Happenings June 2024

June 2024

Giant Hogweed: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Pollination of a Strawberry

National Play Outside Day - June 1st

Causes of Strawberry Blossom Blights and Dried Berries

National Sewing Machine Day - June 13th

Experts Provide Facts about Avian Influenza for Dairy Producers

National Dairy Month

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Giant Hogweed: Invasive Species Awareness Week

Here in the Hudson Valley, we’ve weathered many waves of invasive insects and plants. Some we barely notice as we zip by, engaged in the business of life. Some are harder to ignore. As part of New York State Invasive Species Awareness Week — June 3^rd through 9^th in 2024 — we want to call out two invasive species that can impact our lives noticeably.

As you drive by Putnam’s wooded slopes and grassy verges, you’ll notice many plants with white umbrella-like flowers. These are plants in the carrot family, like Queen Anne’s lace and wild chervil. Among those roadside plants with tall white flowers, you may spot a giant! Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is a very large (15’ -20’ high) invasive plant that can cause painful burns and scarring. Brushing against it or breaking through the plant’s skin may release a sap that, combined with sunlight and moisture, causes a severe burn within 24 to 48 hours. The sap can even cause permanent skin scarring, and if you are unfortunate enough to get the sap in your eyes, blindness.

Giant Hogweed blooms in June, so now’s a good time to be on the lookout for it. Consider its great height—15’ to 20’—and that it has leaves which are about 3’ across. There are some look-alikes, so snap a picture of the suspect from a safe distance and report it. Learn more about this plant, how to identify, and how to report it.

Spotted Lanternfly has reached Putnam County, so we expect reports to start crawling in. Spotted lanternflies don’t fly when they are nymphs. They get their wings in the fall when they are adults. So be on the lookout for tiny black and white nymphs crawling on plants. As the summer progresses, they will gradually add some scarlet to their wardrobe as they molt. You’ll find great photos of each life stage here . While their feeding does damage to some important agricultural crops like grapes and hops, they also create a nuisance around homes. As they feed on trees, they eject sticky droppings that coat cars, decks, and outdoor furnishings. This sticky excrement attracts other insect pests.

For more information about invasive species and to chat about some common plant invaders here in the Hudson Valley, visit the “Ask a Master Gardener” volunteer booth at the Cold Spring Farmers Market Saturday June 8th (8:30AM-1PM, Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, NY)

The mission of the New York Invasive Species Awareness Week (NYISAW) is to promote knowledge and understanding of invasive species and the harm they can cause. We want to empower YOU to stop the spread of invasive species!

Photos

Spotted Lanternfly Nymph, by Stan Lupo via Flickr CC ND-NC

Giant Hogweed, NYS DEC via Flickr CC ND-NC

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Pollination of a Strawberry  

by Dr. Heather Grab, Department of Entomology, Cornell University

Strawberry is traditionally thought to be a crop that does not require insect pollination in order to set fully formed fruit. However, recent studies in the New York region as well as in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere have consistently found that insect pollination can reduce malformations and improve berry size by 40% or more. The benefits of insect pollination extend well beyond fruit size alone. Insect pollination has been found to improve sugar-acid ratios, extend shelf life, and even reduce the prevalence of grey mold (Botrytis cinerea). Some strawberry varieties are more dependent on pollination than others, but a larger survey of varieties is needed before we can say definitively which varieties are the most and least pollinator dependent.

In New York State, strawberries are visited by a diverse community of insects comprised mostly of bees. While flies and beetles and butterflies visit strawberry flowers, their contribution to pollination is thought to be minimal compared to bees. Female bees actively collect large quantities of pollen from strawberry flowers which they use to provision their offspring. In the process, their bodies become covered in pollen grains which they spread from flower to flower in the strawberry field.

