U of M Extension Todd County

What’s Happening?

Exciting things are happening in 4-H today.  All across Minnesota, kids are learning, growing, and having fun in 4-H clubs and 4-H adventures. 4-H lets kids try new things, learn new skills, and express themselves through fun hands-on activities.  Working on projects helps connect kids with their friends, families, communities, and the world. 4-H aids kids in gaining confidence and developing life skills that will help them be successful. 4-H clubs are open to all kids, kindergarten through one year past high school, whether they live in cities, towns, or in the country.  4-H welcomes boys and girls from all backgrounds. Only in 4-H can kids experience such a wide range of quality programs by University of Minnesota Extension Staff and trained volunteers.

4-H Projects – Learning by Doing

What do you like to do in your free time? What grabs your interest – bugs, sculpture, food, animals or computers?  What do you want to be when you grow up? Chances are you can turn the answers to these questions into 4-H projects.

4-H projects give you the freedom to find out what you like and what you’re good at doing.  Explore things like woodworking, plants, photography, art, fashion or animals of all kinds from guinea pigs to dogs and cats to horses, pigs and cows.  Animal ownership is not necessary when exploring these project areas!

4-H uses fun, hands-on activities where you learn by doing. 4-H teaches you more than how to take good photographs or care for an animal.  In 4-H, you learn how to work with others, solve problems, speak in public, be a leader, and enjoy life. These skills can be used over and over again to help you be successful in school and life.

Expand your horizons

Popular 4-H projects in Minnesota are: Cloverbuds, Clothing and Textiles, Crafts and Fine Arts, Food and Nutrition, Gardening (flower, indoor and vegetable), Horse, Photography, Self Determined, Shop, and Youth Leadership.  But don’t let that limit you from trying something new. Think about how you can expand on the subjects you study in school or the activities you do at home. Do you like learning about rocks in science? Consider Geology. Are you involved in school plays or play a musical instrument?  Performing arts is for you. Do you like to ride bike? There is a project for you too. In fact there is a project for almost every interest. See your potential by trying something new in 4-H today.

Join 4-H Today!

Joining 4-H is easy and free.  Just contact the Extension Office at 320-732-4435. Before you know it, you will be working on your projects, having fun, making new friends and learning life skills!  

Livestock Agriculture is clearly central to the economic viability of Todd County.  Livestock farming is Todd County’s number one private employer and is number two in County Industrial Output, exceeded only by the animal processing industry on Todd County.

Todd County lies in the middle of other top Minnesota livestock counties of Stearns, Morrison, and Ottertail. Todd County’s livestock ranking within Minnesota is eighth in dairy, fifth in beef cows, and tenth in poultry.  Todd County boasts land ideally suited to raising forage crops, close access to markets and other critical infrastructure, and a culture that is understanding of livestock industry’s needs.

Todd County is literally “Where the Forest meets the Prairie”. Southwest Todd County is in the beginning of the vast prairies of western Minnesota, and northeast Todd County is near the beginning of the conifer forest areas of northeast Minnesota. In between those two extremes is land formally in the deciduous tree area of the state. Since most of the livestock farmers in Minnesota settled in that same deciduous tree belt of the state, the majority of the crops have traditionally been forages raised for livestock. Although Todd County has its share of full-time row crop farmers, a lot of the crop land is dedicated to forages for livestock.

Livestock Agriculture is clearly central to the economic viability of Todd County. Livestock farming is Todd County’s number one private employer and is number two in County Industrial Output, exceeded only by the animal processing industry on Todd County. Todd County lies in the middle of other top Minnesota livestock counties of Stearns, Morrison, and Ottertail. Todd County’s livestock ranking within Minnesota is eighth in dairy, fifth in beef cows, and tenth in poultry. Todd County boasts land ideally suited to raising forage crops, close access to markets and other critical infrastructure, and a culture that is understanding of livestock industry’s needs.

Livestock Advisory Board

The mission of the Todd County Livestock Advisory Council is to promote the long-term viability of the livestock industry through proactive planning, political advocacy, and education through partnerships with producers, businesses, governments and residents.

Advocacy means promoting a position and does not include endorsing or opposing candidates for political office.  The committee will promote or oppose appointees, but not candidates for political office.

The committee agrees to speak as one voice.  It is okay to disagree during discussion, but not okay to undermine the committee’s final decision.  The shared expectation is to have one strong voice, based on common ground. The committee considers itself a special interest group.

The Todd County Livestock Advisory Council is advisory to the county, is funded by the county, private parties, members and foundations.  Its work in fulfilling its mission will evolve through partnerships with other groups.

Livestock Advisory Council Members

Follow the links below to helpful resources:

See if you qualify for a wide variety of assistance programs. Some programs are fuel assistance, earned income credit and food programs such as food support (SNAP), school meal programs and WIC (for women infants and children):

www.bridgetobenefits.org/

A link to ideas for festive, delicious and food-safe celebrations (includes recipes, games and decoration ideas).  English or Spanish food safety video:

www.holidayfoodsafety.org  

Site for parents and caregivers to learn to eat better and be more physically active with your children.  Many recipes available with information in both English and Spanish:

https://extension.umn.edu/local/todd  

Pumpkin isn’t just for pie!

Pumpkin is very high in Vitamin A and has 280% of the vitamin A you need each day in just ½ cup of canned pumpkin.  Vitamin A tends to be found in the dark orange and green fruits and vegetables. Vitamin A is not only important for our eyesight but it also helps to boost our immune system.

Having a good diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals along with frequent hand washing makes it much less likely that you will get sick.  In an October 2007 article in Food and Fitness put out by Iowa State University they said that a hand washing study done with school age children in Detroit, Michigan showed dramatic results.

The children who washed their hands 4 times a day (when they got to school, before lunch, after recess and before leaving school) had 24% fewer sick days due to respiratory illness and 51% fewer sick days because of stomach upset then the children that were in classrooms without the scheduled washing.  It does pay to wash your hands often.

Eating fruits and vegetables (including pumpkin) along with washing your hands frequently will give you an edge in staying healthy this winter.

Yummy Pumpkin Cookies

1 (18 ¼ ounce) box spice cake mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly spray cookie sheets with vegetable spray
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix and the canned pumpkin until well blended.  Stir in one of the optional ingredients if desired.
• Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet.  Note: cookies don’t flatten out in cooking so how they look on the baking sheet is how they will look after baking.
• Bake for 8-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.
• Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.

Optional Ingredients:  ½ cup raisins, 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or 2 cups of lightly steamed and finely chopped broccoli slaw.

Yield:  36 cookies with each cookie having 65 calories, 3% total fat, 0% cholesterol, 3% sodium, 11.5 % carbohydrate, 1% fiber, 17% vitamin A, 4% iron.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

3 cups chicken broth*

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans (15 ounces each) canned pumpkin

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

In soup pot, sauté onions in oil.  Add the broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin.  Stir to combine ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the milk, curry powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Simmer 5 minutes and serve.

NOTE:  Instead of buying chicken broth it is more convenient and inexpensive to purchase chicken soup base and use 1 teaspoon soup base to 1 cup water.  This works well in recipes that call for chicken or vegetable broth.

Pumpkin Pie minus Crust

To save calories, time and work simply make your regular pumpkin pie but stir in ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs to the batter.  Lightly spray your pie pan and pour the batter in and bake as usual. When cooled the pie can be cut and looks like a regular piece of pumpkin pie but with an invisible crust.

Note: It takes about 5 small graham cracker squares to make ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs.