Alfa Friends & Family Winter 2010

DUI Test Drive Carving Christmas Cheer Sweet Potato Splendor

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Winter 2010

c o n t e n t s 5

DUI Test Drive

Several South Alabama students have experienced how their senses become impaired if they drink and drive thanks to a program launched by the Baldwin County Farmers Federation that helps them see the pitfalls without drinking a drop.

8

Boiling Point

Joe Todd has perfected the fast-fading art of syrup making that keeps the 74-year-old raising cane down on the farm.

12

Video Contest

Alfa will launch a video contest aimed at focusing on the dangers of distracted driving. Teens who enter the contest can win thousands of dollars and some of the latest technological gadgets as prizes.

16

Wooden Wonderland

Even when Frank “Bud” Rogers is elbows-deep in sawdust and wood shavings, he’s carving out his own Christmas cheer.

On The Cover

18

Frank “Bud” Rogers of Clarke County carves his way into thousands of homes using scraps of wood he reshapes into Christmas joy.

There’s nothing that’ll bring folks to their knees like sweet potatoes

Taters On The Table

and some north Alabama growers are hoping demand for the tubers is on the rise.

24

Christmas Tree Fun

A polo-playing airplane pilot found a new way to have fun when he purchased a Christmas tree farm in Morgan County.

28

Country Kitchen

A first-year 4-H’er won a national title at the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh, Tenn., earlier this year with his sweet potato cornbread.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

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www.AlfaFarmers.org

M G K P

President’s

T

essage

world that He gave His one and hose of us who grew up on only Son, that whoever believes in a farm know a thing or two about “giving a good measure.” Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16 Whether it’s counting out a While our level of giving can nev“baker’s dozen” when selling sweet er match His, we’re at our best when corn or packing cotton into a pickwe give selflessly to help others. ing sack, farm folk seem to share a In the Farmers Federation, we see philosophy of going the extra mile. this kind of generosity when memOver the years, this idea of bers leave their own chores undone treating others with benevolence to help a sick neighbor harvest his has been called paying-it-forward, crops or gather hay. It shows in the social responsibility and the golden rule, but nowhere is this value better way our county leaders rally around a family who has lost a loved expressed than in the one, and it is the reason thouBible. sands of our members volun“Give, and it will be teer to work in their churches, given to you. A good schools and communities. measure, pressed down, We are blessed to have shaken together and runthe same attitude of service ning over, will be poured among our Alfa employees. into your lap. For with Our new advertising camthe measure you use, it paign, “Right there with you,” will be measured to you.”

Jerry Newby isn’t just a slogan; it’s part of — Luke 6:38 the culture of our company.

During the holiday Almost daily I hear stories of season, we place special emphasis employees going the extra mile on giving. We collect canned goods to help one of our policyholders. and money for the food bank; we Sometimes it is a customer service provide coats and blankets for the representative helping a policyholdhomeless; we write checks to our er find ways to save money; other favorite charities; and we exchange times it is an adjuster making sure a presents with loved ones. family is taken care of after a storm But what if this spirit of giving or fire; and still other times it’s an continued throughout the year? agent comforting a family when he What if our generosity involved not only material things but also the for- has to deliver a life insurance check.

Certainly, these simple acts giveness and love Jesus talks about in of kindness don’t compare with Luke? Imagine how such an attitude the sacrifices some make, but it is might change our communities. encouraging to know the philosophy To reach this ideal, however, we of providing “good measure” is alive must first calibrate our measuring devices. Is the bushel we use to pour and well within our organization.

As you gather with your family out our gifts one that is fluffed with air and empty husks, or is it “pressed this holiday season, I pray that you are blessed with health, happiness down” and “shaken together?” If and comfort, and that we will conyou’ve ever picked peas or turnip tinue to share the gifts of love, joy greens you know the difference. and peace throughout the year.

Our standard should be the very example of giving we celebrate each Christmas. “For God so loved the

Alabama

Country

Market

www.AlfaFarmers.org

ardener

itchen

lace

4

Volume 86, Number 4 ________________________ Debra Davis, Editor Darryal Ray, Associate Editor Mike Moody, Graphic Designer ALABAMA FARMERS FEDERATION Paul Pinyan, Executive Director Jeff Helms, Director of Communications FEDERATION OFFICERS Jerry Newby,

