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VOLUME 22; NUMBER 10 - FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013 CIRCULATION 6,000
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Feed Grains). According to Philip Abbott, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, The share of U.S. corn production used to produce ethanol increased from 12.4% in the 2004/05 crop year to over 38.5% in the 2010/11 crop year, and remained at that high level in 2011/12. (NBER Conference, Seattle) Human consumption and household products provide many opportunities to use corn. Ploehn said that there were more than 4,200 uses for corn. (www.thehandthatfeedsus.org <http://www.thehandthatfeedsus.org> ,) According to an article published July 9, 2012, In the U.S. today, approximately 75% of all processed foods contain corn. A few of the best known corn-containing products are bread, breakfast cereal, buns, cooking oil, condiments, gelatin capsules, granola, ice cream, sauces, salad dressing, soda, spaghetti, and yogurt. And its use goes far beyond food. Corn is found in the following products: adhesives, aluminum, aspirin, cosmetics, cough syrup, dry cell batteries, envelopes, fiberglass insulation, ink, insecticides, paint, penicillin, powders, rugs and carpets, stamps, talcum, toothpaste,
fueled mainly by petroleumbased products. Minnesota requires that ethanol be added to gasoline. Some of Minnesotas corn goes to ethanol plants in Minnesota and other states, is added to gasoline, and helps reduce dependence on petroleum and keeps prices down. So far, its all good news. But thats not the entire story. For people, there are negative aspects to all this corn. When growing corn, all farmers who are not organic farmers use herbicides, pesticides, and commercial fertilizers routinely. They use genetically-modified (GM) corn seeds produced by Monsanto, which has a virtual monopoly on corn seed production. The herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer end up in the mature ears of corn, as well as in the soil and in the surface water of the land. Thus, people are consuming herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically-modified organisms daily, both directly and indi-
rectly. The chemicals build up in the fat in peoples bodies, and the GM food can cause changes in peoples DNA. According to an article summarizing a range of scientific peer-reviewed studies of the effects on human health caused by exposure to herbicides and pesticides, these substances may cause cancer (e.g. atrazine, 2,4-D,diuron, simazine), neurological conditions (chlorpyrifos), birth defects (atrazine, 2,4-D, diuron, endosulfan, MCPA), reduced fetal growth (atrazine, chlorpyrifos, 2,4-D,metolachlor), and metabolic problems leading to obesity and diabetes (chlorpyrifos). Fetal and early childhood exposures to pesticides are a key concern, with considerable evidence of links between such exposures to a wide variety of pesticides and a range of childhood cancers, especially brain cancer and leukemia. Prenatal exposure, particularly to However, Continued on page 3
This time of year mother raccoons and their young are out in search of food. Your home sweet corn patch might be an easy target for them. Many people like to try to live trap them and release them elsewhere. There are many tricks to keep the critters out of your crops, but they can be pretty persistent as well. Above: one of three young raccoons is trapped in a live trap in rural Todd County. Subsequently, all three young raccoons were trapped and released. Trail camera photo.
FRIDAY AUGUST 16
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 8:00 am (RAIN DATE) 4-H Horse Show Horse Arena TUESDAY, AUGUST 13 12 - 5 pm 4-H Non Livestock Judging WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 5:00 9:00 pm Open Class Non Livestock entries accepted 9 am - 1:00 pm All Livestock must be stalled except lactating dairy cows. Absolutely no exceptions. THURSDAY, AUGUST 15 9:00 am 4-H Rabbit Show 9:00 am Day Care Day Entertainment Pavilion 9:00 am 12:00 pm Open Class Non Livestock Entries 10:00am Lactating Dairy Cows must be stalled absolutely no exceptions 11:00 am 4-H Livestock Interviews 1:00pm 4-H Dairy Goat Show Expo Arena 1:00 - 7:00 pm FFA Youth Farmland Open 2:00 pm Commercial and 4-H Buildings Open 2:00pm Open Class Non Livestock