“I would really encourage people to bring a pet into their life. They’re tremendously enriching,” says Barbara Sherman, director of the Behavioral Medicine Service at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

“But find a pet that’s good for someone’s lifestyle so everyone lives compatibly together,” Sherman adds. Assessing your current lifestyle is the top consideration Sherman tells people who are considering a dog or cat. If someone has a demanding schedule, she recommends a pet that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance or exercise.

“One of the most common problems we see is pets don’t have their basic needs met in their household,” Sherman says. “They’re very much loved, but they don’t have their basic needs met in terms of exercise and social interactions and that sort of thing. They may develop some frustration behaviors.”

To avoid pitfalls, Sherman also suggests that potential adopters get as much information about the animal from the previous caretaker as possible. Furthermore, she mentioned that an appointment with a local veterinarian beforehand would be a wise move to learn more about the cost and demands of keeping the pet healthy.

And if the household already has one animal and another is coming into the situation? Especially with dogs, Sherman recommends that they be introduced in a neutral area and kept on leashes at all times.

Whether it might be a dog or cat, plenty of animals throughout North Carolina are available. For example, leaders of the Wake County SPCA helped facilitate nearly 3,600 adoptions a year ago.

“It’s very exciting. With the sharing options that Facebook and YouTube give us, our adopters are able to share their happy stories with our staff and other adopters,” says Wake County SPCA Executive Director Hope Hancock.

“It’s helpful to think of adopting a pet like entering a relationship with a good friend,” Hancock continues. “In order for that relationship to work, you need to be ready to invest the time and the emotion to making that relationship work. In addition, you should make the decision to adopt informed of the financial commitment that comes with owning a pet including veterinary care, food and possible training.”

To facilitate adoption, the Wake County SPCA follows the lead of several other organizations, creating programs to ensure the person and pet form a lifelong bond.

Hancock says her organization uses an evaluation called “Meet Your Match,” that measures an adopter’s expectations against an animal’s objectively observed behavior.
“Think of it as a sort of dating profile like you see advertised by online match sites,” Hancock says.

“Meet Your Match” summarizes the needs of the animal based on its temperament and energy level and then tries to match it with the adopter’s lifestyle and expectations of their new pet.

“There will always be those matches that are simply love at first sight, but we also offer a more methodical approach to those interested,” Hancock says.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to save an animal’s life, and that’s what adopting from a shelter does,” she adds. “That single act can form an amazing bond between pet and owner that lasts for life and is mutually rewarding.”

“Because hearing loss is so prevalent and can impact one’s health and independence, it raises public health and economic concerns. However opportunities exist to address these concerns,” state officials say.

As a result, North Carolina Farm Bureau is assisting the University of Michigan with a project in hopes of curtailing those concerns within the agriculture community.

Farm Bureau is looking for members to participate in “Hear on the Farm,” a project that involves answering an online questionnaire about being exposed to noise in production agriculture.

“As a farmer, you are likely already aware that many farmers experience hearing loss due to their exposure to loud noises at work,” says Marjorie C. McCullagh, director of the Occupational Health Nursing Program at the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

“In addition to problems with communication, hearing loss is also associated with tinnitus (ringing in the ears), social isolation, low selfesteem, and depression. However, unlike workers in other industries, farmers lack the resources to protect their hearing, such as work-based hearing conservation programs,” McCullagh says. “The goal of this project
is to develop effective programs to protect farmers’ hearing.”

Here is how Farm Bureau members can participate:

• Visit www.hearonthefarm.org.
• Enter your email address and access code “saveears”
• Next, participants answer simple eligibility questions, which include the ability to read and write in English and being at least 18 years old.
• Information about your rights as a research participant is then displayed and you are presented with the opportunity to indicate that you agree to the terms of the study.
• You will then find questions that are expected to take 5 to 10 minutes to answer. The questions are about your noise exposure and use of hearing protection. After that, you will be assigned at random to one of five study groups.
• Some participants will be directed to an opportunity to learn more about noise on the farm and hearing protection. At that point, you are eligible for the first incentive of $10.
• After six months and again after 12 months, at the end of your participation, you will receive an email message asking you to complete a questionnaire.

