Groceries, Shooting Sports, Manure

Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

Are you spending more and more on food and ending up with less and less? Does the thought of meal planning make your head spin? Do leftovers become mold-covered “science projects” cluttering your refrigerator?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, check out the new Spend Smart Eat Smart interactive website from Iowa State University Extension. Besides offering dollar-saving tips, the site includes game-like activities so you can test your smart shopping skills and compare meals prepared at home vs. eating out. You also can watch easy recipe videos, sign up for e-mail updates and blog with ISU Extension nutrition specialists At the website you can use a calculator to get an estimate based on the USDA’s low cost food plan for what a family your size should be spending to feed your family healthy meals.

At the grocery store, fill the cart with all the basics first---vegetables and fruit, protein and milk. These departments are nearly always on the outside walls of the store, which is why some people suggest to 'shop the perimeter'. Arrange your shopping list with the layout of the specific store in mind. That way you can spend less time in the store and not have to backtrack. If you need something in the center aisles of the store think of it as just running in for a specific items and then heading back to the perimeter.

Don't even go down the empty calorie aisles in the center of the store. Just stay out of the potato chip, crackers, candy, soda, deli aisles.

Buy the store or generic brand or at least try it. Sometimes the only difference between the store brand and the name brand is the label. Sometimes there is more of a difference. The only way to know if a certain product will work at your house is to try it.

Look up, look down. Food companies pay for shelf space and the prime location is on the shelves which are at eye level. Look to the higher or lower shelves for the less expensive versions of produces.

Supermarket managers have many methods to get you to their store and entice you to buy. The best way to buy at the lowest price possible is to use a price book that you can make yourself using a simple notebook and tracking price, date and store for items you regularly buy. This simple system makes it easier to track the sources and prices of the foods purchased most often and do unit pricing with a calculator or your cell phone. Here are some other points to keep in mind at the grocery store:

· Specials don’t always cost less. Just like in a restaurant a special is just something that the management wants to call attention to. t may or may not cost less.

·On sale doesn’t always mean it is a good deal. The sale on this product may still be more than another brand of the same thing. When potato chips are on sale, they're still empty and expensive calories.

· Usually you don’t have to buy the quantity specified in deals that are X for $Y. If the specials are 3 for $5 for example, one item will usually ring up as $1.67. Quantity discounts aren’t always a savings.

·The vast majority of coupons are for sugary snacks and convenience products. Have you ever seen a coupon for apples or milk? They can save if you use them for items you would usually buy instead of an invitation to try a new convenience food.

· Limited quantity deals. Take a good look at these. If the store is limiting quantities, chances are it is a good deal.

Pay attention at check-out. Errors are often made at the check-out. Products are scanned twice; the sale price doesn’t get entered into the computer; the checker doesn’t recognize the produce you are buying and enters the wrong code. Or a sign got moved and you picked up something you thought was on sale, but really isn’t. Make sure all your groceries get into your bag, your cart and into the car. Speak-up about the handling of fragile items.

Spending less on food often means investing time and effort in planning, shopping and preparing food. Spend Smart Eat Smart will help you learn skills and adopt habits so you can feed your family nutritious meals for less money. Spend Smart Eat Smart is one way ISU Extension is helping families eat nutritiously and manage finances.

the picture is a lady in Hydra Greece coming home from the grocery store! 

Sign up Now for 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Training

AMES, Iowa – The registration deadline is fast approaching for the spring 2009 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Certification workshop March 27-29. The event helps adult volunteers be successful in leading youth shooting sports programs as well as in teaching youth to apply that knowledge to everyday life skills. Participants can find registration materials for training at the Safety Education in Shooting Sports (SESS) Web site, www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/SESS/shootingsports.html.

The registration fee is $120 on or before March 6; the fee increases to $140 after March 6. Volunteers must be registered and have completed the 4-H Child Protection and Safety Policy screening by March 13.

“Working with impressionable youth has become a very rewarding passion for me,” said Raymond Morris, a certified shooting instructor from Van Buren County. “As we teach safety, we also teach life skills in self-dedication, personal responsibilities and interaction with peers.”

As one of the fastest growing 4-H programs in many states, an estimated 300,000 youth participate in Shooting Sports nationally. These programs across the nation have proven effective in retaining older youth in 4-H and engaging both boys and girls in shooting sports

Participants will spend the entire weekend learning about 4-H and the youth involved as well as training with one of the six distinct shooting disciplines, including coordinator, archery, shotgun, rifle, muzzle-loading and wildlife skills, according to Bryan Whaley, Iowa 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator.

“This is an excellent opportunity to open avenues of communication to encourage these youth with positive instruction and reinforcement,” Morris noted.

Volunteers who participate will gain 18 hours of training, and become certified in the Iowa Shooting Sports program.

4-H Shooting Sports focuses on bringing together youth and trained adults and emphasizes shooting, wildlife, conservation and outdoor skills. To get involved with this program contact your ISU Extension county office or Bryan Whaley, Iowa 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator, (515) 332-2201.

Contacts:

Bryan Whaley, Iowa 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator, (515) 332-2201, bwhaley@iastate.edu

Caitlyn Miller, Extension Communications and External Relations, (515) 294-9915, millercm@iastate.edu

Laura Sternweis, Extension Communications and External Relations, (515) 294-0775, lsternw@iastate.edu

ISU Extension Offers RUSLE2 and P Index Workshops for Manure and Nutrient Plan Writers

AMES, Iowa --- Livestock producers and service providers can learn how to use the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation 2 (RUSLE2) and the Iowa Phosphorus Index in nutrient management and manure management plans by attending an upcoming workshop. Iowa State University Extension and the Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG), in collaboration with the Iowa USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, have scheduled an introductory level workshop for April 1 at the Polk County Extension Office in Altoona, Iowa.

The workshop starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. This hands-on workshop will provide the participant with software orientation and an introduction to the operating parameters for RUSLE2, selection of input values for RUSLE2, developing and saving management operations for RUSLE2.

Real field examples will be used in the workshop to determine risk calculations of the Iowa Phosphorus Index and how to incorporate these numbers into manure and nutrient management planning requirements. Soil sampling requirements for manure management plans will also be discussed.

The cost of the workshop is $150 if registered on or prior to March 25 and $165 after March 25. The workshop fee includes handout materials, refreshments and lunch. Because software will be provided, participants are required to bring a MS Windows compatible laptop equipped with a CD-ROM drive and Microsoft Excel Software. Participants must have their administrator password in order to install software on their own laptop. The workshop is limited to 30 participants.

On-line registration, program information and directions to the workshop are available at: www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/rusle2/home.html.

On April 2, an Advanced RUSLE2 workshop will be held at the Polk County Extension Office in Altoona. Registration for this workshop is only open to people who have previously attended the Introductory RUSLE2 and Iowa P Index workshop. Additional information can be found at: www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/rusle2advanced/home.html

Questions regarding these workshops should be directed to Kapil Arora at 515-382-6551or Angie Rieck-Hinz at 515-294-9590.

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