Monday, May 7, 2012

The Traveled Distance by Store Produce, OMG!

This information is from Oklahoma Ag In The Classroom (a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education).

Estimated Average Distance Traveled by Produce at the local store

Apples                                      1,555
Asparagus                                 1,671
Broccoli                                    2,095
Cabbage                                      754
Carrots                                      1,774
Cauliflower                               2,118
Corn                                             813
Grapes                                       2,143
Lettuce                                      2,040
Onions                                      1,675
Peaches                                     1,674
Bell Peppers                              1,261
Potatoes                                     1,239
Pumpkins                                     233
Spinach                                      2,086
Squash                                          781
Strawberries                               1,093
Tomatoes                                   1,369
Watermelons                                 791

Picked tasteless, green, unripe and loaded on a truck and most nutrition lost by the time the produce arrives in the local store!

The average distances were determined using a weighted average formula which included the average mileage from the various locations where each produce to a location in the center of the United States; adapted from a table developed by researchers at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

Estimated Distance Travel by Produce at the Nowata County Farmers Market!

 

All produce grown in Oklahoma                      1-9 miles





Support Your Local Farmers Market!!

May 12th-October 26th
Nowata County Fairgrounds
8:00am until 12:00 (Noon)




 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

2012 Season is HERE!!!!


TA DA! Our New Logo made by the graphic artist master, Dusty Hicks! (thank you, Dusty, from me)

We are looking forward to the 2012 season and have many events in the works, so keep tuned in and join the fun that has healthy benefits. The opening date is May 12th 8:00am until 12:00 (noon) at the Nowata County Fair Grounds. We will have the coffee brewing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma (USA) and Her Service Dog, Sassy

"Elizabeth Reeve (Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma (USA)) and her Service dog Sassy are delighted in sharing the book entitled Sassy: the Many Short Stories of a service dog.  The book is written in a thematic unit and written in Sassy's voice as she would see her activities during certain events she has been able to attend while accompanying Elizabeth when she was Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma (America) 2008-2009 and was Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma (America) State coordinator (2008-2011).  After each story, there is activities for the children to complete such as decoding, word scramble, counting of the pictures, and much more. This book is sure to enlighten the minds of the young child, while being able to use it with the oldest Elementary aged children.

Elizabeth Reeve is currently the Ms. Wheelchair Oklahoma (USA) 2011 titleholder. She is the daughter of Roy L. Hall and Linda L. Hall, both from Nowata, Oklahoma.  Elizabeth grew up as a military dependent. She is certified in Elementary 1-8, Special Education 1-12, and English as a Second Language 1-12 in Texas.  She is licensed here in Oklahoma in Special  Education, English as a second language, and Elementary 1-8.  She has a BA in History, Bachelors of Business Administration with emphasis in Information systems, Post-Baccalurate in Education, and currently working on her Masters degree in Special education.  Her hopes are to obtain a doctorate degree and become a professor.  While teaching special education, she happened to have an accident which caused her to use the wheelchair.  She soon found out that she had spina bifioda occulta, degenerative disc disease, MS, and a spinal cord injury.  Despite needing to use a wheelchair, she has been able to help advocate, achieve, and educate the public on the use of service dogs, the types of training for service dogs (either owner trained or program trained), and what the Americans with Disabilities says about service dogs.  She is pleased to be able to come to Nowata, and share her book with us.

Sassy is a mobility dog. Among her many duties as a service dog is helping Elizabeth transfer between seats, retrieving items, watching for signs of asthma and diabetes, and alerting Elizabeth when someone is behind her.  Sassy was trained by Elizabeth for her special challenges.  Elizabeth is proud to state that she and Sassy are a team that works to help with every days duties.

If you would be interested in purchasing Elizabeth's books ADA and You: Service Dogs  or Sassy: the Many Short Stories of a service dog you can go to http://www.mswheelchairoklahoma.org/published-books.html . Click on the book that you are interested in buying. You will be taken to where you can purchase a copy of the book. The books cost  $16.50 for ADA and You: Serivce Dogs and  $14.45 for Sassy: the Many Short Stories of a Service dog $16.50"

Hope to see you at the festival!!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Small Farm Update



Sue Gray, Tulsa County OSU Horticulturist, has developed a small farm newsletter for the counties around Tulsa County in Oklahoma (NE Oklahoma). What a great idea! This newsletter will keep our farmers updated from now until October (basically our growing season). The March 28th issue includes pests of the week, book of the week, horticulture tip of the week and much more.

If you want to receive this update, please email: sgray@tulsacounty.org

I hope you are looking forward to this 2011 season of the Nowata County Farmers Market as much as I am!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Great Blizzard of 2011

On a day like today, when the snow is twirling, the wind is howling and the windchill is on the minus side, my thoughts turn to summer and gardens and all the delicious produce available. The day will turn into reading books, dreaming over seed catalogs, watching movies and eating comfort food.

Our breakfast consisted of Holly's homemade Wild Plum jelly, biscuits, eggs and McFerron's Bacon. YUM! The Wild Plum trees in my backyard were laden with nice big plums this last year, Holly and I picked many buckets. I shared the plums with others at the Nowata County Farmers Market. McFerron's, which is owned by John and Darlene Young, produces some of the best bacon I have ever tasted. The bacon always fries up nice and brown and crispy.
Lunch will be Beans (bought from a farmers market) and Ham, seasoned with some sweet tangy peppers and onions (Nowata County Farmers Market) and served with golden brown cornbread. I chop the peppers and onions into small pieces and then freeze in small freezer bags for use in soups, stews and beans in the winter.


Remember your family and neighbors in this cold housebound weather, call and check on them. Stay safe and warm today! Come May 14th, please visit our Nowata County Farmers Market at the Nowata County Fairgrounds.