A Long Way to Stardom

Brazil believes it is poised to become one of the world’s leading beef exporters, though an Alabama Cooperative Extension System livestock economist says Brazil has a miles to go before it can rest on its laurels.

By 2005, Brazil hopes to begin exporting fresh grass-fed beef into the United States while making significant headway breaching Asian trade barriers, says Antenor Nogueira, president of the National Confederation of Agriculture’s Permanent National Forum on Beef Cattle, quoted recently in Brazzil Magazine.

Several factors weigh heavily in Brazil’s favor, Nogueira says, most notably climate. With “well-defined periods of rain and drought,” Brazilian cattle are less susceptible to “various types of diseases, infections and other types of epidemics,” he says.

Dr. Walt Prevatt, an Extension economist and professor of agricultural economics, has little reason to disagree. Brazil has the potential to become a major beef exporter, he believes, though serious challenges remain.

“Brazil still faces serious limitations,” Prevatt says. “Yes, they have a tremendous cow herd, but the challenge remains of gearing up to feed the right kind of cattle in feedlots and being able to turn out a consistent, higher quality beef product.”

Nogueira believes Brazil’s cattle industry is especially primed to capitalize on the growing world consumer interest in grass-fed beef.

“We have a natural meat that is practically organic,” he argues. “A meat produced on pastures without antibiotics, hormones and with greater nutritional safety. And this is what the world consumer desires.”

Prevatt believes he’s right: Brazil could enjoy a great future as a world exporter of grass-fed products, though producers face serious obstacles.

“Brazil has considerable potential, but this isn’t going to happen tomorrow,” he says. “It will have to evolve over time.”

Food safety issues remain a major sticking point, he says. Consumer preferences also will have to change.

Brazil isn’t the only South American producer trying to break into American markets.

“Argentina already ships a good bit of grass-fed beef to the New York market, and upscale restaurants already are advertising Argentina-grown beef,” Prevatt says.

Even so, grass-fed beef is a niche market --- one that still commands only a small segment of the population.

“Unless more consumers vote more aggressively with their food dollars for grassfed beef, Brazil will remain little more than an aspiring beef superpower,” Prevatt says.

[Source: Dr. Walt Prevatt, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Economist and Auburn University Professor of Agricultural Economics, (334) 844-5608.]

Expert Now Projects a Dramatically Improved Pecan Industry after Ivan

What was predicted to be a drastically changed Alabama pecan industry following the onslaught of hurricane Ivan actually may turn out to be a reinvigorated industry.

Several days before Ivan cut a broad swath of destruction throughout state’s Gulf Coast region, an Extension pecan expert predicted that one long-term effect of the storm would be a pecan industry located farther east away from its traditional concentration in the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast region. Many Gulf Coast growers, he believed, faced with yet another devastated crop, would call it quits and sell out to commercial developers --- a trend that would accelerate a shift in pecan orchard numbers to the Wiregrass region of southeastern Alabama. Initial inspection of Gulf Coast pecan acreage following the storm only confirmed his fears.

“The damage has been devastating – no doubt about it,” says Dr. Bill Goff, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System horticulturist and Auburn University professor of horticulture. “We’re talking an 80 percent loss of some orchards with the 20 percent so broken up that they’re unsalvageable.”

He changed his mind after spending several days following the storm talking with growers and others involved in cleanup efforts. Some growers, it now appears, aren’t budging, in spite of the damage.

After the initial shock, many growers --- much to his surprise – have decided to press on. Government disaster assistance, in many cases, is a major factor behind this decision --- something Goff attributes to effective lobbying by pecan and citrus growers in storm-ravaged sections of Florida, Alabama and even Georgia, where pecan growers sustained losses of between 40 and 50 percent in some cases. Growers hopes rallied after they learned the federal government might cover as much as 75 percent of replanting costs.

“What started out as ‘we don’t want to do this anymore’ has given way to a ‘can do’ attitude after the growers thought about it some more,” Goff says. “A lot of the people I thought would not replant after the storm fooled me. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if because of this government assistance, we actually ended up with more trees.”

Equally encouraging, he says, is a growing desire among many growers with storm-damaged orchards to replace downed trees with newer pecan varieties that don’t require as much spraying as older varieties --- varieties not only associated with lower production costs but increased land values “because they fit better near residential areas,” he says.

“What this means, basically, is that if growers ultimately decide to sell out, they’ll be dealing with land that is more valuable because of these newer varieties,” Goff says.

The newer varieties also will also reinvigorate smaller orchards, which comprise the bulk of Alabama’s pecan industry. Many of these already had fallen victim to diseases and pests and were in desperate need of renovation even before Ivan struck, according to Goff.

“If you own 1,000 acres of pecan trees, you probably can afford to pay for the $60,000 sprayer to spray large trees for diseases,” Goff says. “On the other hand, if you’re 50 years old and intend to plant a 10-acre orchard to supplement your retirement income, a large, expensive sprayer isn’t feasible, so your best bet will be planting with one of these newer varieties requiring much less spraying.”

What Goff describes as “forward-thinking” growers already were replacing downed trees with newer varieties even before the storm occurred. Growers have demonstrated time and again that orchards where this ongoing replacement has occurred typically will recover much sooner than the 12 to 15 years normally required after a major storm.

The effects of the storm, he believes, will only hasten this trend.

“It was a devastating storm and I would be the last person to minimize the suffering it has caused growers,” Goff says. “But it does present us with an opportunity to transform 100-year-old orchards into something better in terms of pest resistance and possibly even ensure a brighter future for our growers.”

[Source: Dr. Bill Goff, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Horticulturist and Auburn University Professor of Horticulture, (334) 844-5480.]

Higher Poultry and Fish Consumption at the Expense of Beef and Pork

To an increasing degree, U.S. consumers are replacing beef and pork with chicken and fish, according to a Purdue University study published recently.

Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture consumption data from 1970 to 1999, the study reveals that beef consumption decreased while pork consumption leveled off, according to one Purdue University agricultural economics graduate student who assisted with the study. Poultry, on the other hand, posted a huge increase in consumption, while there was a slight increase in fish consumption.

A combination of demographic, health and ease-of-preparation factors is credited for the increased consumption of poultry and fish.

The Worst Sort of Invasive Species

How is this as an example of environmental havoc caused by an invasive species: The U.S. government may spend $104 million over the next five years to rid its northern Pacific Islands of the brown tree snake, an accidental export from Down Under that virtually wreaked Guam’s tourism industry and is threatening Hawaii and surrounding islands.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently authorized the spending to eradicate the reptile, which poses “a growing threat to the biodiversity, economy and human health” of the region.

The mildly venomous snake apparently was introduced to Guam in the 1940’s or 1950’s as a stowaway aboard a military ship from the South Pacific. The species is native to Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.

Free from predators in the northern Pacific, the snakes have virtually wiped out forest birds in Guam. Lizards, small mammals and eggs also are targeted by the snakes.

Even humans aren’t immune to the reptiles. The nocturnal snakes invade homes, biting a number of sleeping residents each year. Fortunately for the victims, the bites aren’t fatal, though they require medical treatment.

Extension IPM Project Serving as National Model

The success three Mobile County public schools have had in reducing pests in classrooms and lunchrooms is living proof of the old adage that an “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Right: Auburn's Dean Road Elementary School serves as the model for what is now a statewide program aimed at minimizing pesticide use in public schools.

The success can be attributed to a simple but effective form of pest control known as integrated pest management --- a big term for a simple process that involves controlling factors in the school that may harbor pests such as roaches and termites. It all boils down to that basic principle of prevention to forestall complications further down the road. This could be as simple as removing mulch from areas around the school facilities --- favorite hangout for roaches and termites --- or replacing plants that are apt to attract unwelcome four-legged interlopers. Chemical pesticides are used only as a last resort when other methods fail to keep insects below damaging levels.

