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Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Asks Gathering of 4-H Youth to Commit to Public Service, Reach Out to At-Risk Peers
“I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.” This is the pledge that 300 4-H youth and volunteers gave on Monday when the 2011 National 4-H Conference kicked off in Bethesda, Md. Youth and adults from 47 states and territories, as well a delegation from Canada, took part in an event that has happened in the Washington area since the 1920s, when 4-Hers slept in tents on the Washington Mall in front of the USDA headquarters. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, is the parent organization to 4-H National Headquarters. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to 4-Hers about community service, valuing education, and embracing positive health and nutrition habits.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke with approximately 300 youth from 47 states or territories and Canada at the National 4-H Conference on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. The conference is the premier youth development opportunity of the USDA. Aged between 15-19 years old the attendees were selected by various means by their states to be delegates to the conference. The Secretaries then took questions from the audience. Secretary Vilsack received questions on topics such as land grants, what is an average day for him, and both talked of their goals to have 1,000 new farmers and 1,000 new educators. USDA photo by Lance Cheung. |
In one of the most moving parts of this remarks, Secretary Vilsack asked 4-H youth to reach out to their friends, family and peers in their communities if they are at risk of dropping out of school. He shared his personal story about when he answered the call to public service. It was the 1980s, he said, and he was working to help raise funds to build an athletic complex in his small Iowa town. The experience led him to join the city council, which led to his eventual election as mayor, Iowa State Senator, Governor of Iowa and, eventually, his appointment by President Obama to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The Secretary asked the 4-Hers to use their pledge of head, heart, hands, and health to help guide them to success. The heart, said Vilsack, represents a commitment to the voice of youth, and he encouraged kids to hold a youth roundtable – register here – about issues that are important to them and their communities. Health, he said, represents a commitment to healthier living. 4-Hers are already taking steps towards better health through programs like the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award challenge. The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award recognizes those who log their recommended physical activity for six consecutive weeks, five days a week (60 minutes for kids, 30 minutes for adults).
Jessica Mullin (standing) asked U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack during the National 4-H Conference on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. Her question was how America will keep up with future demands. The conference is the premier youth development opportunity of the USDA. Aged between 15-19 years old the attendees were selected by various means by their states to be delegates to the conference. USDA photo by Lance Cheung. |
4-H initially committed to this goal during the November 29, 2010, roll-out of the Let’s Move! Faith and Communities Initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama. Let’s Move! is the First Lady’s initiative to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. Let’s Move! Faith and Communities is designed to support local efforts and highlight accomplishments in communities across the country. The program looks to work with community leaders, learn from what they are doing in neighborhoods, and share those efforts as broadly as possible.
While at the conference, 4-H youth leaders will learn about mobilizing social change for issues that affect them, from bullying to environmental conservation, and will visit with federal officials where they will make presentations on these issues.
Linda Katehi outlines UC Davis-Valley connection
The Fresno Bee today published an op-ed piece by UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi in which she gave examples of how UC Davis research has revolutionized the growing, harvesting and processing of agricultural crops in the San Joaquin Valley.
The article was prompted by Katehi's recent two-day tour of the valley with the dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Neal Van Alfen. The administrators met with farmers, business leaders, policy makers, researchers and alumni of UC Davis.
"The San Joaquin Valley, one of the most significant farm production regions in the world, has a history that has been intertwined with UC Davis for generations," Katehi wrote.
She mentioned the following agricultural advances connected with UC Davis research:
- Tomato varieties and the mechanical harvest equipment that allows the tomato industry to thrive in California and prevented its move to other parts of the world
- Preventing the deterioration of the predominant almond variety planted in the valley
- Work with strawberries that has increased California production from three to four months a year to a year-round crop
Katehi asked valley residents to send a message to Sacramento lawmakers who are trying to agree on the state's 2011-12 budget about the importance of UC Davis to the state's heartland.
"The San Joaquin Valley is too important to California, the nation and the world to not be heard from," Katehi said.
Linda Katehi, left, and Neal Van Alfen visited ag and business leaders in the valley.
California avocado farmers should look beyond Hass
"Native-born" Hass avocados have become the most popular variety in California, but Sacramento News and Review writer Alistair Bland said the state's farmers may be unnecessarily limiting their horizons.
Avocados originated in south-central Mexico and archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado seeds buried with Incan mummies dating back to 750 B.C., according to the California Avocado Commission. The mother tree of all Hass avocados was born in a La Habra Heights, Calif., backyard.
Bland laments the homogenization of the California industry around the Hass variety. He spoke to farmer Randy Shoup of West Pak Avocado farm in Temecula, who said he doesn't look twice at any non-Hass variety.
"Though his website product list still describes several oddball avocados, he says he’s eliminated nearly all non-Hass trees from his property," Bland wrote.
A Hawaii avocado farmer who has collaborated with UC Davis and USDA in experimental cultivation on his Big Island farm told Bland that California avocado growers "need to get out more."
"He once ran a blind taste test of estate and imported avocados on local chefs. Winning varieties included the rich and buttery Kahalu’u and the islands’ favorite, Sharwil. Californian Hass flunked," the story says.
The Hawaii farmer once told Bland he won’t even let his horses eat Hass, "which perhaps leaves more for us."
California growers produce mainly Hass avocados, well known for their black, pebbly rind. and rich, nutty flavor. (Photo: Copyright, California Avocado Commission)
Most olive oil sold in the U.S. is mislabled 'extra virgin'
The second and final study of the past year by the UC Davis Olive Center focusing on the quality of "extra virgin" olive oil finds that most olive oil imported into the U.S. fails to meet the international criteria for "extra virgin," according to a news release published today in the Sacramento Business Journal.
Blind sensory testing revealed many imported olive oils labeled "extra virgin" indeed are not.
Women farmers become more prevalent in Contra Costa County
The number of farms in Contra Costa County has declined steadily for years, but the number of women farm managers has more than doubled since 1978, according to an article in the Contra Costa Times. Women represent one-third of farmers in the county, according to data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture. That is three times the national rate, the paper said.
The increasing number of women farmers may be connected to another trend. The average size of Contra Costa farms has shrunk dramatically. The number of acres farmed by women in Contra Costa doubled from 2002 to 2007, with small-scale operations accounting for most of the growth.
Reporter Hannah Dreier sought commentary about the trends from the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Dan Sumner.
"You're talking about a place where over time the agriculture has shifted to deal with an urbanizing county, so you get more boutique operations," the story quoted Sumner.
Other factors that contributed to the trend, according to the story, were:
- Many women like the freedom and flexibility that come with running a farm.
- Some women see sustainable farming as a way to do something positive for the environment and healthful for themselves.
- One women farmer suggested females do well at farmers market "because we're more chatty that way."
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The ranks of women farmers in Contra Costa County swells.