To date, we have recorded more than 90 species of bees providing pollination services in NY strawberry fields. Pollination services are provided mainly by wild bees as honey bees make up only around 10% of the flower visitors. The most common species are the Mining Bees and the Sweat Bees. Mining Bee nests are located in the ground and some species including the most common strawberry visitor, Andrena nasonii, place their nests right among the strawberry plants in the field. Mining Bees are active for only a few weeks in the spring and are solitary, with only a single female building a nest and caring for her offspring. In contrast, Sweat Bees display a range of social behavior from individual nest building to large colonies with a queen and many workers. Sweat Bees come in an array of sizes and metallic colors and are active for the entire season, providing pollination to many other crops after strawberry has finished blooming.

With so many visitors, you might be wondering who is best? Surprisingly, the answer is that the all bee species are about equal. But different species display a range of behaviors so that the best pollination is achieved when many species are working together. For example, large species like Bumble Bees and large Mining Bees approach the flowers from the top providing good pollination to the part of the flower that will develop into the tip of the strawberry fruit. Smaller species, like the Sweat Bees and Small Carpenter Bees approach the flowers from the side and work around the flower pollinating the area that will develop into the base of the fruit. Supporting a diversity of bees can help to ensure a well-pollinated crop.

To learn more about crop pollination in New York check out https://www.landscape-agroecology.com

Photo: Dr. Heather Grab

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National Play Outside Day - June 1st

4-H is excited that June 1 ^st is National Play Outside Day. With the weather warming up it’s about time to get outside and see what nature has in store for us to do. Maybe you have a garden to tend to, or a driveway that needs some Picasso-like chalk art. Perhaps it’s a good day for blowing bubbles, playing tag, or trying out that jump rope your aunt gave you for your birthday.

Outside play helps with improving physical fitness, social emotional wellbeing, sleep and creative and critical thinking skills like problem solving. It’s also been shown that the more time youth spend outside in nature, the more likely they are to connect with and care for the environment.

These elements: physical fitness, social emotional skills, connection, and critical and creative thinking are also elements of the 4-H Thrive Model which serves to guide effective programing that nurtures youth to promote success, civic engagement, happiness and wellbeing.

Most importantly, it’s fun. So, get out there and look under a rock for all the creepy crawlies that are awake, catch lightning bugs (and release them), or run through a sprinkler. Adult participation is encouraged. 

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Causes of Strawberry Blossom Blights and Dried Berries

The warm wet weather the past couple of weeks together with high humidity is creating perfect conditions for a number of strawberry diseases. Are your berries turning brown and drying up?

Some growers are noticing that the later blossoms on their strawberries are failing to set fruit, and instead, are just turning brown and drying up. This can be a little puzzling since the cause often is not obvious. Two things could be happening – one is that the flower itself was infected and colonized by a disease— often botrytis, which is usually fairly obvious once the gray fuzziness becomes apparent.

However, a second cause is often that the pedicle (the little stem connected directly to the berry) or the tissue that connects the pedicle to the berry may have been damaged. When this happens, the flow of water and nutrients to the flower bud or developing fruit is stopped as the tissue collapses. The flower bud or tiny developing berry then simply dries up and turns brown. Anthracnose commonly causes this type of blight, especially in anthracnose-susceptible varieties.

So, how can one figure out what might be going on? It is beneficial to take a close look at other clues that are present in the planting and consider other factors such as timing, weather conditions, and variety. If symptoms showed up early while it was still cool and wet, then botrytis could be involved. If growing an anthracnose susceptible variety, such as Chandler, perhaps anthracnose is the more likely issue. Are there other symptoms present, such as leaf spots, or lesions on runners or caps? Are there symptoms of angular leaf spot (clearing of tissue when holding leaves up to the light, or completely brown or black caps)? While more than one disease may be present at the same time, a severe case of any particular disease is likely to cause multiple symptoms on the same plant, including blossom blights and berries that fail to form.

Check out the Cornell Diagnostic Tool for Berry Plants to figure out what is causing harm to your crop! There is more information regarding Blueberries, raspberries as well as Gooseberries and more!

