Rooting for a prosperous 2012

Happy New Year from Pittsylvania County! (Photo by Pam Wiley)

For as long as I can remember, I've heard people talk about eating pork on Dec. 31 and/or Jan. 1 for good luck in the new year. My family frequently ate like that too.

It was not until this year, however, that I learned the origins of that tradition. In October I interviewed a pork producer in Pittsylvania County who said her family celebrates the new year with a pork roast or other pork entrée.

“It’s just a German thing,” she said, “because pigs root forward.”

It all goes back to the belief that the things you do—or eat—on New Year’s Day will have an impact on how your year unfolds. Pigs, when they eat, push forward, while chickens scratch backward and cattle stand still.

Of course, there are all knds of regional and cultural variations and side dishes, like black-eyed peas or sauerkraut. A former coworker who grew up in Charleston, S.C., told me that for the luck to work, the pork and greens and black-eyed peas had to be already cooking on the stove at midnight on New Year’s Eve. The greens, she said, represent paper money, and the legumes represent coins.

Here’s two pork recipes for the weekend, one for Saturday night, and one for Sunday morning, both from the National Pork Board.

(National Pork Board)

Italian Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped

½ cup green onions, sliced

6-ounce package long-grain and wild rice mix, cooked according to package directions and cooled

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon salt

10-ounce container Alfredo sauce, refrigerated

3 tablespoons chardonnay or other dry white wine

Heat oven to 425°.

Cut a lengthwise slit in each pork tenderloin, cutting to but not through the other side. Set pork aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and green onions, and cook until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice, pecans and parsley, setting aside ¾ cup of the rice mixture.

Spoon remaining rice mixture into a 1½-quart casserole dish; cover, and set aside.

Divide the ¾ cup rice mixture evenly between the slits in pork tenderloins. Close the stuffed tenderloins and secure with toothpicks.

Stir together Italian seasoning and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the pork tenderloins. Place the pork on the rack of a shallow roasting pan.

Roast tenderloins, uncovered, for 25-27 minutes, until internal temperature is 145°, followed by a 5-minute rest time.

Bake rice mixture alongside tenderloins.

Meanwhile, for sauce, combine Alfredo sauce and wine in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until bubbly.

To serve, spoon rice mixture onto a serving platter. Remove toothpicks from tenderloins. Cut tenderloins into 1" pieces and arrange on rice mixture. Serve with sauce.

(National Pork Board)

Ham and Cheese Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup vegetable oil

8 ounces boneless ham steak, diced

1½ cups grated Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400°.

Lightly grease and flour 12 regular muffin tins.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Whisk together the egg, buttermilk and oil in a small bowl. Stir in the ham and cheese. Using a rubber spatula, stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined. Do not over-mix.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tins, approximately ¾ full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove from muffin tin and let cool.

Substitutions: Try 6 slices of pan-broiled and diced bacon or 8 ounces of cooked, crumbled and drained pork sausage in place of the ham.

Show & Tell Wednesday: Lots of livestock

(Virginia Farm Bureau file photo)

No matter what’s on the ground or falling from the sky, livestock on farms have to be fed, and winter weather presents a unique set of challenges.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports a Virginia livestock population of 1.54 million cattle, 355,000 swine and 90,000 sheep in 2010.

'Farm' is pretty straightforward, but 'rural' can get complicated

(Virginia Farm Bureau file photo)

When it comes to identifying a farm in the United States, the official definitions are pretty straightforward.

The U.S. Department of agriculture defines a farm as “any establishment from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold or would be normally sold during the year.”

And for tax purposes, the IRS generally allows that “The term ‘farm’ includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, furbearing animal, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities, and orchards and woodlands.” While not specifically mentioned, vineyards are covered by the inclusive “raising of agricultural and horticultural commodities” part.

Interestingly, in looking those definitions up, I found out that “agritourism,” which might seem like a fairly recent term, entered the English language as a new word in 1979, according to Merriam-Webster.

Farms tend to be found in rural areas. But they don’t define them.

USDA has attempted to define rural America; in fact, it has 11 different definitions, based on population and other characteristics.

Earlier this year, Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, said at a conference on rural philanthropy that “rural America has no definition that is agreed upon,” especially now that urban sprawl has been changing the character of non-urban communities since the 1950s.

From a census perspective, Groves said, a rural area is any place that is “absent any urban cluster of 2,500 people.” He also noted that three characteristics stand out: Rural places have twice as many gas stations per capita as metropolitan America, about the same number of eating and drinking establishments and half as many dental practices.

He left out the part about everybody waving when you pass them on the road.

Note: If you farm, and you need tax information in the coming months, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency has launched a new website called Rural Tax Education at ruraltax.org to provide farmers and ranchers with information on agriculture-related income and self-employment tax issues.

