Tomato Love

Tomatoes have gotten a lot of press this year. Salmonella outbreaks, unfortunately, will do that.

But with the official finger no longer pointing to tomatoes for that, the news pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way.

Good thing, too, since a sizable chunk of the U.S. now finds itself smack dab in the middle of fresh tomato season. After all, when folks have kitchen counters laden with golden, red and green tomatoes of various shapes and sizes, they can't really brook another story about what diseases could be lurking there, even if their backyard crop is a thousand miles or more from the alleged ground zero.

Enter Arthur Allen, whose centuries-spanning look at the tomato gets us back to the love so many feel for this succulent gift of summer.

Allen's article, "A Passion for Tomatoes" (Smithsonian, August 2008) wends its way from industrial production to organic farms, from genetic hybrids to heirlooms, and from 16th century Mexico to 21st century laboratories. He also criss-crosses the country, riding shotgun during a California tomato harvest and tasting transgenic varieties in Florida, all in an effort to understand the journey this favored veggie (fruit?) has traveled.

The piece delivers a well-timed reminder of how varied and valuable the tomato is, as if six weeks without them didn't remind us enough.

And Americans do love their tomatoes. They rank as the fourth most popular fresh-market vegetable behind potatoes, lettuce, and onions, and the country is one of the leading suppliers to the world, second only to China. (We're second to China a lot these days.)

But this summer I'm seeing that nothing can spoil tomato love like having too many of them. We're already pushing bags of them onto friends and looking for ideas on what to do with what's left.

The Food Stamp Nutrition Connection's Recipe Finder has helped, since I can find recipes based on ingredients, but if you have any ideas, send them along. I know I'm not alone in feeling the pressure of too many tomatoes.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Food and Nutrition and Plants and Crops on August 20, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Submitted by: Donna Herendeen on August 25, 2008 05:42 PM

A Torrent of Blogs

Like any creature of habit, I have those blogs I dip into regularly to see what's flowing along the various topical tributaries that feed into agriculture.

Doing that, along with monitoring the news, writing posts and doing my regular job fills the work day quite nicely, so you can imagine that I reacted to my recent discovery with mixed emotions.

Last month, Alex Tiller posted a list of 53 blogs on agriculture and farming (including InfoFarm -- thanks, Alex!) and then really piled it on by then pointing to Farm Blogs from Around the World, a blog that seeks to collect -- you guessed it -- "the best farm blogs from around the world."

Fortunately, not all the blogs Alex cites are new to me, but a quick glance at the other list reveals a lot of unexplored waters. Of course, as an "information professional," I have to check them out, which brings me back to the mixed emotions.

I am now drowning in ag blogs.

But at least the water's warm.

Any chance you can throw me a lifeline? Offer your comments on any blog from either of these lists or share your favorite ag blog below.

Or, if you're really the swimming type, just jump on in with me and explore. We'll let the water carry us along.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Blogging on August 15, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Submitted by: Ian Walthew on August 26, 2008 04:07 AM

What Could be Butter Than This?

Obviously, this blog covers agriculture, but within that broad topic, it jumps all over the map.

And ag, as you know, encompasses a lot things, from food to fuel, fiber and forestry, which is how I can cover three very disparate subjects like the Olympics, Norman Borlaug and state fairs and still stay under the ag umbrella.

Well, leave it to the Iowans to join me under that big top.

Through this weekend, you can see butter sculptures of Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson [pic], and ag scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug at the Iowa State Fair.

Joining Johnson and Borlaug in butter are three other Iowans who made significant impacts on agriculture: Etta May Budd, George Washington Carver and Henry A. Wallace. Interestingly, all but Johnson have influential ties to each other, and Carver, Wallace and Borlaug also have close ties to USDA.

We're all butter off because of them.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Agritourism and Biography and Blogging on August 15, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Vacation or Staycation, the Fair's the Thing

Any chance the high gas prices and struggling economy got you considering a staycation this year? Or at least a trip that keeps you closer to home than the South Pacific romp you had dreamed about?

Consider spending the day or even the weekend at your local county or state fair. The walk along the midway will both entertain and educate, and the smells -- for good or for ill -- will certainly bring back memories.

