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March 1st is the last day to order plants from our
Small Fruit Plant Sale.
Plant Orders will be available for pick-up on March 19 & 20, 2019
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Eat Med for National Nutrition Month
Whether you're preparing a meal at home or dining out, the foods you choose can make a real difference. March is National Nutrition Month, a time to learn more about the transformative power of food and nutrition.
You may have noticed the Mediterranean Diet getting lots of attention in the news recently. That's because eating like those who live in the Mediterranean region has been shown to promote health and decrease the risk of many chronic diseases, such as some cancers, Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.
The first of the 7 Simple Steps to eating the Med Way is to change your protein. Check out these tips to make positive changes to your protein intake.
- Eat primarily plant-based foods.
- Replace red meat with plant-based proteins, such as beans and legumes often.
- Eat seafood at least three times per week. Include fatty fish, such as mackerel and salmon.
- Avoid fried fish.
- Eat white-meat poultry, such as turkey and chicken, at least twice a week.
Try this Mediterranean Tuna Salad recipe as a lighter alternative to traditional tuna salad, rich in vegetables, healthy fats, and protein.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad 
Ingredients:
- 2 (5-ounce) cans of tuna packed in water or olive oil, drained and flaked
- ½ cup minced carrots (approximately 2 carrots)
- ½ cup minced celery (approximately 2 celery sticks)
- ½ cup minced yellow bell pepper (approximately 1 small bell pepper - substitute with orange, red or green bell pepper if preferred)
- ¼ cup minced red onion (substitute with yellow or green onion if preferred)
- ¼ cup minced olives (substitute with pickles if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt to taste (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium size bowl combine carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, olives, tuna, and olive oil.
- Season with black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix well.
- Serve as a sandwich on whole-grain bread, or on top of salad greens.
Visit medinsteadofmeds.com for nutrition information for this recipe, the 7 Simple Steps to eating the Med Way, and many more healthy recipes.
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Pesticide Recertification Classes
March 26, 2019
10:00 - 12:00
Category V - 2 hours credit
1:00 - 3:00
Categories ABGHIKLMNOTDX - 2 hours credit
The classes are free to any licensed pesticide applicator that needs renewal credits. Call our office at 828-764-9480 to register. Classes will be held at the Burke County Agricultural Building in Morganton.
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Empowering Youth & Families Program (EYFP) is a 12-session journey to build strong family relationships and combat the opioid crisis in our community. This program is for families with children 10-14 years old and will provide age-appropriate training in the art of family communication, how to handle peer pressure and sharing knowledge on opioid misuse. For parents/caregivers, this program will help to strengthen your bond with your children and help you help your children to succeed in life. The program starts March 19th.
For more information please come to our information session on Tuesday, March 12th at 5:30 pm at the Burke County Agricultural Building or contact Erica Baxter at 828-764-9480 or by email at ecbaxter@ncsu.edu.
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There are many diseases for which sheep and goats can be vaccinated, but there is probably only one vaccine that is universally recommended for all flocks: CD-T. This is a combination vaccine, where "C" and "D" stand for
clostridial perfringens types C and D. The "T" represents tetanus caused by
clostridial tetani.
Clostridial perfringens type D is better known as enterotoxemia, pulpy kidney, or overeating disease. It is a common disease of sheep and goats that normally affects lambs and kids over one month of age.
Clostridial perfringens
type C is better known as bloody scours or lamb dysentery. This usually affects lambs and kids during their first several weeks of life. Both diseases are usually brought on by changes in the diet. Tetanus (lockjaw) can occur anytime there is an open wound into which the tetanus organism can gain entry; however, lambs and kids are usually at risk when tails are docked, or they are castrated, or disbudded.
Vaccinations are cheap insurance. For the best protection, expectant mothers should be vaccinated with CD-T about one month before they are due to lamb/kid. This will provide passive immunity to the offspring through the colostrum ("first milk" secreted by the doe/ewe). Females that have never been vaccinated for CD-T will require two initial shots with an annual pre-lambing booster thereafter. Some are convinced goats do not respond very well to CD-T vaccines. Some veterinarians recommend re-vaccination every six months.
As lambs/kids approach six weeks old, they should receive their first CD-T vaccination, and a second shot two to four weeks later. If lambs/kids are on pasture for a period of time then returned to confinement or dry lot for concentrate feeding, they should receive a booster for type D. Feeder lambs or goats purchased as 4-H projects or for feeding out should be vaccinated for type D, if they were not previously vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.
