Family Food Bytes
NEW RESEARCH ON HONEYBEE PEST (FarmWeek)- New research by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Maryland found clues to the honeybee pest considered the greatest driver of global honeybee colony losses. Microscopic images show the Varroa mite feeds on the honeybee’s fat body tissue, an organ similar to the human liver, rather than a bee’s blood or hemolymph.
MY AMERICAN FARM GAMES APP (FarmWeek) - The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has launched a mobile app for four of its My American Farm games. The games include Keys to Stewardship (science), The Great Seed Search (technology), Thrive (engineering) and Operation Peanut Butter (math). The free My American Farm STEM app may be downloaded from the app store or Google Play. Games available in the app are ideal for students in grades 3 to 5.
EGG-CITING POULTRY ADVENTURE LAUCHED ON MY AMERICAN FARM (AFBF News)-The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, with funding from the USPOULTRY Foundation, have launched a new My American Farm game along with a supporting lesson plan, eComic and activity sheet. The game and resources were developed to help third- through fifth-grade students better understand the poultry and egg industry. In the game, students will adventure through the progression of stages in poultry and egg production. The Egg-Citing Poultry Adventure game is available at http://www.myamericanfarm.org/.
FARMERS QUICK TO JUMP ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP (The Weekly Review) Within a few hours after Gov. JB Pritzker announced industrial hemp licenses were available on April 30 for the first time since outlawed more than 80 years ago, a steady flow of applications began coming into the Illinois Department of Agriculture website with over 350 applications being received within the first 2 days.
CONSUMERS PLAN TO KEEP EATING ANIMAL PROTEIN (FarmWeek). Two-thirds of U.S. consumers will continue to keep eating animal protein according to global research from Cargill. Roughly 80% of the survey participants said that animal protein can be part of an environmentally responsible regimen and 93% say that it can play an important role in a healthy diet.
IFB SURVEY MEMBERS ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE In May, the Illinois Farm Bureau emailed questionnaires to voting members to gauge interest in an Association Health Plan (AHP). The 12 question survey asked information about current healthcare coverages, employees, and what members are seeking in terms of healthcare coverage. Voting members who want to participate in the survey but didn’t receive an email can do so by visiting MyIFB at www.ilfb.org to enter your email address.
NEW PRAIRIE FARMS ICE CREAM Prairie Farms Dairy has begun marketing new Premium Small Batch ice cream in grocery stores. The product starts with simple ingredients, including milk and cream sourced from local, family–owned dairy farms, along with sugar. Premium Small Batch is available in 25 flavors including black raspberry chocolate chip, brown butter maple and chocolate malted milkshake.
SOY-BASED DRINKING STRAW WINS CONTEST (Indiana Soybean Alliance). Three Purdue students, making up, Team Story, earned top honors at a recent innovation competition with their entry of a soybean–based drinking straw. The straw, which offers the material consistency of a plastic straw, outperforms the primary commercialized alternative paper straws in quality, price and materials.
NEW RESEARCH 0N HONEYBEE PEST (FarmWeek). New research by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Maryland found clues to the honeybee pest considered the greatest driver of global honeybee colony losses. Microscopic images show the Varroa mite feeds on the honeybee’s fat body tissue, an organ similar to the human liver, rather than a bee’s blood or hemolymph. The results are expected to help scientists develop more effective treatments to help bees cope with the mite that spreads at least 5 viruses. The work also helps explain how Varroa mites cause detrimental effects on honeybees, weakening their immune systems and making it harder for them to store protein from pollen and survive winter.
POLLINATOR HABITAT GRANTS GO TO LOCAL GROUPS ACROSS THE STATE (FarmWeekNow) St. Louis-based Bayer set out two years ago with its Feed a Bee initiative to fund efforts to create pollinator plantings and education efforts throughout the U.S by providing grants up to $5,000 to establish forage and habitat in their communities and provide an educational component to members of those communities. The grant program has awarded grants to eight Illinois schools, communities and organizations.
About Family Food Bytes: This is a collection of articles gathered from both mainstream and agriculture media and is designed to keep you informed as a member and leader within the Cook County Farm Bureau organization. The articles summarized above are not intended to represent Cook County Farm Bureau policy or positions, but rather to provide members an idea of what is being reported regionally, nationally, and globally.