Farm & Ranch

‘Old school’ traditions get fresh look at April 16 program in Boerne

Published

9 years ago

February 25, 2015

NTFR

By: Paul Schattenberg

AgriLife Extension to present home food prep, preservation program at Don Strange Ranch

Backyard Basics logo

SAN ANTONIO — A special program called “Preserve Handmade Living: Fresh Take on Old School” will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. April 16 at Don Strange Ranch, 103 Waring Welfare Rd. in Boerne, said coordinators.

The program is presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in cooperation with Don Strange of Texas Inc.

“We will provide instruction and hands-on demonstrations on homemade foods and food preservation,” said Dr. Connie Sheppard, AgriLife Extension family and consumer sciences agent for Bexar County. “This is part of our agency’s statewide Backyard Basics effort to introduce or reintroduce the freshness and nutritional aspects of preparing homemade foods, much like people did only a few generations ago.”

Sheppard said in addition to learning how to make specific food items, such as cheeses, kolaches, prickly pear jelly and sourdough starters, attendees will learn about backyard beekeeping, the pros and cons of raising chickens and how to blend old and new elements for home decoration.

“This will be a unique opportunity for attendees to get a firsthand look at how people used to grow, prepare and preserve their own foods,” said Di-Anna Arias, vice president of sales and culinary vision at Don Strange of Texas. “Homemade foods are fresher and, when seasonal vegetables and herbs are picked and used at their peak, are more tasty and nutritious than what you get in most frozen or processed foods.”

The program cost is $55 per person and includes lunch. To register, go to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Conference Services at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/ or call 979-845-2604.

On-site registration and refreshments will be from 8:30-9 a.m., at which time farm-fresh biscuits and butter will be served.

There will be three sets of concurrent learning sessions at the program – the first from 9:30-10:30 a.m., the second from 10:45-11:45 a.m. and the third from 1-2 p.m. Instruction will be provided by AgriLife Extension agents for family and consumer sciences and others from agency offices in Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall and Medina counties.

The first and second set of session topics will repeat. Those session titles will be Texas Jellies, Kolaches, Food Preservation Basics, Herb Bar, Decorating from Grandma’s Attic and Cheese Making.

Morning sessions will be followed by lunch at the ranch.

Concurrent sessions for the afternoon will be All Things Eggs/Chickens, How Sweet It Is, Starters and Such, and Family History.

“Attendees will be asked to pick two titles from the list for the first two sessions and one for the afternoon session,” Sheppard said.

The final presentation from 2-3 p.m. will be “Texas Heat — Texas on the Plate,” followed by the program closing and evaluation.

For more details on the sessions being offered at the program, go to the website for the AgriLife Extension office for Bexar County http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/backyardbasics/

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Farm & Ranch

Hazards of Backyard Poultry

Published

6 days ago

April 21, 2024

NTFR

By Barry Whitworth, DVM

Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.

Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.

The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.