Lambs/kids that do not consume adequate amounts of colostrum or whose dams were not vaccinated should receive their first CD-T vaccination at 1 to 3 weeks of age. Vaccinations given too soon after birth are not very effective due to the interference caused by maternal antibodies.
Research conducted at Cornell University
showed no benefit to vaccinating lambs for overeating disease (type D) prior to six weeks of age.
Tetanus anti-toxin should be administered at the time of docking, castrating, and disbudding, if the mother was not vaccinated or adequate colostrum was not consumed. An anti-toxin provides immediate, short-term immunity and is usually adequate for getting animals through a period of high risk. In comparison, the tetanus vaccine (toxoid) takes 10 days to 2 weeks to illicit an immune response; but the effects are long lasting. The dosage for the tetanus anti-toxin is 150-250 units for young kids and 400 to 750 units for adult animals.
Ordinarily, the 7 and 8-way clostridial vaccinations are rarely needed, since CD-T are usually the only clostridial diseases that are a problem with sheep and goats in our area.
These vaccinations should be given subcutaneously or under the skin on the neck. Be sanitary, as injection site lesions can occur. If you administer a toxoid and anti-toxin at the same time, a separate needle and injection site should be used for each shot.
There are additional vaccinations (e.g. abortion, CLA, sore mouth, rabies) if these health conditions have been a problem in your flock or if your animals are in an area of high risk. Don't forget to vaccinate your herd sires and younger replacements when you vaccinate.
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Lawn Care Workshop
March 23, 2019 
Spring is on its way and grass is going to start growing sooner than you think! Are you confused about what to do to the lawn this time of year? How about weed control and fertilizer? If you have doubts about how to best care for your lawn, the upcoming lawn care workshop at Morganton Ace Hardware on Saturday, March 23 at 10:00 can answer a lot of your questions.
We'll learn about what to do and when to do it at this FREE workshop! Hope to see you there!
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 4-H Update
March
Jr. Beekeepers Applications are due by
March 1, 2019. Jr. Beekeeping is for ages 8-18 and spaces are limited.
March 4, 2019
9:00 - noon
Summer Fun Teen Intern training. Teens will be trained in ages & stages, camp games & songs, transition strategies & class management. Contact Nicki Carpenter at 828-764-9480 if you are interested.
March 4, 2019
1:00 - 5:00
4-H Presentation Workshop. Special guest speaker from Toastmaster. We will start working on county presentations/demonstrations. Call Nicki Carpenter at 828-764-9480 if you want to attend.
March 9, 2019
State Horsebowl & Hippology contest at NCSU in Raleigh. We have 3 teams and several individuals competing. Good Luck Burke County Contestants!
Cattlemen Annual Meeting
March 14, 2019
We need ten 4-H'ers to serve food at the Burke County Cattlemen's Annual meeting. Contact Dawn Snyder at 828-764-9480 if you can help.
March 30 & 31, 2019
Teen Retreat for ages 13-18. Call our office at 828-764-9480 by March 11th to sign up.
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Plant Early 
Some vegetables need to be planted early in the growing season for good success. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower as well as seeds of leaf vegetables, carrots and beets should be planted in March. These vegetables can be harvested very early in the season, before the weather gets hot and humid.
Planting early is the key to success with these vegetables. Insects do not cause as many problems when planted early. When planted early, little to no spraying is required on cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. This can save a lot of time and labor in the garden, and plants will be harvested before insects become a problem. Early vegetable plantings also give room for a second, later crop, which can be planted in the same spot after early vegetables are harvested.
When buying cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower plants, look for good, dark green plants with stocky stem and leaves. Never buy plants that already have small vegetables on them. This is sign that the plants are too old and they generally do not ever make anything.
Remember that cool weather crops must have cool temperatures to prosper. Planting in April, May or June will not give satisfactory results.
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Ag. Safety Day
March 29, 2019
Burke County will be holding an Ag. Safety Day on Friday, March 29, 2019!
The event will be held at the Burke County Agricultural Building and is hosted by N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke Center; Burke County Emergency Management; and the Burke County Health Department.
The event will be held from 7:30am -3:30pm and will include refreshments, lunch, a variety of sessions, including an opportunity to get medical evaluation clearance for the Respirator Fit Test. In addition, those attending can register for sessions to earn 2 hours of Pesticide Recertification credits.
Additional information and details on HOW to Register will be coming soon, so watch your email or give us a call at (828) 764-9480.
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NC State Extension is committed to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, political beliefs, family and marital status, sex, age, veteran status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability.
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