President, Athens Hal Lee,

Vice President/North, Hartselle Dean Wysner,

Vice President/Central, Woodland Ricky Wiggins,

Vice President/Southeast, Andalusia Jake Harper,

Vice President/Southwest, Camden Steve Dunn,

Secretary-Treasurer, Evergreen DIRECTORS Joe Dickerson, Lexington Steve Tate, Huntsville Donnie Garrett, Centre Darrel Haynes, Cullman John E. Walker III, Berry Marshall Prickett, Wellington Richard Edgar, Deatsville Pat Buck, Emelle Garry Henry, Hope Hull Carl Sanders, Brundidge David Bitto, Elberta Sammy Williams, Columbia Gloria Jeffcoat, Gordon Jeff Maze, Horton Friends & Family (ISSN 1522-0648) is published quarterly by the Alabama Farmers Federation, 2108 East South Boulevard, Montgomery, Ala. 36116. For information about member benefits of the Alabama Farmers Federation, visit the Web site www.AlfaFarmers.org. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Alabama, and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Friends & Family, P.O. Box 11000, Montgomery, Alabama 36191-0001.

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: Paul Hurst, Hurst & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 60061. Phone: 800-397-8908; Fax: (847) 438-8105. Classified ad and editorial inquiries should be directed to the editor at (334) 613-4410.

ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER: Ad­vertise­­­­­­­ments contained in Friends & Family do not represent an endorsement by the magazine or the Alabama Farmers Federation.

EDITORIAL MATTER from sources outside of the Alabama Farmers Federation is sometimes presented for the information and interest of our members.

Such material may, or may not, coincide with official Alabama Farmers Federation policies. Publication of material does not necessarily imply its endorsement by the Alabama Farmers Federation.

ADDRESS editorial, advertising and address change correspondence to Friends & Family, P.O. Box 11000, Montgomery, AL 36191-0001.

www.AlfaFarmers.org A member of American Farm Bureau Federation

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

By Debra Davis

S

tudents in south Alabama recently received some firsthand knowledge of why drinking and driving is so dangerous thanks to members of the Baldwin County Farmers Federation.

The county Federation sponsored a program that, by using specially designed goggles called Fatal Vision, gives students the feeling of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs while trying to negotiate a driving course and taking a field sobriety test.

David Bitto, president of the Baldwin County Farmers Federation, said the county organization spent about $7,500 to purchase the customized John Deere Gator, a trailer to transport it and the special goggles.

“If we can save one life through

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

this program, every penny that was spent will be worth it,” he said.

The reaction from the students has been entertaining but serious, said Federation Area Organization Director Paul Brown who implemented the program in the schools. Brown also took the opportunity to tell students about slow-moving vehicle signs and to watch for tractors and other farm equipment on the road.

“Most of the students show up laughing, and we want them to have a good time,” Brown said. “But when they get in here and put their hands on the wheel, it becomes serious, and they realize, ‘Man, this is a lot tougher than I thought it was gonna be.’”

The drivers wear goggles that simulate a .07 and .25 blood alcohol level, turning the relatively simple task of driving the utility vehicle 5

through a path of safety cones into something much more difficult.

Cedric Yelding, the drivers education teacher at Daphne High School, said he’s been teaching the class for eight years and the addition of the program sponsored by the Baldwin County Farmers Federation helps drive home a message he’s been telling for years.

“It’s easy to see that this is making an impression on them,” Yelding said. “Hopefully, they will learn that it is impossible to drink and drive safely. Once they look at all the cones they’ve run over or when they see how difficult it is to pass the field sobriety test, they learn it’s a lot more difficult than they first thought.”

Tyler Beard is one of Yelding’s students and was among those who participated in the program this fall.

He turns 16 in April and is already www.AlfaFarmers.org

looking forward to getting his driver’s license, but has a better understanding now of why he should never drink and drive.

“It was tough,” he said after wearing the goggles and taking the tests.

“I almost fell down during the field sobriety test. And driving – forget it – I couldn’t hardly see the cones. I think everyone who has driven this course has killed a few cones.”

Tyler said the experience has definitely opened his eyes to just how impaired a driver can become after drinking alcohol.

“It’s like driving with kaleidoscope glasses,” he said. “I think the program is a great idea. It was very educational and I hope everyone gets to do it.”

Tyler’s classmate, Sarah Morrow, is scheduled to get her drivers’ license this month. She agreed with Tyler’s assessment.

“It was a lot harder than I thought,” she said. “Just walking on a straight line was really, really hard. I almost fell down just trying to walk. I won’t ever drink and drive.”

The Alabama Department of Public Safety partnered with the Baldwin County Farmers Federation in the project by providing officers to assist with the programs. State Trooper Greg Eubanks is a public information officer for the department who joined Brown in visiting schools in Baldwin County. Eubanks talked to students and administered the field sobriety tests.

