Extension News February 2024

Good Nutrition Choices!

Winter is here! Just because we might be inside more during this time of year doesn’t mean that we should give up on nutrition and physical activity. This is just the time of year to really make good nutrition choices. Soup usually sounds good in the winter. Certain soups are full of good nutrition. For example, vegetable soup warms our stomach and gives us lots of vitamins. Sometimes leftovers can be combined to make a good soup. Look for new recipes to try!

Help Your Body Stay Healthy

Avoiding getting sick this season seems to be getting harder and harder. However, below are some simple tips we can all try in order to reduce the chances of getting sick:

1. Air out the house. When we crack a couple of windows in our home for a few minutes a day, we let fresh air in and germs out.
2. Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated helps our immune system work properly.
3. Go for a brisk walk. Exercise pumps up our endorphins, reduces stress, and helps us feel better.
4. Eat all your colors. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily will boost our immune system.
5. Practice and encourage proper handwashing. Make sure everyone at home is washing their hands often, with soap, and for at least 20 seconds.
6. Get enough sleep. Studies show that not getting enough sleep has a negative effect on our immune system.

May we all follow these tips and be able to avoid visiting the doctor’s office less often this winter.

Have a Winning Game Plan this Super Bowl

The Super Bowl provides a great opportunity for a party. According to the USDA, Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest food consumption day of the year, behind Thanksgiving. Use some pre-game strategy to develop a plan to ensure your celebration will be a success. Have a smart pre-game meal and save some calories to refuel at halftime. Include some lower-calorie drink and snack options. Check out the food labels. Have a plan. Decide what you will eat before you begin. Just because the food is there doesn’t mean you need to sample everything. Eat small portions. Stand away from the food table. Put the food on a small plate so it looks like you are getting more. Don’t graze from the bowl or container, which makes it more difficult to be aware of how much you are eating.

Food safety is also an important player in your game. Follow the “two-hour rule.” Leaving perishable food at room temperature for more than two hours is a big mistake. When food sits out for more than two hours, bacteria can easily multiply and cause foodborne illness. Set out small amounts of perishable foods and replace those with clean plates of food within two hours. Keep hot foods hot (140°F or hotter) with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Cold foods should be held at 40°F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or using party trays filled with ice.

With some advanced planning, your event will rank #1 with family and friends. Enjoy a happy, healthy celebration.

Source: University of Nebraska Lincoln Cooperative Extension

Pizza and Agriculture

Did you know that on any given day, one in eight Americans will eat pizza? Pizza is a favorite food for many, and it (like all other foods!) wouldn’t be possible without agriculture. In fact, it is made up of many agricultural products. The crust is made from wheat. Wheat is actually within the grass family, and it creates a one-seeded fruit called a kernel. This kernel is what is used to make bread, pasta, and many other products. The sauce is made from tomatoes, which are another crop grown here locally! The cheese is made from milk. Cows that are milking typically eat around 100 pounds of feed per day and produce, on average, 70 pounds of milk. It takes 10 pounds of milk to make just one pound of cheese and mozzarella cheese, commonly used in pizza, is actually the most popular cheese in the United States!

Of course, cheese pizza alone is pretty great, but there are several kinds of toppings to choose from too! If you like meat-lovers pizza, the sausage, ham, and bacon come from pork. The pepperoni can be either pork or beef, and there is also ground beef as a topping too! North Carolina is the second- largest pork-producing state coming in with 2.9 billion dollars in sales as of the last ag census, and Surry County is 5th for the total number of cattle on farms in the state! Vegetables and even fruit have their place on pizza too! Many of these fruit and vegetable products can also be found locally in our county and state!

The next time you order or create your own pizza, remember all the different agricultural industries and, most importantly, the farmers that contribute to your meal!

Sources: https://wheatworld.org/facts-about-wheat/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=77138 https://thedairyalliance.com/blog/7-surprising-dairy-cow-facts https://homegrown.extension.ncsu.edu/2021/04/north-carolina-dairy-industry-is-grade-a/#:~:text=Most%20of%20the%20dairy%20farms,gallons%20of%20milk%20per%20day https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2014/Hog_and_Pig_Farming/index.php#top_states

Snow Day Fun

Are you looking for an easy snow day activity to entertain the kids? Grab some snow and turn it into an erupting snow volcano! This awesome winter science experiment is perfect for kids of all ages, and if you do it outside, there is less mess to clean up! If your kids are having a snow day and you’re in need of a quick activity idea to keep them entertained, consider giving this one a try!

Materials:

• Fresh snow
• Small container or bowl
• Baking soda
• Red and yellow food coloring
• Dish soap (optional, but recommended)
• White vinegar

1. Create a Mound of Snow: Use your hands to create a mound of packed snow. This will become the base of your volcano.
2. Insert Container: Grab a small bowl or container and gently press it into the snow. Keep pressing down until the edges of the container are level with the top of the snow mound. If needed, reshape the snow with your hands until it looks like a mountain again.
3. Add Baking Soda: Pour a bit of baking soda into the container. You don’t need much—a couple teaspoons will do. There’s no point in adding more than that, because the baking soda at the bottom will simply become trapped underneath when the vinegar is added. And because it won’t come into contact with the vinegar, it won’t start fizzing. If you want to create a stronger chemical reaction, add more vinegar instead of adding baking soda.
4. Add Food Coloring: Add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to the baking soda. The color won’t look as bright when the volcano eruption is happening, so make sure you add extra coloring if you want the explosion to look nice and vibrant.
5. Add Dish Soap (Optional): If you’ve decided to use dish soap, now is a good time to add it. Once again, you don’t need much - a few drops or a small squirt should suffice. This helps the chemical reaction last longer!
6. Add Vinegar: When all the previous steps have been completed, quickly pour some vinegar into the container (we used about ½ cup) and watch the reaction take place! The food coloring will turn the vinegar a reddish-orange color as it bubbles and spills over onto the snow like lava.

Since this experiment uses inexpensive, common household materials, the kids can do it more than once! They may even want to try different colors of food coloring for a different effect!

Extension to Continue Auxin Herbicide Training

North Carolina Cooperative Extension will continue the Auxin Herbicides Best Management Practices training again in 2024. This training is required for any private pesticide applicator to complete before purchasing herbicides with auxin chemistry, especially when it relates to dicamba products. Any applicators who use Enlist products are not required to receive the training but are encouraged.

Just like in previous years, there will be live Zoom training opportunities that will be provided by North Carolina State University Weed Specialists Dr. Charlie Cahoon and Dr. Wesley Everman. There are still four remaining opportunities to participate in the live Zoom training that will last until the end of March. If you are a private pesticide applicator who needs to complete their auxin training and are interested in participating in the live Zoom trainings, call 336-401-8025 to receive more information.

Here is the list of the live Zoom training dates, and each training starts precisely at 8:30 am:

• Wednesday February 14th
• Tuesday February 27th
• Tuesday March 12th
• Tuesday March 26th

Soybean Production Meeting

On February 22nd, from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Yadkin County Agricultural and Educational Building, there will be a soybean production meeting for local area farmers. At this soybean production meeting, farmers will learn about soybean production best management practices, and other general information to implement ahead of the upcoming growing season.

The speakers featured within this meeting are Dr. Rachel Vann, the Soybean Extension Specialist from North Carolina State University, Dr. Leann Lux, the Soybean and Peanut Pathology Extension Specialist from North Carolina State University, and also Ryan Coe, Area Field Crop Extension Agent from North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Farmers who attend this meeting will be able to fulfill their Auxin Herbicides Best Management Training, which is required to receive before purchasing any herbicides that contain synthetic auxin chemistry. North Carolina Department of Agriculture pesticide licensing credits of N, O, D, and X will also be available to attendees. If interested in attending, please call 336-401-8025 to register.

Strawberry Tip

Before the flower buds have fully opened (tight bud stage) the buds can survive at temperatures as low as 20°F. Once the blossoms are open, they are damaged at 30°F.

Specialty Crop Grower Roundtable Scheduled

The 10th Annual Foothills Specialty Crop Growers Roundtable will be hosted at the Surry County Government Center (915 E Atkins Street, Dobson, NC 27017) on Tuesday, February 6th, from 12:00pm-5:00pm. This will be an in-person informational meeting to discuss various topics related to specialty crops to help farmers be more successful in their farming operations. There will be an opening general session and three sessions with various topics to choose from. There are pesticide credits available for some of the programming.

The agenda is as follows:

12:00 p.m.-12:15 p.m.: Registration

12:15 p.m.-12:20 p.m.: Welcome

12:20 p.m.-1:20 p.m.: General Session- How does the NCDA&CS Plant Division Monitor, Evaluate, and Determine Treatment/Eradication Methods for New Pest Introductions to the State?, NCDA&CS Plant Division

1:20-2:20 p.m.: Session 1 (Select One to Attend)

• So, You Wanna Grow Blackberries?*: Dr. Gina Fernandez, Small Fruits Breeding and Production Extension Specialist, North Carolina State University
• How Does Precision Agriculture Fit into Vegetable Production?: Dr. Emmanuel Torres, Virginia Tech Assistant Professor of Horticulture
• Benefits of Cover Cropping: Austin Menker, Conservation Agriculture Extension Associate, NC State University

2 :20-2:35 p.m.: Break-Sponsored by AgSouth Farm Credit

2 :35-3:35: Session 2 (Select One to Attend)

• Greenhouse Pest Management*: Stacey Jones, Area Specialized Agent-Commercial Nursery and Greenhouse
• Creating a Pollinator Friendly Farm: Amanda Wilkins, Lee County Cooperative Extension Horticulture Agent
• Marketing Trends in Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops: Dr. Jeff Dorfmann, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics

3 :35-3:50 p.m.: Break-Sponsored by AgSouth Farm Credit

3 :50-4:50 p.m.: Session 3 (Select One to Attend)

• Farm Succession Planning: Stephen Bishop, NC FarmLink Western Director
• Resources for New & Beginning Farmers: Joanna Radford, Surry County Cooperative Extension County Extension Director/Horticulture Agent
• Managing Deer on the Farm*: Jerry Moody, Avery County Cooperative Extension County Extension Director/Horticulture Agent

4:50-5:00 p.m.: Closing/Evaluations

*Denotes 1 hour of North Carolina Pesticide Credits Pending in Categories N, O, D, and X