The effort in the Mobile County community of Pritchard was spearheaded by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in partnership with Auburn University and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

“We want to eliminate pests without using unnecessary pesticides,” says Dr. Xing Ping Hu, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System entomologist and Auburn University assistant professor of entomology and plant pathology. “That’s the goal, along with creating a safe learning environment for children.”

Pritchard, an underserved, low-income community, was singled out by Hu and others in the program as a top priority. The work was based on a model that had been developed in conjunction with the Auburn City Schools.

Before becoming involved with the model, several Pritchard schools had dealt with serious cockroach problems, but like so many underserved schools, lacked the resources to get these populations under control. Three schools --- an elementary, middle and high school --- were targeted.

School-based IPM approaches typically involve training custodians and lunchroom workers about steps they can take to rid schools spaces of items that may attract or harbor pests. However, the Pritchard effort involved much more.

“We got all of the people involved from the school superintendent on down to the students,” Hu says. “We knew we need to motivate people --- instill them with a passion for IPM.”

Hu and others organized training sessions not only for the schools administrators and faculty and staff but for students as well. They also contacted the local news media to alert them to what was taking place.

Parents and other townspeople were reached through Earth Days, public health fairs, and an Environmental Day sponsored by the Environmental Center in Mobile.

Other schools have since been added. The entire Mobile school system eventually signed on to the approach. Dr. Lawrence “Fudd” Graham, an Auburn University entomologist who was involved with the initial IPM project with the Auburn City Schools, is working with school system administrators throughout the state to implement the model. Schools systems in addition to the Mobile County and Auburn City School Systems that have adopted the IPM school model include the Alexander City Schools, the Elmore County Schools, and the Geneva County Schools.

Hu is especially pleased at how school principals and teachers have embraced the program. Many of them, she says, have commented on the sharp decrease in winged intruders in school classrooms and hallways. It’s also credited as a great learning tool for students who are learning not only about insect control but insect behavior.

Other states also have taken notice and begun developing programs of their own based on the Alabama model.

The effort also has even attracted the attention of the federal government. In 2003, the Alabama School and Community IPM Project received Awards for Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Foundation for IPM Education for development of a model IPM system.

For more information about the IPM school model, contact Dr. Xing Ping Hu at (334) 844-6392 or Dr. Lawrence “Fudd” Graham at (334) 844-2563.

[Source: Dr. Xing Ping Hu, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Entomologist and Auburn University Assistant Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology, (334) 844-6392.]

Finding a School Nutrition Approach That Works

Oregon schools are throwing away the deep fryer, opting instead for griddles for stir-frying or steaming --- all part of a massive effort under way nationwide to ensure American school children do not die prematurely of obesity-related diseases.

Indeed, a survey of 177 school food service directors at the School Nutrition Association’s 2004 national conference revealed that 39 percent are making “significant” efforts to offer schoolchildren with healthier food choices. Forty-two percent are undertaking “moderate efforts.”

Moreover, a 2001 U.S. Department of Agriculture study reveals that lunches in the 1998-99 school year had “significantly fewer calories from fat and saturated fat” than those offered in the 1991-92 school year.

Part of this challenge, says Keith Fiedler, a Beaverton School District (Oregon) school nutrition planner, is enticing kids to eat healthier foods. Apples offered on lunchroom counters are grocery-store grade (far better than the usual school fare, Fielder says). Broccoli and cauliflower have short stalks only; wilted lettuce is discarded.

Four other states also are experimenting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program --- an effort aimed at encouraging schoolchildren to eat more fruits and vegetables that is being funded and expanded with $90 million this year.

Sponsors of the program claim children consumed an astonishing 92 to 93 percent of the fruit and vegetables they were provided.

The program provides schools with an average $94 per child during the pilot program for fresh fruit, dried fruit and fresh vegetables, and, once a week with 100-percent fruit juice.

Most of the produce was provided as snacks during morning or afternoon sessions. The advantage to this model is that it essentially sets children up as captive taste testers, says Dr. Joanne Guthrie, co-author of a congressional report on the program. Some middle and high schools also have set up free kiosks so children can sample nutritious foods.

Growing Hotter by the Day

With each passing day, the debate over genetically-engineered foods seems to grow more intense.

Recently, the Western Farm Press’ Harry Cline offers a blistering analysis of a press release from “Californians for GE-Free Agriculture” promoting a series of seminars where the issue of genetically engineered crops will be discussed.

Copiously missing among the list of seminar speakers, Cline notes, are growers who have actually produced biotech corn or cotton.

He also questions whether the press release is being spun to imply organizations such as the Farm Bureau are opposed to genetically-modified crops.

“It is one thing to host a legitimate debate on genetically modified crops,” Cline writes. “It is entirely something different to allow a group whose avowed goal is to wipe out production agriculture in California to use a Farm Bureau facility for propaganda purposes.”

“Should the issue of biotechnology be debated? Absolutely. There are serious issues with this technology. Is it unsafe? No. Millions of dollars in research have proven that. Are there ethical, moral and economic issues with the technology? Certainly.”

“Californians have the right to all the facts --- not just the junk tossed out by Californians for GE-Free Agriculture and the likes. There are hundreds of legitimate scientists and farmers who are capable of presenting a balanced picture of the issue. Shams like gatherings sponsored by these radical, anti-government groups are not where the facts will be presented.”

Atkins Diet Has No Place in Public Schools, Expert Says

Promoting a controversial diet to adults is one thing, but it’s quite another when promoters attempt to gain a marketing toehold among the nation’s youth.

In fact, as far as one Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist is concerned, it crosses the line.

The National Education Association and three other major educational groups have agreed to work collaboratively with Atkins Nutritionals to fight obesity in the schools. Atkins Nutritional is associated with the controversial Atkins diet that promotes protein consumption while heavily de-emphasizing carbohydrates and even fruits and vegetables and milk.

As collaborative efforts go, it has raised eyebrows and even hackles of nutritionists across the nation, including Dr. Robert Keith, an Extension nutritionist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science.

The Atkins diet, Keith believes, still has a lot to prove despite its growing popularity with millions of Americans. For starters, the low-carb, high protein approach has only demonstrated that it can help adults lose weight. But for how long? The real proof in the pudding --- or, in this case, the three-egg omelet --- will come years from now, when Atkins promoters demonstrate the diet not only helps people lose weight but keeps them healthy, he says.

“It still may prove to be one of those diet fads --- one of those things that may come and go,” Keith says. “It was originally marketed as a weight-loss regimen --- something to help you lose weight --- but the jury’s still out on whether the following this lifestyle will assure long-term benefits to your health.”

Until then, he says, it really has no place in the schools where the aim should be instilling children with a life’s worth of healthy eating patterns.

Besides, Keith says, what’s to prevent other largely untested diets from gaining a similar toehold in the nation’s schools?

“It’s really opening a Pandora’s box --- the joining of educational groups such as NEA with controversial nutrition groups,” he says. “If major educational organizations like NEA are willing to let one controversial diet into the schools, what’s to prevent other controversial weight-loss promoters from getting a foot in the door?”

“This week it’s the Atkins diet, next week it’s the grapefruit and banana diet.”

The debate over what constitutes a nutritious diet for school children remains ongoing and is constantly refined based on new research findings. Even so, nutrition experts, drawing on decades of research, have developed a broad outline of what makes up a health diet --- one that is reflected in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary recommendations.

These recommendations stress the importance of fruits, vegetables and whole grains as part of a balanced, healthy diet --- items conspicuously missing in the Atkins diet.

Atkins Nutritionals maintains that its sole purpose for collaborating with NEA and other educational organizations is to assure school kids make healthy choices.

Keith, for one, isn’t buying it.

“It’s all about legitimacy,” he says. “Atkins is reasoning that if they can get their educational material onto NEA, they will be accepted as more legitimate. They’re undoubtedly trying to build name-brand loyalty so that kids will stick with their product through adulthood.”

