Nebraska Extension - Gage County
August 2019 Newsletter
In This Issue:
- Office Closed - Labor Day
- Yard & Garden
- 2019 Soybean Management Field Days
- Benefits of a Vegetable Garden
- Think Ahead for Fall Garden
- Moisture Problems for Trees
- Gage County Fair Wrap Up
- Who Should Actually Avoid Gluten?
- The Health Halo Effect
- Overwhelmed in the Grocery Aisle
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Yard & Garden Live
This is the Q&A for the Yard and Garden show for July 12, 2019. Yard and Garden Live is a call-in radio show I do on KUTT 99.5 FM from 10-11:30 am and it will run through August 2, 2019. It can also be found on kutt995.com for online listening. If you missed a show or just want to read through the questions, I have written them all in my blog and will continue to do so throughout the season.
Guest Host: Sarah Browning, Extension Educator in Lancaster County
2019 Soybean Management FIELD DAYS | August 13-16
For 21 years, Soybean Management Field Days have been helping Nebraska growers stay competitive in the global marketplace. We’ve brought research-based information to your neighborhood to help soybean growers maximize productivity and profitability through smart decisions and efficient use of resources. Meeting the world's growing food and energy needs starts right here in Nebraska – at the 2019 Soybean Management Field Days! Join us at a site near you – complimentary admission and lunch included.
Benefits of a Vegetable Garden
Think Ahead for Fall Garden
It may seem that our gardening season finishes up as soon as it begins. This is the time, however, to start thinking about fall gardens and succession planting to extend your gardening season.
Fall gardening can be more beneficial than spring gardening. Some of our spring crops will actually grow better and produce better under cooler fall weather than they do in warmer spring temperatures. The weather often warms up quicker in the spring and can cause our spring crops to bolt or die early with little production. The longer, cooler fall season can be the answer to this problem.
Moisture Problems for Trees and Other Landscape Plants
4-H & Youth Development - Jacie Milius, Extension Educator & Jane Esau, 4-H Assistant
Gage County Fair Wrap Up
Winners were evident everywhere at the Gage County Fair - from the 4-H and FFA exhibitors, to the donors, to the hundreds of volunteers, to the management of the fair. # 1 reason on the “Top Ten Reasons County Fairs are Successful” is the volunteers who give so generously of your time and talents. The success of the fair is 100% dependent on volunteers. You set up, take entries and make displays, record entries, run gates, announce, tear down, clean up the grounds, and much more. You are the ones who make this event great!
Congratulations to exhibitors, families and participants. You exhibited sportsmanship, teamwork, and positive character. Parents are priceless in the 4-H program, giving time to your children and other children throughout the year and during fair week to help them learn new skills and perfect the “old” ones. Our favorite signs in the livestock barns read “Many champions pass through this barn but the best of all are the kids who work in it.”
The Gage County Fair & Expo is a celebration of what 4-H and FFA youth have achieved, the showcase for youth to share what they’ve learned. Participation in a county fair has been shown to develop leadership skills, character, life skills, positive relationships, decision making, goal setting and working together.
4-H and FFA youth exhibited over 1000 livestock, poultry, rabbits, small pets, and horse events. Exhibits in the 4-H Building totaled nearly 2,100 entries. These exhibitors will remember purple ribbons and the thrill of the trophy, as well as the red ribbons and life lessons.
Thanks to Riverview Jr. Stockmen 4-H Club for presenting Championship Row, housing champion and reserve champion livestock, as well as poultry & rabbits in their barn, and the Sunday Parade of Champions. What an awesome recognition of the success of exhibitors.
Giving us faith in the future, Clover Kids non-competitive exhibits in the 4-H Building were awesome for these future 4-H members, kids who can’t wait to join 4-H.
The support of award donors is vital to the recognition of the success of 4-H and FFA youth. Our thanks to over 150 businesses and organizations in the county who give so generously.
Thanks for believing in the value of rewarding youth for their accomplishments.
Thanks to the Gage County Ag Society and spouses for your hard work, time, energy, and love of kids. Their support pays for judges fees of over $9,000; premium money exceeds $23,000, plus ribbons, entertainment, and the many other components of the fair.
Thanks to everyone who came to the fair; we hope you were among the visitors who experienced 4-H and Open Class exhibits, grandstand entertainment, Championship Row, Lego Land, Giddy Up kids pony races, and more. Mother Nature played her hand in the gift of the most beautiful fair days on record. Together we created another spectacular community celebration, joining thousands of others since the first Gage County Fair in 1871. “Memories Never Fade” is more than our theme - we celebrated agriculture, friends, fair food, life skills, exhibits, entertainment, and so many memories. The best thing about memories is making them!
Food, Nutrition & Health - Tara Dunker, Extension Educator
Who Should Actually Avoid Gluten?
Within the past decade, gluten-free products and folks who swear by them have popped up just about everywhere.
This has definitely helped the gluten-free movement rocket to fad diet fame, unlikely to go away anytime soon. And even though its star has faded somewhat—in favor of newer fads—I’m sure it will be recycled somewhere down the line.
That’s how diet culture works, but we’ll save that for another article, another day.
The Health Halo Effect
While it is not a new concept, the term “health halo” has gained considerable ground over the past couple years.
It refers to our tendency to overestimate the healthfulness of a food based on clever marketing claims, often printed in bright, bold colors on the front of a package.
And while these health halos aren’t necessarily an intentional con, they can permeate popular culture in ways that lead to wide-spread confusion among consumers.
Overwhelmed in the Grocery Aisle
Even dietitians aren’t immune to being overwhelmed in the grocery aisle.
You know what I’m talking about—that overwhelming feeling of rounding the corner to the produce section to find an entire wall of lettuce varieties: spring mix, salad kits, baby spinach, garden blend. I could go on.
A quick search of a popular big box store’s website generates an even more jarring number of choices.
Nebraska Extension - Gage County
Email: Gage-County@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/gage/
Location: 1115 West Scott Street, Beatrice, NE, USA
Phone: 402-223-1384
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLExtensionGageCo/
Twitter: @GageCoExtension