AGRICULTURE NEWS BRIEFS

FREE ONE-DAY REGISTRATION

All interested young cattlemen and cattlewomen, including spouses who have not yet attended an NCA Convention to participate in the 2015 event at the Winnemucca Convention Center, Nov. 12-14.

All first time young cattlemen convention participants between the ages of 18-45 with an interest in Nevada’s livestock industry, are invited to be NCA’s guests for the entire day of Nov. 13 free of charge. This includes the one-day convention registration; meals catered by the Martin Hotel for the day, free access to the allied industries trade show of products and services, the Young Cattlemen’s and Leadership Reception in the trade show and a Western Fun Night dinner with entertainment by singer Molly Seals.

The only requirement is that applicants be pre-registered. The Tentative Schedule and Registration forms can be found online at: www.nevadacattlemen.org/convention.

Events of the day include the continental breakfast bar in the trade show, Habitat Restoration Success Stories and the Research and Education, Private and Public Lands Committee Meetings. Important issues affecting Nevada’s beef businesses, livelihoods and way of life are discussed there, and goals are set for dealing with identified challenges. There will be a Young Cattlemen’s Opportunity and Open Forum session geared to Young Cattlemen’s interests later in the day.

Call 775-738-9214 or email nca@nevadabeef.org should you have additional questions.

RADON POSTER CONTEST

RENO — University of Nevada Cooperative Extension invites Nevada students to showcase their artistic talents and promote radon awareness by entering the Nevada Radon Poster Contest.

The contest is open to all children ages 9 to 14 years old enrolled in public, private, territorial, tribal, Department of Defense and home schools. Children can also enter through a sponsoring group, such as art, computer, library, reading, science, scouting, youth or 4-H clubs.

Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that comes from the decay of uranium. It accumulates in homes and can cause lung cancer. This type of lung cancer risk is preventable, and the only way to know if a home has elevated levels is to test for it.

The poster contest is part of the Nevada Radon Education Program and is sponsored by Cooperative Extension and the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Cooperative Extension works to raise awareness of the dangers of radon in the homes by providing educational presentations and low- cost radon test kits.

Since 2008, more than 21,014 homes in Nevada were tested. Of 17,255 valid test results collected, 4,549 have elevated radon levels. Once radon is detected, there are fairly easy, inexpensive ways to reduce the radon exposure and reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Posters in this year’s Nevada Radon Poster Contest should convey one of these messages: 1) What is radon? 2) Where does radon come from? 3) How does radon get into our homes? 4) Radon can cause lung cancer, and 5) Test your home for radon. Posters will be judged on content accuracy, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. They can be created with crayons, markers, paint, collage, pencils, photographs or computer graphics. There is no fee to enter, but each child is limited to one entry. Entries must be received at 4955 Energy Way in Reno by Oct. 31.

Cash prizes are $75 for first place, $60 for second and $45 for third. The top three entries are also awarded cash prizes for their teachers or sponsoring organization’s representative.

Interested groups should contact Jamie Roice-Gomes, radon education coordinator for Cooperative Extension, at 775-336-0252 or roicej@unce.unr.edu to schedule a presentation or for more information on the contest. For more information on the dangers of radon and the Nevada Radon Education Program, visit www.RadonNV.com or call the Radon Hotline at 1-888-Radon10 (888-723-6610).

FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOANS

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini has announced that the Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program, which provides low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage facilities, will now include dairy, flowers and meats as eligible commodities.

To learn more about the FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport or contact a local FSA county office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.

THE loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.