My little garden provides me with big-time enjoyment.  I take great pride in producing fresh fruits and vegetables and truly enjoy using as much “home-grown produce” as I can in a single meal.  This weekend I was delighted to see the green beans were ready.  There’s nothing quite like the first picking of the season!

As I picked beans, I thought about the Hot German Green Beans my great grandma used to make.  (Of course, she didn’t use a recipe.  Thankfully, I was able to find one online at AllRecipes.com).  Memories of time spent with her in the kitchen – wearing my pint-sized, dark green apron with a pocket across the front – brought a smile to my face.  Grandma believed that cooking up a special meal was an act of love, so yesterday I treated my family to a home-grown, home-cooked feast.  To complete the meal, I baked my mom’s chocolate zucchini cake.  I have to admit that I was skeptical to try it the first time she made it, but now it’s one of my favorite desserts.

May these recipes put a smile on the faces of your family members, too!

Lemon Chicken
2 pounds chicken or chicken breasts
¼ c. flour
2 T. oil

1, 6-oz. can lemonade (thawed)
3 T. brown sugar
3 T. catsup
1 T. vinegar
2 T. cold water

Combine the flour with 1 tsp. salt.  Coat chicken thoroughly.  Brown chicken on all sides in hot oil; drain.  Transfer chicken to slow cooker.

Stir together the lemonade, brown sugar, catsup and vinegar.  Pour over the chicken and cover. Cook on high setting for 3-4 hours (time varies).  Remove chicken and pour liquid into saucepan.  Return chicken to cooker and cover to keep warm.

Blend cold water slowly into cornstarch, stir in hot liquid.  Cook until thick.  Service chicken with gravy over rice.  Serves 6.

Hot German Green Beans
Ingredients:
·    1 pound fresh green or wax beans, about 2 cups frozen or canned
·    4 to 6 slices bacon
·    1 onion, chopped
·    1 tablespoon granulated sugar
·    1/4 cup cider vinegar
·    salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Cook fresh beans in a little salted water until tender; cook frozen beans according to package instructions. Drain beans; reserve about 3/4 cup of the cooking or can liquid. Cut up bacon and sauté with onion until bacon is cooked and onion has lightly browned. Add bean liquid and cook until liquid has reduced to 1/4 cup. Add next 4 ingredients and the cooked beans. Heat through and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Fresh Fruit Salad
INGREDIENTS
·    4 cups fresh strawberries, halved
·    2 cups fresh blueberries
·    2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
·    2 bananas, sliced
·    2 cups seedless grapes, halved
·    1 (8 ounce) container plain or vanilla yogurt
·    2 teaspoons lemon juice
·    1 teaspoon sugar
·    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1.    In a large salad bowl, combine strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, bananas and grapes. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Serve with fruit.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
½ c. margarine
1 ½ c. sugar
2 eggs
½ c. oil
½ c. sour milk
1 T. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 T. cocoa
2 ½ c. flour
2 c. grated zucchini
½ c. nuts
½ c. chocolate chips

Cream margarine, sugar and eggs.  Add oil and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients, and add alternately with milk.  Fold in zucchini.
Pour into 9×13 cake pan.  Top with chocolate chips and nuts.  Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Serve with whipped topping.

Here’s the latest planting update excerpted from the July 14 USDA National Agricultural Service bulletin (for week ending July 11)

Corn: Nationally, 16 percent of this year’s corn crop was at or beyond the
silking stage, 4 points ahead of last year, but 16 points behind the 5-year
average. Progress remained at or behind the average in all States except
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas where 92, 22, and 79 percent of the crop was silking, respectively. Progress was 2 weeks and just over 1 week behind the average pace in Illinois and Indiana, the second and fifth largest corn-producing States, respectively, while silking had not yet begun in South Dakota. With 71 percent of the crop rated good to excellent, conditions were unchanged from a week ago and 7 points above last year.

Soybeans: By week’s end, soybeans blooming advanced to 24 percent complete, 1 point slower than the pace a year ago and 19 points slower than normal. The most rapid development was evident in the western Corn Belt where 18 and 16 percent of the crop began blooming in Nebraska and Iowa, respectively. However, all estimating States lagged the 5-year average. Overall, 66 percent of the crop was rated in good to excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago and 7 points better than last year.