Along with the website, members can find out more details about the project by contacting your NCFB field representative. McCullagh hopes to have North Carolina participants enrolled by the end of March. “This study represents a rare opportunity to provide a valuable service to Farm Bureau members, support your state safety program and contribute to the development of a program to improve the health and safety of farmers,” McCullagh says.

One year after launching an aggressive initiative, North Carolina Farm Bureau is seeing great germination of Healthy Living for a Lifetime. The program brings an innovative approach to addressing immediate health care needs of rural North Carolinians while fostering awareness of healthy lifestyle choices that will result in long-term health improvements among vulnerable populations.

Since it’s beginning, NCFB’s program has conducted 24 free screening events and examined 2,873 rural North Carolinians while partnering with nearly 300 local medical organizations.

“Healthy Living for a Lifetime was a great way for us to reach out to the community and provide needed health screenings, as well as to promote health resources in the area,” says Shea Laws, Yancey County School Health Center director and access to care chairperson for Healthy Yancey.

“We had over 20 health and wellness organizations represented, and I spoke to several people who were truly surprised to learn just how many resources we have here in Yancey County,” Laws continues. “I thought the turnout was great and that those who participated came away impressed and appreciative.”

The majority of individuals who came to a screening were female (68 percent). A quarter of all participants had no insurance coverage at all, while another 24 percent were under Medicare and another 30 percent had private insurance.

While 76 percent of clients responded that they were in good or excellent health, organizers determined 73 percent were overweight or obese.

Photo Caption: The Yancey County event helped to push the amount of people screened last year to 2,873.

Other findings of the people who went through a free Healthy Living for a Lifetime screening include the following:

• 35 percent had high cholesterol
• 16 percent had high blood glucose
• 64 percent had high blood pressure

“As I discussed participants’ results with them, I could see that people truly wanted to know more about their health,” says Bobby Tipton, medical provider at Saluda Medical Center, which is located near Hendersonville.

“No matter if their numbers were good or bad, hopefully everyone came away more aware of their health and energized to make healthier lifestyle choices,” Tipton continues. “I absolutely think this event made a difference
in the lives of these individuals. If we were able to help just one person improve his or her health, then the effort was worth it.”

For more details about upcoming free screenings near you, visit www.healthylivingforalifetime.com.

Imagine being declined for a mortgage or vehicle loan because your credit is suddenly riddled with late payments, collection accounts, delinquent loans, and dozens of maxed-out credit cards—none of which are yours. But it doesn’t stop there. Your personal and health insurance information has been used by someone to obtain medical treatment, surgeryand prescription drugs under your identity. Welcome to the nightmare that is identity theft.

This type of fraud is the fastest growing crime in America and topped the list of complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission for the 11th straight year in 2010. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, a group that studies identity theft statistics, there were 10 million victims of identity theft in the U.S. in 2008. One out of every 10 U.S. consumers has been affected by identity theft.

Identity theft is also one of the most difficult crimes from which to recover. John Harrison was featured in a “CBS Evening News” story about identity theft. The Connecticut salesman reported having spent over 2,000 hours trying to reclaim his life after having his identity stolen.

“I had to come up with a filing system,” Harrison says of his efforts to clear his name. Harrison was the victim of a 20-year-old identity thief who made fraudulent purchases totaling $265,000 in four months. Even though the thief was arrested and prosecuted, Harrison was still harassed by creditors. “It keeps coming,” Harrison says,“and you don’t have a choice but to deal with it.”

Harrison’s story is not uncommon. According to a CNN/Money report, an identity theft victim can spend anywhere between 30 and 600 hours restoring their credit. That is between four and 75 full workdays. Most people would be hard-pressed to find that much time to devote to clearing their identity.

Luckily, membership in North Carolina Farm Bureau does not cost; it pays! Now, there is one more way membership is providing value and serving families across North Carolina. As part of the many benefits included in annual membership dues, Identity Theft Consultation and Restoration Services* covers all family members in the household.

How does the program work?
If you suspect that your identity has been compromised, call 1-800-789-2565 to report the breach to a trained member service specialist.

• A thorough assessment of your unique situation will be performed to determine the nature and extent of the breach.
• Once a determination has been made that your identity has been compromised, you will be assigned a Personal Recovery Advocate and a case file will be opened.
• Utilizing a Limited Power of Attorney, the Personal Recovery Advocate will work on your behalf to restore your identity to pre-theft status.
• The Personal Recovery Advocate will remain assigned to you for as long as it takes to restore your identity to pre-theft status.
• The case file is kept for three years in the event that additional issues arise from the original identity theft.