[Source: Dr. Robert Keith, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Nutritionist and Auburn University Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3273.]

In a Farmer’s Own Words

An analysis developed by Nebraska corn farmer depicts a gloomy view of how costs of farming are quickly outstripping commodity prices.

If higher energy costs aren’t bad enough, the costs of many essential tools associated with corn production have skyrocketed 300 to 500 percent within the last quarter century.

“When we combine the costs of many of the things we buy with the lower prices paid for our crops, we find it takes three to five times more bushels of corn to pay for our input costs,” says Corky Jones, a farmer and elevator operator from Brownsville.

In testimony provided to Nebraska’s House Small Business Subcommittee, farmer Hall Swaney said that increased energy costs during the 2003-2004 growing season have cost farmers more than $6billion in added expenses to produce food and fiber for American needs.

Natural gas is deemed as crucially important to farming because it is the basis for the production of a wide range of farm outputs, including nitrogen fertilizer.

Reaping the Whirlwind

With acid rain now falling over two-thirds of its land mass and with 60 percent of its cities suffering from serious air pollution problems, China is arguably an environmental basket case. One outspoken Chinese intellectual and government official cites these dire facts as warning signals that China must undertake drastic changes in its economic development policy.

“The pressures China is now facing simply can’t be sustained, the population and resource pressures,” says Pan Ye, a state Environmental Protection Administration official who has emerged as something of a celebrity in Chinese intellectual circles.

The 44-year-old former journalist is one of a growing number of among the Chinese elite who fear their country ultimately will pay a heavy environmental price for decades of frenzied economic growth.

The consequences of this development already appear to be taking their toll on urban Chinese. Xinhua, the official Chinese News Agency reports that up to 75 percent of urban Chinese suffer from poor health.

The problem is especially serious among senior- and middle-level managers, clerks and other well-educated white-collar workers, the article reports. An authoritative survey by the Chinese Academy of Sciences indicates the average lifespan of an educated person is 58, 10 years lower than the national average.

A report issued by the by the China Sub Health Academic Seminar said China is undergoing a transitional period where chronic illness outpaced infectious disease as the main killer.

A Gathering Storm?

Radical animal rights advocate Craig Rosebraugh is one of a growing number of internet activists no longer content to vent frustration with the status quo exclusively through his computer keyboard.

“Somewhere along the way he changed, crossing the line from a vocal radical to one who actively espouses violence to achieve his goals,” writes Dr. Robert Norton an Alabama Cooperative Extension System biosecurity specialist and Auburn University associate professor of poultry science in a recent Birmigham News opinion-editorial. “His rhetoric also changed, reflecting a more stridently Marxist, anarchic tone no longer preoccupied solely with safeguarding the planet from corporate greed.”

The growing number of Craig Rosebraughs concerns Norton and other terrorism experts. They’re also alarmed over the way radical animal rights advocates appear to be comparing notes with other extremist groups.

A few, he says, even appear to be “forging links with Central and South American liberationist groups funded through the narcotics trade and known to maintain links with al Qaida-affiliated cells."

It is an alliance that could have major implications for Alabama and other southern states where large numbers of concentrated animal feeding operations, such as poultry and cattle farms, are located.

"Livestock farming, in particular, is an area where the objectives of Islamic terrorists and ecoterrorists could converge with horrendous results," Norton says.

He cites documents obtained from al-Qaida hideouts in Afghanistan that "openly explore the possibility of introducing microbes and poisons into livestock and other farming operations with the goal of crippling the $201 billion U.S. farming economy."

Bent Out over Bentgrass

A genetically altered version of bentgrass, a popular turf grass on golf courses throughout the world, has critics of genetically modified crops bent out of shape. It’s the most recent flashpoint in the ongoing and often vitriolic war of words over transgenic technology.

At issue is the perennial concern about gene flow. Researchers with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered that pollen from the grass, genetically modified to resist a popular herbicide, traveled almost 13 miles beyond the Oregon site where it was being tested --- much farther away that scientists had anticipated.

The study was published online Tuesday, Sept. 21, by the Environmental Protection Agency.

What concerns some researchers is that the non-transgenic variety of bentgrass can form hybrids with at least a dozen grasses found in the United States and create super weeds impervious to herbicide spraying.

“This is…a pretty clear cautionary tale,” says Joseph Mendelson, who was quoted recently by The Tribune of San Luis Obispo and who serves as legal director at the International Center for Technology Assessment, a Washington-based public interest group. “Thinking we can contain (biotech plants) is increasingly being proven to be false.

The most immediate effect of this discovery will be delay for Monsanto and Scotts, the two companies that developed the new variety. It likely will be a big factor in whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow the genetically altered version of bentgrass to be grown commercially.

The finding also will likely drive an even bigger wedge between developers of transgenic products, such as Monsanto and Scotts, and an increasingly hostile European public. Indeed, the EPA findings already are being cited by British policymakers as another reason why transgenic crops should be barred from the United Kingdom.

British MP Michael Meacher, for example, who cited the new EPA discovery as “extremely significant,” also believes it demonstrates “that Britain is too small an island ever to grow GM crops.”

Growing the crops successfully in Europe, he says, would require exclusion zones of roughly 12 miles --- a requirement simply not practical for British farms.

Supporters of genetically-altered crops, on the other hand, hail the EPA findings as evidence that the process developed to tests the effects of transgenic crops is working.

“This case shows that the current process is working in the way it should and it stopping harmful products before they go to the market,” said Jackie Crabb, a Farm Bureau representative. “That’s what testing and regulation are all about.”

Transgenic supporters also argue that the findings constitute no indictment of genetically modified crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans. All of these crops are planted anew each year, while bentgrass is a perennial crops. Moreover, existing crops, with the exception of canola, have a difficult time surviving off cropland, while bentgrass can survive the wild.

Beyond the Farm Gate: Tough Love but Lots of Opportunities

Dennis Evans could never be accused of soft-pedaling his rhetoric.

Within farming and forestry circles, he’s the rhetorical version of the cold shower or pot of steaming black coffee on Sunday morning following a raucous Saturday night fraternity party. It’s his job. As coordinator of the Alabama and Forestry Leadership Development Program, Evans says a good part of his time is spent making young farmers and foresters squirm in their seats with discomfort.

It’s a tough undertaking at times, Evans says, but someone’s got to do it for the sake of this embattled minority and its long-term survival.

“Part of my job is taking them out of their comfort zone,” Evans says with characteristic straightforwardness. “They really want to be assured everything’s okay. But things aren’t okay.”

LEADERS, as the program is commonly called, is a 50-day educational experience taken over two years. Administered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in conjunction with the Auburn University’s College of Agriculture and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, it is aimed at promising young adults working in the agriculture and natural resources industries.

A critical part of this effort, Evans says, is taking farmers beyond the homey security of the farm gate to a world of public policy that is often unfriendly and even downright hostile to farming interests.

Evans is old enough to remember when things weren’t so bad. The product of a large Louisiana farm family, he grew up in an era when the lingering effects of pre-World War II isolationism were still palpable as a freshly plowed field and the U.S. manufacturing and farming sectors still wielded the biggest stick on the international stage.

All that has changed. In many instances, U.S. farming increasingly is being out-competed by up-and-coming agricultural powers like Australia, China and Brazil. If that isn’t challenging enough, farmers are beset with mounting public concerns about product safety, farm chemical use and livestock waste disposal.

Overcoming these challenges will involve farmers divesting themselves of a longstanding but destructive mindset with roots stretching back to the days when American society was still overwhelmingly agrarian --- one that has always assumed everybody else will yield to the demands of agriculture, he says.

Evans recalls one incident recently at a LEADERS study institute in Huntsville where this mindset was in full view. LEADERS students were discussing land-use planning --- an increasingly thorny issue as more cities and suburbs spill into once pristine forestland and farming communities.

