05/10/06 Workshops for Idaho producers

The University of Idaho will partner with Boise-based United Cerebral Palsy to help farmers, ranchers and farm workers with disabilities to find new technologies that will allow them to continue in their chosen profession. A four-year, 800 thousand dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund the program. In 2003, the Idaho Industrial Commission reported more than 23 hundred injury claims by agricultural workers. The average age of the state`s farmers and ranchers is 54.1, making the group more susceptible to acquiring disabilities. The University of Idaho and the United Dairymen of Idaho are co-sponsoring their second "Farmstead and Artisan Cheese Making Workshop" May 23rd and 24th in Caldwell. Intended for small-scale producers who are making cheeses on the farm or in small processing facilities, the workshop will cover cheese enzymes and cultures, quality evaluation, dairy regulations, food safety, hazard analysis and opportunities and challenges. In addition to classroom instruction, participants will make cheese step-by-step. Idaho`s Hispanic dairy workers can sign up for a six-session workshop on artificial insemination in dairy cattle that will be offered in Spanish between May 15 and May 26 by University of Idaho Extension. There are evening and daytime sessions. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott