Happy National Teach Ag Day!
From Ag Wired:
Happy National Teach Ag Day
It’s National Teach Ag Day. What is it you might ask?
National Teach Ag Day is a day to celebrate school-based agricultural education and to encourage agricultural education advocates, especially current agricultural educators (middle school, high school, post-secondary, pre-service programs, etc.) to share with others the great career opportunities in agricultural education.
WHO IS IT FOR?
National Teach Ag Day is for anyone who wants to celebrate school-based agricultural education, share the story of agricultural education’s importance and effectiveness in the United States, and encourage students to consider careers as agricultural educators. Anyone who wants to participate can find a variety of resources to help them talk about agricultural education at www.naae.org/teachag.
National Teach Ag Day is a component of the National Teach Ag Campaign, an initiative to bring attention to the career of agricultural education, get students thinking about a possible career in agricultural education, and to support current agricultural educators in their careers.
The Teach Ag Campaign is an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education, led by the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). It is sponsored by Landmark Nurseries as a special project of the National FFA Foundation and by Delmar Cengage Learning.
You can find the A Day In The Life Of An Ag Teacher Blog here.
A note from our Ag Communications Award Winner :)
Thanks to Jami Willard for sharing her experience at last year’s Agriculture’s Promise event:
I will admit that last year’s Agriculture’s Promise program was a little intense for me. One reason was because there were so many interesting people to meet, and so much fascinating information to take in. It was also my second time visiting our nation’s capital, and the first time I went there with a real goal besides seeing Mr. Lincoln and the National Monument. I knew there were issues in our agriculture system and policy, but never before in my life had a congressional aid ask me what I thought about them. It was a little overwhelming in a great way. I found out first hand that that I have a voice, and realized how big of a difference I could make. The experience last year changed my life. Changing the world has always been a goal of mine, and now I know of a way that I can help make this world a better place.
Since Agriculture’s Promise 2010 I have been on a quest for knowledge. Talking to producers and going to meetings are a favorite of mine, but this year I have had a goal in mind. In April when I arrive in DC I will have specific issues in mind to address that I know will directly affect the future of my industry. When sitting across from a congressional aid this year to talk about issues I know that back home my best friend will have a better chance of starting the successful farm of her dreams because I took the time to be an Agvocate.
- Jami Willard
Agriculture’s Promise will be held April 10th – 12th at the Gaylord National in Washington D.C. For more information on Agriculture’s Promise, visit http://agriculturespromise.com.
Our 40th Farm Photo Friday!
Thanks to Pat Roets & Jill Heemstra for today’s photos!
“This is the grandstand at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Merrill, Wisconsin. The snow is melting now, and this is probably the last photo that shows the ground completely covered with snow.” – Pat Roets
“Cattle and clouds: Our cows loafing on a sunny hill in late winter.” – Jill Heemstra
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
From Rural Route Review:
Happy Official St. Patrick’s Day, as people at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign like to say! Hopefully today’s festivities find you “festooned” in green, just like the Chicago River:
Now, don’t forget St. Patty’s Day = Feast Day.
So make sure to include agriculture a little agriculture while celebrating. That could be in the form of corned beef and cabbage, Irish spice bread, or a host of other Irish recipes.
But don’t forget the number one agricultural product associated with this holiday: beer. And the number one agricultural lesson that should be associated with this holiday: safety. With that, I will leave you to enjoy this somewhat gloomy on the outside, happy and lively on the inside-holiday!
Celebrating National Ag Day!
By Donna Marykwas, Science News Examiner:
Today 2011 National Ag Day is being celebrated in Washington, D.C. and throughout our great nation. The national event is hosted by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA), which was started in 1973.
Agriculture is so very important to our every day lives and to our national economy.
Fiber
Farmers put clothes on our backs. Cotton is of course a plant, a renewable source of fiber to make blue jeans, tee shirts, flannel sheets, and much more. Linen is woven from the fiber of flax plants. Hemp is another source of plant fiber used for clothing. Leather is of course not a plant fiber, real leather comes from the hides of cattle, another important agricultural crop, and is used to make the finest of shoes, accessories, car interiors, and furniture upholstery.
39th Farm Photo Friday!
It’s our 39th Farm Photo Friday! To submit your farm photos for future Farm Photo Fridays, email us at nyfea.agspromise@gmail.com. If you have a blog or website, make sure you give us your link so we can credit you!