“As it turned out, a Harvard University student intern happened to be working in the building where we held the discussion and asked to sit in and listen to the discussion,” Evans recalls. “However, in an evaluation of the discussion later in the day, some LEADERS participants expressed a deep resentment over an ‘outsider’ being let into the meeting.”

In an age of increasing globalization, Evans says, it is a type of narrow thinking that will have to change.

Evans nonetheless remains hopeful. Now in its 20th year, LEADERS already has turned out almost 200 graduates who are active in their professions throughout the state. He’s been especially impressed recently by the sense of realism reflected in the 27 students who signed on to the program this year, including Amy Belcher, a young mother, part-time farmer and public relations professional employed by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

Like so many other people involved in farming for the quality of life it provides, Belcher spends a lot of her free time on her front porch relishing the sights on the farm that she and her husband operate in their free time. Her biggest concern is preserving farming for her two-year-old daughter and future generations --- a legacy, she believes, is threatened by unrelenting urban sprawl.

“The whole way of life teaches core values,” Belcher says. “That’s why I wanted to participate in LEADERS --- to help more people understand how important it is to preserve this way of life.”

One other agricultural professional who has heeded Evans’ lessons to heart is Chilton County farmer and cattle producer Jimmy Parnell.

Before Parnell joined the program, he, like many other agribusiness professionals had the sense that he was “alone on an island.” In time, though, he began to understand the need for networking and making inroads into policymaking circles, even mounting an unsuccessful bid for public office at one point.

“I think the concept (behind LEADERS) is exactly right,” Parnell says. “We’re all so engrossed in our lives and problems and all those everyday problems that we often get stuck in a rut. But there’s an old saying, ‘The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the hole.’”

[Source: Dr. Dennis Evans, LEADERS coordinator, (334) 844-5552.]

Up and Coming Killer

It was bound to happen: Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted recently that obesity will soon overtake smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States.

Statistics paint a grim picture. According to the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, only four states in 1991 reported populations between 15 and 19 percent obese. By 2002, that number had risen to 18 states. Twenty-nine states reported that 20 to 24 percent of their populations were obese; three states reported more than a quarter of their population was obese.

“We are eating ourselves to the grave,” said Indiana Republican Senator Dan Burton, during a hearing of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness. “We need to be talking to our fast food restaurants and the people who manufacture our foodstuffs to create products that are nutritious and taste good, but also aren’t going to kill us.”

Burton also stressed that obesity costs accounted for 9 percent, or $78 billion, of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998. Medicare and Medicaid covered half these costs.

“We’re not talking about chump change here,” he said. “The taxpayers have a vested interest in reducing this problem.”

Taking the Guesswork out of Organic Farming

Organic farming --- no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified plants. Right? Actually, it's a lot easier said than done.

That is why a growing number of universities are working to take the guesswork out of organic farming.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is increasing its financial support of organic farming research at universities and similar research institutions --- support that has increased four-fold since 2000.

Even so, organic farming still comprises only a small part of U.S. agriculture. Certified organic crops comprised 562,486 acres in 2002, a fraction of the more 300 million acres devoted to crops.

New Federal Egg Rules May Only Be Beginning, Expert Says

New federal rules currently under consideration requiring tighter standards for large farms selling eggs reflect the tidal changes in food safety that have occurred within the last few years, says an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food safety specialist.

However, she suspects they may be the beginning of an even bigger tidal wave of changes in food processing aimed at ensuring safer food products in the future.

The new federal rules, which will soon be posted for public comment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will require about 4,100 of the nation’s largest egg farms to test their chicken houses for traces of salmonella enteritidis. Farms also will be required to refrigerate eggs once they are collected from hens. They will also be expected to adopt better sanitation measures to control mice and other pests that may harbor salmonella.

“It’s all part of this farm gate-to-plate issue that involves testing animals for pathogens and assuring that outbreaks of foodborne illness can be traced back to their point of origin,” says Dr. Jean Weese, an Extension food scientist and Auburn University associate professor of nutrition and food science.

Still, Weese believes this effort is only part of a much bigger trend that will play out within the next few years. Consumers are increasingly moving toward a zero tolerance standard for all food products --- the reason why she believes precooked food will be the norm in processing foods in the not-too-distant future.

“It could be that pre-cooked products, for better or worse, are likely to be the wave of the future --- the only or virtually only type of meat product available on grocery store shelves,” she says.

While many may perceive her views as slightly tongue in cheek, if not downright outlandish, Weese insists they are a distinct possibility --- a change that may occur sooner rather than later.

“Eggs are a good example,” she says. “We’ve already been cracking them and pasteurizing them for years, and they’re widely used in nursery homes and schools, where concerns about potential salmonella contamination are especially acute.”

“Everything could be like that. Who knows, they may even find a way to precook and package eggs sunny-side up.”

An estimated 118,000 illnesses occur each year because of exposure to salmonella, a pathogen that can take many guises and strike in a variety of ways, Weese says.
One of the most common sources of salmonella poisoning is from contamination during processing --- a problem that occurs when food comes in contact with a contaminated object, such as unwashed hands or poorly sanitized equipment. It is one of the main factors behind the growing interest in precooked foods, she says.
Small wonder why, Weese says; poultry farm and factory workers are among the people most prone to be sickened by salmonellosis, the illness associated with salmonella exposure.

Sickness caused by cross-contamination or from eating undercooked egg and other other poultry products are common problems in the home. Cross-contamination occurs when a product comes in contact with a contaminated object, such as unwashed hands or poorly sanitized equipment.

To avoid exposure from undercooked eggs, Weese recommends frying eggs until the yokes are solid. Boiling and scrambling eggs, on the other hand, are effective methods of cooking from the standpoint of food safety and should kill any remaining traces of salmonella within egg yolk.

The proposed federal rules aimed at ensuring safer eggs will be placed in the Federal Register this week. The public then will have 90 days to comment on the new regulations.

[Source: Dr. Jean Weese, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Scientist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3269]

Energy Independence in Our Lifetimes?

The Rocky Mountain Institute claims to have developed a “market-based, innovation-driven” approach to ensure U.S. energy independence within the next few decades.

“Winning the Oil Endgame proves that at an average of $12 per barrel (in 200 dollars), the United States can save half its oil usage through efficiency, then substitute biofuels and saved natural gas for the rest --- all this without taxation or new federal regulation,” the institute says.

Needless to say, RMI isn’t the only think tank ruminating about energy independence. University of Tennessee researchers Burton English and Daniel De La Torre Ugarte are working on a project exploring the merits of growing switchgrass an energy-producing crop --- one of several forms of biomass.

Wildlife Rules Following Ivan

Wildlife can act oddly and turn up in the most unlikely places during and after a major storm such as Hurricane Ivan.

That’s not uncommon, says an Extension wildlife expert. What is important is how humans act when these strange encounters occur.

High water and heavy winds can displace or destroy wildlife habitat temporarily, resulting in many different species showing up where they’re not supposed to be, according to Dr. Jim Armstrong, Alabama Cooperative Extension System wildlife specialist and Auburn University associate professor of forestry and wildlife sciences.

Several years ago, in flood-ravaged Elba, for example, Armstrong received several frantic calls from homeowners who had encountered snakes in the upper stories of houses.

“When water receded, the snakes were still there --- not an uncommon situation at all,” he says.

Animals that are most susceptible to the effects of storm damage tend to be the ones people would prefer to see the least --- reptiles and amphibians. Displaced mammals such as deer and raccoons are also common sights after a storm of flood.

The species least susceptible to storm damage tend to be the most mobile, such as birds. Even so, it’s not uncommon to turn up nests of birds that managed a soft landing after being blown out of a tree. The same holds true for infant squirrels that manage to survive tree falls by clinging to the exposed sides of falling trees.

As you move around damaged homes or landscapes following a storm, the best rule of thumb is to keep your eyes wide open, Armstrong says.

“Don’t put your hands or feet where you can’t see --- look first, use your eyes.”