(Adapted from  Source: Penn State Fruit Times, June, 2018 by Kathy Demchak, Penn State)

Photo: Brown Berries, Kathy Demchak, Penn State

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National Sewing Machine Day - June 13th

Each year on June 13th, National Sewing Machine Day honors an invention that has kept us in stitches for over 150 years. Before the sewing machine, tailors and sewists created clothing by hand, stitch by a single stitch. The invention of the sewing machine brought about revolutionary change.

Today, many people are again becoming interested in the art of sewing and making their own clothing. Craft fairs and flea markets are filled with booths full of beautiful sewing machine-made clothes and craft items. Quilters across America are also known as sewing machine experts!

How does one observe National Sewing Machine Day?

• Show off your sewing skills.
• Share your favorite sewing tips and tricks.
• Post (#NationalSewingMachineDay) a photo of your favorite sewn item. It could be a quilt, article of clothing or art design.
• Name your favorite sewist, sewing machine store, or sewing tool.

Don’t know how to sew, but always wanted to learn? Consider signing up for CCEPC’s Adult Sewing Class, starting Wednesday, June 5, with CCE Volunteer and sewist extraordinaire, Joan Newman. No previous experience necessary. To find out more information or to register click HERE.

Home Sewing

By the mid-nineteenth century, mass production of paper patterns, the emergence of the home sewing machine, and the convenience of mail order catalogs brought fashionable clothing into the American home. By the early twentieth century, home economists working in extension and outreach programs taught women how to use paper patterns to improve the fit and efficiency of new garments as well as how to update existing ones.

Teachers of home economics traditionally made home sewing a critical part of their curriculum, emphasizing self-sufficiency and resourcefulness for young women. However, with the increasing availability of mass-produced clothing in catalogs and department stores, more and more women preferred buying garments rather than making them. As a result, home economists shifted their attention to consumer education. Through field study, analysis, and research, they became experts on the purchase and preservation of ready-to-wear clothing for the family, offering budgeting instruction targeted at adolescent girls. Modern home sewing made it possible for American women to transcend their economic differences and geographic locations with clothing that was increasingly standardized. The democratization of fashion continued through the twentieth century as the ready-to-wear market expanded and home sewing became more of a pastime than a necessity.

https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/homeEc/cases/homesewing.html

Division of Rare & Manuscript Collections2B Carl A. Kroch Library

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853

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Experts Provide Facts about Avian Influenza for Dairy Producers 

By Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell Chronicle

May 6, 2024

While a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been detected in dairy cattle in nine states – not including New York state – the commercial milk supply continues to be safe, according to a panel of Cornell, New York state and dairy industry experts.

Pasteurization of milk and cooking meat to proper internal temperatures inactivates the strain of avian influenza, called H5N1, according to experts in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) and the National Milk Producers Association, who provided the latest science-backed information for dairy farmers during a May 2 webinar.

“With the current strain of the virus, there is no human-to-human transmission,” said Elisha Frye , assistant professor of practice in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences (CVM) and diagnostic veterinarian at CVM’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center. “So that’s the good thing.”

There have been two reported human cases of H5N1 in the U.S. since 2022. The first was a Colorado prisoner who was depopulating poultry in 2022 and his only clinical sign was fatigue. The other was a dairy farm employee who developed pink eye, or conjunctivitis, in April. Both of them recovered. Internationally, 13 human cases of H5N1 (clade 2.3.4.4b) have been documented through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , with one death, Frye said.

Infections in dairy cows , which initially may have contracted the virus from wild birds, have been 

confirmed in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas, across 36 herds, said Joy Bennett, director of the Division of Animal Industry at NYSDAM.

The strain has been detected in many New York counties in backyard bird flocks, upland game birds and live poultry markets since February 2022, Bennett said.