“Most of the students were excited about participating, but they are getting the point about how serious this really is,” he said. “The department is very happy to help the Farmers Federation with the Fatal Vision Program. Our main goal is to promote traffic safety and to help protect the lives of these young people and the lives of all the drivers on the road. This exercise teaches these students just how hard it really is to drive impaired.”

Monroe and Escambia County Farmers Federations are partnering with the Baldwin County Federation to bring the program to those counties, Brown said. www.AlfaFarmers.org

Sarah Morrow, a student at Daphne High School, discovers how difficult walking a straight line can be while wearing the Fatal Vision goggles.

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F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

By Darryal Ray

I

n the sweet days of late October, Joe Todd knows that a watched pot does indeed boil. He also knows enough about making cane syrup that he seldom ventures far from his syrup shed on Hall Road in Houston County once his cane crop comes in.

That’s because Todd, a fifthgeneration syrup maker, knows that overcooked syrup looks dark and tastes bitter. “If you can’t see through it, it will be bitter and strong,” he says, as he checks the water content with a hand-held hydrometer.

“If it was anybody’s but mine, I’d have to stay right here with it,” says Todd. “But I’ve done it so long, I know exactly how to set my burners and when I can walk away for a few minutes, but I never go more than 5 or 10 minutes away.”

From about mid-March until midDecember, Todd and his wife, Edria, will plant, irrigate, cut, strip, grind, cook, bottle, label and sell around F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

1,200 gallons of cane syrup — all from about three acres of sugar cane.

If the crop is good, they’ll spend four to six hours on each batch they make.

Such is the life of a syrup maker, a fast-fading art that once was part of life in rural communities all over the South.

“Dad and Grandpa were syrup makers for the community, and we made syrup for everybody,” said Todd, who is 74 and retired from both the Montgomery Police Department and the Department of Corrections. “Everybody in this area had a cane patch, and somebody in the community made syrup for everybody. We sweetened tea with it. We made cakes, pies, cookies, teacakes.

That was sugar for us. … I even 9

Opposite, Joe Todd stands in his sugar cane field outside Dothan. Above, Vince Lamb watches and learns as Todd makes another batch of golden syrup. remember Dad tearing everything down and going to another community. He came down almost to Ozark and stayed a week making syrup. But people had to have syrup ­— it was a part of life.”

For the Todd family, it’s always been a part of life. Today, Todd even uses some of the same hand-made tools his grandfather made from long-leaf pine and old wagon parts.

“My granddad said he and his granddad were stripping cane in October 1864 when they saw (my great grandfather) walking home from the war,” said Todd. “Grandpa said, ‘I’m ashamed to admit it, but I never had the thought that I’m glad my dad survived the war’ …he said, ‘All I thought about was I won’t be hungry no more.’”

It’s a tradition that Todd wanted to carry on himself, but wasn’t able to do so when he left home. “I moved www.AlfaFarmers.org

“All I ever wanted was to be a dirt farmer,” says Todd. Today, he keeps busy squeezing cane into syrup. out of the house up there with Mama and Daddy on Pea River Swamp, and when I was 21, went to work for the Montgomery Police Department,” says Todd. “The first day on the force I put (civil rights leader) Rev. David Abernathy in jail. … All I ever wanted to be was a dirt farmer. But I didn’t own any land, I didn’t own a tractor and help was getting hard to get by then. I wanted a family and so I had to seek another way of making a living.”

It wasn’t until retirement in 1997 that Todd snatched up a peanut farm in danger of foreclosure and began pursuing his dream as a syrup maker.

Today, he’s regarded as one of the best around. Vince Lamb of North Augusta, S.C., goes even farther, calling him “the best in the United States.”

“Nobody knows as much about syrup making as Mr. Todd,” said Lamb, who frequently makes the 500-mile round-trip trek just to spend the day watching Todd make syrup in hopes of picking up some knowledge he can use in making jams and jellies for his own gift basket business. “I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Many syrup makers, Lamb said, lack the patience to make the kind of syrup Todd turns out. www.AlfaFarmers.org

“They’ll get the fire too hot like it’s about to boil over, and they’ll have three people with buckets throwing the syrup up in the air trying to cool it off,” said Lamb. “By the time, they pour it up, I wouldn’t eat it. It’s syrup and to a lot of people who don’t know syrup, that’s good syrup. But THIS is good syrup. This is good stuff. It looks like honey. There’s no sugar in it, no impurities. That’s what he’s got here — the knowledge and knowing when it’s cooking right and smelling right. That’s something you can’t write on a recipe. That’s an art. … I really enjoy coming over here.