Thanks to Pat Roets for this photo. He says, “Here are a couple of bald eagles that were standing in a field near my home earlier this week. Magnificent birds!”
Thanks to Christen Fernandes for these photos! Christen always sends us such gorgeous pictures!
Apparently March is National Nutrition Month!
I learned something entirely new today – that March is National Nutrition Month! Here’s the blog post that lead me to not only that new information, but also some great information on soy oil along with a delicious-sounding recipe:
March is National Nutrition Month. So I thought since my first post was in the beginning of Nutrition Month, I would blog about an easy way that we can all make our cooking a little healthier.
Soy oil is a great ingredient substitute! It’s easy to make the switch and soy oil has many positive
AP File PhotoSoy oil is a nutritious ingredient substitute.benefits.
It is high in poly- and monounsaturated fats (which are the good kind of fats). It is also low in saturated fat, and contains no trans-fat (the bad kind). Not to mention, it’s a great source of Omega-3′s and high in vitamin E.
There has also been a lot of work done at the cellular level to make the actual soybean plant healthier for us; this work has taken away the need to hydrogenate the oil, which is what causes the bad fats that we don’t want to be eating.
There are taste benefits too! Soybean oil is a neutral flavor oil, which means that you are going to taste the food, not the oil that you cooked it with.
So the next time you go to Kroger to buy oil, look for a soybean oil and start on the road to a Nutritious March!
Just because you’re cooking healthy does not mean you have to give up taste. Here is a great and tasty recipe for Italian-Seasoned Roast Chicken!
Italian-Seasoned Roast Chicken Breasts
Total: 53 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half)Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons soy oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)
- Cooking spray
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Loosen skin from chicken by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub rosemary mixture under loosened skin over flesh; rub over top of skin. Place chicken, bone side down, on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Coat skin lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast registers 155°. Remove chicken from pan; let stand for 10 minutes.
Nutrition Note: Since chicken breast meat is low in calories and saturated fat, you can eat the skin and still keep saturated fat within allowable limits. If you like dark meat, which is higher in saturated fat, remove and discard the skin.
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 240
- Fat: 12.2g (sat 2.8g,mono 6.3g,poly 2.1g)
- Protein: 29.5g
- Carbohydrate: 1.8g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Cholesterol: 82mg
- Iron: 1.2mg
- Sodium: 366mg
- Calcium: 24mg
Desktop Farming
If you’re an agribusiness professional that works from an office rather than from the field, Mashable has some really nifty gadgets to help create an outdoor atmosphere inside your cubicle.
A bit of foliage can make all the difference to a workplace, bringing a little bit of nature indoors in all its green and air-purifying glory.
If you’re stuck in a cubicle, or behind a desk, then we’ve got 10 excellent gadgets, gizmos and other solutions that will see you enjoying the pleasures of desktop gardening in no time at all.
If you like the idea of introducing a bit of the natural world to your workstation, have a look at the gallery below and let us know which options get your green fingers twitching.
A note from our President :)
Thanks to C.J. Fleenor, our 2011 NYFEA President, for this blog post about Ag’s Promise!
2010 marked the first year that I had ever attended Agriculture’s Promise. One word can summarize the entire experience…WOW! The event is jam-packed with activities, all in two tiny days. However, the event means more to the attendees than just personal development. The event is one that fulfills a mission…to help individuals reach their full potential and so much more.
Agriculture’s Promise serves to carry out the dreams and hopes of the next generation of agriculture, in addition to making a difference for generations to come. The event revolves around two primary events: To collaborate and hone in on key issues affecting our generation in agriculture through focus groups, and to bring these messages to Capitol Hill and beyond, in order to express our views, challenges and opportunities. However, the personal development and leadership training is invaluable! Our generation is faced with unlimited potential, and Agriculture’s Promise serves as an opportunity to express our potential as a unified voice, while growing and building our personal self worth.
I encourage all of you to take a chance and seize the opportunity that is presented before us. Agriculture’s promise has served as a life-changing event for me, and I hope that it affects all of you in the same way! The opportunity to bring a unified message to key members of congress, in addition to our law-makers from our home states is invaluable. The event is one that can truly make a difference in our generation and the paths we take in agriculture. I look forward to seeing each of you April 10-12 in Washington, D.C.!
For more information on Agriculture’s Promise, check out http://agriculturespromise.com (where you can register online!) or see the registration form & brochure below!