With regard to commercial dairy, the Food and Drug Administration recently collected nearly 300 samples of fluid milk, cottage cheese and sour cream from across 38 states and tested them for H5N1, said Samuel Alcaine, associate professor of food science in CALS.

“Roughly … one in five of these samples tested positive for fragments of the virus,” Alcaine said. Further tests showed that the virus detected in all the samples was inactivated, thanks to pasteurization.

Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is sampling ground beef from states that currently have herds that tested positive; so far the first 30 samples have all come back negative, Alcaine said.

It is unknown how well the virus survives in raw milk, which is a small share of the dairy market, or what viral doses in milk would be needed to infect people, he said.

“There are still a lot of questions for raw milk cheesemakers on what to do if their cows test positive for avian influenza,” Alcaine said. “They definitely should not be making any product from contaminated milk or potentially contaminated milk.”

He added that raw milk producers in states with positive herds should consider testing their bulk milk.

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/05/experts-provide-facts-about-avian-influenza-dairy-producers

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National Dairy Month

National Dairy Month in June celebrates the many contributions of the dairy industry to our health and economy. While dairy products contribute to our health in many beneficial ways, not everyone can consume dairy. For those who are allergic to cow’s milk or follow a vegan eating pattern, there are many alternatives from which to choose. You may have noticed that the “dairy” aisle of your grocery store has grown in recent years, yet not all the products in the dairy case are actually dairy foods. These non-dairy options are derived from plants, but they vary widely in their nutritional value in comparison to dairy milk.

Plant-based dairy alternatives are certainly nothing new. Soy “milk,” for example, has been available commercially for years. What is new in recent years is the high interest on the part of consumers in such alternatives. To gain a better understanding, let’s compare animal-based (dairy) and plant-based (non-dairy) products.

The dairy food group includes milk, yogurt, and cheese. The main nutrient supplied by dairy foods is calcium. Cream, cream cheese, and sour cream are not part of the dairy food group due to their low calcium content. In order to obtain the daily recommended intake of calcium, the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 3 servings of dairy each day for people ages 9 to adult. One serving equals 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 1.5 ounces of hard cheese.

About 90 percent of the U.S. population does not meet dairy recommendations. The percent of Americans who drink milk as a beverage on a given day is 65 percent among young children, 34 percent in adolescents, and about 20 percent for adults. Dairy is generally consumed in forms with higher amounts of sodium (e.g., cheeses, sandwiches, pizza, and pasta) and saturated fat (e.g., higher fat milks and yogurts) and can be a source of added sugars such as flavored milk, ice cream, and sweetened yogurts.

Low-fat and fat-free dairy products are the best choices. In terms of the differences among nonfat (skim), 1 percent, 2 percent, and whole milk, the only nutrient variance is in the amount of fat, and therefore calories. The amount of protein, calcium, and other nutrients is the same. As already mentioned, choosing low-fat milk and yogurt more often than cheese is recommended. Milk and yogurt have more potassium and less sodium than most cheeses and almost all milk and many yogurts are fortified with vitamin D which aids in the absorption of calcium. Flavored milks, fruit yogurts, frozen yogurt, and puddings contain a lot of added sugars. These added sugars are empty calories; you need the nutrients in dairy foods, not the empty calories. So choose plain, low-fat versions of dairy foods whenever possible. When recipes such as dips call for sour cream, substitute plain yogurt; use fat-free evaporated milk instead of cream; and try ricotta cheese as a substitute for cream cheese.

Non-dairy milk substitutes are made from plants and are not included as part of the dairy food group since their overall nutritional content is not like dairy milk. Therefore, consuming these beverages does not contribute to meeting the dairy group recommendations. Does this mean you should not consume plant-based dairy foods? The answer is no. However, it is important that you understand the differences in products.