Exhibit Judging 3:00 pm Evolution of Communication and Civil War Display Historical Bldg. 4:00 pm Crescent City Amusements Midway Opens 5:00 pm Progressive Wine Making Demonstration, Prairie Building 5:00pm 4-H Fashion Revue -- 4-H Building 6:00 pm IRON GRILL COOK OFF Registration Entertainment Pavilion 6:00 -10:00 pm Arm Band Carnival 6:00pm 4-H Poultry Show East Side Tent 7:00 pm Texas Holdem Beer Garden 10:00 pm Commercial and Exhibit buildings closed FRIDAY, AUGUST 16 9:00 am 4-H Dairy show Expo Arena 12:00 pm noon Carnival Opens 12:00 pm Commercial and Exhibit buildings open 12 9 pm Evolution of Communication and Civil War Display Historical Bldg. 12 3 pm Russell Smith Entertainment Pavilion 12:30 pm Great River Regional Library Story Time & Crafts Prairie Building 1:00 4:00 pm Arm Band Carnival 1:00 - 7:00 pm FFA Youth Farmland Open 1-2 pm Todd County Outstanding Senior Citizen Entertainment Pavilion 2 5pm Prairie Quilters Demonstration Prairie Building 3:30 - 5 pm Dr. Hand, Civil War Re-enactor Entertainment Pavilion 3:00 pm 4-H General Livestock Show Expo Arena 5:00 pm Progressive Wine Making Demonstration, Prairie Building 5:00 7:00 pm KEYL Live at the Fair 6:30 pm Brad Boice Elvis Inpersonator 6:00 9:00 pm Arm Band Carnival 6:30 pm BULL RIDING & MUT-
SATURDAY August 17
TON BUSTIN - GRANDSTAND 7:00 & 11:00 pm Deal or No Deal - Beer Garden 9:30 pm Diamonte Band 10:00 pm Commercial and Exhibit buildings close SATURDAY, AUGUST 17 7:00 am 1st Annual RIB COOK OFF - Entertainment Pavilion 8:00 am 12:00 pm KEYL Live at the Fair 10:00 am-12:00 pm noon Youth Horse Show - Horse Arena 10:00am Open Class Dairy Show Expo Arena 10:30 am TRACTOR PULL - Out of Field Tractors - Grandstand 12:00pm Commercial and Exhibit buildings open 12:00 pm Carnival Opens 12:00 - 5:00 pm MS. JAZEE Clown/Balloonologist (with 1 hour break) 12:00 5:00 pm Emerald Kelly, The Clockwork Clown 12 9 pm Evolution of Communication and Civil War Display Historical Bldg. 12 pm Evolution of Transportation in Todd County Historical Bldg. 1:00 - 5:00 pm Carnival Armband Event 1:00 pm Apple Press Demonstration Gary and Mary Schultz Historical Building 1:00 pm Fairy Gardens Presentation - Grandstand 1:00 pm FREE Texas Hold'em Beer Garden 1:00 - 7:00 pm FFA Youth Farmland Open 1:30 pm Open Class Beef and Sheep Show Expo Arena 1:30 pm Hispanic Dancers Prairie Building 2:30 pm Butter Making -
SUNDAY August 18
Historical Bldg. 3:00 pm Fairy Gardens Presentation - Grandstand 3:30 7:00 pm Entertainment Pavilion 4:00 pm Ruby Boots - Gary and Dawn Timbs Entertainment Pavilion 4:00 - 7:00 pm (or until gone) SWEET CORN FEED - Beer Garden 5:00 pm RIB COOK OFF serving - $1.00/bone 5:00 pm Progressive Wine Making Demonstration, Prairie Building 7:00 pm TRUCK PULL Grandstand 7:00 pm & 11 pm Deal or No Deal - Beer Garden 7:30 - 10:30 PM Youth Barn Dance - Expo Bldg. Sponsored by Hollerman Family Dairy Inc. 8:00 pm 12:30 am Entertainment Pavilion 10:00 pm Commercial and Exhibit Buildings Close SUNDAY, AUGUST 18 8:30 am Check In for Open Class Goat Show Expo Arena 10:00 am Open Class Goat Show Expo Arena 12:00 pm Interdenominational Church Service - Red Letter Band - Entertainment Pavilion 12:00 pm Commercial and Exhibit buildings open 12 pm Evolution of Communication and Civil War Display Historical Bldg. 12:00 pm Great River Regional Library Story Time & Crafts Prairie Building 12:00 pm Carnival Opens 12:00 - 5:00 pm MS. JAZEE Clown/Balloonologist (with 1 hour break) 12:00 5:00 pm Emerald Kelly, The Clockwork Clown 12:00 pm Beer Garden Opens 12 4 pm Steamroller Print Making 1:00 pm Talent Contest Registration - Entertainment Pavilion 2:00 pm Talent Contest Entertainment Pavilion 1:00 - 5:00 pm Carnival Armband Event 1:30 pm Hispanic Dancers 1:00 - 7:00 pm FFA Youth Farmland Open 1:45 pm Century Farm Recognition - Entertainment Pavilion 1:45 pm Todd County Farm Family of the Year Entertainment Pavilion 2:00 pm Smear Tournament 7 pt - Beer Garden 2:30 pm 4-H Premier Showmanship 4:30 6:30 pm Slew Foot Family Band Entertainment Pavilion (call and schedule one of the fair dates) 5:00 pm Parade of Champions Expo Arena 5:00 pm Progressive Wine Making Demonstration, Prairie Building 6:00 pm DEMOLITION DERBY Grandstand 7:00pm Exhibit release time Check the website for information and updates: www.toddcountyfair.com This is a tentative schedule, subject to change.
