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May 15, 2015 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Dairy/Livestock Idaho dairymen, students celebrate healthy lifestyle By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press TWIN FALLS, Idaho — More than 200 students of all ages celebrated their commit- ment to healthy eating and physical activity at a high-en- ergy event Tuesday to mark their accomplishments in the nationwide Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Hosted by Idaho dairymen, students from eight schools that have excelled in the program were treated to a blowout to recognize their healthy initia- tives and fuel continued youth health and wellness. Enthusiasm was rampant but rose to a new level when retired Seattle Seahawks cor- nerback Marcus Trufant hus- tled through the students giv- ing celebratory “low fives” as Seahawks cheerleaders and mascot, Blitz, ushered him to the stage. Trufant gave a shout-out to Idaho’s dairy farm families for making the event possible and sponsoring a program to en- Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Retired Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant encourages Idaho students to be physically active and fuel up with dairy and other wholesome foods at a celebration of Idaho’s successful Fuel Up to Play 60 program in Twin Falls on May 5. courage youth to make choices that will fuel their bodies and give them energy. “It’s about being active, it’s about having fun, it’s about be- ing young and not sitting at the computer all day,” he said of a healthy young lifestyle. And it’s about eating healthy, he said. As a professional football player, “my body was my busi- ness. I had to eat right to elevate my game,” he said. Protein-rich foods — such as dairy — fruits, vegetables and grains were his daily fare to fuel his body, and he continues those healthy choices today, he said. He also revealed his “addic- tion” to chocolate milk, saying it’s been part of his life as long as he can remember and he drinks it with almost every meal. Fuel Up to Play 60 partners the National Dairy Council, state dairy councils, NFL and USDA in an initiative to pre- vent childhood obesity and help youth develop healthy life-long habits. Idaho dairymen have invest- ed $500,000 in the program, which is active in more than 100 Idaho schools, empowering students to take action to make improvements in their schools and communities, said Karianne Fallow, United Dairymen of Idaho CEO. “You kids take it seriously,” she told students. More than 500 Idaho dairy farm families applaud students’ and educators’ commitment to youth health, supporting schools with two rounds of grants each year, she said. “Dairy farmers care about your health and success,” Willie Bokma, Twin Falls dairyman and ambassador of Idaho’s Fuel Up to Play 60, told students. They take good care of their cows and feed them high-qual- ity fuel to make the milk stu- dents enjoy. Bokma considers his cows professional athletes and hopes when students enjoy dairy products they’ll think about what brings them to the table, he said. In January, 24 Idaho schools received more than $59,000 in funding to support their Fuel Up to Play 60 initia- tives. Minico High School PE teacher, coach and Fuel Up adviser Sandee Nelson knows first hand how much that sup- port means, especially in light of limited school budgets. Grants from the program have gone a long way at the school and have inspired com- munity support and partner- ships to improve health and fitness, she said. “I absolutely love the pro- gram,” she said. The school has been able to purchase much needed PE equipment, was able to create a fitness room and purchase a dairy smoothie machine and a kiosk to offer healthy breakfast and snack options, she said. Dairy council supports academic success with cheese By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press The Idaho Dairy Coun- cil is giving away near- ly half a million sticks of string cheese to students taking the Idaho Standards Achievement Test state- wide through mid-May. The Dairy Does Good program allows Ida- ho schools to provide a healthy snack during stan- dardized testing that can improve student perfor- mance, Crystal Wilson, IDC’s senior director of health and wellness, said in a press release. “Research links good nutrition and physical ac- tivity to improved academ- ic performance,” she said. It also confirms that hunger can take over and impair a student’s ability to concentrate during test- ing when they skip break- fast or lunch, she said. The 2015 donation amounts to 494,946 sticks of string cheese weigh- ing approximately 46,430 pounds. Three-fourths of Ida- ho’s public school districts are participating, repre- senting more than half of the state’s public schools. In addition, three dis- tance-learning academies that perform centralized testing are participating, as well as 13 private schools. “We are excited to offer our students a protein-rich snack for the ISAT test,” Patricia Barnes, a coun- selor at Middleton Middle School, said. “Every pos- itive factor can help with their achievement.” Educators say the dona- tion has made a difference to students. “The students love the string cheese,” Angie Rodgers, program advis- er at Heritage Community Charter in Caldwell, said. “It has helped them get fo- cused and not worry about when lunch is.” David Meyer, vice prin- cipal at Rigby Middle School, said he believes there is a direct connection between academic success and nutrition. 11 Courtesy of the Idaho Dairy Council Students at Rigby Middle School take the ISAT while snacking on string cheese provided by the Idaho Dairy Council. Dairy Markets Lee Mielke Cash dairy prices firm; butter tops $2 By LEE MIELKE For the Capital Press C ash dairy prices in Chi- cago seem unfazed by what’s going on in the rest of the world. The block Cheddar held at $1.61 per pound for 11 consecutive ses- sions before it inched up a quarter-cent last Friday and closed at $1.6125 per pound, up a quarter-cent on the week but 43 1/4-cents below a year ago. It was unchanged Monday and Tuesday but is at the highest level of 2015 and the highest since Dec. 22, 2014. The Cheddar barrels jumped 6 cents last Monday but dropped 6 1/4 cents the next day, and closed Friday at $1.62, up a quarter-cent on the week, 40 cents below a year ago. The barrels inched up a half-cent Monday and 1 1/4-cents Tues- day, hitting $1.6375, also a new high for 2015 and the highest barrel price since Dec. 1, 2014. That pushed the inverted spread to 2 1/2-cents, a spread that typically runs 3-5 cents below the blocks. Eleven cars of each traded hands last week. Cash butter finished Friday at $1.9850, up 13 1/2-cents on the week but still 35 cents be- low a year ago. The spot price gained another 2 1/2-cents Monday and added 2 cents Tuesday, hitting $2.03 per pound, also a new high for 2015 and the highest spot price since Nov. 5, 2014. Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk closed the week at 95 3/4-cents per pound, up 2 cents, but 83 cents below a year ago. The powder was unchanged Monday and Tuesday. Fourteen cars traded hands last week at the CME. “Students who eat reg- ular meals consisting of mostly whole foods — es- pecially fruits and vege- tables — have more en- ergy and better cognition for academic success,” he said. More upstate N.Y. dairy farms looking for a new contract farms have about 1,000 milk cows between them. Last month, the 13-mem- ber Oneida-Lewis Milk Producers Cooperative lost its deal with a dairy in the New York City borough of Queens. Michele Ledoux of Cor- nell Cooperative Extension says there’s an increase in milk production state- wide and in surrounding states, and it’s exceeding the demand of food man- ufacturers and fluid milk needs. Ledoux says state ag- riculture commissioner Richard Ball is aware and is providing resources to farmers. 20-1/#4N LOWVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Nine more dairy farms in upstate New York are look- ing for a new place to sell their milk. The farms in Lewis County have been notified their product no longer will be needed by Queensboro Farm Products cooperative after the end of May. The 20-1/#14