Food Friday: Wassail Punch

The Winter Solstice took place this year on Dec. 22. It’s the point in the year when the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn and marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.

Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.

Historically, people have celebrated the solstice with recipes that include lamb or mutton, plum pudding and punch. Here’s a recipe for Wassail Punch from the Country Treasures from Virginia Farm Bureau Kitchens cookbook. It was contributed to the book by Faye Davis of Campbell County, who noted that it also is great after sleighriding.

This punch can be mixed ahead of time and warmed before serving.

Happy sipping!

(Photo courtesy of The Kitchn)

Wassail Punch

24 whole cloves

4 sticks cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1 gallon apple cider

1 quart orange juice

1 cup lemon juice

1 quart pineapple juice

Tie spices in cloth or leave loose, whichever you prefer. Mix and simmer for 10 minutes in the cider and fruit juices. Serve hot. Store remainder in refrigerator. Serves 24.

Show & Tell Wednesday: Spotlights can add drama to your holiday landscape

(Photo by Norm Hyde, Virginia Farm Bureau)

Outdoor decorations can be all about the lights—or they can be about using light to accentuate the most dramatic trees on your property.

“Spotlighting can highlight some of your beautiful evergreens,” said horticulturalist Mark Viette.

Using a timer and some homemade baffles for your lights, you can create a convenient and courteous look.

“The important thing is you don’t want to blind your neighbors,” Viette said.

(Photo by Norm Hyde, Virginia Farm Bureau)

Using a 1-gallon or larger plastic nursery pot, cut off a little less than half of the vertical part, then poke a hole in the bottom that will let you spike the light toward the back of the baffle. Use the device to keep light from spilling anywhere but right on your trees.

You can use a timer to shut your lights off at a designated time each evening, saving you money and dousing the display when there’s no one awake to see it anyway.

‘Your responsibility to your horse begins before your stewardship and extends past your care’

It’s no secret that animal shelters around the country are filled with cats and dogs in need of homes. Some are there because their owners could no longer afford to take care of them.

In these tough economic times, some horses are finding themselves in the same situation.

Horses are classified as livestock, not companion animals, and in the absence of a better option, some owners have been turning their horses loose, neglecting them in the pasture or trying to find rescue organizations that can take them.

(Virginia Farm Bureau file photo)

Earlier this year I listened in on a presentation by Ericka Caslin, director of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, at a Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Equine Advisory Committee meeting in Lexington. I was able to catch up with her afterward and ask a few questions about the problem of the unwanted horse and more about the Unwanted Horse Coalition:

What is the mission of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, and how is UHC helping unwanted horses?

The mission of the Unwanted Horse Coalition is to reduce the number of unwanted horses and improve their welfare through education and the efforts of organizations committed to the healthy, safety and responsible care and disposition of these horses.

The UHC has shifted its focus beyond education and is starting to create tangible programs to directly help horses and horse owners in need. We have published several important educational materials including our 2009 Unwanted Horses Survey, our Best Practices handbook and our Own Responsibly handbook. Recently, we initiated our first grant program called Operation Gelding. This program is our effort to directly help the issue of indiscriminate breeding, which is the cause of many unwanted horses. We offer seed money to organizations that wish to host a free or low-cost castration clinic.

Is the number of unwanted horses growing?

With the release of the current GAO study, we find that more horses are being abused and neglected. While it's difficult for us to truly find a number of unwanted horses, we can definitely see that it's an increasing problem.

Our 2009 Unwanted Horses Survey respondents believe the top contributors to the problem are: downturn of the economy; closing of the nation's processing facilities; change in breed demand/indiscriminate breeding; and the high cost of euthanasia.

How can we prevent unwanted horses?

We can prevent unwanted horses by owning and breeding responsibly.

Organizations can help unwanted horses by creating programs that will directly help horses and horse owners in need. Our Best Practices handbook is a good tool for those interested in helping unwanted horses:

Create castration programs, hay banks and feed banks. The American Quarter Horse Association and U.S. Trotting Association have created a Full Circle program to help horses that may become unwanted. The Jockey Club has created a checkoff program. Many state horse councils have hosted castration programs and clinics. If you are looking to get involved and aren't sure how to do so, you can always contact the UHC for ideas and suggestions.

What does it mean to be a responsible horse owner?

It means that before you buy or breed a horse, you think about how your actions affect the horse. Your responsibility to your horse begins before your stewardship and extends past your care. There are a lot of guidelines available on UHC’s website.

How much does it typically cost to raise a horse per year and per month? What is involved in that cost specifically?

We estimate that it costs around $2,300 per year for stabling and feed costs. This does not include farrier care or veterinary care, which can cost approximately $1,000 a year.

What can someone do when they can no longer care for their horse?