Of course, I'll be the first to admit that the olfactory blend of cotton candy, sawdust and barnyard can't compare to the smell of coconut sunscreen wafting along Fijian ocean breezes, but that doesn't mean it can't sweep you up in all the fun it represents.

From rides that send you hurling (through space, that is) to foods you've never seen fried before, the fair delivers non-stop discovery -- of what is possible and of where your limits are.

The fair also reminds us of the farmers, ranchers and growers that share our community. The contests and displays highlight the work they invest daily in tending their potato crop, raising a prize steer or nurturing a melon into a king-sized example of nature's bounty.

Lucky for you, fairs are thick on the ground this time of year and right on through early fall.

If you're from my home state of Ohio or a cheese-loving Wisconsinite, them I'm sorry to report that your state fairs, along with a few others, are already over, but for most of America, the carnival rides, petting zoos, bake-offs and livestock competitions are just rolling out.

So, get out there this weekend or next, sample the fresh corn, gawk at the giant butter sculptures and give a 4-H-er a well-deserved pat on the back.

And if you've got kids, see if your fair has an animal birthing center. They'll never forget seeing a ewe give birth or a calf take its first steps.

It won't be Fiji, but it'll be an affordable adventure and a welcomed chance to practice your animal sounds.

And it just might be the best staycation ever.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Agritourism on August 14, 2008 EST | Permalink

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In Lockup: A Dramatization

The security guard's keys clank and jingle, echoing against the plaster walls of the cavernous hallway that stretch before him. He turns to look into one office or another every few steps, but he's alone. He knows it, too, because he locked the last of them in just before midnight, and they aren't coming out til morning.

He still chuckles to himself about it, too. He never had to do this kind of thing when he contracted at other Federal agencies. And his friends don't believe him when he tells them he has to do this kind of stuff working for the USDA.

"Aw, c'mon, man. What's with all the cloak and dagger biz? They got some secret three-headed cow down there?"

"Nah, I'd have smelled that by now, I think," he laughs. "But they do have a whole team of people locked away overnight every month or two -- number crunchers, reporters, folks in the print shop. They all have to turn in their cell phones before they go in, and they can't communicate with the outside world until they're done."

"Done with what? What's so important, if it ain't some three-headed cow?"

"Well, that's the crazy part. It's the farm forecasts from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. You've heard them on the radio, haven't you? 'Soybean production is up, corn and cotton are down,' that sort of thing."

"Yea, I've heard 'em, but why all the secrecy about 'em?"

"Because there's money to be made. The reports influence market prices around the world. Getting a hold of those crop forecasts before they're released is like insider trading. You'd have information no one else had, and you could set yourself up in the market to make a bundle."

"Ah, c'mon. It's corn and soybeans, not gold and platinum."

"Maybe so, but it has happened. Back in 1905, two guys set up a signal using a window shade. The guy on the inside would adjust the window shade to tell the guy on the outside if the cotton projections were going to be higher or lower than whatever they had thought. Nowadays, the shades are secured in place before the whole process starts. They also block any wireless signal from getting out."

"Dang, that's serious stuff."

"Sure is, which is why I have to secure the area and let no one in or out except as instructed. The reporters can't even have telephone or computer connections until 8:30 on the dot. It makes sure everyone gets the same information at the same time."

"Sounds like the beginnings of a spy novel."

"I'd think so too if I didn't see it for myself. You really ought to read the article the Farm Journal did about the lockup (PDF | 1.2 MB). It's pretty cool. And a former staff member at NASS wrote a history of the whole process (PDF | 1.5 MB) to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1905 security breach. That one really gets into how things have changed over the years and even tells a few stories of folks getting trapped inside the lockup."

"Don't tell me -- they wouldn't let 'em out until the report was done."

"You got it. You don't want to get stuck at NASS overnight. Better just to read the reports when they come out."

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Marketing and Trade on August 13, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Submitted by: Bill Harshaw on August 14, 2008 04:00 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on August 14, 2008 04:04 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on August 14, 2008 05:27 PM