy of people around the world. I hate what is happening to it."

No one can argue that for Extension to remain a viable, it must be able to reach out to an increasingly urban population. However, it also needs to take more credit for its role in disseminating information to the 2% of people who put food on the table for the rest of the country.

For those interested in the full article, check it out at http://www.mykglr.com/Extension--Still-Relevant-/9404253

Cheers,
Hyatt Frobose

Kill it, Cook it, Eat it

Sounds pretty gruesome doesn't it? Actually, I'm quite a fan of this show featured on BBC that started in 2007. This show takes a group of 6 participants through the process of how livestock are raised in the UK, slaughtering and processing the carcass and eventually eating the resulting product. Designed similar to a reality show format, this show is not simply a tutorial of how to butcher animals, but brings together participants from a wide array of backgrounds and everybody gets their hands dirty. Participants are shown everything from how to castrate baby pigs and deliver vaccines to properly stunning and exsanguinating the animal to maintain the integrity of the meat. After slaughter, trained butchers take participants through the process of how the carcass is utilized for a variety of meat products.

In the 2011 season, the cast includes both vegetarians and meat-eaters, including those who were raised on the farm and urban socialites. Throughout each episode, there is dialogue between the participants about how animals are housed, slaughtered and consumed and their personal opinions about each step in the process.

Designed to show viewers the real process from pasture to plate, Kill it, Cook it, Eat it does a masterful job of providing an unbiased view of livestock production and the slaughter and butchering process. Whether you are an avid meat-eater, cautious skeptic, or a life-long vegetarian, this show has appeal for everyone so be sure to check it out!

The Farm is Coming to Town

Monsanto has announced a new Mobile Experience! The story of America’s farmers is making its way to your backyard. The America’s Farmers Mobile Experience is a 53-foot tractor trailer that folds out into 1,000 square feet of exhibit space. Step into this Mobile Experience and get a first-hand look at not only the demands global agriculture faces, but also how farmers truly are the solution. And learn it all in a mere 24 minutes.




Click here to learn more about the Mobile Experience.

Best,
Chelsea