Our Own Responsibly handbook and our website are good resources for horse owners who find themselves in a position in which they are no longer able to care for their horse(s). If the horse is rideable, it can be donated to an equestrian program at a university or school. Therapeutic riding facilities and mounted police forces also accept donations of horses. Owners can also contact rescues to see if they have room for another horse. Some rescues will take owner give ups and place them up for adoption.

Are their any facilities in Virginia where owners can take unwanted horses?

We have a section on our website titled “Facilities that Will Accept Horses.” In this section, facilities have placed themselves on our site as a place that will take in horses that need homes. All facilities are listed by state, and we have a few listed from Virginia.

What can people do to help UHC or help unwanted horses?

If an organization is looking to join in the fight to help unwanted horses, they can join the UHC as a member. The UHC accepts donations to the Operation Gelding program—which helps us fight the issue of indiscriminate breeding—and all dollars donated will go towards the castration costs.

People who are looking to purchase a horse should look into adoption. There are so many wonderful horses out there that need good homes, and a majority of our nation's rescues are over capacity. Adopting horses not only gives the horses a second chance at life, but it will free up space for more horses that need to be rescued.

(Virginia Farm Bureau file photo)

Food Friday: Celebrate Hanukkah with Virginia potato latkes

(Serve potato latkes with applesauce or sour cream. Photo courtesy of Shoresh'im Ministries.)

The holidays are upon us, including Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on Dec. 20.
The eight-day Jewish holiday commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC. Legend has it that only enough ritually clean oil for one day could be found, but it miraculously lasted for eight days.
The custom of serving potato pancakes, or “latkes” as they are called in Yiddish stems from the miracle of the oil.
Potato latkes are a dish many Virginia families enjoy during the Hanukkah celebration, and what better way to celebrate than with fresh potatoes grown by Virginia farmers? Potatoes were Virginia’s third-largest vegetable crop in 2008, with 5,700 acres valued at $22.7 million, according to the most recent figures of the National Agriculture Statistics Service.
Recipes for potato latkes abound. I’ve combined a recipe from Richmond’s Temple Beth-El’s cookbook, Beth-Elicious, and one from Faye Levy, author of Faye Levy’s International Jewish Cookbook. Many recommend serving these with sour cream or applesauce.
Potato Latkes
4 large potatoes
1 small onion, grated
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of pepper
½ cup flour
½ cup oil

Rinse the potatoes, and then grate them. Transfer grated potatoes and onion to a colander, and squeeze the mixture to press out as much liquid as possible.
Transfer grated potatoes and onion to a bowl, and mix in eggs, salt, baking powder, pepper and flour.
Heat oil in a frying pan or electric skillet. Add potato batter to the pan in 2-inch dollops. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Show & Tell Wednesday: Deck the halls with nandina berries

Hearty nandina bushes make great accent shrubs that provide continual visual interest, changing their foliage with each season. At this time of year, festive clusters of red berries adorn the bushes.

Antibiotics heal sick animals, don’t hurt humans

(Dairy cows like this one are given antibiotics when they are sick, but the medicine does not get into milk that is sold to consumers.)

“I want my meat and milk antibiotic-free!” is the sentiment of some consumers.

But do people even understand why farmers use antibiotics? And do they know that antibiotics do not end up in the meat and milk we consume? I don’t think they do.

It’s really not as complicated as people make it out to be.

Antibiotics are for treating illness, and I don’t think any farmer—large-, medium- or small-scale—could raise animals without ever using antibiotics. When animals get sick, farmers treat them with medicine that will make them well.

When you get sick and take an antibiotic, it’s usually for a week, right? But a couple days after you’re done taking it, the medicine is out of your system. It’s the same way with animals.

Just to be sure, all farm-use antibiotics have a withdrawal period during which milk cannot be collected and meat animals cannot enter the food system. In fact, there are laws in place to prevent meat and milk from getting into our food stream with even a trace of antibiotics. For example, every truckload of milk that leaves a dairy farm is tested for antibiotics before the milk goes into the food system—regardless of whether antibiotics were used on the farm.

Milk tankers are tested for antibiotics, and if any milk tests positive for antibiotics, the whole tank is dumped. According to one of my co-workers, Tony Banks, who serves as staff liaison to farmers on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Dairy Advisory Committee, a tanker truck of milk is worth about $9,000.

That’s $9,000 that a farmer stands to lose if his or her milk contains antibiotics.

While most antibiotics are used to treat illness, there are sub-therapeutic antibiotics that are used for reasons other than illness. American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, who raises beef cattle in Texas, said he treats his calves with sub-therapeutic hormones when they are being weaned. It’s a stressful time for the calves, and they have a tendency to get sick, not eat and not grow. Stallman said he gives them a low dose of antibiotics that helps them to be healthy and get through that tough time.

The bottom line is this: Farmers make a living from healthy animals; antibiotics are needed to maintain healthy animals; and our food and milk supply is screened for antibiotics so we don’t need to worry about ingesting them.