*Program is not identity theft protection, an insurance product or credit monitoring.
*Identity Theft Consultation & Restoration,like Accidental Death & Dismemberment, is a benefit of membership in North Carolina Farm Bureau.

Rutherford County Farm Bureau member Joe McDaniel understands how important it is for farmers to keep their tools and equipment in good working order. For example, McDaniel has some fertilizer sprayers he has used for more than 30 years.

“We just keep repairing them when they need it. We do a pretty good job of that. Just like a tractor or a truck, you want it to start. You’ve got to maintain it all,” says McDaniel, Rutherford County Farm Bureau’s past president, who still sits on the board.

Like so many other North Carolina farmers, McDaniel uses a host of different tools to get the job done. And his farm jobs include raising about 135 acres of cotton and the same amount of wheat, as well as 55 acres of corn and another 10 acres of oats.

“You’re always looking for tools that are more productive,” McDaniel says.

Along with using the tools, McDaniel sells a few, too. Besides running his farm, McDaniel owns and operates Colfax Gin & Coal Co., in Ellenboro. While the store mostly caters to lawn and garden enthusiasts and pet owners, Colfax has its share of tools that would be useful on the farm.

Although farm tools nowadays might be more complex, with features like computerized circuitry to help raise crops and livestock, there is another place in Rutherford County that highlights just how important tools are to farmers.

Rutherford County Farm Bureau has been among the many benefactors of the Rutherford County Farm Museum since it opened back in 1994. Overseen by county native Wilbur Burgin—who spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Navy beginning during World War II—the museum contains hundreds of tools and nostalgic farm items that date back hundreds of years.

“Just by word of mouth, people started to bring me stuff,” Burgin says. “People will ask where it all comes from, and I tell them, ‘Widows.’ It doesn’t come here until the husband dies because it might still be in use.”

Housed in a former hardware store in Forest City, the museum takes visitors through the region’s deep agricultural roots, especially in how cotton was raised, harvested and prepared for nearby textile plants.

Those manufacturing operations might have relocated, but Burgin says he does all he can to preserve what it means to be involved in agriculture and how important tools and implements are to farmers.

“I’m not like a typical museum where there might be an item here and an item there. I’d need four times as much space to spread things out like that,” Burgin says.

Schoolchildren are especially welcomed visitors. Burgin recalled a fourth-grade student from Durham who visited and completed a school assignment and then shared the completed work with him recently.

“I was really impressed with what she wrote,” Burgin says. “I’ve got a lot of items that I’m so proud of. It’s entertaining for the kids.” Restored tractors, a hay baler and scores of horse-drawn and hand-held implements and tools currently fill the museum, which is open four days a week Wednesday through Saturday.

“I’m just overflowing,” Burgin says. “I tell the people I’m trying to show them the heritage.”

Photo Caption: Halifax County

Aerial images might indicate just how much North Carolina agriculture has evolved, and Vintage Aerial has literally thousands of images. The company, based out of Maumee, Ohio, secured a film archive of images taken of  North Carolina farms, as well as farms from dozens of other states. Most of the pictures were taken at least 20 years ago; some are even older. The company is digitally scanning these images to preserve them for generations. Vintage shared a handful from its collection. If you want to know what a farm looked like from the air decades ago, you can contact the company through its website, www.vintageaerial.com.

The Bond family knows all about collard greens. The Bertie County Farm Bureau members have been raising them for close to 30 years.

“You need good plants and good weather,” says Carl Bond, who grows the green, leafy vegetable with his parents, Rhodes and Queenie Bond. “You have to put a lot of work into them.”

People from Bertie County and beyond certainly appreciate the work the Bond family puts into their annual collard patch, a piece of land nearly an acre big with rows of the vegetable so popular on New Year’s Day.

The Bonds set about 5,000 to 8,000 collard plants in May. By Labor Day weekend, buyers from as far away as Richmond, Va., descend on their farm to walk the rows and pick their own.

“Normally about the end of August, first of September, they’re large enough to get out there and sell them to the customers,” Carl Bond says. “We let them come to the field and let them select what they want.