Plant-based dairy alternatives are fluids that result from the breakdown (i.e. size reduction) of plant material extracted in water and further homogenization that results in a fluid like cow’s milk in appearance and consistency. Although there is no stated definition of plant-based milk alternatives, a general classification could be stated as follows:

• Cereal-based: Oat milk, Rice milk, Corn milk, Spelt milk.
• Legume-based: Soy milk, Peanut milk, Lupin milk, Cowpea milk.
• Nut-based: Almond milk, Coconut milk, Hazelnut milk, Pistachio milk, Walnut milk.
• Seed-based: Sesame milk, Flax milk, Hemp milk, Sunflower milk.
• Pseudo-cereal based: Quinoa milk, Teff milk, Amaranth milk.

It is important to note that the FDA and USDA publish legal definitions of foods called “standards of identity”. Cow’s milk and other dairy products have standards of identity. Non-dairy milk alternatives do not currently have a defined standard of identity, nor do they meet the standards of identify for milk. This fact makes the use of the term “milk” a bit confusing, but for now, this is the term used by manufacturers for naming and marketing these products.

Besides the origins of dairy and non-dairy foods, what are some other differences? A close comparison of the Nutrition Facts Label and the ingredients list between dairy and plant-based alternatives reveals the answer.

Dairy milk contains 8 grams of protein per 8-ounce serving, fortified soy milk contains about six grams of protein, while many coconut, rice, and almond milks contain only one gram of protein. Dairy milk is the top food source for calcium, as well as vitamin D and potassium, in the American diet. Calcium occurs naturally in milk while non-dairy milk alternatives contain minimal amounts of naturally occurring calcium. Calcium is an essential mineral that the human body needs to function properly. Adults ages 19 to 50 need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. Milk naturally provides 300 milligrams of calcium, or about 30 percent of your daily requirement in one, eight-ounce serving. The amount of calcium in milk remains the same, regardless of the variety of milk you select such as low-fat or fat-free. Food manufacturers fortify or add a form of calcium to non-dairy milk products to increase the levels of calcium per serving.

Regular white dairy milk has no added sugar. It contains lactose, which is a naturally occurring sugar. Added sugar will likely be in a milk alternative which means the calories will vary substantially. Ingredients like cane sugar or cane juice on the ingredient list indicate that sugar has been added. Also, a rice beverage has nearly double the carbohydrates of cow’s milk, which is significant if you have diabetes.

Another way to compare products is by reading the ingredient list. Real dairy milk’s ingredient list is short—simply milk and vitamins D and A. Compare milk with some non-dairy milks and the list can be much longer. In fact, many non-dairy milk options have 10 or more added ingredients. These can include salt, thickeners, stabilizers, gum, and emulsifiers in addition to vitamins and minerals added for supplementation.

One last difference between real dairy and non-dairy milk options is price. Dairy-free milk options do not provide the same package of thirteen essential nutrients for the same price as dairy milk. At just about 25 cents per glass, milk offers more nutritional bang for your buck than just about any other beverage you can buy.

Even though non-dairy milk alternatives are not the nutrition powerhouses of real dairy, these foods have their place in the kitchen and at the table. For those who have allergies to dairy products and consumers who follow a vegan lifestyle, these products are a good option. For those who are “dairy-free curious” ( a phrase coined by Alden’s Organic), it’s fun to experiment with the variety of flavors and texture profiles of non-diary milks and yogurts and the frozen desserts that serve as ice cream alternatives. A little oat milk in your coffee or almond milk with your cereal can be a nice treat. And for many people who find it more difficult to digest dairy products as they get older, a newer product on the market, A2 Milk, may be beneficial.

Again, it is important to compare and discern which product best supplies your individual nutrient needs and fits your food budget. Thoroughly reading the Nutrition Facts Label and ingredient list continues to be the best method to understand more about the foods you eat and the beverages you drink.

WRITTEN BY

Tracy Davis Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences N.C. Cooperative Extension, Rutherford County Center

UPDATED ON JUN 21, 2021

https://rutherford.ces.ncsu.edu/2021/06/nutrition-tips-for-dairy-month/

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Last updated June 3, 2024