Also, while it may sound heartless, Armstrong says it’s also wise to leave injured animals where they’re found.

“It’s tough ignoring a baby squirrel,” he says. “It’s easy to sit behind a desk and say this. If my daughters were with me and I ran across an injured animal, I probably wouldn’t do as I say.”

Still, Armstrong says it’s important to remember that these species have survived hurricanes and other environmental disasters for eons.

“They’re pretty resilient, and their populations will rebound with time,” he says.

Rescued animals that are returned to the wild face a distinct disadvantage. While release into their original habitat afford them their best chance, they are nonetheless seriously handicapped for not “having developed natural fears and cautions necessary for survival,” he says.

One other factor worth considering: Alabama law now requires people to obtain permits to rehabilitate abandoned or injured animals. However, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, the state’s game authority, is increasingly reluctant to issue permits because of concerns about disease such as rabies and distemper.

Armstrong and other wildlife experts are still uncertain how much damage was caused to animals habitats by the recent hurricane.

“Any time you’re dealing with downed trees or flood, you’re going to see some habitat loss.”

While nonendangered species will recover from this loss in time, Armstrong is concerned about some endangered species such as the beach mouse, a native of the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.

“In those sorts of cases, you’re dealing with restricted, critical habitats most vulnerable to the effects of storms and other calamities,” he says.

Armstrong says it may be years before scientists can determine the storm’s long-term effects on beach mice and other endangered species. Ironically, while downed trees can result in habitat losses in some cases, they may provide opportunities for other species, he says.

[Source: Dr. James Armstrong, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Wildlife Specialist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, (334) 844-9233.]

Storm Cleanup Only the First Step After Ivan

Four years ago, the big concern was hanging chads in Florida; now it's hanging tree limbs.

While you may have cleared all of the fallen trees, limbs and assorted debris from your yard following Ivan’s onslaught, you’re still not out of the woods yet.

For the sake of your property and even your personal safety, you still need to assess the landscape trees still standing.

“It really should be a question in the mind of every homeowner,” says Neil Letson, Extension’s urban forestry coordinator. “What effect did the storm have on the safety of remaining trees, and, equally important, how should these affected trees be treated?”

In some cases, problems already caused by aging or disease may have been worsened by by the storm. Whatever the case, there typically are four signs associated with unstable or dangerous trees.

First, look for leaners --- trees that have been partially uprooted and leaning to one side.

“Any tree leaning to one side is a red flag calling for assessment,” Letson says.

Cracks are another major sign of trouble.

“Cracks often occur when forces of nature, such as a hurricane, exceed the load a tree is able to bear,” Letson says. “What this typically means is that the structure has been compromised and the tree or part of it will eventually come down.”

Pay special attention to cracks in areas where the limbs attach to the trunk of the tree. Also be especially wary of cases where two stems have come apart where they have previously grown together.

“Separation of wood fiber --- where you can see beyond the bark into the wood --- is a telltale sign,” Letson says.

In all of these cases, there is a very high likelihood that the branch or the stem will crack and fall to the ground, he warns.

“In most cases, stem cracks are irreparable and the entire tree will need to be taken down,” Letson says. “Otherwise, cracked limbs should be removed as quickly as possible.”

The most common tree problem associated with storm damage involves hangers --- cases where broken branches in trees or crowns are still partially attached to the main branch.

“Most often they hang at a 90-degree angle from their original position,” Letson says. “It’s just a matter of time before they come crashing down.”

Finally, look for suspended branches --- similar to hangers but that have broken completely free but are still suspended in a tree.

“The danger is that hangers or suspended branches will eventually fall and become a misguided missile to property or some other target, including people or pets,” Letson says.

There are a number of items around the house that can aid homeowners with these sorts of assessments, Letson says, adding that binoculars and yardsticks are a good place to start.

Binoculars will enable you to inspect taller trees, while you can use yardsticks to probe the depth of any crack or break.

In many cases, homeowners will want to hire someone to help them assess this damage. In that case, just make sure it’s a qualified arborist or tree professional, Letson advises.

He recommends contacting your local Extension agent for information about qualified professionals or logging onto <http://www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.asp> for a list of qualified arborists in your region.

[Source: Neil Letson, Extension Urban Forestry Coordinator, (334) 240-9360.]

A Changed Pecan Industry Following Ivan

Hurricane Ivan will not wipe out the Alabama pecan industry, but it will come perilously close in some parts of the state, particularly south Mobile and Baldwin counties. Despite this setback, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System crop expert believes the industry will recover.

In normal years, Alabama would turn out between a 12- and 15-million-pound crop, according to Dr. Bill Goff, an Extension pecan expert and Auburn University professor of horticulture.

This year, however, the number quite possibly could be as low as 2 or 3 million pounds. The high prices resulting from this crop reduction will be a boom for those growers lucky enough to avoid hurricane damage, a bust for those whose orchards line on or near Ivan’s path.

While Ivan is not likely to wipe out Gulf Coast pecan production entirely, Goff believes the storm will have a major effect on where the crop will be grown in the future.

“It will be a devastating blow (to Gulf Coast pecan production) without a shadow of a doubt,” Goff says. “And since the most powerful winds will be to the east, it likely will wipe out much of the crop and many trees in south Baldwin county.”

Many orchards further north directly in line of the hurricane’s path also will be decimated by the storm. Moreover, orchards in other parts of the state aren’t unlikely to fare much better since the effects of the hurricane --- torrential rainfall and heavy winds --- are likely to be felt throughout most of the state and could cause serious crop loss.

Ironically, the best kept trees are likely to be the most susceptible.

“What growers have observed and what we have seen firsthand for years is that orchards with the best maintained trees are the most vulnerable to a storm’s effect,” Goff says.

The reason is because better maintained trees tend to have more foliage, less insect damage and heavier nut load than trees that are less maintained, such as landscape trees.

While the picture currently looks bleak, Goff believes the industry ultimately will recover, though the end result will likely be a radically changed pecan industry with a center of gravity located much farther north and east.

“When I first came to Auburn more than 20 years ago, growers used to say you could expect a devastating storm every 10 years,” Goff recalls. “But in a 10-year period from 1979 until 1989, we’ve had four such devastating hurricanes.”

This has resulted in a steady loss of acreage along Alabama’s hurricane-prone Gulf Coast --- a factor driven as much by economic change as weather. Urbanization, in fact, has had as big an effect as weather in reducing pecan numbers within the region.

“The Gulf Coast was once almost an entirely agriculture-driven economy, and it was possible for growers to make payments on land based on the income they got from raising pecans,” Goff says.

Urbanization changed all of that.

“Urbanization has outpaced agriculture,” Goff says. “There are even instances this year where growers have sold pecan orchards for about $50,000 an acre.”

“It’s just not economically feasible any longer to grow pecans on land that costs that much.”

Even so, more is known about pecan production than ever before. Moreover, the development of new varieties has made it possible to grow pecans commercially in regions of the state where it once wasn’t possible, even in the cooler Tennessee Valley. Other reasons for a pecan recovery include a strong price outlook with decreasing acreage. Another key factor: increasing demand among consumers for healthy products such as pecans.

For these reasons, Goff believes there is a future for younger generations of growers who want to profit from the vast improvements in pecan production and varieties that have occurred in recent years.

He also believes the focus of pecan production could shift markedly in coming years to the Wiregrass, where peanut growers are searching for alternatives and a processing and marketing infrastructure is located in nearby Albany, Ga.

[Source: Dr. William Goff, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Pecan Specialist and Auburn University Professor of Horticulture, (334) 844-5480.]

Chainsaw Safety a Prime Concern during Post-Storm Cleanup

The stern advice Florida Governor Jeb Bush offered to Floridians determined to stay behind and weather the effects of Hurricane Ivan could also be applied to the thousands of amateur chainsaw operators who will attempt cleanup in the storm’s aftermath.

