Safety Tip: Stay safe this holiday season

Safety Tip: Stay safe this holiday season

Safety Tip: Stay safe this holiday season

Winter holidays are a time for families and friends to get together. But that also means a greater risk for fire. Following a few simple tips will ensure a happy and fire-safe holiday season.

• Inspect electrical decorations for damage before use. Cracked or damaged sockets, loose or bare wires, and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.

• Do not overload electrical outlets. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are a common cause of holiday fires. Avoid overloading outlets and plug only one high-wattage appliance into each outlet at a time. Never connect more than three strings of incandescent lights. More than three strands may not only blow a fuse, but can also cause a fire.

• Keep tree fresh by watering daily. Dry trees are a serious fire hazard.

• Don’t light luminarias or farolitos if windy conditions are expected, and do not place them on flammable surfaces like dry grass.

• Use battery-operated candles. Candles start almost half of home decoration fires.

• Keep combustibles at least three feet from heat sources. A heat source that was too close to the decoration was a factor in half of home fires that began with decorations.

• Protect cords from damage. To avoid shock or fire hazards, cords should never be pinched by furniture, forced into small spaces such as doors or windows, placed under rugs, located near heat sources or attached by nails or staples.

• Check decorations for certification label. Decorations not bearing a label from an Independent testing laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association(CSA) or Intertek (ETL) have not been tested for safety and could be hazardous.

• Stay in the kitchen when something is cooking. Unattended cooking equipment is the leading cause of home cooking fires.

• Turn off, unplug and extinguish all decorations when going to sleep or leaving the house. Unattended candles are the cause of one in five home candle fires. Half of home fire deaths occur between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Udall Secures Measures to Grow the Next Generation of New Mexico Farmers & Ranchers in Farm Bill

Udall Secures Measures to Grow the Next Generation of New Mexico Farmers & Ranchers in Farm Bill

Will break down financial barriers that prevent new farmers and ranchers from starting out in agriculture

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced the passage of a measure that he has championed that will help shore up the future of farming and ranching in New Mexico and across the country by attracting younger generations to pursue careers in agriculture. Udall’s bipartisan Farmers of Tomorrow Act, S. 2685, which was included in the 2018 Farm Bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 87-13 last week, will aim to strengthen the next generation of farmers and ranchers by expanding eligibility to a critical loan program for new farmers to buy land and easements or improve farm facilities.

“New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers work tirelessly to feed and fuel the nation while growing our state’s economy. But the average age of farmers and ranchers in New Mexico is over 60, and we need smart investments to ensure our agriculture sector remains strong in the future,” said Udall. “The Farmers of Tomorrow Act will help cultivate the next generation of farmers by lifting barriers to entry and increasing access to the capital necessary to pursue agriculture. I fought hard to include these measures in the Farm Bill because I know how crucial it is to encourage and incentivize hopeful new farmers and ranchers to revitalize and invest in our rural communities in New Mexico and across the country. By addressing the obstacles that make starting a career in farming seem out of reach, we can open doors for the next generation of farmers and ranchers to continue strengthening New Mexico agriculture and driving our economy forward.”

In the United States, the number of new farmers has continued to decline rapidly as the average age of farmers continues to rise. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives farm ownership loan preference to applicants with a degree in agriculture or a related field and requires several years of agricultural tax returns. However, many beginning farmers and ranchers may choose to enter agriculture after pursuing a different educational path, completing military service, or leaving another industry, and may not have the required tax return information to secure a direct farm ownership loan. 

Udall’s bill, which he and U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced in April of this year, will streamline “farm experience” eligibility requirements for USDA direct farm ownership. This will level the playing field for new farmers and ranchers with degrees in disciplines other than agriculture and without farm income based tax returns, allowing them greater access to capital to purchase or expand a farm or ranch. The provisions were included in the 2018 Farm Bill as part of the Farm Credit title.  This title also increased the size of ownership loans from $300,000 to $600,000, modernizing the program to bring it more in line with the real costs of farm and ranch purchases.

In addition to improvements in loan programs for beginning farmers and ranchers, the Farm Bill creates a new Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) Program, which combines support for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers with outreach assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers to create $435 million in permanent grant and technical assistance funding – tripling the current investment. This new program incorporated changes from S. 2839, the Assist Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Act, which Udall cosponsored.

