The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Feb. 14!

Everyone’s favorite midwinter bird count is happening this February 14–17, and for the second year in a row it’s open to anyone, anywhere in the world. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a free event now in its 17th year, and by participating you're helping give scientists their biggest, broadest single-moment snapshot of bird populations. Last year nearly 138,000 people participated, counting 33.4 million birds and 4,258 species. A newly redesigned website is full of great features like a gorgeous display for your photo submissions, how-to materials, data exploration tools, and tricky bird ID help (our blog has more on what's new). Come count with us.

4-H Youth Attend National Agri-Science Summit

As part of her involvement in a national agri-science summit, Miss Emma Wegner from Central Bridge, New York is partnering with 4-H professionals and representatives from agricultural industry and land-grant universities to teach others about agricultural science and innovation.  Miss Wegner, a 4-H member as well as a member of Schoharie Valley FFA, was part of a small delegation from New York State program that joined teams of youth and adults from 13 states at the National Youth Agri-Science Summit sponsored by Merck Animal Health, January 16-20 at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in suburban Washington DC (Chevy Chase, Maryland). Other members of the New York delegation included Miss Margaret Brownell, Mrs. Maryann Brownell, Miss Kaylah Gulley and Mrs. Kate Gulley all of Greenwich, New York.  The National Youth Agri-Science Summit provided numerous opportunities for youth to learn about the latest innovations in agricultural science and technology and to increase their awareness of the careers available in this rapidly expanding field.

The 4-H teens met with representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture, Rutgers University, University of Maryland, Merck Animal Health, and several national agricultural commodity groups and regional agribusinesses to learn about the production of food, feed, fuel, and fiber and the challenges currently facing agriculture in the United States and around the world. The five-day event included field trips to the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. An agricultural issues forum, career panel, and several hands-on workshops about global food security, sustainability, and how youth can play a role in teaching others about agricultural science were additional program components of the summit.  Session topics included precision agriculture, agricultural biotechnology, biofuels, aquaponics, food safety, the role of robotics in agriculture, and international agricultural development.

Infrastructure Support for Local Food Businesses
Otsego2000 Launches Survey to Assess the Need for a Shared Commercial Kitchen

Are you looking for an opportunity in the local food business? Maybe you are the next Chobani yogurt success. Demand for locally grown food and locally produced food products continue to increase. In New York City alone the demand is estimated at $1B and is nowhere near being met currently. A variety of projects are underway to help farmers and small food business entrepreneurs get their products to market, increase productivity, and create new value-added products.  A commercial kitchen facility is clearly one critical piece of the supporting infrastructure required to promote such growth locally.  Commercial kitchens perform vital services in the processing and packaging of local food products.

To begin to understand our area’s needs, Otsego 2000, the non-profit organization which sponsors the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, is launching a survey of food and agricultural entrepreneurs within a 50-mile  radius.  Anyone currently operating a value-added food product business, or planning to develop a new product should fill out this survey.  At the same time, Otsego 2000 is mapping the current network of commercial kitchens that crisscross central NY to see what kinds of facilities are available and where the gaps might be. Collecting this information and developing kitchen profiles is underway. Results will be posted online.

Why would farm businesses and other specialty food processors need a commercial kitchen?  Commercial kitchens monitor food safety for the public. Understanding where the line is drawn between the layers of licensing requirements is complicated. Here are a couple of instances when a 20-C licensed kitchen facility is required:

2014 Agriculture Literacy Week

This year Ag Literacy Week will be March 17-21, 2014.  Cornell Cooperative Extension of Fulton and Montgomery Counties will be implementing the 8th annual “Ag Literacy Week” by having volunteers read the book “Who Grew My Soup?” written by  Tom Darbyshire and illustrated by C.F. Payne  to second grade classes throughout Fulton and Montgomery Counties

 In this delightful book, , Phineas Quinn questions the vegetable soup his mom serves for lunch.  He refuses to slurp a single spoonful until he knows who grew each of the vegetables.  Much to his surprise, a man in a flying tomato balloon shows up to answer his questions.  Phinneas joins the magical Mr. Mattoo as they fly from farm to farm, learning about the amazing vegetables, and meeting the farmers who grew them.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Holiday Office Hours

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Fulton and Montgomery Counties will be CLOSED to the public December20, 2013-January 3, 2014.