I tell him, ‘I don’t want to interfere with you, but when you’re cooking, let me know and I’ll be here.’ I just come over to watch.”

So do the countless tours and school groups who visit the Todd Cane Syrup Farm as it is listed on the state’s agri-tourism list. “We’re one of the few that don’t charge anything; 10

that’s why we have so many visitors.

If you look at our guest book, we’ve even had people from Romania and Modesto, Calif.”

For those who can’t make it to the farm, the Todds also ship syrup.

“We ship a lot of syrup. Hall Road is a mile long, but we ship more syrup to Littleton, Colo., than all of our neighbors put together.”

“This is a free labor deal,” Todd added. “We try to get our expenses back. The going rate for cane syrup is $10 a quart, and our price is $6.50. …. We don’t want to be in the money-making business — we just want to be in the syrup-making business.” ______________________________ For more information about Todd Cane Syrup Farm, call (334) 677-7804. The farm’s fourth edition of “Todd’s Syrup Cookbook” is now available for $12 by writing 512 Hall Road, Dothan, AL 36301.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

By Debra Davis

A

lfa Insurance, along with the Alabama Department of Education and the Alabama Independent School Association, is sponsoring a contest designed to help raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and allows Alabama high school students to show off their creativity.

The new Alfa Drive Smart online video contest begins Jan. 1 and offers thousands of dollars in cash and prizes to students who submit videos aimed at discouraging distracted driving among teens. The winning students’ schools will receive cash awards as well.

“Every day our agents and claims adjusters see the impact distracted driving is having with more and more accidents on roadways across the South,” said Executive Vice President of Marketing Herman Watts. “We care immensely for the safety of all drivers and believe this campaign promoting safe driving among teens is a good step in the education process.

Alfa is proud to sponsor this along with the Alabama Department of Education and Alabama Independent School Association. If we save one life or prevent one accident by encouraging drivers to put down their phone, it makes this all worthwhile.”

The official contest entry form and a list of contest rules are available online at AlfaDriveSmart.com.

Approved contest entries will be posted as they are uploaded to the site.

The first-place winner or Alfa Sr. Vice President of group will receive one iPad Marketing Services Carol (valued at $600) plus $1,500 Golsan, right, discusses in cash. The winning stuthe Alfa Drive Smart dent (or group’s) school will Campaign with student receive $1,500. advisors Sarah Bethea of The second-place winner Montgomery and Drew will receive one iPod Touch and Katie Wendland of (valued at $250) plus $1,000 Autaugaville. in cash. The school of the second-place winner or group will be awarded $1,000.

The third-place winner or group will receive one iPod Nano (valued at $150) plus $750 in cash. The school of the third-place winner or group will be awarded $750.

Educational leaders and students throughout the state have embraced the contest.

“As State Superintendent of Education, I have one primary concern that ranks above all others – the safety and well-being of Alabama’s young people,” www.AlfaFarmers.org

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F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

said State School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Morton. “Safety in every form should be of paramount concern while driving. For years we have encouraged people to fasten their seatbelts and pay attention to the road while driving passenger cars. The same amount of concern must go into discouraging texting while driving, I hope this contest challenges students to use their

AISA Executive Director Don Oswald shared Morton’s enthusiasm and support for the contest.

“The Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) is excited about the opportunity to participate in this awareness program, and we are grateful to Alfa for providing our students with an opportunity to express their creativity while communicating a much-needed message to the community in an effort to save lives,” he said. “Sadly, many of our member schools, students and families have been impacted by the unnecessary and avoidable incidents that result from careless behavior while driving.

This program should serve as a wonderful outlet for students to express their thoughts and concerns with their peers.”

Sarah Bethea, a senior at Booker T. Washington Magnet School in Montgomery, along with AISA Student Government Association President Katie Wendland, a senior at

To enter the contest visit www.AlfaDriveSmart.com imagination and creativity to develop a message of safety that resonates across the state and the country.

“The prizes offered are exciting and generous; but the real prize comes from students becoming more aware of the dangers of being distracted while driving a vehicle. One life saved, one family spared, one young person who lives to reach the full measure of his or her potential as a result of this contest makes it all worthwhile.”

www.AlfaFarmers.org

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Autaugaville Academy and her brother, Drew, a junior at the school, serve as student advisors for the contest. All the teens agree the problem is rampant among drivers, but Katie is quick to point out that it isn’t just teens who text and drive.

