Erie County Fair Offers 'Little Hands on the Farm'

Cool story out of Buffalo.

Go to http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/erie-county/little-hands-on-the-farm-teaches-young-fairgoers-about-agriculture-20150810 to check it out.

Deadline Feb. 16 for Ag Society Foundation Grants

News from the New York State Agricultural Society:

The New York State Agricultural Society Foundation will be awarding a total of $10,000 in grants this spring to organizations across the state with a focus on “Building the Agriculture Intellect of Youth.” 

The Foundation will consider programs targeting youth – junior high age and older – that improve awareness of how agriculture works.

Founded in 2011, the organization is leveraging charitable contributions and partnership opportunities to support agricultural education, leadership development and industry recognition; the mission of the NYS Agricultural Society.  

“We want to continue to be a vehicle for action,” said Ann Noble Shephard, foundation chair. “Our goal is to plant seeds of influence today to help positively change the playing field for agriculture in the future. Partnering with non-profits in local communities to help spread the message is a tool that can be very effective.”

The new Foundation funded its first round of grants in 2014 — six grants, totaling $10,000 reached 266,000 people.

Applications for 2015 are due Feb. 16.  Details at: http://www.nysagsociety.org/foundation/388-2/ 

The Foundation plans to award grants of up to $2,500 and is most interested in supporting new activities in all parts of New York State. The focus for each grant year will change depending on current events and industry developments.

Retaining Youth to Work in Ag in Upstate NY

Interesting read on retaining youth in ag careers in Upstate New York.

Go to http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/lifestyles/article_9aa93186-325a-11e4-b5d4-001a4bcf887a.html to check it out.

Keeping Youth Safe on the Farm

Here is this week's column by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack:

It’s no secret that agricultural work is tough work – and as America’s farm families know, it can be dangerous.

Last year, agriculture recorded the highest fatal injury rate of any industry, with the rate of on-the-job fatality in agriculture nearly seven times the rate for all U.S. workers.Adding complexity to this challenge is the unique role that youth play on the farm and ranch.  Many farms and ranches are a family business. This important tradition strengthens American agriculture and instills important life skills for our young people.Unfortunately, this means that young people also share in the hazards of farm work.  On average, more than 100 youth die each year in farm-related accidents.  Thousands more are injured on the farm or ranch.   
 

Every injury or death on the farm is tragic, and the involvement of a young person makes such accidents particularly difficult to bear.

That’s why the federal government has sought to help families, farm groups and businesses ensure youth safety on the farm, while still enabling young people to have the important chance to work in agriculture. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture promised to address youth farm safety in innovative, comprehensive ways, working in partnership with folks from around the country. 

On Sept. 25, we announced new plans to strengthen that commitment by developing a national training curriculum to reduce agricultural hazards to young workers.

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $600,000 over two years to Pennsylvania State University, which will work with partner universities and a broad range of agriculture and education organizations to develop this training curriculum.

The result will provide a unified approach to national youth farm safety education, as well as a formalized effort to educate rural youth who are working on the farm or ranch. Overall, NIFA has provided nearly $2 million in funding under the Obama Administration to complement the good efforts of America’s farmer, rancher and producer organizations to improve youth farm safety. 

In addition to the benefits that these awards will bring for youth on the farm, this is another important reminder of the wide range of efforts NIFA carries out in partnership with Land Grant Universities.

Folks across the country are counting on Congress to pass a comprehensive new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that gives USDA and university partners across the nation continued tools to strengthen American agriculture.

In the years to come we’re committed to a common-sense approach to youth safety on the farm. The Departments of Agriculture and Labor will continue to coordinate closely with America’s producers and agriculture organizations on this and other farm safety efforts.

This challenge is critically important for our rural young people, and we must work together.  This week’s new effort will further expand USDA’s broad partnerships to improve farm safety. It will ensure that our young people can get the experience they need to keep American agriculture strong and abundant in the years to come, while staying safe and sound in the process.

November Deadline to Apply for Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship

The deadline is Nov. 18 to apply  for the New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship.

Scholarship awards are $1,500 for first place, $1,200 for second, and $1,000 for third place. 

Students applying must have a family Farm Bureau membership or a Student Farm Bureau membership (a membership application may be included with scholarship enclosures). Students are required to submit a brief essay answering the question, “If you had the power to change something in your community or on your farm, what would you change and why?”

The first place winner will be invited to present their essay at a NYFB Spring event.New York Farm Bureau is encouraging high school seniors who have been involved with agriculture and plan on continuing studies in this field to apply for the New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship sponsored by the New York Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee. 

 

At the District level, a personal interview and essay presentation may be scheduled at the discretion of the district representative. The county winner will be the applicant scoring the highest for each county. The district winner will be overall highest county winner.

District winners will be notified on or before the district judging deadline of Jan. 18. The district winners will have an opportunity to make minor changes (i.e. grammar, spelling, additional awards etc.) to their applications prior to the Feb. 1 final deadline, at which time all applications must be into New York Farm Bureau for the state judging. 

The state competition is based solely upon the application and attachments.

 

To nominate someone for the scholarship or to request an application, call (800) 342-4143 or go to http:/www.nyfb.org  and then scroll down to “Farm Essentials” for scholarship information and the application.

June is Dairy Month -- How Does Dairy Impact the Weight of Youths?

A New York college is studying the impact of eating dairy products on the weight of youths.

Go to http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2013/06/18/dyouville-to-study-dairy-weight-in.html or go to http://www.dyc.edu/news-center/news/2013/0614_wrotniak.aspx to read about the study.

The Women's and Children Health Network states on its website (from January 2013) that three servings of dairy a day is needed for youths age 12 to 18 for bone growth and strength. But it will be interesting to see what this D'Youville College study says dairy does to weight.

Follow along here at Empire State Farming for future reports about this study.