organophosphate insecticides, is strongly linked with a range of developmental, cognitive and behavior deficits, that can result in lasting adverse effects on the brain and leading to what has been described as a silent pandemic of developmental neurotoxicity. Prenatal exposure is also strongly linked with a range of birth defects. (Watts, M. Human health impacts of exposure to pesticides. Meriel Watts Research and Consulting, Auckland, New Zealand, posted by David Low online in WeedsNews4346) According to a study by Dennis Weisenburger, M.D., at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, The use of pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture has grown dramatically over the past 30 years. Currently, approximately 600 active pesticide ingredients are used, but adequate toxicologic data are available for only approximately 100 of these. Environmental exposure of humans to agrichemicals is common and results in both acute and chronic health effects, including acute and chronic neurotoxicity (insecticides, fungicides, fumigants), lung damage (paraquat), chemical burns (anhydrous ammonia), and infant methemoglobinemia (nitrate in groundwater). A variety of cancers also have been linked to exposure to various pesticides, particularly hematopoietic cancers. Immunologic abnormalities and adverse reproductive and developmental effects due to pesticides also have been reported. The health effects associated with pesticides do not appear to be restricted to only a few chemical classes. Therefore, enhanced efforts are needed to control or eliminate human exposures wherever possible. (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0 046817793902348 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/00468177939023 48> ) In addition to its affects on our diet and our health, corn is a player in the global economic system. The global economic system is affected by supplies of corn produced by American farmers, and Minnesota farms are among the top corn producers in the world. Since 39% of corn is used to make ethanol, when corn prices go up, ethanol production costs more. When ethanol production costs more, ethanol prices go up. When ethanol prices go up, the cost of gasoline and biodiesel fuels rises. So people pay more for gas and biodiesel at the pump. When corn prices go up, farmers who grow corn earn more money. Farmers who raise livestock then have to pay more to buy corn to feed their chickens, pigs, and cattle. Then the eggs, milk, butter, and meat the livestock farmers produce cost more for grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, schools, military services, food processors, and prisons to buy. And the cost of transporting these goods goes up. And thus peoples food prices go up. The prices of ancillary products like salad dressing, cooking oil, cornstarch, sweeteners, soda, etc., also rise when corn prices go up. Our food costs rise, and we have to either change our eating habits, or buy fewer food items.
CORN AND ANIMALS Remember, 43% of the corn crop is used for animal feed. It is used for animal feed because US agriculture policy provides substantial subsidies to farmers who produce grains, particularly corn and soybeans, making the crops cheap to produce. (Fact Sheet, USDA, FSAAdministered Programs, Feb. 2013). Corn and soybeans are abundant here, and readily available to be used as animal feed. According to a report published by www.offthegridnews.com <http://www.offthegridnews.com> , $0.62 of every $1.00 that a U.S. farmer earns growing corn comes from the government through crop subsidies, assistance payments, price supports, and other means. In Todd County, there are 1,060 registered feedlots caring for close to 2 million animals (Feb. 2013 report from Todd County SWCDD). Most perhaps all of these animals are fed corn grain, and most of them are confined in buildings or small fenced areas outside. feeding corn to animals is a problem. They cant digest it, and it makes them sick. It forces them to put on weight, especially fat. Then humans eat the fatty meat, and the results include obesity and diabetes in the human population. A lot of the corn crop is fed to pigs and hogs. A new long term feeding study done in Iowa and reported in the Australian Journal of Organic Systems found health problems in confined pigs fed a diet of genetically modified corn and soy <http://www.loe.org/shows/segbeans ments.html?programID=13-P1300025&segmentID=1>, June 21,2013). Pigs fed a combination of genetically modified soy and corn suffered more frequent severe stomach inflammation and enlargement of the uterus than those who ate a non-GM diet. Providing adequate consumption of all essential nutrients is central to maintaining good health of pigs. Animals that are fed properly are more resistant to many bacterial and parasitic infections, which may be partially due to better body tissue integrity, increased antibody production, improved immunity to diseases, or other factors. {D]iet and health are intricately connected and dependent upon each other. (Diet and Health Interactions in Swine, National Swine Nutrition Guide, University of Minnesota) Cows react poorly to corn feed also. Cows are natural ruminants, which means that they are able to digest the cellulose in grass because of their multichambered digestive tracts. Because ruminants' digestive systems are not designed for grain, cattle raised on grain can develop severe health problems, including liver abscesses, bloat, and sudden death syndrome. Studies have shown that the incidence of liver abscesses in cattle decreases significantly as more roughage, such as grass or hay, is added to their diets. (Chengappa, M. M., & Nagaraja, T. G. (1998). Liver abscesses in feedlot cattle: A review. Journal of Animal Science, 76, 287-298. )
