The Farm Post eNews

Friday eNews from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus
 

MARCH 25, 2016
Women in Ag
Today, nearly 1 million women are U.S. farm operators, according to the USDA. As farm operators, they do the work or make day-to-day decisions about planting and harvesting crops, feeding livestock, marketing and so on. Operators may be owners, members of the owner's household, hired managers, tenants, renters or sharecroppers.

Women involved in agriculture as farmers or ranchers - and in related occupations - are being celebrated throughout March (Women's History Month) in a variety of ways including on social media using the hashtag #WomenInAg.

Earlier this month, AFBF celebrated several women members, including Isabella Chism, Marieta Hauser and Lillian Ostendorf. Two other women involved in agriculture and Farm Bureau that you'll hearing about during Women's History Month are Danielle Clark and Carolyn Olson.

Focus on Ag column
My American Farm Outreach
The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has launched this year's My American Farm Outreach Grant Program. Middle- and high-school students who are interested in using My American Farm resources to reach out to elementary school students about why agriculture is important in everyone's life are encouraged to participate.

The resources found online at http://myamericanfarm.org/ will provide middle- and high-school students with appropriate tools to share the messages that agriculture is everywhere, there are many careers in agriculture, and farmers feed the world, care for animals and are stewards of the land. Upon completion of outreach events, 10 selected classrooms will receive $1,500 to use for further agricultural literacy efforts. Applications are available online.

AFBF news release
Market Basket Cheaper
Lower retail prices for several foods, including salad, orange juice, shredded cheddar, ground chuck, sirloin tip roast, vegetable oil, white bread, deli ham and orange juice, resulted in a slight decrease in AFBF's Spring Picnic Marketbasket Survey. The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare one or more meals was $53.28, down $.59 or about 1 percent compared to a survey conducted a year ago. Of the 16 items surveyed, ten decreased and six increased in average price.

"Egg prices are up sharply from first quarter of 2015, a year ago but are down even more sharply from the third quarter of 2015. This shows the effect of the HPAI (High Pathogenic Avian Influenza) event last year," said John Anderson, AFBF's deputy chief economist. "Prices soared in the latter half of last year, but are working their way back down as increasing production has started to catch up with demand, which has moderated prices somewhat," he said.

Prices on the beef items in the marketbasket - ground chuck and sirloin tip roast - are lower compared with the first quarter of 2015, explained Anderson. Retail beef prices peaked in early 2015 at record high levels.

AFBF news release
Navigating Social Media
Navigating the fast-paced world of social media can be intimidating, especially to beginners. However, social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, offer endless opportunities to market your company, brand and products to millions of people with just the click of a mouse.

Feed & Grain article
HAPPY EASTER
TODAY IN HISTORY
MARCH 25, 1969
JOHN AND YOKO
BED-IN

Knowing their March 20, 1969 marriage would be a huge press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace. They spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite (Room 702) at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel for a week between March 25 and 31, inviting the world's press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

To the press' surprise, the couple were sitting in bed-in John's words "like angels"-talking about peace with signs over their bed reading "Hair Peace" and "Bed Peace". 
 
The first bed-in would be immortalized in "The Ballad of John and Yoko".

Read more at wikipedia.org 
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