Since children inherit the Earth, it's never too early to make them eco-conscious. A youth ecology camp was held July 25th to July 29th as a result of the partnership between Blaine County 4-H and the Environmental Resource Center. Children ages 8 to 14 attended a weeklong overnight camp at the Central Idaho 4-H Camp north of Ketchum.. ERC and 4-H share some of the same goals and visions about youth development, including making the world a better place for future generations. Both groups also experience the same limitations of money and labor. A fun and educational camp experience was offered with these contributions from the partners:
4-H had a beautiful campground and trained camp counselors
ERC had individuals educated in environmental ecology
Americorp had two volunteer instructors
Blaine County, in partnership with Lemhi and Camas Counties, offers a four day 4-H summer camp for youth 8-12 years old. The need for another camp was evident with waiting lists and scheduling conflicts each year. ERC has provided day camps for youth in the past, but felt the need for a more complete camp experience. Ron Thaemert, Blaine County Extension Educator and Craig Barry, Executive Director of ERC, discovered they both had a vision of a five day camp and began making plans for the summer of 2005.
ERC had two Americorp volunteers who coordinated the classes and instructors. These classes included nighttime sky viewing, butterfly watching, found art, and many others. In order to learn about the geology of a hot spring, campers hiked to Russian John Hot Springs and soaked the afternoon away. Smokey Bear paid a visit to camp and demonstrated the dynamics of fire and when the afternoon heat was too much the entire camp hiked to a nearby creek for a quick swim.
Blaine County 4-H coordinated mailings, trained counselors, secured accommodations and handled the enrollment process. Thirty youth from Blaine County and Magic Valley were able to attend this excellent educational camp experience because of the partnership between ERC and 4-H. Plans are underway for the 2006 eco-camp, contact your local Extension Office for more information. To learn more about the Environmental Resource Center and view pictures of the camp, logon to ercsv.org and click on Eco-camp pictures.
Every day millions of Americans start their day by taking a daily multivitamin. I get this question many times in the classes that I teach. Should I take a multivitamin? Doctors differ on whether or not individuals should take a daily multivitamin. According to Jim King, MD, "there’s really no proof out there that if you’re a healthy person eating a reasonably healthy diet that a multivitamin is going to do anything. Most people get the amount of vitamins they need and don’t realize they do get it."
On the other hand, other doctors feel that the modern fast-food diet consumed by many Americans prevents them from obtaining their recommended intake of vitamins and minerals and that they need to consume a multivitamin.
Some studies have shown benefits of taking multivitamins in individuals with HIV or type 2 diabetes. Individuals with type 2 diabetes taking a vitamin pill had a significantly lower rate of infection. Other studies have shown that taking a multivitamin does not prevent development of cancer or heart disease or infection in the elderly.
The Bottom Line: A daily multivitamin isn’t going to hurt, but individuals should be aware that a pill is not a substitute for a healthy diet.
Nutty Addition to a Healthy Diet
Enjoying a handful of nuts is a pleasure for most people. But the thought of fat in nuts may keep some from savoring that pleasure. Nuts are high in fat, but the fat in most nuts is healthy, monounsaturated fat, which can help lower blood cholesterol. Good sources of monounsaturated fats include peanuts, pecans, walnuts and almonds.
In addition, research studies have shown that many different nuts are helpful in reducing the risk of cancer and elevated blood pressure. Nuts also provide protein, carbohydrates and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals.
But wait, there’s more. New research shows that eating plans that include nuts are more satisfying, leading people to eat less and control their weight. The key is watching your serving sizes. A serving is about 1/3 cup. So enjoy nuts in your eating plan.
Source: www.eatright.org http://www.eatright.org
The holidays are always an enjoyable time of year and one that most families look forward to. However, during these festive times we tend to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to take proper precautions with our food. This holiday season if we follow some basic rules of food safety we can ensure everyone has a good time.
Basic Food Safety tips:
Clean: Wash hands and food contact surfaces often. Keep all cooking surfaces and utensils clean using hot water and soap. Sponges carry on average 7.2 billion bacteria so consider using paper towels or clean cloth towels when cleaning up.
Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate-don’t let bacteria spread from one food product to another. For example: don’t use the same cutting board for preparing vegetables that you have just used to cut raw meat on. Either use a different cutting board or thoroughly wash the same one with hot water and soap.
Cook: Cook all foods to proper temperatures. Remember to always use a food thermometer when preparing meats especially that holiday turkey. Your turkey is done when its internal temperature reaches 180 F.
Chill: Refrigerate promptly. All foods need to be refrigerated to keep harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. A good rule of thumb is to not let foods linger in the Danger Zone (40 F-135 F) for no longer than 2 hours when entertaining.
Other helpful tips:
Wash hands with warm water and soap for a full 20 seconds before and after handling food, especially raw products.
Use plastic or other non-porous cutting boards. Cutting boards should be run through a dish washer or thoroughly washed with soap and hot water after each use.
Keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold
For further information or questions contact Grace Wittman, University of Idaho Extension Educator in Cassia County at 208-878-9461 or gwittman@uidaho.edu.
With the recent guidance by banking regulators and pressure from federal regulators, expect to see credit card issuers raise required minimum payments by early 2006.
Given a nationwide record of $796 billion in credit card debt, regulators want to help consumers by providing more realistic terms and conditions for paying off credit card balances. Regulators know it is nearly impossible for a consumer to pay off their balance when paying the current 2% minimum payment because the payment covers interest and fees, which leaves little or nothing to apply towards the principal owed.
For example:
A consumer who pays the 2% minimum payment on a $10,000 balance, with a 15% interest rate, would pay $16,122.93 in interest and it would take 40 years to pay the debt.