cont. on page 5
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The Todd County Country Courier, Page 5, Friday, August 9, 2013 Continued from page 3 Raising cattle on pasture <http://www.sustainabletable.org/248/sustainable-livestock-husbandry> not only makes sense for their digestive health, but also because it is an efficient use of natural resources, turning something we cant eat grass into something we can meat and dairy products. Pasture-based cattle operations also decrease soil erosion and improve soil fertility and water quality by maintaining grasslands which protect soils from water and wind erosion. Unlike pasture raised animals, grain fed cattle are often raised on grass early in their lives, then moved to a feedlot where they are fed rations composed of 70 to 90 percent grain. From then until they reach market weight, anywhere from 90 to 300 days later, cattle consume about 6 pounds of feed for every one pound of weight gain. (USDA Economic Research Service. (2012). Cattle: Background.) The overreliance on grain-based animal feeds in industrial food animal production has negative consequences for animal health, the environment, and even human health. Considering the natural eating habits of livestock animals when formulating animal feeds would be beneficial to both animals and consumers, and will result in healthier herds and flocks, less reliance on antibiotics to control disease, as well as a lower chance of introducing certain pathogens into society via contaminated meat. (http://www.sustainabletable.org/260/animal-feed) Why feed corn to animals? Apparently because it makes them gain weight, and
The Christie House, built in 1901, is a walk-in the past through a country doctors home and carriage House with a great duck decoy collection.
the livestock producers who sell their animals are paid based on the animals weight. THE ECONOMICS OF CORN So who benefits from the large-scale production of corn? Thousands of people nationwide, and multi-national conglomerates like Cargill, ADC, Monsanto, and others. First, of course, are the farmers who grow corn to make a living. Second, the grain elevator operators and co-ops that collect the corn and market it. Then the commodity brokers who make a living selling futures of agricultural products, metals, meats, and energy on commodity exchanges. Next are the corn processors like Cargill, Green Giant, Kellogg, General Mills, and many others, the ethanol producers, and the major hog, cattle, dairy, and poultry producers who buy corn for animal feed.
Then come the grocery wholesalers who buy the corn and meat products and distribute them, e.g. Nash Finch, Mason Bros, Henrys Foods, etc. Then the grocery stores and restaurants who sell the food to the people who will eat it. In addition to these companies and their employees, there are hundreds of thousands of people who work for the U.S.D.A., the state Departments of Agriculture, the Farm Service Agencies, the University Extension Services, and the employees of all the other businesses just mentioned in the economic chain of corn production. There are lobby groups like the National Corn Growers Association and the high fructose corn syrup industry, who also benefit from King Corn. Who loses in the corn economy? Children whose school lunches contain too much corn sweetener and other cornbased processed foods and fat, fast-
cont. on page 9
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Cont. from page 5 food consumers, soda drinkers, lowincome people who buy cheap cornbased products and cheap meats, people who are allergic to corn and have to check every label of every product in order to avoid accidentally consuming it. And all of us who are eating meat loaded with saturated fat from animals who have been fed corn. People who eat corn products are also eating herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and GMO products whose long-term effects are largely unknown. People whose wells are contaminated by nitrates from fertilizer, or from pesticides and herbicides applied to agricultural land also lose. When these people become ill as a result of eating foods high in fat, cholesterol, and chemicals, the medical industry becomes a player. CONCLUSIONS The corn economy is complex, with many players and stakeholders, and pros and cons. Corn has effects on both people and animals. Corn has become a staple commodity, used in more than 4,200 products, and its effects are widespread in the U.S. Corn is heavily subsidized by the federal government. Corn surpluses and corn exports help provide food for foreign countries who cannot produce enough food to feed their citizens. Surplus corn and meat help provide a stable food supply for Americans. Ethanol made from corn takes a large proportion of the harvest, but helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. When farmers grow corn instead of other crops like wheat and oats, the prices of those grains rise due to a smaller supply. Current farming practices using herbicides, pesticides, and GM seeds have negative effects on animal health and human health.
Todd County Country Courier, Page 10 Friday, August 9, 2013 15 Relaxation Day 16 Tell a Joke Day 17 Thriftshop Day 18 Bad Poetry Day 19 Aviation Day 20 Radio Day 21 Senior Citizen's Day 22 Be an Angel Day, Tooth Fairy Day 23 Ride the Wind Day 24 Vesuvius Day 25 Kiss and Make Up Day 26 National Dog Day 26 Women's Equality Day 27 Forgiveness Day, Just Because Day 28 Race Your Mouse Day 29 More Herbs, Less Salt Day 30 Frankenstein Day, Toasted Marshmallow Day 31 National Trail Mix Day
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