Shannon Latham: Official Biker Chick

Sunday (Epilogue)

After completing this course, I’m an absolute safety nut and will have that attitude at all times when riding a cycle. With that in mind, I want to offer a few learnings about protective gear.

Protective gear helps a rider stay comfortable, improves visibility if it’s brightly colored and reflective and protects against the elements in all kinds of conditions.  Every rider and passenger should wear:

• Sturdy, over-the-ankle footwear with nonslip soles
• Long pants
• Good jacket
• Full-fingered gloves
• A helmet manufactured to meet Department of Transportation (DOT) standards with proper eye protection; helmets with full-face protection do the best job of sealing out wind, dust and bugs.

Protective gear should fit comfortably without binding.  A jacket with a zippered front will be more wind resistant than a jacket with buttons or snaps.  A flap of material over the zipper of a jacket gives additional protection against the wind along with protecting your motorcycle’s paint from scratches.  Jackets with snug cuffs and waist are recommended to keep wind from blowing in.  Caution:  a large, loose,  jacket can flap when riding and may irritate skin or be a distraction.

In cold-weather riding, protective gear protects riders against hypothermia.  Hypothermia, a condition of subnormal body temperature, can cause loss of concentration, slowed reactions and loss of smooth, precise muscle movement.  As an example, on a chilly day (50 degrees Fahrenheit) a motorcyclist riding at a speed of 30 mph experiences a chilling effect equivalent to 42 degrees.
In hot-weather riding, protective gear protects riders against heat exhaustion.  Heat exhaustion, characterized by dizziness and headache, can hamper clear thinking and concentration.  Dressing for hot-weather riding requires protective gear that breathes, and riders should drink plenty of water.
Source:  Motorcycle Safety Foundation

Now, bring on the Freedom of Independence Ride!

Sunday (The Final Test)

This morning I arrived 30 minutes earlier at the “driving range” (folks like my husband would be picking up their golf clubs).  I wanted a little extra practice on the Figure 8 because, quite honestly, that move was not my strong suit.  In fact, I just plain stunk at it!  I was afraid to turn my head as far as was needed, and I was afraid to make the turn without putting down my foot.

Wouldn’t you know I could execute a Figure 8 when no one was watching me!  When I was practicing on my own, I could make the turns without putting  a foot down.  I tried to convince myself that I could do it just as well when our driving test was under way, and I almost had myself talked into it when my name was called to be the first driver on the test.  It really unnerved me to think that 11 other students and three instructors were watching my every move.

Concern must have shown on my face as plainly as the beacon from a lighthouse on a dark night because one of the instructors signaled me over before I executed the drill.  “You can mess up the Figure 8 and still pass the driving test,” he said.

I’m sure he thought he was offering words of encouragement and, thus, reducing my stress.  He was right!  I came to cherish those words as I felt my foot touch the ground in the middle of the first turn.  I was so disgusted with myself because I CAN execute that turn flawlessly; I just couldn’t do it when it mattered most.  Yes, I had stage fright in a big way.

Thankfully, I passed the rest of the driving test with flying colors.  I was among the top of the class for stopping quickly, but that won’t surprise anyone who has ridden in a car with me!  The written test was our last criterion in order earn our certificate of completion.  I don’t mean to brag, but I really am proud of this fact: I didn’t miss a single answer on the written test.  It helped that practice exams were found in the back of our handbook, as well as online at www.msf-usa.org.

The Rider Education Course, developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) and offered through North Iowa Area Community College and most community colleges across the state, was a great experience!  I really encourage anyone who’s interested in obtaining a motorcycle license to first take this course.

Next time: the “official” picture of me on my ride.

Saturday

The desire to experience a big taste of freedom and a small dose of rebellion made me eager to get out of the classroom and onto a Kawasaki Eliminator, which was provided as part of our course fee. It’s a good thing that I’m not superstitious or else the model name would have really freaked me out. Instead, I said a quick prayer for wisdom and safety. Then I gripped the right brake and hopped into the saddle.

“Power walking” took on new meaning that morning as the instructors had us get acquainted with our bikes and learn to balance by straddling our bikes and literally pushing them from one side of the range to the other. It was a great way to work out one’s thighs. Yes, I used muscles that I didn’t even know I had! To top it off, there were gale-force winds that day so we had to push even harder.