“That’s the way we’ve been doing it for 30 years. People just love to come by and get them,” he adds.

The Bonds usually rotate the plot where they grow their collards.

“If you put collards in the same place you put them last year, it just won’t work,” Queenie Bond says.

“The collard patch was right on the road this year so people couldn’t miss it,” Carl Bond adds about his family’s farm, which stands along N.C. 308 between Lewiston and Windsor.

Thankfully, this year’s weather pattern didn’t damage the collard crop too badly. A dry summer came before Hurricane Irene, but Carl Bond estimates only about 10 percent of the collards succumbed to drought or too much rain.

“After the hurricane left, the weather turned right again so they got even bigger,” Carl Bond says.

While buyers come to Bond’s farm to pick up some collards throughout the fall, the Bonds say their collards are especially a hit on New Year’s Day when lots of people eat them along with black-eyed peas.

“Collards are just so beautiful and taste so good,” Queenie Bond says.

Why People Eat Collards and Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day
Native Southerners often believe collard greens represent money. So for good luck, collard greens are a regular staple of the New Year’s Day menu.

A similar belief is held true for black-eyed peas. Some say they represent coins since they grow after they are cooked. The more black-eyed peas are eaten to begin the year, the more prosperous people hope to be.

And even more Southern sources attribute the black-eyed pea’s popularity on New Year’s Day to a major event from the Civil War.

According to legend, back in November 1864 when Gen. William Sherman and his troops marched through Georgia from Atlanta toward Savannah, the Union Army leader ordered his men to strip the land of all food, crops and livestock and destroy anything they could not carry.  That legend says the troops followed orders and the surviving Southerners were left with nothing to eat except black-eyed peas.

The troops’ decision left the Southerners with a nourishing food that now carries the thought of good luck and prosperity when consumed on New Year’s Day.

Health Benefits of Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
If Amanda Holliday could create meals for everyone, just about every day would seem like New Year’s Day. That’s because the registered dietitian and clinical assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine insists collard greens and black-eyed peas contain many vitamins and nutrients everyone needs.

When it comes to collard greens, Holliday says they’re nutrient dense, a great source for dietary fiber and low in calories. She says they’re also rich in vitamins A, C and K and are high in folate and calcium.

“I don’t think people know they’re so good for them,” says Holliday, a North Carolina native.

Holliday says her family enjoys collards that she prepares a unique way.  A big hit in her house are baked collard chips. Holliday explains that cutting collard green leaves into potato-chip size pieces, lightly dousing them with olive oil and possibly adding a little seasoning such as salt and pepper before baking them for about 15 to 20 minutes creates a healthy snack.

“My daughter loves them and she’s 5. It’s a different way of eating collards,” Holliday says.

Holliday also recommends steaming collard greens and mixing them in with other vegetables, such as carrots, squash and onions to get them into a meal regimen beyond New Year’s Day.

As far as black-eyed peas, Holliday again says these vegetables pack a nutritious punch and should be eaten more than just on Jan. 1.

The UNC professor says like collards, black-eyed peas are low in calories and are high in fiber, especially soluble fiber that can help lower cholesterol to reduce heart disease, as well as to assist with maintaining a properly working digestive tract.

“You can include both as part of a very healthy diet,” Holliday says. “Three times a week is a great place to start. Have a great time. Eat up.”

North Carolina’s busiest cities are full of people in offices using the Internet to do their jobs or connecting with friends and family through the Web on smartphones.
In some parts of the state, however, these scenes sometimes are few and far between. That’s because access to high-speed Internet is not as prevalent in rural North Carolina.

“Our role is to assist the state’s ongoing efforts to provide farmers and rural residents with access to high-speed Internet,” says Larry Wooten, President of North Carolina Farm Bureau. “The Internet allows them to compete by providing a way to engage in global commerce and access medical and educational resources.”

Many Internet users in rural areas are limited to dial-up access as their only option. In rural areas where high-speed Internet is available, the cost is often prohibitive. Access to modern, affordable broadband services has the potential to correct this inequity.

One of the strongest allies on this issue has been the e-NC Authority, which germinated from legislation adopted in 2000. The e-NC Authority finds and advocates for solutions to ensure that all North Carolina residents and businesses increase adoption and usage and have equal access to affordable, high-speed broadband.

