Conference on Farm Transfer and Management Set For Feb. 15, 16

A two-day conference on Farm Transfer and Management is scheduled for Feb. 15 and 16 at the Double Tree by Hilton in DeWitt, east of Syracuse.

The conference, put on by NY FarmNet, will include discussion and education about how to manage the risks of farm business transfer, such as:

** Human Resource Management
** Strategies for managing the agricultural market
** Crop insurance options for your farm
** Developing a risk management plan for your farm

Gary Schnitkey will give the keynote address. Schnitkey, a professor and farm management specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, focuses on farm and risk management, specifically crop insurance evaluation, and aiding farmers in understanding the risk and return tradeoffs of different crop insurance policies. 

Admission to the conference is free as are all meals and materials. Hotel accommodations are NOT included. Travel scholarships are available for veterans.

Tickets are available at https://www.cvent.com/events/farm-transfer-management-conference-risk-management-in-new-york-agriculture-in-an-age-of-uncertainty/registration-568bd06cdec04e988f3b7f1938e42de6.aspx this link.

You also can register at http://bit.ly/farmtransfer at this link. Registration does not include hotel reservations.

Also sponsoring the conference are Farm Credit East, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Ag Analytics.

 

 

Researchers: Soda, Junk Foods Not Keeping or Making People Obese

From Cornell University:

Indulgences like sodas and junk foods have long been blamed as the prime culprits responsible for worrying obesity trends across the United States. 

But a new analysis by a pair of Cornell University researchers suggests that, for the majority of the population, those food and drink choices may not be the scourge of the American waistline as commonly imagined.

The study by professors David Just and Brian Wansink of Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management reexamined national data from 2007-08 describing people’s food habits based on their body mass index. For all but the most overweight and underweight individuals, the consumption of soda, candy and fast food showed no correlation to body mass index.

Indulging in those tasty albeit non-ideal food choices is often derided as a sure-fire way to become obese. However, those categorized as healthy weight and obese individuals consume nearly identical amounts on average, according to the study, published in the journal Obesity Science & Practice.

The findings upend the seemingly self-evident conclusion that consuming unhealthy foods is the cause of high rates of obesity. Just said previous studies reporting a positive correlation between indulgent foods and weight status at the population level failed to take into account the distorting effects from the roughly 5 percent of people who are either chronically underweight or morbidly obese.

For the rest of the 95 percent of the population, the consumption of those indulgent foods and beverages showed no significant difference between the habits of healthy weight and overweight individuals.

The study does not say sodas and fast food are healthy choices. But it suggests those indulgences receive far more scorn than their impact warrants.

“Simply put, just because those things can lead you to get fat doesn’t mean that’s what is making us fat,” says Just. "By targeting just these vilified foods, we are creating policies that are not just highly ineffective, but may be self-defeating as it distracts from the real underlying causes of obesity.”

Just says banishing sodas and fast-food as the solution to curbing obesity is in fact a flawed approach to obtaining real results. Rather, sedentary activity levels and inadequate consumption of healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, likely play an outsized influence on a person’s weight. 

Just said the public health implication of maligning junk food as the preeminent cause of obesity goes beyond giving one class of food a bad name. Health policies directed at those vilified foods threaten to squander resources that could be used on more effective community health decisions. 

And for dieters, false information risks breeding disillusionment when their efforts don’t result in the anticipated weight loss.

“If you want to try and prevent obesity, or want to create policy that is going to help people, simply addressing the availability of junk foods and sodas isn’t going to do it,” says Just. “This isn’t the difference between fat people and skinny people. It’s other things.”

New GMO Labeling Will Cost Consumers Hundreds per Year

A study released by Professor William Lesser in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University shows that pending legislation that mandates labeling of foods containing ingredients that have been genetically modified would dramatically raise food costs for consumers in New York. 

A family of four would see an average increase of $500 each year, but for some, the increase could be closer to $800.

“Consumers already have a choice to buy food labeled as non-GMO or organic when they shop,” said Jeff Williams, chairman of the Empire State Council of Agricultural Organization.  “Families in this state shouldn’t be burdened with additional costs because of this unnecessary legislation.”

Hundreds of studies have shown that GMO foods are safe and have the same nutritional value as conventionally grown products. 

The full report can be viewed at: http://dyson.cornell.edu/people/profiles/docs/LabelingNY.pdf