Q. I feel like my child is eating more and more sweets. How can I cut back on the amount of sugar that my child is having?
A. Serve small portions.
It’s not necessary to get rid of all sweets and desserts, but show kids that a small amount of treats can go a long way. Use smaller bowls and plates for those foods.
Have them share a candy bar or split a large cupcake.
Sip smarter. Soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks are high in calories. Offer water when kids are thirsty.
Make treats “treats,” not everyday foods. They are great once in a while. Just don’t make treat foods an everyday thing by limiting sweet treats to special occasions.
Q. What can I do around my house to avoid mosquito infestations?
A. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water or moist soil. The larvae develop in standing water into adults.
You can help reduce the likelihood of mosquito problems in your neighborhood by not allowing standing water to accumulate.
Stock tanks, bird baths, old tires and any other container that holds non-running water can be sources of mosquitoes.
Empty these water reservoirs every five to seven days during warm weather. A mosquito can develop from an egg to an adult in as few as five days.
Q. We are in the process of renovating some of our irrigated hay fields and would like to find an annual crop to use for winter hay for our cows while our perennial grass and alfalfa hay fields get established. Any ideas? What kind of quality can we expect with the annual crops?
A. There are some really nice choices of annual forages that would make good hay for your herd. You might consider a forage barley.
When headed and in the soft to hard dough stage you could expect about 11 to 12 percent crude protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) of around 45 to 50 percent, and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) of about 62 to 65 percent.
We have seen good starch content in these barley varieties which increases the available energy levels of the hay.
Also, Triticale yields well at about the same maturity with about 11 percent CP, about 60 percent NDF, and around 58 percent TDN.
Either forage option would be a good choice for dry pregnant cows in the winter and could be blended with higher protein forage after calving.
To submit a question, call 509-735-3551.
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