Prarieland Dairy, National Winner

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Dairy Farm Award Winners from Midwest Exemplify
Commitment to Stewardship and Sustainability
Midwest Dairy pleased to announce Prairieland Dairy in Nebraska as a national winner of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards and McCarty Family Farms in Kansas as an Honorable Mention

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy recently announced the winners of its second annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, which recognize dairy farms for practices that advance the industry’s commitment to healthy products, healthy communities and a healthy planet. Midwest Dairy Association, the farmer-funded checkoff organization for 10 Midwest states, is pleased to announce that two farms within its territory were honored, including Prairieland Dairy of Firth, Neb., as a national winner, and McCarty Family Farms, LLC of Rexford, Kan., as an honorable mention.

The awards program is part of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment, an industry-wide effort to measure and improve economic, environmental and social sustainability of the dairy industry. The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges, which included experts from academic institutions, government, dairy science organizations, nongovernmental organizations, media and environmental and dairy industry leaders, and are based on the delivery of results to advance economic, environmental and social sustainability. The panel also assessed the potential for adoption by other farms as well as demonstrated learning, innovation and improvement.

Prairieland Dairy is a creative partnership between four Nebraska dairy farm families that milks 1,600 cows, farms 600 acres and is home to a processing plant, Prairieland Foods, and a composting site, Prairieland Gold. From the efficiently built barns that bring great cow comfort—to automatic cooling, waste management and pest control systems—each has a role in the farm’s sustainability solutions. Prairieland Dairy also taps into the natural power of wind, gravity and the geothermal properties of well water to reduce the use of energy, water and equipment.

“We take all of our commitments very seriously,” said Dan Rice, general manager of Prairieland Dairy. “And none more so than our commitment to sustainability.”

Honorable mention, McCarty Family Farms, has a milking herd of about 7,200 cows that produce almost 60,000 gallons of milk every day in northwestern Kansas. They have a unique partnership with Dannon, and the milk from the McCarty’s three dairies goes directly to their processing plant. First, the unpasteurized milk moves through an evaporator to remove extra water. Every drop of water is reused throughout the dairy for purposes such as cleaning, providing drinking water for the cows and irrigating crops. They reclaim 39,000 gallons of water daily from condensing milk, which means 75 percent fewer trucks are required to ship milk on their farm.

“Sustainability for us means respecting our roles and responsibilities as stewards of the land, caretakers of our animals, members of the community, parents and husbands – but also as members of the dairy community,” said Ken McCarty.

“The strength of the award winners’ stories illustrates why consumers can be confident about choosing their favorite dairy foods,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “These and thousands of other actions taken every day – both large and small – contribute to the industry’s overall commitment to a healthy future for the next generation.”

To learn more about the industry’s commitment to sustainability, visit USDairy.com. To get to know more about Midwest dairy farmers and their sustainability practices, visit DairyMakesSense.com.

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Midwest Dairy Association® is a non-profit organization funded by dairy farmers to build demand for dairy products through integrated marketing, nutrition education and research. Midwest Dairy is funded by checkoff dollars from dairy farmers in a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit http://www.midwestdairy.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook at Midwest Dairy.

Kiddie Food for Grownups: Revisionist Froot Loops, Gourmet PB&Js

Innovative chefs are recreating their childhood favorites with a gourmet, adult spin. Second Home in Denver, Colo., serves up Froot Loop pancakes, patrons love the orzo mac-and-cheese with oyster mushrooms at Berkley, Calif.-based FIVE, and the PB&J pot de crème is the most popular dessert served at Aurea in San Francisco. “I tell people it tastes like a baked peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich,” said executive chef Michael Koenig. “I considered adding Wonder Bread crostini on the side.”

READ MORE:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anneli-rufus/kiddie-food-for-grownups_b_2480897.html

The California Cook: Zucchini is a versatile star of summer

Tomatoes are summer’s glamour crop, round, red and ripe. But though zucchini will never get as many magazine covers, real cooks know you can’t beat it for versatility. If you’ve got a perfectly ripened backyard tomato, there are only a few things you should do with it (yes, admittedly, all of them are delicious). But if you’ve got a bag of zucchini, well, the sky is the limit. Here, when you include the three accompanying recipes, are a dozen quick ideas.

Click here to read about 9 delicious Zucchini recipes: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook-20120818,0,3792961.story

Obama Urged to Push Kids’ Food Marketing Regs

by Gretchen Goetz | Sep 29, 2011

Academic experts from across the nation are calling on President Obama to ensure that his administration establishes guidelines on marketing food to children.
In a letter to the President Tuesday, more than 75 researchers in the fields of nutrition, marketing, medicine and public health asked that the Obama administration finalize its proposed guidelines on nutritional standards and marketing definitions for food marketed to children. 
A draft version of these recommendations was released in April by the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Food Marketed to Children, a coalition of officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The guidelines would set limits on the amount of sodium, added sugars and unhealthy fats in foods advertised to children, and would set minimums for foods that supply healthy nutrients, including whole-grain-based ingredients, fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk products, extra lean meat or poultry, eggs, nuts, seeds and beans.
The standards are voluntary, and are intended as a tool for industry self-regulation.

To read more click the following link: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/academics-urge-obama-to-push-child-food-marketing-regulations/

Institutional Food you can Stomach

Check this out:

http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/01/institutional-food-stomach/

For local chefs, a kid’s lunch is packed with challenges

Even culinary professionals struggle with how to keep their kids fueled through the school day

Chef K is a mother of one and tells me that she can relate to this article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bs-fo-chef-lunchboxes-20110103,0,6588285,full.story

Gosh Toto…..Green Beans in December

Good article from the Lawrence Journal World.  