The agency, contained within the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center in Raleigh, also is responsible for mapping and tracking broadband availability and providing technical assistance for local initiatives to support technology-based economic growth.

Under the direction of a 15-member committee, the organization develops applications and promotes the benefits of broadband investments around commerce, education, healthcare, agriculture and government services to demonstrate greater economic opportunities.

“Through our work, we are helping to build sustainable economies in both rural and distressed urban counties,” says Jane Smith Patterson, the e-NC Authority’s Executive Director.

“Research generated from within the e-NC Authority is shining a light on consumer trends, the need for greater bandwidth and how the state should plan for its technological future in order to be economically competitive,” Patterson adds. “Stepping forward, we are excited as we collectively reach for the ultimate goal: universal broadband on a state and national level.”

Just one example of the benefits came a year ago. North Carolina received $14.1 million in federal funds that went to Tri-County Telephone Membership Corp. to expand broadband service in Beaufort, Hyde and Washington counties.

In total, North Carolina has received $270 million in funds for broadband access.

“Increasing broadband access in rural North Carolina will create new jobs up front and provide a boost for local economies to create even more jobs and a better quality of life in the near future,” Gov. Bev Perdue says.

Bottom line: How valuable is high-speed Internet access? Mark Wells of the Rockingham County Business & Technology Center put it this way: “Broadband is this generation’s electricity or postal service. Without it, people are not afforded the opportunity to participate in our modern economy, and thus have little to no ability to attain economic prosperity—the American dream.”

Dinnertime is usually pretty quiet at Jeff and Keiley Banfield’s home. It’s not because the Moore County Farm Bureau members, who have been married for 12 years, are upset with each other.

“There are a lot of meals where we won’t say a word to each other because we’ve got nothing to talk about. We’ve already discussed everything,” Jeff Banfield says. “And we’re OK with that.”

The Banfields balance two full-time operations. They run a 160-acre farm with about 80 head of Charolais and Red Angus beef cattle. Plus, they operate Banfield Backhoe Service, a business where they clear lots, handle grading and offer other outdoor services.

“More people come to us and say, ‘I couldn’t do it,’” Keiley Banfield says. “The arguments are few and short-lived, but there are a few. You have to expect them.”

Jeff and Keiley Banfield met in Massachusetts when Jeff was managing a Charolais farm on Martha’s Vineyard, Keiley’s home area. Jeff Banfield wanted to relocate back to Aberdeen and Southern Pines, and he persuaded  Keiley Banfield to do the same thing because of the amount of equine activity in the region.

Just before they were married, Jeff Banfield also started the backhoe business. After the nuptials, the couple realized the best way to handle all of their chores and responsibilities was to forge a partnership beyond their wedding vows.

“We certainly don’t have the biggest operation around, but everything is micromanaged,” Jeff Banfield says.
The Banfields are not alone. Pick a county, and Farm Bureau members who are married and juggle the responsibilities of family, farm and more are plentiful.

For example:
Robeson County Farm Bureau members Louie and Vicki Bodenhamer oversee their operation and team up with their son and his wife to keep things moving.

Wilkes County Farm Bureau members Chad and Cindy Blake raise chickens and cattle and grow tobacco and other row crops with Chad’s parents while raising four children.

Person County Farm Bureau members Johnny and Sharron Rogers raise cattle and goats and sell freezer beef to consumers though their store and at local farmers markets.

Alleghany County Farm Bureau members Buddy and Della Deal operate a Christmas tree farm, as well as a greenhouse, while raising three children.

Yadkin County Farm Bureau members Kevin and Cindy Matthews run a strawberry operation that’s become so successful that Cindy left another profession to concentrate on it full-time.

Whether it’s choosing what bull to breed or what grading job to handle, Jeff and Keiley Banfield say they carefully consider all their options before making major decisions. That’s been one of the keys that has helped them navigate any pitfalls and maintain a healthy relationship.

“Be patient,” Keiley Banfield says.

“I was going to say that’s the No. 1 thing,” Jeff Banfield adds.

“Don’t take it out on each other,” Keiley Banfield chimes in. “Take a break and take small steps.”

Jeff Banfield went on to say, “We’ve done a lot of stuff, but it’s always been a little bit at a time. We’ve never just jumped in.”