"This is not the time to be defiant or let people know you're a macho man," Bush said. "This is a powerful force of nature that you should not be messing with."

The same could be said about operating a chainsaw, says one expert. Just as Ivan is a “powerful force of nature,” chainsaws are a powerful technology that should never be taken lightly.

Chainsaw injuries are among the most frequent sights in emergency rooms following a severe storm. Small wonder why, says Dr. Mathew Smidt, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System forest safety specialist and Auburn University assistant professor of forestry.

“The chainsaw is the most dangerous hand tool,” Smidt says. “Using a chainsaw incorrectly not only can lead to severe injury but even death in some cases.”

Most loggers, in fact, avoid chainsaw use because of the inherent risk of injury.

One of the common hazards associated with chainsaw use involves kick back, when the upper corner end of a running saw bar contacts an object. T

“The reactive forces will violently push the saw up to the upper body or down onto the legs or feet,” Smidt says. “At wide open throttle, the skin can be exposed to hundreds of cutter teeth in less than a second.

The force of the chainsaw can easily cut through the heaviest work pants and leather boots.

Other common hazards include wood compression and tension.

Storm damaged trees are often twisted, broken or leaning on trees, buildings or fences.

“This can result in tremendous forces of bending and stretching --- compression and tension --- in the wood,” Smidt says.

Many amateur chainsaw operators often have a hard time discerning this compression and tension in trees.

“Compression may cause the saw to become bound in the cut,” Smidt says. “Tension wood, on the other hand, can be very dangerous by propelling the saw from your hands or portions of the tree at you or bystanders.

In addition, root systems attached to leaning or toppled trees may try to stand back up once the trunk has been cut free.

Dealing with these sorts of challenges shouldn’t be entrusted to amateurs, Smidt says.

“Most people aren’t aware that it takes a great deal of training and experience to understand how to releases the forces in the woods safely,” he says.

As an added precaution, don’t attempt to cut trees or branches in contact with power lines.

Also, watch for signs of fatigue.

“It’s common to exceed your normal workload during a storm cleanup,” Smidt says. “When you’re fatigued you make poor decisions, take greater risks to get the job done faster and operate with slower reaction time --- all of which increase the chances of injury.”

As further safeguards, Smidt recommends wearing personal protective equipment: a hard hat; safety glasses; ear muffs or plugs; chainsaw chaps; and safety boots.

Read and master the owner’s manual, and make sure your saw works properly and is equipped with all of the safety features, especially the chain brake.

Equally important, don’t attempt to do anything beyond your skill level; wait for professionals.

Smidt also stresses the importance of analyzing all potential hazards carefully before cutting --- comprehension and tension of downed trees, dead and broken limbs overhead, vines connecting trees and poor footing.

Finally, don’t use a chainsaw above shoulder height.

For more information visit the following Web sites on chainsaw safety, visit the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Publication on chainsaw safety at: http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0972/.

Other sites include: Safety Guidelines for Chainsaw Operators at http://www.loggingsafety.com/thsm-4.htm and a Spanish-language version at http://ohioline.osu.edu/atts/PDF-Spanish/Chainsaw-Safety-SP.pdf

[Source: Dr. Mathew Smidt, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Forestry Operations Specialist and Auburn University Assistant Professor of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, (334) 844-1038.]

Food Safety Planning for Ivan

With Hurricane Ivan projected to sweep across Alabama within the next several days, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food scientist says there are some essential steps residents should take to ensure the safety of their food in the storm’s aftermath.

First, assume that all water resources will be contaminated in the storm’s wake. The most inexpensive way to do that is to set aside a three- or four-day supply of tap water. Bottled water is another option. This supply should include water for drinking and for a number of other purposes --- cooking, bathing, and cleaning eating utensils and kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

Setting aside enough water is especially important for people living in rural areas who depend on electric pumps to draw their water out of private wells, according to Dr. Jean Weese, Extension food scientist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science.

On the other hand, everyone should take steps to ensure refrigerated food remains at adequate temperatures during and after the storm.

“Several types of thermometers need to be kept in the kitchen, especially a refrigerator/freezer thermometer, which should be kept in the refrigerator to assure food is maintained below 40 degrees F,” Weese says. “One also should be placed in the freezer to assure food is kept below 0 degrees F.”

Weese also recommends other safeguards.

“If you have freezer, for example, keep it stocked as full as you can and, if possible, pack it with extra ice,” she says.

Frozen foods can stay frozen for as long as 3 to 4 days, “but only as long as the freezer is not opened,” Weese says.

“If you open it a lot, it will take down the temperature, so leave it closed,” she advises.

The same holds true for foods in the refrigerator.

Depend on nonperishable foods to tide you over after the storm. Good bets include raw fruits and vegetables and, even better from the standpoint of durability, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“The taste may get old after a few days, but it is something that you can eat for a long time, if you need to,” Weese says.

Beef jerky and canned meat, chicken and tuna are also generally safe bets, she says.

Mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard even can be used.

“Bacteria aren’t going to grow in these products, and that’s why they’re generally safe bets,” Weese says.

Orange juice is another product that will last for a while, though it’s likely to ferment.

Milk, on the other hand, goes bad quickly.

Food safety issues are especially critical concerns following flooding, because flood waters may carry all sorts of contaminated substances such as silt, raw sewage, oil and chemical waste.

The only food items that even should be considered salvageable following flooding are canned foods but only if they have not been dented or punctured, Weese says.

To prevent floodwaters from coming into contact with food, she advises placing cement blocks under the corners of refrigerators and freezers. Food also should be removed from lower compartments. Finally, canned foods and other foods stored in basements should be moved to a level above flood waters, if possible.

For more information about food and water safety following power outages, read “Food and Water Safety When the Power Goes Out,” which is available on the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Web site at http:// www.aces.edu.

Beyond Healthy Diets

Is it culture rather than intemperance that condemns millions of limited income people to a lifetime of obesity?

Some nutrition experts think so. Popular diets, some contend, are simply beyond the means of many poor, overweight people. Following the popular Atkins diet, for example, costs about $15 per person per day, according to a recent analysis of the high-protein diet. Low-income families, by contrast, spend only about $25 per person per week on food, according to Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington.

Further complicating matters is the costs of fruits and vegetables that have increased by nearly 120 percent between 1985 and 2000, while the prices of colas, fats, sugars and sweets increased by only about 50 percent.

Aside from that, mini-marts with high-calorie, high-sugar foods are more common in low-income areas than fully-stocked grocery stores, replete with produce sections.

Big Changes Ahead on Nutrition Labels

Nutrition labels are getting their first big revamping in a decade.

The Feds are demanding that manufacturers include labeling information about transfats and allergens, but this may only be the beginning.

There is also talk of requiring food manufacturers to alter typeface on labels to emphasize the number of calories --- part of the government’s campaign against obesity. Manufacturers also would be permitted to include health claims.

Even so, a few observers still wonder whether the labels have really been that effective. After all, only about 12 percent of Americans are eating healthful diets. The labels also appear to be used by only a small segment of the population, namely middle-aged women earning more than $60,000 a year.

Clinton’s Heart Disease a Lesson for All, Expert Says

History may remember Bill Clinton as a capable chief executive, but in terms of serving as a role model for heart disease prevention, he, like most Americans, has room for improvement, says one nutrition expert.

Clinton apparently suffered from most of the risk factors associated with heart disease --- many of which could have been addressed and even prevented through adequate lifestyle changes, says Dr. Robert Keith, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science.

Case in point: diet. Like millions of his fellow countrymen, the 42nd president has an abiding passion for food --- healthy food and not-so-healthy food, especially Big Macs and Southern-fried foods, now the stuff of Clinton presidential legend.

It was a passion matched by a ravenous appetite. As one aide recalled, “When he would eat an apple, he would eat the whole thing, core, stem and seeds. He would pick up a baked potato in his hands and eat it in one bite.”