Malta star-thistle Invasion

Malta star-thistle Invasion

Malta star-thistle (Centaurea melitensis L.) was first found in Eddy County around 2003 or so along the truck by pass in Carlsbad.  I carry a hoe in the truck for such occurrence and have rouged out a number of new invasive weed when I see them.  I was too late for this one however; I did rouge out a patch only to find 20 or more patches down the highway.  Since that time this weed has been the target of the Eddy County weed management group who have done their very best to stop this weed.  The fact it took almost 13 years for it to become a major concern is a testament to their work.  But like the Russian thistle (tumble weed) it can now be found in the just about everywhere in the county and is moving from disturbed site such as road sides into fields and landscapes.  I brought some into my driveway I am sure on tires and two years ago had two plants.  I took care of them in the same area last year I had 10 plants, this year I had a ½ a 55 gallon drum full after hoe them out and burning them.  I have been watch and sprayed at first sight.  That is how aggressive and difficult this weed is to kill.    It is a winter annual with a spiny yellow flowered head that reaches about 3 feet higher but under good growing condition can reach 4 feet.  The spins are less than a 1.5 inches, which distinguishes it from its cousin yellow star-thistle.  It reproduces by seed and can produce 1-60 seeds per flowering head.  The leaves are withered usually by flowering time.  This is a tricky weed though.  It germinates in the fall, like the mustard, as soon as it has two true leaves it bolt and send up one flower that will have 1-5 seed in it and it is at ground level 1/8 of an inch above the crown.    So it is difficult to mow this flower off and it a guaranteed species survival for another year or more.   If you look now you will see at least one flower down there. 

There have been six biological control insects released for yellow star thistle.  These insects feed on the seed thus reducing seed production. It is a wait and see if they can also help with Malta, so far as I know we don’t have any of the biological insect in the state yet. 

Chemical control if applied at the right time of year works well.  The systemic herbicides clopyralid or picloram work well when applied between December to April in rangeland or roadside applications. These chemicals will kill trees and other desirable broad leaf plants so don’t use them if you will be planting desirable vegetation.   Once the flower is set, chemical application doesn’t do the job.  I rouged one out before flower and leaf wilt, put it on top of a large rock in the sun, two weeks later with no soil, no moisture the flowers were open and three weeks they were mature and viable.  I did the same after treating with three different herbicides, including paraquat.  To stop seed production is almost imposable but you can reduce it.   In alfalfa fields the use of the mustard herbicides when there is mustard weed present may help, in the late fall when it first germinates.   Clorpyralid and picloram will kill alfalfa and other perennial broad leaf plants like pecan trees, so you cannot use these herbicides in vary many places.

Sheep and goat like to graze this weed until it gets the spiny flower.  It has no toxic effect but once the spine form they can lodge in the mouth and tong causing problems; however, most animals will not try it. Cattle don’t seem to have any desire to feed upon it at any stage.  This weed is almost imposable to control by mechanical methods.  For homeowner in landscape situations all you can do is hoe of cut the tops off catching the seed head and disposing them in a dumpster, but as described earlier there are those survival seeds that are produced without much notice.  Because of flooding in the past there is a lot of seed in the fields and if you do not spry for mustard it will get worse.  The seed will not germinate until late fall.  You can control the mustard and this weed too hopefully with good applications.  I think Prowl H2O with the last water in the fall is a worthwhile effort, but I have no science to back that up.  I have seen this weed all up and down the irrigation main channel.

Fall application of a pre-emergent with a post emergent herbicide that is labeled for the crop or ornamental turf will go a long way to control this aggressive invader.   Such as Image and Gallery in ornamental turf situations.   Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/  Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator.  All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

USDA Highlights Benefits of Improved Dairy Safety Net Tool

Press Release

USDA Highlights Benefits of Improved Dairy Safety Net Tool

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2018 — More than 21,400 dairy producers opted for coverage through the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) in 2018, up by more than 2,000 producers from the previous year. This U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program was significantly updated in February by the Bipartisan Act of 2018, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said those changes attracted more producers to enroll in the safety net program or to increase their coverage.

“Dairy producers have long been battling low prices, high input costs, and a surplus in the global market. Unfortunately, the 2014 Farm Bill did not provide a sufficient safety net to dairy producers and so it was timely that Congress opted to provide additional support through the Margin Protection Program last February,” Secretary Perdue said. “We are pleased to announce that roughly half of our nation’s dairy producers enrolled for coverage under this reworked Program, providing additional capital to keep some of these folks afloat. We understand that this is not a total fix nor long-term solution for dairy producers, but we are glad that the Farm Service Agency was able to spring into action to get these critical payments out the door just a few months after the legislative changes were enacted. USDA is looking forward to prioritizing the implementation of the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, the new longer-term, more comprehensive dairy safety net program, following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.”

MPP-Dairy, administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, protects dairy producers by paying them when the difference between the national all-milk price and the national average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount elected by the producer.

Many producers received their first MPP-Dairy payments in February 2018, and most producers who have chosen premium coverage levels of $7, $7.50, or $8 have seen a payment for every month since February. For these seven months, over $253 million in payments have been made to dairy operators.

The Bipartisan Budget Act made several changes, including:

• Providing monthly payments instead of bi-monthly;
• Permitting of dairy operations that had not participated before to enroll in the program;
• Covering 5 million pounds of production (instead of 4 million) on the Tier 1 premium schedule;
• Significantly reducing premiums per hundredweight under the Tier 1 premium schedule; and
• Exempting limited resource, beginning, veteran, and disadvantaged dairy operators from paying the annual administrative fee.

While enrollment for MPP-Dairy has closed, USDA encourages dairy producers to consider other programs, including the Dairy Revenue Protection Program, Livestock Gross Margin Insurance for Dairy Cattle, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and Conservation Stewardship Program.