If anything, we should worry about what would happen if farmers couldn’t use medicine to treat the animals that provide our meat and milk.

Food Friday: For a Friday night when you're feeling a little 'shellfish'

(Photo courtesy of Virginia Marine Products Board)

Some of that holiday hustle and bustle can be a lot of fun, and after all these years I still get positively stupid over the Singing Dogs’ “Jingle Bells.”

But equally important in this season of short days and long nights is a little quiet time and simple-but-tasty foods.

Clams are an important part of Virginia’s aquaculture industry, and this recipe from the Virginia Marine Products Board is one that we keep on file at home for “silent nights.” It’s great with a loaf of crusty bread on the side.

Impossibly Easy Gourmet Clams

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups (8 ounces) chopped leeks (white part only)

40 small Virginia clams (approximately 4 pounds), rinsed and scrubbed under cold water

1 cup dry white wine

¼ cup chopped fresh tarragon (1½ tablespoons dried)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add leeks, and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Stir in clams and wine, cover and simmer for 4 minutes or until clams have opened. Stir in remaining butter, sprinkle with tarragon, season with pepper and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Show & Tell Wednesday: Pretty, no matter how you pronounce it

(It's that Cuetlaxochitl time of year!)

Poinsettias like these in a greenhouse at Virginia State University are grown commercially in all 50 states and account for one-third of all flowering potted plant sales nationally.

There’s some debate about how to pronounce “poinsettia,” and indeed Merriam-Webster gives two options. Both are more manageable than the plant’s ancient Aztec name: Cuetlaxochitl.

If you have a poinsettia in your home or office, Virginia Cooperative Extension recommends placing it where it will get bright light but be out of drafts. Let the soil—but not the plant—dry between waterings.

If you get ambitious and want to induce your poinsettia to bloom again next winter, Extension provides a year’s worth of direction here.

‘They bought it, they paid for it, they pay taxes on it’

Farmers and other Virginians will ask the General Assembly to approve a referendum on amending the state constitution to protect private property rights with regard to eminent domain. Virginia Farm Bureau President Wayne Pryor explains why:

Not what tree growers wanted for Christmas …

(For every Christmas tree harvested, growers plant two to three seedlings
the following spring.)

Most people who might buy a fresh-cut Christmas tree this season probably already know that they need to keep the tree watered and keep it away from doorways and heat sources.

By this time next year, Christmas tree growers are hoping they’ll know what a promotional checkoff is.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed an industry-requested 15-cents-per-tree assessment—on growers, not consumers—to fund a campaign that would promote fresh-cut U.S. Christmas trees.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, the checkoff was mis-identified on a blog as a “tax on Christmas trees.” The mis-information spread quickly, generating negative sentiment.

Generally speaking, a checkoff is an assessment that producers, handlers or importers of a specific product pay, usually at the time of sale. There are USDA-regulated checkoffs in place on about 20 U.S. agricultural commodities, including beef, milk, pork, lamb, eggs, cotton, watermelons and honey. Funds raised by the checkoffs are used to promote those products.

This is where the concept might become more familiar. Checkoff money has funded campaigns such as “got milk?” “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner,” and the “Incredible Edible Egg”

“It’s just so disappointing to have something like this happen because of an internet rumor,” said Betty Malone, an Oregon grower who chaired the NCTA checkoff study task force that petitioned the USDA for the assessment. “We want our businesses to be successful, and we have to let people know about our product. That takes time, coordination and money.

"Here we were, a group of farmers trying to pool our own money together to sell more of our crop, and now we’re not allowed to because someone decided to call it a tax, when it’s not.”

Food Friday: Applesauce

Believe it or not, fresh local apples are available in some parts of Virginia from July through April. One popular use for those apples is homemade applesauce, and this recipe is from Jennie Simms in Southampton County. She and her husband, Chris, run the blog Agtually.com and were kind enough to share.

(Photo courtesy of Agtually.com)

Applesauce

12 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and diced

lemon juice

water

sugar (optional)

cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice (optional, according to your taste)

Place diced apples in a large pot with enough lemon juice and water to prevent sticking. Heat on medium, covered, until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer apples to a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process to desired consistency, then return apple puree to the pot. Immediately stir in 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Sweeten with sugar and spices if desired. Spoon mixture into hot jars, seal and process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Tip: To prevent browning, add ¼ cup lemon juice to every 4 cups of water in the pot containing the apple slices.

Notes from Jennie:

I found that adding a little of the lemon-water to the food processor yields a much smoother consistency of applesauce. I used really sweet apples in my recipe and added a very small amount of sugar—¼ cup—to the final stage since I was going for a more “natural” applesauce. Once I opened the jar, I decided that I should have added a ½ cup instead. This recipe is one that I hope you’ll try; I think it is sure to become a favorite.