 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/oct/25/tunnels-extend-growing-season-many-fruit-and-veget/

Archive for Monday, October 25, 2010

‘High tunnels’ extend growing season for many fruit and vegetable crops near Lawrence

Come Dec. 10, Scott Thellman expects to be harvesting green beans.

That’s right, fresh green beans in Kansas in December.

Thellman is one of eight farmers in Douglas County who are taking advantage
of a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that helps pay for high
tunnels. Large, unheated greenhouses, high tunnels — or hoop houses, as they
are also known — allow farmers to protect their plants from the elements by
covering the area with plastic that’s attached to metal stakes and arches.

High tunnels extend the growing season by a few weeks on each side. For
Kansans who like to buy their produce locally, that means fresh strawberries
in May and tomatoes in October. Shoppers will find local greens earlier and
later in the season at locally owned downtown restaurants, The Community
Mercantile and the Lawrence Farmers’ Market.

The grant signifies a shift in how the federal government disperses money to
farmers. In the past, farm programs have largely targeted commodity crops
such as wheat, soybeans and corn.

“For vegetable and fruit growers there has been very little help,” said Bill
Wood, director of Douglas County’s K-State Research and Extension office.
“This is one way to improve that. And, it also strengths the local food
possibilities.”

Local preferences

As more Americans become interested in increasing local food production,
high tunnels will become more popular, said Dan Nagengast, executive
director of the Kansas Rural Center.

Nagengast has been an advocate of high tunnels for years. With his wife,
Lynn Byczynski, Nagengast has used four high tunnels for the past several
years as part of their flower growing operation.

“As the weather gets extreme, it’s a really cheap way to put a piece of
plastic between (your plants) and whatever the hell is going on,” Nagengast
said.

With use of the tunnels, Nagengast’s farm has produced broccoli in January
and leeks, cabbage and spinach over much of the winter. Their flowers were
bigger and more bountiful.

“Soon, the question starts being, ‘why don’t we have the whole field under
high tunnels?” he said.

For farms that are organic or will transition to become certified organic,
the federal grant covers a large chunk of the cost of putting up a high
tunnel, which can run between $5,000 and $7,000.

Close to 50 farmers in Kansas have taken advantage of the program. By far,
the biggest group comes from Douglas County.

“Most of them are young producers wanting to find a niche market. There is
certainly a demand in Douglas County and Johnson County for organic
produce,” said Clyde Mermis, district conservationist with the Natural
Resource Conservation Service, the agency administering the grant through
the USDA.

Outfoxing the weather

This week, Noah Wood was watering young salad greens that sat inside a hoop
house at Wakarusa Valley Farms. In the back were still-producing tomato
plants that he needed to clear to plant more salad mix.

Based on the success of his first hoop house, Mark Lumpe, owner of the farm,
went ahead and applied for a grant to build a second one. As soon as Lumpe
covers the structure with plastic, he plans to plant mushrooms and greens in
that hoop house this fall.

“When it is really wet and I can get outside to work, I say ‘did I tell you
how much I love my new hoop house?’ It always gives us something to do,”
Lumpe said.

With more farmers using hoop houses, Lumpe hopes others will agree to sell
later in the year at the farmers’ market or extend the weeks they sell food
to groups of consumers through community-supported agriculture
subscriptions.

“This will make a big difference,” Lumpe said.

For Thellman, the government’s offer to chip in $4,000 for his hoop house
gave him the boost he was waiting for to start growing organic vegetables.
The 20-year-old, who is a freshman at Iowa State University, started hay
farming at 15. But he’s always wanted to try growing organic fruits and
vegetables.

“So, this grant helped me take the next step,” Thellman said of the
government’s offer to pay for 75 percent of the cost.

While he is away at school, Thellman has help from neighbor Barbara Clark,
owner of Maggie’s Farm. Along with green beans, they have arugula, leeks,
radishes, beets and basil growing under their hoop house.

“It’s kind of a learning experience,” Thellman said. “It’s not something you
think about, going out and picking green beans in December.”

Our Award Winners and a Recipe for you to enjoy!

KCA culinary students and BistroKid’s Chef Mark, WIN Hen House’s Aspiring Chef Challenge!   Chef Mark Zukaitis and KCA students Sage Wolfe, Autumn Hands, Nam Ahrens and Jon Heitman competed on Sunday (November 7th) at the Overland Park Convention Center against two community college culinary programs and one other high school team.  You can also check out more pictures at www.kcaacademy.com

KCA’s recipe?  Stuffed blackened ribeye with a honey-raisin compound butter atop a Tangerine Fideo noodle and butter braised vegetables! 

 If you would like this recipe, check it out here: http://bistrokids.com/recipes/item/35-stuffed-blackened-ribeye-with-a-honey-raisin-compound-butter-atop-a-tangerine-fideo-noodle-and-butter-braised-vegetables.html

Congrats to the entire middle school culinary class and to the winning culinary crew.

Boulder’s cafeterias are attracting a new kind of ‘lunch ladies’

This is a story about our friend Chef Ann Cooper and the new style of “lunch lady” that is invading the Boulder Co. school district.  But I have to admit, I’m partial to our “Lunch Ladies and Lunch Dudes.”

http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-11-10-not-your-mommas-lunch-ladies-boulder

The fast-food industry’s $4.2 billion marketing blitz

This is an article that spotlights the fast foods spending and how healthy their dollar is at the expense of you and your loved ones health.  Healthy eating is a grass roots cause that is up against large stacks of money.  But through understanding and education, we can chip into those marketing dollars.  The questions is…..Will you?

http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-11-09-the-fast-food-industrys-4.2-billion-marketing-blitz