If the minimum is raised to 4%, the consumer would pay $4,483.42 and pay the debt in only 13 ½ years.
If you are struggling to make the minimum payment on your credit card, it is time to take steps now to prepare for the higher minimum payments, which are just months away. Some suggested steps include:
Contact your credit card issuer(s) to find out if they are going to be raising their minimum payment and when it will go into effect.
Negotiate with credit card companies for a lower interest rate.
Re-evaluate your budget or create one to make sure you are not overspending in any areas. (University of Idaho Extension, Jerome County has classes and resources available to help with budgeting.)
Stop using your credit card(s).
A minimum payment on a credit card is just a minimum; it is always a good idea to pay more than the minimum when possible.
For further information or questions you can contact Lyle Hansen, University of Idaho Extension Educator in Jerome County at 324-7578 or lhansen@uidaho.edu
Is your wife tried of bawling calves every fall when you wean? Are you tried of doctoring sick calves or worrying about getting the weight loss from the stress of weaning back before you ship? Maybe it is time you considered a better way to wean your calves. In one of many studies, California researchers weaned calves with only a fence (Fenceline) separating them from their dams. These were compared to calves weaned totally separate (Separate) from dams.
Fenceline calves and cows spent approximately 60% and 40% of their time, respectively within 10 feet of the fence during the first two days. During the first three days, Fenceline calves bawled and walked less, and ate and rested more than the Separate calves. After the fourth day these differences disappeared as the Separate group became adjusted to their new situation.
All the calves were managed together starting 7 days after weaning. After two weeks, the Fenceline calves had gained 23 pounds more than Separate calves. This difference persisted. After 10 weeks, Fenceline calves had gained 110 pounds (1.57 lb/day), compared to 84 pounds (1.20 lb/day) for Separate calves. This difference amounts to dollars in your pocket whether you are in a preconditioning program or are backgrounding your own cattle. I don’t know many producers that couldn’t use an additional $23-$26 dollars or more on a very conservative $1 market.
This particular study did not look at differences in sickness. However, it stands to reason that calves that eat more during the first days after weaning should stay healthier. Other studies have looked at differences in sickness and have found that Fenceline calves are healthier than calves that are weaned in a more traditional manor. Yet another plus and more dollars in your pocket if you are not doctoring sick calves.
If you haven’t already weaned maybe it is time you tried fenceline weaning your calves. If you have already put up with the bawling, sickness and weight loss you can file this idea away for next year. What ever the case, fenceline weaning is the way to go.
The following is in response to a question concerning how withdrawal times are determined and how residues might be detected. It answers the concerns surrounding drug residues in meat and points out the importance of sound record keeping and adherence to withdrawal times associated with Idaho’s Beef Quality Assurance program.
As a company seeks approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a new antibiotic, they have to show data from studies with tissue residues over time, especially kidney, liver, and meat. They also have to show FDA a test or tests that will detect the antibiotic or metabolites of the drug so FDA knows a test or tests are available for its detection.
In addition the company has to show the half life of the drug and its pattern. For most drugs the withdrawal/withholding time will be about 10 times the half life of the drug. This would usually achieve 99% plus removal of the drug from the body. The withdrawal time also depends on the curve or pattern of the drug’s disappearance and its presence in specific tissues and additional time may be added. Or, if the pattern is not consistent the drug won't be approved. All of this is why it costs so much to get a new antibiotic approved.
Animal variation can also add the length of withdrawal time. If one cow has poor kidney function compared to another, she may clear the drug much slower than a healthy animal. What it all boils down to is there is a built in margin of safety built into each drug to cover the variables.
Now let’s turn our attention to detection. How long a drug can be detected depends on how sensitive the test is that is used. Some equipment and tests can detect in parts per billion (imagine finding a few positive kernels of corn in a train car). For a test this sensitive there would be a cut off point. If the test is above a certain level the carcass would be condemned and if below the predetermined level the carcass would be passed.
There are some older tests that still work and they may be used as well. One test is for use on live animals, with the idea was that a producer could have this test run and then wait longer, if needed, before sending the animal to slaughter. For this test: 1) Urine is collected from the live animal; 2) A small piece of filter paper is placed on a disk that is soaked in the urine and 3) then it is placed onto a plate of agar that is smeared with live bacteria. The bacteria used on the agar plate is very sensitive to antibiotics so if any is present in the urine/disk, the bacteria will not grow around the disk - so you know that antibiotic is present in the animal.
There are other tests that have been developed for use in the slaughter plants with very fast turn-around times. One of the tissues most commonly used for testing is the kidney as it processes the disposal of most of the many drugs and antibiotics. That is why the use of Gentamicin® is so strongly discouraged, not only because it is illegal in food animals but also because it will retain residues in the kidneys for 18 MONTHS.
Not every animal is tested but good inspectors get so they can anticipate animals that may have been recently treated. The needles and the product leave their mark under the skin or in the muscle for quite some time, so if a carcass looks suspicious it is side railed and tests are run on the kidney or other tissue. Then those producers that get "caught with positive animals are "punished" economically by the packer, thus encouraging them and others to better observe the withdrawal times.
The short answer to all of this is that as producers we have to recognize that we are producing a meat product for someone's table - not just producing cows or critters. We have to assure that the product meets the standards established, not just what we might get away with. Also, those cull cows don't all go to hamburger. Many of their cuts end up at the cheaper "steak houses" or at the sandwich shops as sliced roasts, steak "specials, etc. Every animal is destined for some one’s table and as producers it is our duty to assure a safe wholesome product.
BACK TO PAGE 1 BACK TO TOP
2006 University of Idaho. All rights reserved.
Copyright | Webmaster | Disclaimer
Computer Use Policy
