This will be our last email of the week- as we take a pause for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend- further down in today's email- we reflect about what Thanksgiving means and offer a few thoughts about the things in life that really matter- however, here we wanted to remind you that the United States really pauses- as a country- to count our blessings on Thursday.

Here's a look at the market schedule for today through Friday from a market perspective:



You should be able to increase the size of the picture above on your smartphone or on your computer screen to be able to see the details of the markets- hint- everything is closed on Thursday.

If you listen to us on great radio stations across the region- we will be off on Thursday- but will return with our normal lineup of programming on Friday, even as the markets are on a half day schedule.

Most auction barns are off today through the rest of this week- call before you load any critters to go to town- it's mostly a normal week of trading as of next Monday. 

It is that time of year when we have two or three weeks of trade between Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas- there is normally at least two weeks of no trade for most of our livestock auction markets at the end of the year- again- check those end of the year schedules- especially if you need to sell a few animals for tax purposes. 

We will return with our next email of farm and ranch news bright and early next Monday- November 28th.

 

The Cattlemen's Beef Board has made it a goal to help consumers reduce food waste. With Thanksgiving upon us and Christmas just around the corner, many of us will be overwhelmed with leftovers that will hopefully be eaten, not just eventually thrown away. To help you make the most of your meals, RON's Associate Farm Director Carson Horn recently visited with the Beef Board's Secretary-Treasurer and Nebraska cattle feeder Joan Ruskamp, who shared some of her tips for stretching those leftovers and reducing your waste.


"We're encouraging consumers to get involved in eliminating whatever food waste we can by managing what they're buying and what they're using and showing how to reuse leftovers in creative ways," Ruskamp said.


Americans waste 40 percent of their food, says Ruskamp, and equates that figure to approximately $2,500 in lost income for the average family. She points out, too, that it is not just the food that is wasted, but the resources that went into producing the food as well.


Ruskamp offers several tips to cut down on your family's waste. For example, when buying groceries, think about what foods are perishable. Be sure to put those where you can see them in your refrigerator and pantry and won't forget them; front of shelf - front of mind. To keep track of things, she recommends taking an inventory of your food in the house regularly, or plan your meals for the week, so you only buy what you need and everything is ensured to be used before they go bad. Storing things properly, especially in the freezer can significantly stretch the lifespan of food as well. Finally, she encourages consumers to find creative ways of repurposing leftovers into new meals.


For recipe ideas designed to do just that and help you plan ahead, Ruskamp strongly advises visiting Beefitswhatsfordinner.com.


Listen to Ruskamp discuss more tips and ideas to reduce food waste and how to get the family involved in the process.

On Monday, a California federal court ruled in favor of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an industry coalition including CropLife America, the American Seed Trade Association, the Agricultural Retailers Association, the National Cotton Council of America, the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Corn Growers Association (Intervenors) in Anderson v. EPA, a lawsuit brought against EPA by a number of plaintiffs. Plaintiffs had asked the court to order EPA to regulate seeds treated with pesticides as if the seeds were the pesticides themselves, the result of which would be to unnecessarily duplicate EPA's science-based regulatory review of the active ingredients used in treatment products. The Court ruled in favor of EPA and the Intervenors and against Plaintiffs on each of the Plaintiffs' claims.


The Court found that the 2013 Bee Guidance document on which Plaintiffs had relied was neither an "agency action" nor "final" under the Administrative Procedure Act, and that Plaintiffs claims were not reviewable by a Court. The Court also denied Plaintiffs' request to seek additional documents and information from EPA to support their claims.


"CLA applauds the court for reinforcing the importance of decisions built on the foundation of established science-based reviews of crop protection products," said Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CLA. "Our members depend on the consistency of the regulatory process to ensure they are able to get new and more advanced products to market, while ensuring these products have been thoroughly tested for environmental and human health safety," Vroom added.


This decision protects the ability of growers to continue using seed treatment technology that is vital to American agriculture, permits EPA to retain its current regulatory approach for treated seeds, and allows EPA and the agricultural value chain to continue their important work on pollinator health issues. CLA is an active member of a number of coalitions addressing the issue of pollinator health through research and innovation. We believe that an engaged partnership between farmers and beekeepers is an integral piece to long term pollinator health.

 

• Ben Franklin - in a letter to his daughter - proposed the turkey as the official United States bird.

• In 2015 - the average American ate 16 pounds of turkey.

• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds - about the size of a large dog.

• A 15-pound turkey usually has about 70-percent white meat and 30-percent dark meat.

• The male turkey is called a tom. The female turkey is called a hen.

• The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.

• Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55-miles-per-hour and run 20-miles-per-hour.

• Turkeys' heads change colors when they become excited.

• Most of the turkeys raised for commercial production are White Hollands.

• It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30-pound tom turkey.

• A domesticated male turkey can reach a weight of 30-pounds within 18-weeks after hatching.

• Forty-five-million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving. Twenty-two-million turkeys are eaten each Christmas. Nineteen-million turkeys are eaten each Easter.

• Male turkeys gobble. Hens do not. They make a clicking noise.

• Turkeys have heart attacks. The United States Air Force was doing test runs and breaking the sound barrier. Nearby turkeys dropped dead with heart attacks.

• The five most popular ways to serve leftover turkey is as a sandwich, stew, chili or soup, casseroles or as a burger.

If you elect to go traditional- May your bird be a dandy here in a 2016!