Like so many other Americans, it was a lifestyle habit complicated by a manic schedule that allowed little time for exercise.

“Clinton may have lived an extraordinarily uncommon life, but he deals with many of the same challenges ordinary Americans do --- maintaining healthy eating habits and finding the time to exercise regularly when you’re constantly on the go,” Keith says.

Other factors added to Clinton’s problems, including a family history of heart disease --- one factor over which he had no control but nonetheless should have heeded, Keith says.

“People with older family members who died of heart disease before age 60 should consider that as evidence of a family history of heart disease and should include that as a factor when assessing their risks of developing the disease,” Keith says.

Other factors, however, were completely controllable --- cigar smoking, for starters. The former president also suffered from elevated blood cholesterol and hypertension, two other major contributors to cardiovascular disease, though he quit taking medication for his cholesterol.

Like millions of other Americans, he’s also struggled constantly with this weight.

“Clinton was never obese, but he exceeded his prescribed weight several times during his life --- something that likely played a role in his cardiovascular disease,” Keith says.

Age was another factor working against the former president.

“It’s a fact of life that the older you get, the more likely you are of developing heart disease,” Keith says. “Things Clinton didn’t do 10 years ago to maintain his fitness just can’t be as easily overlooked at his current age.”

Stress may also have played a role, though presidential historians already have commented on the ease with which Clinton dealt with work-related problems.

“Stress can aggravate heart disease, and it’s certainly a risk factor,” Keith says, “but in Clinton’s case, it’s hard to pin down because he didn’t necessarily deal with it in an adverse way.”

Clinton also apparently ignored the warning signs of his disease for months --- shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. By the time he was wheeled into surgery, he was possibly only weeks away from sudden death with some of his arteries 90 percent blocked.

There are lessons here for ordinary Americans, Keith says --- namely that “lifestyle is every bit as important a factor as medical care in preventing the onslaught of the disease.”

“Here’s a man who has had access to the best medical care in the world, but nevertheless developed heart disease,” he says.

“You can have all the knowledge in the world about heart disease,” Keith says, “but if you don’t choose to do the right things in terms of prevention, it does you no good.”

[Source: Dr. Robert Keith, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Nutritionist and Auburn University Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3273.]

No Japanese Reversal of Beef Ban Likely Soon

Despite the upbeat comments of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and others, don’t count on the Japanese ban on U.S. beef being lifted anytime soon.

“The word on this side of the debate is that the Japanese are bending and that they will soon comply with American demands that testing be limited only to cattle older than 20 months of age,” says Dr. Walt Prevatt, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist and Auburn University professor of agricultural economics. “In that case, there appears to be come misinformation from somewhere, because these aren’t the sentiments being expressed by Japanese officials. Everything the U.S. government is putting out is being refuted by the Japanese.”

What is certain is that Japan’s Food and Safety Commission concluded on Sept. 9 that testing is effective for cattle 20 months and older. However, the commission will defer to health and agriculture ministries for the final decision.

According to a report published recently in the Western Livestock Journal, Members of the Japanese Democratic Party as well as officials with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have indicated that last month’s USDA announcement claiming an end to the impasse was premature. Veneman’s claim that Japan was crafting a plan to exempt younger cattle from BSE testing was specifically singled out by agriculture officials.

“This is not factual,” said Mamoru Ishihara, vice minister of MAFF, in an Aug. 26 press conference.

Some observers attribute the impasse to Japanese stalling pending the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections in November.

The Future of Biomass Fuels

Mississippi and other Southeastern states comprise a “treasure chest” of biomass crops that can be converted not only into fuels but other valuable products.

“The food news is we have products that offer a lot of pros that petroleum can’t, including being a renewable asset and being environmentally friendly,” says Mark Zappi, distinguished professor of chemical engineering at Mississippi State University, who also directs the Department of Energy-funded Mississippi Consortium for Utilization of Biomass and the MSU Environmental Technology Research Laboratory.

Capitalizing on these resources will require broad thinking --- thinking that looks beyond the handful of products normally associated with biomass fuels.

“Crude oil is very complex and can be refined into dozens of high-dollar chemicals, not just gasoline and diesel. Biomass is chemically just as complex, with hundreds of chemicals that can be produced. When people talk about biomass refineries of the future, they generally talk about only two to four products. That’s not good enough — that would put us where oil was about 1910. We’ve got to squeeze more products out of biomass, and do it at an economical price.”

Lunchroom Rules Gone Too Far?

Some Texas schoolchildren are complaining their state’s new lunchroom rules are too stringent. A few are even circulating a petition to persuade the Texas Department of Agriculture to let up a little.

“Teachers used to be able to give us chocolate and hard candy for rewards and now that can’t do that sort of thing,” said Allison Talbot, an eighth-grader at Canyon Vista Middle School and one of the petition signers. “They’re not allowed to let us eat those in other classrooms and now they have to come up with alternative ways to reward us in the classroom.”

So far, the petition drive has garnered 188 signatures.

Noroviruses Leave a Calling Card --- Again

A mass outbreak of sickness in the College Park, Md., area last month is the most recent reminder of a generally harmless but nonetheless highly contagious group of viruses often associated with stomach flu.

Right: Image courtesy of Iowa State University's Food Safety Project.

Noroviruses, as the viruses are now commonly known, are different from bacteria and parasites, some of which can cause similar symptoms.

“The difference is size,” says Dr. Jean Weese, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food scientist and Auburn University associate professor of nutrition and food science. “Viruses are smaller, much smaller than parasites and bacteria and aren’t affected by treatment with antibiotics.”

Symptoms associated with noroviruses are typically, though inaccurately, identified as stomach flu. Noroviruses, however, aren’t related to the flu, a respiratory illness caused by a different virus, Weese says.

The good news is that symptoms associated with noroviruses usually aren’t serious or lasting, though this makes them no less unpleasant. Vomiting and diarrhea are associated with most norovirus cases, though children typically experience more vomiting than adults.

“Most people recover in about 2 or 3 days and suffer no long-term health problems,” Weese says. “On the other hand, some people --- especially immune-compromised individuals such as the very young and very old --- run the risk of dehydration if they can’t drink liquids fast enough to replace what they’ve lost from diarrhea and vomiting.”

Seriously dehydrated people should seek immediate medical attention, she says.

Symptoms associated with noroviruses usually occur within 24 to 48 hours following ingestion of the virus.

Noroviruses are extremely contagious and are typically spread by eating foods or drinking liquids contaminated with the virus. The viruses also can be spread hand to mouth after from touching contaminated surfaces or objects.

Human waste is the most common source of infection, which accounts for why feces-contaminated foods, particularly shellfish and water, are prime sources of the virus.

“Mollusks and any seafood that may have been contaminated with sewage or sewage-polluted water are major culprits,” Weese says.

Cooking of raw shellfish for a minimum of four minutes at 194 degrees F is effective against the virus, Weese says. She also advises thorough hand washing, especially in cases where someone is dealing with an infected person.

Individuals with noroviruses also should avoid preparing food while they have the symptoms and for three days after these symptoms disappear.

Weese also cites airborne contamination as another possible cause --- “most likely from surfaces contaminated with feces and vomit, even though this can’t be seen.”

Anyone can be infected by noroviruses, though some people are more genetically prone than others. Due to the large number of strains associated with noroviruses, it is very difficult to develop immunity.

Norovirus was linked recently to outbreaks affecting about 60 people in late August at a building in College Park, MD. A similar outbreak occurred earlier in the month nearby on the University of Maryland campus.

[Source: Dr. Jean Weese, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Scientist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3269.]

Irrigation a Critical Need for Alabama Peanuts

With the stereotypically incisive wit for which he is remembered, Calvin Coolidge once observed that “if you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”

It is a saying to which many Alabama peanut farmers can relate. Elimination of the peanut quota several years ago convinced many growers that the end was nigh. Yet, a strange thing happened on the way to extinction.