I was especially glad to have a full-face helmet keeping the wind out of my ears, plus the head covering helped me stay warmer all over. (It was 38 degree Fahrenheit at 8 a.m. that morning.) I was dressed in layers including a long-sleeve thermal shirt, a fleece and my ski jacket. If only I would have thought to put on long johns to keep my legs warm! Leather gloves helped protect my hands from the chill and protected my skin in the one instance that I forgot to leave both feet on the ground. Leather boots protected my ankles and gave me traction while straddling my bike and later peddling my feet as I gained balance.

While we began by taking “baby steps,” it wasn’t long before we started our engines and learned to put up our feet.

Latham is a partner in the Iowa State University Extension Corn and Soybean Initiative. That means we get timely alerts when any farming condition emerges that could impact a number of growers.

We recently received an alert about possible emergence of black cutworm in Iowa. The alert is reproduced below. Also, we have a simple spreadsheet calculator available for estimating stand-loss threshold of black cutworm as insecticide is applied.

Just give me a call at 1-800-798-3258 or email me at mark@lathamhybrids.com and I’ll be glad to send you the calculator document and explain it to you. For example, one simple calculation on the spreadsheet shows a corn stand planted at 32K plants per acre with an expected yield of 200 bu/acre at a market price of $6 per bushel and receiving insecticide application at a cost of $15/acre could realize an estimated loss of 400 plants per acre, or 1.25%.

Black cutworm to start cutting May 24: scouting is advised

From Iowa State University Extension Corn and Soybean Initiative

Black cutworms could start cutting corn May 24-26 in the southern two-thirds of Iowa, and the first week of June in the northern three tiers of counties. Growers should scout for cutworms as soon as corn emerges, paying special attention to late-planted or weedy fields.

Most at-risk fields:

• Late-planted
• Reduced tillage
• High weed populations – especially of winter annuals
• Near natural vegetation areas
• Poorly drained or low-lying, such as in the floodplain of a stream or river.

Damage signs
• Small, irregular holes in leaves (from young, above-ground larvae feeding)
• Cut stems or clipped leaves (from older larvae, in 4-6 instar – usually feed underground at night)

When scouting

• Examine 250 plants (50 plants in five locations) weekly until corn reaches V5.
• Check for wilted, discolored or damaged leaves and missing plants.
• If damaged leaves are found: dig around the base of the plant and look for larvae. If soils are dry or crusted, larvae  may burrow to moist soil and move to new plants.
• Flag suspected “hot spots” and monitor larval feeding (or lack of it) for a few days.

Economic Threshold & Treatment Options
•Economic thresholds for black cutworm were adjusted last year due to higher crop value and corn stands.
•A tool to calculate treatment thresholds for stand loss will be published in ICM News next week.

To tell black from dingy cutworm larvae

Both feed on corn, but dingy cutworms rarely cut leaves. Black cutworms have two prominent tubercles (dark bumps) of differing sizes on each body segment; dingy cutworms have two of the same size.

Long story short: Black cutworms may start cutting corn May 24 in the southern two-thirds of Iowa. Scout for corn as soon as it emerges, especially in late-planted, weedy or reduced tillage fields. Use the attached threshold calculator to determine the best treatment for your fields.

Source: Erin Hodgson and Jon Tollefson, ISU Department of Entomology

In between showers, our research team has been getting our corn showcase plots planted. These pictures show Bill Latham and Gary Bennett planting our Latham® corn showcase plot near Alta, Iowa. True to the season, this photo was taken after Bill and Gary got wet from a brief shower.

Latham Hi-Tech Seeds planted six corn showcase plots between May 4-6. Four more plots were planted between May 11-13. The seeds were planted with the company’s new corn plot air planter, complete with computer equipment that controls the drop rate and length of row per plot.

It’s part of the itinerary for a sweet road trip coming up this summer. Guess where it is and what it is.

Here’s a little teaser about a totally different field tour that’s in the works.

Check it out here. We’re posting preliminary material for an upcoming summer event that promises to be a great time for all who take part. If you’re not already on Facebook, make sure you sign up as a Facebook user so you can become a “fan” of this page.