We wish you a Happy Holiday Season and look forward to serving you in the New Year!!

Buy Only What You Can Really Afford This Year

The holidays require a lot of planning, from wish lists, to shopping lists, baking lists, and more. But the very first thing you need to do is decide up front how much money you can afford to spend on the holidays this year. Let's take a moment to rethink the meaning of gift-giving and consider some creative options to help you spend less money and make this holiday season more enjoyable and less stressful for your entire family.

Avoid Buying Holiday Gifts on Credit Save money this holiday season by spending only what you have in your bank account. This means not using credit to purchase gifts! When you buy a $20 gift on credit, you're basically telling the credit card company that you'll pay them back that $20, plus another 20% or so in interest - each month - until the balance is paid off. That means that unless you're able to pay off the balance of your credit card in full when the next bill arrives, you could still be paying for that $20 gift thirty years from now!

Examine Your Intentions What is the point of gift-giving? Is it to reciprocate the dollar amount of a gift that was given to us, or one that we think might be given to us in the future? No! The point is to acknowledge that other person's positive influence on your life. "Thank you" and "I love you" are phrases that don't come with dollar amounts attached to them, so don't allow yourself to be caught up in spending more on holiday gifts than you can afford.

Seven Good Reasons To Switch to LED Christmas Lights

You’ll probably notice a lot of buzz about LED Christmas lights and there are good reasons why people are excited about these “green”, eco-friendly, extremely durable, long-lasting lights. If you were wondering if you should switch to LED lights, here are seven good reasons to do so:

1. LED lights are incredibly energy efficient, using 90% less energy than your old incandescent ones.

2. LED light bulbs stay cool-to-the-touch, which can greatly reduce the chance of fire.

3. Unlike the old incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs don’t have filaments within them that can break which means they also won’t burn out.

4. LED lights last for 100,000 hours of use or more, while your old incandescent lights only last about 2,000 hours.

5. LED lights are nearly indestructible and usually won’t break if you drop them or step on them!

6. Unlike those old-fashioned strings of lights, you won’t ever have to worry about one bad bulb ruining an entire string any longer.

7. The colors of LED lights often appear more vivid than incandescent lights.

8. You can save big money on your electricity bill, and lessen your carbon footprint on the planet.

The stress of upcoming holidays can overshadow the joy of spending time with family, exchanging gifts, nibbling on holiday goodies and relaxing with friends.  No one wants to be too frazzled to enjoy what the holidays are all about.  Here are some tips for memorable holidays:

• 1. Sit down with your family and talk about the meaning of the holiday.
• Have each person think about the most essential things about the holiday to him/her.  What would really be missed if you didn’t do it together as a family?  What can you do for others who may find it difficult to have a happy holiday?  Not only will this be helpful to others, but it will also be a big boost to your health and happiness.
• What will each person do to help get ready for the holiday?  Make a list of who will do what when.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of the Capital Region Helping New York’s Capital Region Improving Lives and Communitie. the January 2014 Regional Calendar is available by clicking on the link for the document below.

To get a complete list of all Cornell Cooperative Extension’s programs and events in the Capital Region please go to: http://ccecapitalregion.org/home.aspx

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OR Twitter - https://twitter.com/CCECapitalReg Cornell Cooperative Extension offers equal program opportunity and is an equal opportunity employ

Take a Fresh Look at Nature with Project FeederWatch

   A new season for the Project FeederWatch citizen-science project kicked off on

November 9, 2013.  Anyone with an interest in birds and nature is invited to be part of

the action.  FeederWatch has a fresh new look for its 27^th season, plus new web tools

that make participation and exploration even easier and more fun.  Project FeederWatch

is a joint research and education project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird

Studies Canada.

   Join the tens of thousands of people who keep tabs on the birds that come to their

feeders from November through April.  Participants submit their observations to the

Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  These long-term data from across North America could not

be gathered any other way.  Observations help reveal important patterns in bird

distribution and numbers that may be changing over time at a continental scale or in a

participant’s own backyard.