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7-26-16 sect. 1.qxp:Layout 1 7/21/16 12:38 PM Page 1 By Lexi Wright ceptions about big corporate CelebratingIt doesn’t take long after another season at the Fork in Thefarms. Road 98% of farms are turning off on the “Fork in families working hard to the Road” east of Riley to care for their animals in all feel welcome. Being greeted types of weather, with the with smiles and an invitation love that has been passed to come see the new baby down to them through gener- pigs makes one quickly real- ations. It’s important for ize what is important to the people to not be afraid of Visser family: connecting their food and get that con- with others through what nection to someone they can they love. trust.” Adding time to the Valerie Visser grew up in farm stand where Valerie can western Kansas, and remem- talk with and get to know the bers, “Even when I was a people that stop by allows kid, I always had this roman- them to get to know a farm tic ideal of driving an old family. This happens truck to town loaded with through the Saturday Morn- my veggies.” And after at- ing Market, held 8 to 11 a.m. tending a Young Farmers & at the roadside stand. Ranchers conference dis- Valerie’s love for garden- cussing how much the gener- ing and farm life has inspired al population is disconnected her to try new ways to con- from farming, “It lit a fire nect with consumers and cel- under me to make that con- ebrate the life she and her nection in my own commu- family love. This year, with nity in my own way.” An old Chevy pickup was converted to a vegetable stand, where customers can buy the help of Stacy Wurtz, Valerie is working hard to fresh produce and flowers. On Saturday mornings, Valerie sets up with additional Brian VanSickle, and others, do just that on many fronts. items, including homemade pies and bread. they are hosting a Summer Married to a fifth generation Harvest Feast, to be held Au- row crop and cattle farmer, gust 5th at 109 Barton in and being raised on a farm Leonardville. The feast will herself, she knows the joys feature steaks, ribs, pork and discomforts of farm life. chops, a medley of summer “Gardening is something I sides, and pie for dessert, all have always loved. It’s very fresh from the farm. Van- centering. Everything else Riley’s Valerie Visser is Sickle will be cooking the melts away when you’re happiest when her hands meat in his restored antique playing in the dirt.” A few are in the soil and she fire truck turned smoker. years ago, she started putting takes great pride in pro- The motivation for this the excess produce from her ducing healthy nutritious meal came from several garden out on an old Chevy food for her family, as well sources. If things fall into as to sell at her roadside pickup truck parked at the Photos by Lexi Wright place, Valerie dreams of one end of the driveway, conve- stand. day having a seasonal restau- niently located at ‘the fork in was easy to manage on a rant and this is a glimpse of the road’ outside of Riley. busy schedule, it lacked the that dream. Growing up Customers can stop by any connection Valerie really watching her mother cook time to pick up fresh food wanted people to gain. three meals a day from from the garden and flowers, “There is such a hunger to scratch for ten people, Va- paying on the honor system. know more about food. A new litter of piglets was a recent source of excitement on the Visser farm. Valerie lerie remembers a sense of While this roadside stand There are so many miscon- used social media to share the news of the special delivery. Continued on page 3 A 'Fitbit' for plants? Low-cost, portable platform can gauge plant health By Haley Ahlers, Project that have desirable traits. much easier. Coordinator, Feed the They sow the resulting seeds The tool is called the Phe- Future Innovation Lab for and evaluate the results, hop- nocart, and it captures essen- Applied Wheat Genomics ing to find a candidate vari- tial plant health data. The Plant breeders test their ety that is better than any- Phenocart measures plant experiments by growing the thing currently available. vital signs like growth rate seeds of their labor. They The "laboratory" is often and color, the same way a cross two different plants an outdoor field with thou- Fitbit monitors human health sands of plants. Farmers signals like heart rate and have monitored their fields physical activity. for millennia by simply In a field experiment with walking among the rows of thousands of plots, the Phe- plants, observing changes nocart is a quick way to eval- over time, and noting which uate plant health. It can also plants do better. help plant breeders design But as plant breeding larger experiments. technology becomes more "Larger sample size gives complicated, farmers and you more power," said Jesse scientists want specific data. Poland, assistant professor in They want to know exactly the Departments of Plant how tall the plants are, or ex- Pathology and Agronomy at actly how green the leaves Kansas State University. are. In a large test field, get- "Measuring phenotypes is ting exact numbers means very labor-intensive, and re- hours or even days of labor ally limits how big of an ex- for a plant breeder. periment we can do." The Knowing what physical new tool will allow for faster traits a plant has is called measurements and acceler- The newly-developed Phenocart makes a faster operation of gathering information phenotyping. Because it is ate the breeding process. for determining plant health. such a labor-intensive The Phenocart is a collec- that a plant breeder can easi- among the plots. want to measure. Poland and process, scientists are work- tion of sensors. The sensors ly push among plants in a Scientists can outfit the his colleagues used a sensor ing to develop technology are attached to a repurposed field. The Phenocart rapidly Phenocart with different sen- to measure how "green" their that makes phenotyping bicycle wheel and handles collects data as it's pushed sors depending on what they Continued on page 3 7-26-16 sect. 1.qxp:Layout 1 7/21/16 12:46 PM Page 2 Page 2 Grass & Grain, July 26, 2016 items back in 1980. Shopper loyalty cards world. ture and rural Kansas. Born Product information is may be another way to save Securing the most for and raised on a diversified essential in selecting the on the family food bill. your food dollar is signifi- farm in northwestern Kansas, best buy. This requires Accurate record keeping cant to every consumer. It is his writing reflects a lifetime reading, listening and study- has become an important worth the effort. of experience, knowledge and ing. For example, the prod- part of a smart shopping John Schlageck is a lead- passion. uct label is a source of infor- routine. Money-saving ideas ing commentator on agricul- mation on nutrition, menu take time but result in time Be a wise and frugal use, quantity and quality of well spent. One-half hour of the food item. planning before each shop- Secondly, cost-conscious ping trip can result in sub- A secure nation shopper shoppers must buy when stantial savings. By John Schlageck, Most shoppers (my wife and where the price is right. Cost-conscious shoppers Kansas Farm Bureau is one of the best) have com- There are many times to buy influence the entire food in- begins with a While many grocery buy- piled a list of cost-cutting on special, buy store or dustry. If shoppers do not ers feel the pinch of price ideas. Here are some effec- generic brands or buy in check prices, retailers may increases, there’s a way tive ways to save at the quantity, if shoppers keep display items that sell by "I firmly believe that These sentiments echo today’s smart, frugal shop- checkout counter. secure food supply abreast of the price prac- saturation advertising or America's first line of de- the beliefs of most Ameri- pers can save money on the First, smart shoppers tices of our highly competi- gimmick packaging which fense is our ability to feed cans according to a recent family food bill. Some may should know what they are tive supermarkets. Compar- increase food costs. and clothe the people," national poll that the Na- see a 10-15 percent savings. buying. Today’s modern su- ative shopping leads to sav- Retailers who respond to Major General Darren G. tional Crop Insurance Serv- On the average food bill, permarkets carry as many ings because different cost-conscious shoppers Owens warned the House ices (NCIS) commissioned. this could mean $600-$1,000 as 50,000 items. This number stores usually specialize in must look for the best buy Committee on Agriculture By an 81 to 15 percent mar- a year. has tripled from the 15,000 different items. from suppliers. Farmers during a recent hearing that gin, voters polled said that, who fill these orders must focused on testimony from "a strong and thriving Amer- make the best use of their military leaders to highlight ican farm industry is criti- resources to meet the com- the link between agricultur- cal to American national se- petition.