News Update
August 26, 2013
‘My American Farm’ Updates
and Releases New Games
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has released a new educational game entitled “Load the Lunchbox” that helps young learners connect the food in their lunchboxes to the farmers who produce it.
The engaging new game was designed specifically for the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten learner, but is fun for the whole family. Learners meet Farmer Luis who takes them on a trip to farms across the nation. At each stop, learners race to swipe the screen and harvest all of the nutritious food on the farm.
Once harvested, learners earn a related item to add to their lunchbox.
Accompanying the game is a new eComic “Teaching Winter Wheat” that allows players to join Benjamin P. Farmington as he visits a wheat farm throughout the year to learn about how wheat is planted, grown, harvested, stored and processed.
In addition to the release of Load the Lunchbox, the Foundation also announced the launch of a new version of the popular game “Ag Spin ‘N Solve.” In this enhanced version, users pick from a variety of agricultural categories before spinning the prize wheel and solving a word puzzle. New subject areas and terms have been added to the game to help learners increase their understanding of the science and technology involved in agriculture.
My American Farm is an educational game platform that was launched in 2011 to engage pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade learners in the discovery of relevant agricultural issues. Today the free site offers 17 agriculturally themed games and more than 100 free educator resources such as lesson plans, activity sheets and comics. Two additional games will be released later this year.
For more information, please view the full release here.
2013 Harvest Analysis Detects Mycotoxin Threat
It’s not too early to begin scouting the fields, preparing for the 2013 harvest and the potential mycotoxin challenges it may bring.
Producers are still dealing with the 2012 contaminated corn crop and the issues it brought to cow health and performance. Alltech’s 37+ Program surveyed 329 samples from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2012, and results showed only 1% of the samples analyzed were free of mycotoxins.
Analyses conducted since January have shown similar results but with interesting new findings: the numbers of mycotoxins present are still increasing.
“This increase in the total numbers of mycotoxins over time can be attributed to areas such as poor fermentation and inadequate packing or face management that can contribute to further mold growth and mycotoxin production,” said Max Hawkins, Alltech mycotoxin management team.
While 2013’s crop may have different results, Hawkins said mycotoxins are already showing up in different parts of the country due to late planting, more moisture and temperature swings.
“Producers need to implement a mycotoxin control program now to reduce the threat to their herds,” Hawkins said. “This is the time to be proactive.”
Hawkins said the new crop is variable across the country due to weather and planting, and the early samples of wheat and barley are showing deoxynivalenol (DON). Hay and haylage analyses have also shown mycotoxins present and, without a preventative plan, cows may experience a drop in milk production, as well as health issues.
Due to the “trash” or crop residue on top of the ground during a cold, wet spring, an ideal climate was created for many fusarium molds to get a foothold.
For more information, please view the <em>full release here.
Ohio Cattlemen’s Association Announces
Best of the Buckeye Program
Ohio seedstock breeders will have an enhanced marketing opportunity through the Best of the Buckeye program beginning in the 2014 show season, announced the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) at the 2013 Ohio State Fair.
The Best of the Buckeye program, hosted by OCA in conjunction with the Ohio Beef Expo and the Ohio State Fair, will recognize top-placing Ohio-born-and-raised calves, along with the breeder and exhibitor, in each breed division at the two shows. Thanks to generous sponsors, $45,000 will be given through premiums, scholarships and awards. This year’s sponsors are Green Oak Farms, heifer division; Steve R. Rauch, steer division; and Franklin Equipment, scholarship.
The program was formed to provide Ohio seedstock breeders an additional marketing opportunity, create a source for moderately priced show steers and heifers by providing a program with awards and prestige, and to attract new participants interested in showing at the Ohio Beef Expo and/or the Ohio State Fair.
Eligible nominations for Best of the Buckeye are registered cattle that were calved in Ohio. Embryo transfer (ET) calves are eligible if they were calved in Ohio, and breeders and exhibitors must be OCA members and in good standing with OCA. Exhibitors must be eligible for the Ohio Beef Expo and Ohio State Fair junior shows and be an Ohio resident.
As the Best of the Buckeye committee finalizes details in the upcoming months, they encourage Ohio breeders as they sell cattle this fall to make note that calves sold to Ohio youth may be eligible and nominated for the program. Nominations can also be made post-sale, and families can nominate calves they’ve raised and plan to show.
For more information, please view the full release here.
30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Focuses
on the Next Generation of Rural Westerners
The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is turning 30 in 2014, and the nation’s greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions will turn its focus to the future of the region.
Between Jan. 27 and Feb. 1, in Elko, Nevada, the Gathering will present poetry, music, fine western gear, films, workshops, dances and discussions with a clear focus on encouraging the next generation and working together to ensure the sustainability of the occupational and artistic traditions of the rural West.
The theme of the 30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is Expressing the Rural West — Into the Future! Through performances of poetry and music, thought-provoking films and fruitful discourse, artists and audiences of all ages will share their art and their opinions on meeting the challenges of rural life in the modern West. In particular, the next generation of cowboy artists will present their work and discuss their brand of ranch life — with one hand on the reins and the other on the cell phone.
More than 50 poets, musicians and musical groups from the United States and Canada will perform on seven stages at four different venues. The 30th Gathering line-up includes cowboy poets Baxter Black, Paul Zarzyski, Waddie Mitchell, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Joel Nelson, Doris Daley, Pat Richardson, Randy Rieman and many others. Music is as integral to the Gathering as poetry; the musical line-up includes Ian Tyson, Michael Martin Murphey, Riders In The Sky, Don Edwards, Dave Stamey, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Caleb Klauder Country Band, Martha Scanlan and more.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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