USU Extension

Shalayne Smith Needham- Coronavirus has left many farmers and ranchers wondering how they were going to sell their products this season. Kynda Curtis is an agriculture and food marketing specialist for Utah State University Extension and joins us to talk about this issue.

October is kind of the end of the gardening season here in northern Utah. You may have experienced a frost in some of the higher mountain valleys. While in southern Utah things are still pretty good and you might have some time to enjoy the plants that are still there.

Shalayne Smith-Needham: Utah is a great place for growing apples. The warm summers and cold winters helped create an optimal environment for many varieties of apple. Shawn Olson is a retired USU extension agent in agriculture and horticulture who has helped with all aspects of apples. Thanks for being here today.

This time of year, things are starting to mature from our late garden like beans, corn, pumpkins. It's also a good time to begin to think about planting a late fall garden. The air temperatures are cool, but the soil temperatures are warm.

September is Suicide Awareness Month. At the USU Extension Office in Cache County, Alisha Straatman and Tom Keady are two individuals working to provide suicide prevention resources to people throughout Utah. 

  Winds, wildfires and flooding have been plentiful in Utah this month. Add in the pandemic, and feelings of anxiety and unrest can spike. However, it is well known that preparation can help overcome fear, and since September is National Preparedness Month, now is a great time to evaluate your preparedness supplies and plans.

  The heat is on, and yards and gardens are trying to keep up with the temperatures. Consider these tips from the USU Extension Gardeners Almanac to keep your garden thriving this month. Also included are links for further information.

  The term blended family highlights the unique challenge of finding acceptable ways to blend the lives, experiences, expectations and dreams of parents who remarry and the children involved. The ratio of people in the United States who live in blended families is one in three.

August is starting as hot and dry as July. That means keeping up with your garden irrigation. As more crops mature and the fruit ripens, keep those plants healthy and productive by making sure that you continue to apply about one and a half inches of water per week.

Shalayne Smith Needham- Food preservation is important for those wanting to enjoy food for a longer amount of time without spoilage. Melanie Jewkes, an associate professor at Utah State University teaches food preservation to members of the community. And with many people buying their produce directly from farmers this summer, how can we make our farm fresh food last longer?

Shalayne- Smith Needham- With the Pioneer Day holiday weekend ahead for the state of Utah. We are revisiting our conversation on summer recipes with USU extension agent Teresa Hunsaker from Weber County.

Shalane Smith-Needham- Over the last few weeks, the Black Lives Matter movement has been gaining momentum across the country with protests happening in every state and even countries around the world. While the information on the movement is all over the internet, how would you have these conversations with children?

Determining when to plant a garden can be especially confusing and Utah's unpredictable varied climate, or last frost days can vary by many days within just a few miles. Many experienced gardeners have planted and later lost their plants to frost.

Shalayne Smith Needham: On May 1, restrictions on restaurant dine-in options were lifted. Now that restaurant dining areas are opening up again, visitors should expect things to be different. 

Dr. Brian Nummer, a professor in the USU Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences Department joins us. 

Shalayne Smith Needham: With everyone spending more time at home a lot of us are taking time to clean out our cupboards, pantries and refrigerators and maybe finding the sell, buy and use by date stamps on our food items a bit confusing. Joining us to talk about food safety protocol is Teresa Hunsaker, consumer educator for USU extension. Thanks for being here.

Determining when to plant a garden can be especially confusing in Utah’s unpredictable, varied climate where last-frost dates can vary by many days within just a few miles. Many experienced gardeners have planted and later lost their plants to frost.

Mental wellness at work is an essential part of overall well-being that is often overlooked. Any job can be stressful, even if you love what you do.

As individuals and families come to Utah State University’s Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) to meet their food needs in the coming weeks, they will get to enjoy the fruits of the labors of other USU students and community volunteers.

Utah State University Extension 4-H youth have answered the call to help protect health care workers in rural Utah areas. 

Stress can be brought on by everyday hassles, but especially when there are larger issues like the ongoing public health concern of a pandemic. While no one’s life is completely stress free, regular negative stress can keep us from feeling and performing our best; therefore, it is important that we learn how to manage it. 

Not surprisingly, scammers are taking advantage of the fears that surround the Coronavirus. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has already communicated with several scammers who are selling phony Coronavirus “treatments.” Scammers have set up websites to sell bogus products using fake emails, texts and social media posts as a method to get victims’ money and personal information.

In difficult economic times, many people consider purchasing chickens as part of their domestic safety net. Raising chickens, however, is distinctly different than stocking up on food storage or bottled water.

Shalayne Smith Needham: Joining me next is Dr. Lori Spears, invasive species survey coordinator at Utah State University, to talk about the Asian Giant Hornet, also known as the Murder Hornet. 

Shalayne Smith Needham: In stressful times, it's important to reach out to friends, family, and especially children who need guidance during these hard times. Callie Ward is an Extension assistant professor at Utah State University and specializes in family finance, family resource management, emergency preparedness and food preservation. Callie Ward joins us by phone from Garfield County. Thanks for being here. 

May brings many things to do in the garden. And if you've been to one of our garden centers here in Utah lately, you'll notice that there's a lot of people there buying plants-- lots of garden plants in particular.

Are restaurants safe for delivery and take out? Dr. Brian Nummer, an Associate Professor in the Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences Department at Utah State University, addresses this question.

Today's topic is on the USU Extension pest advisories. USU Extension experts produce four pest advisories to serve the needs of Utah citizens. Which pests are included in these advisories? Insects, mites, plant pathogens, and bird pests such as voles.

Our second episode focuses on debunking the myth that "good people like me don't become addicted to drugs." It features guest Michelle Chapoose who is a member of the Tribal and Rural Opoid Innative and the tribal liaison coordinator from the Tribal Opioid Resource Center in Roosevelt, Utah; Dr. Christina A. Porucznik, an associate professor and associate division chief for education in the division of public health; and Jay Hymas of Clear Recovery Cache Valley.   

This first episode introduces the Tribal and Rural Opioid Initiative, and the state of the opioid crisis in Utah. It features guest Heather Bush from Utah Department of Health, a Syringe Exchange Program Coordinator and Dr. Erin Fanning Madden, assistant professor in the Division of Epidemiology and biostatistics at University of New Mexico Health Science Center.   We review information about how the crisis began, and set the stage for debunking a myth in each of our episodes moving forward.