While peanut production declined in the drier regions of the Southwest, it actually posted gains in some regions of the Southeast, notably in areas of heavy irrigation.

“The ability to irrigate played a big role in determining where peanuts would be grown in Alabama, but so did another rediscovered farming principle --- crop rotation,” says Dr. Robert Goodman, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist and Auburn University professor of agricultural economics.

In fact, Goodman says, the rotation of peanuts with cotton and corn is a practice that has benefited all three crops by reducing yield losses from nematodes and crop diseases.

Still, the biggest challenge, he says, remains lack of irrigation --- an especially critical need in Alabama, which consistently has lost out to neighboring states with cropland that is “better suited to traditional irrigation methods and where cheap reliable water for irrigation is readily available.”

“We’ve got so much money tied up in these crops,” Goodman says, “And the only thing keeping us from making money remains adequate yields. But yield depends on production and production depends on water.”

Goodman’s concerns are shared by Dr. Jim Hairston, an Extension water quality specialist who has been making the argument for years.

Irrigation, Hairston says, is an especially critical factor for peanuts, not only because the plants require lots of water but because without adequate moisture, it’s difficult to harvest the crops in heavier soils common to regions of the state outside the Wiregrass.

“Irrigation is as much a harvest aid as it is a production factor,” Hairston says. “You can’t dig peanuts very efficiently out of hard ground. You need an adequate level of moisture to soften the soil for efficient harvesting to occur.”

The lack of irrigation, Hairston believes, partly accounts for why peanut acreage in other southeast states has increased since the quota was phased out while Alabama’s has declined slightly.

The Associated Press, for example, recently credited “highly irrigated land,” for acreage increases in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Georgia, the nation’s largest peanut producer, actually has increased its acreage substantially despite the quota phase-out, according to the article. The state reported 614,250 acres were planted in peanuts in 2004, compared with an average of 521,268 acres between 1998 and 2001.

“Georgia producers saw the opportunities right off the bat,” Hairston says. “They knew the adequate moisture provided by irrigation would ensure a good chance for profit so they said, ‘Let’s have at it.’”

Hairston, an Auburn University professor of agronomy and soils, wants to ensure the same opportunities for Alabama --- not only for peanuts but for other crops that already are growing in Georgia and other states with high levels of irrigated cropland. He, along with an informal coalition of scientists at other Alabama universities, is working with the state’s policymakers to enhance irrigation opportunities for farmers, especially in areas of the state where farming income has declined largely due to the lack of this resource.

[Sources: Dr. Robert Goodman, Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, (334) 844-5633; Dr. James Hairston, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Water Quality Scientist and Auburn University Professor of Agronomy and Soils, (334) 844-3973.]

Poised for Greatness?

Brazil believes it is poised to become the world’s biggest beef exporter.

By mid-2005, it hopes to begin exporting fresh beef into the United States and breaching the high Asian tariff barriers.

Antenor Nogueira, President of the National Confederation of Agriculture’s Permanent National Forum on Beef Cattle, believes his country has much to offer the rest of the world.

“We have a natural meat that is practically organic,” he says. “A meat produced in pastures, without antibiotics, without hormones, and with greater nutritional safety. And this is what the world consumer desires.”

Brazil’s climate, he believes, also will prove to be a major advantage.

“Brazil’s climate, with well-defined periods of rain and drought, is another advantage enjoyed by the national cattle herd, because it keeps various types of diseases, infections and other epidemics from spreading in our territory,” he says.

Between January and May, 2004, Brazil meat exports earned $866 million, almost a 63 percent increase from the previous year.

Japanese Testing Reversal?

In what may turn out to be a major reversal, Japan is considering changing its rules on testing beef cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, so-called mad cow disease --- a decision that could lead to the resumption of some U.S. beef imports.

Japan’s Food Safety Commission will make a recommendation today based on the findings of a team charged with studying prions, the protein elements linked with the disease. The team concluded that testing is effective on cattle 21 months or older, though it offered no opinion on younger animals.

An agreement to resume exports may be sealed on Sept. 21, when Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets with President Bush.

Japan imposed a ban on U.S. beef imports following the first positive U.S. detection of BSE, so-called mad cow disease, in December, 2003.

Extension Offers Resources on Disaster Preparation

Many Alabamians are keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Frances as it approaches the Florida coast. Current models show the storm tracking through Alabama by early next week.

Experts with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System are encouraging citizens to take time now to do prestorm planning.

“We haven’t had a major storm batter Alabama since Hurricane Opal in 1995,” said Dr. Gaines Smith, interim director of Extension. “I want to remind people to take advantage of the resources Extension has to offer. We have professionals in every county as well as experts at Auburn and Alabama A&M universities who are poised to offer advice on everything from food safety to caring for livestock.”

People can locate their county Extension office by looking under county government listings in the phone book.

Smith encourages people to visit the Alabama Extension Disaster Education Network at http://www.aces.edu/eden/index.htm.

“The site provides access to Extension publications relating to emergency preparation and acts as a portal to other valuable emergency planning sites,” said Smith.

Another excellent resource for emergency planning and recovery is Florida Extension’s Disaster Handbook. It is a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide that is available online at http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu.

Tailgating Advice for Sports Fans

A food safety expert offers some straightforward advice to tailgating enthusiasts: Bring an ice chest, especially if you’re transporting food over long distances.

Indeed, an ice chest should be considered essential tailgating equipment in cases where food must be stored for trips lasting more than a half hour, says Dr. Jean Weese, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food scientist and Auburn University associate professor of nutrition and food science.

Equally critical, she says, is packing the food directly from the refrigerator to the ice chest. Weese also advises using two coolers for the foods you intend to bring --- one for snacks and beverages that will be consumed along the way, the other for meats and other perishable items that will be consumed after arrival.

“The less the perishable food container is opened along the way, the less likely the items inside will begin turning warm,” she says.

Take care to ensure perishable foods are packed in tight containers to reduce the risk of water from melted ice seeping into the items.

Ice also should be checked and sometimes even replaced during long trips to ensure the food remains cold. This especially holds true on warm days with temperatures exceeding 85 degrees F when food is packed in the trunk.

“One common mistake among tailgaters is forgetting how hot a car trunk can be this time of year,” Weese says.

Travelers who don’t want to bother with these kinds of precautions should consider bringing along less perishable foods instead. Good choices include fresh fruits, hard cheese, canned meats or fish, peanut butter, breads and crackers. Peanut butter and jelly also work well, Weese says. The same goes for most cakes and pies.

Compared with raw meat, luncheon meats are a safe bet, although these also should remain cold throughout the trip. As an added safeguard, Weese advises shopping for perishable foods after you reach your destination.

Highly perishable items such as chicken and tuna salad should be avoided.

Travelers who insist on bringing along raw meats or seafood for grilling before the game, should pack them in the bottom of the ice chest. If possible, the chests should be packed to capacity.

Adequate grilling of raw meat is crucial to ward off any lingering foodborne pathogens. Bring along a food thermometer to make sure the food reaches the desired internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F. Make sure ground hamburger meat is cooked all the way through before serving.

Hot foods carried on a trip should be stored in well-insulated containers and maintained at a temperature of 140 degrees F. They also should remain separated from cold foods.

Cross contamination is a major risk factor associated with tailgating.

Weese advises bringing along moist towelettes to clean hands before and after handling foods, especially raw foods. Raw meat should be kept strictly separated from other food, and food preparers should keep track of any cooking utensils coming into contact with raw meat.

It’s also a good idea to cut raw meats in advance of the trip to reduce the amount of handling before grilling.

A parting word of advice: If you reach your destination and the perishable food is warm, throw it away and don’t fret over the expense.

“It’s not worth a $10 package of meat to risk getting sick and missing the entire game --- or for that matter having to drive home sick. Your health is more important.”

[Source: Dr. Jean Weese, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Food Scientist and Auburn University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3269.]