“I’ve seen lots of adults that do it, too,” she said. “But hopefully, this contest will help get the message out to everyone – just don’t do it.”

Sarah said most all of her friends use texting as a way to communicate and she thinks anything that helps raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving is a good idea.

“At our age, a lot of our friends think they are Superman,” Sarah said.

“They think it won’t happen to them.

With these prizes, hopefully we’ll have lots of participation and drive home just how dangerous it really is.”

The contest ends April 1. For more details, e-mail Marc Pearson, director of Integrated Marketing Communications at MPearson@AlfaIns.com.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

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By Melissa Martin

F

or the better part of 47 years, Frank “Bud” Rogers has been elbows-deep in sawdust and wood shavings. But the husband and father of two wouldn’t have it any other way. While the talent was there all along, his interest in woodworking was engrained during childhood.

“Growing up, my daddy worked at a sawmill and he would bring small scraps of wood home, and we’d use those in a coal-burning stove,” recalled Bud, with the makings of a sheepish grin. “I’d keep out and hide the pretty scraps so I could make little boats or cars or whatever I could, using just a handsaw and a hammer. Eventually, I got to where I could make airplanes, and when I got older, I made model airplanes with the gasoline engines and flew them.”

Fortunately for Bud, this childhood hobby became quite the saving grace of his adult life… even though a life involving wood shavings wasn’t always in his best-laid plans.

“After I graduated from Livingston College and married Julia

www.AlfaFarmers.org

in ‘63, we found ourselves in a house with no furniture,” he explained.

“I would try to find something we could afford, but as the search for furniture continued, I’d look around and think, ‘You know, I can fix something close to that,’ and so that’s how I really got started.”

Living on a teacher’s salary in Mobile, it didn’t take him long to find out a career in education wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life.

After the school year was over — and at the urging of his parents — Bud and Julia moved back up to Jackson and he took a job at the paper mill… work that would carry him for nearly four decades.

“I stayed at the mill 37 years, but it seemed like that time passed away so fast, I guess because we were so busy,” said Bud. “I worked shift work most of the time, but I didn’t mind it because it seemed like I had more time with my girls. Having only one weekend off a month was hard, but that one weekend was sacred to us.”

Retirement has helped increase quality time with his girls — though instead of time with Julia and his two daughters, the time is now shared 16

with granddaughters Mary Kate (12) and Ivy (10), along with area children who are eager to get their hands dirty.

“I try to teach them basic safety steps and simple things in woodworking,” said Bud. “But it does my heart good to go out there and see the enthusiasm the kids have and their want to learn.”

Questioned by kids and adults alike about his techniques and tools, Bud is always happy to share his wealth of knowledge — most gained from trial-by-error exercises and hard work. During these conversations, though, one question never fails to make an appearance.

“A lot of people ask me where I get my wood from,” says Bud. “And I always tell them, ‘You’d be surprised by how much wood people give me.’”

So how’d he get started with ornaments?

“I used to get one or two woodworking magazines,” recalls Bud. “One day, a Christmas issue came in and it had an article in there teaching you how to make your own Christmas ornaments. I looked at F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

‘em and thought, ‘I can do that.’ So I Over 47 years and countless made six.” wooden works of art, Bud’s gifts While inspiration came from have found a place in the hearts and the article, he’s made a few modihomes of many. But it wasn’t until fications. “The article showed the recently that he discovered how ornaments painted. After two failed beneficial woodworking can be for attempts, I found out that I couldn’t the soul. “I’ve realized over the last paint those things and knew there few years that the most important had to be some other way to make thing in woodworking is sharing it it work. Then one day, I saw in a with somebody,” he says. While his magazine where they made this rolling pin with the laminated wood, and I got the idea for laminating the ornaments to get the different colors and patterns.”

On average, it takes Bud about two days to glue individual blocks of wood together before they are ready to be turned into ornaments. Once turned, it takes another day to be completely finished, requiring a lacquer coating. While ornaments are a favorite of Bud’s to make because they’re quicker to turn out and, like snowflakes, no two are ever alike, there’s an ulterior motive behind his favorite hobby.

“Believe it or not, I’m kind of a Christmas nut!” he explains.

“I put a tree in the den with colored lights covered in things Rogers’ creations are natural beauties. we’ve collected over the years.

Julia likes white lights, but I like the list of recipients isn’t bogged down colored lights because that’s what with celebrities or HGTV personI grew up with. So we put colored alities, one of the more memorable lights on the tree by my chair in the pieces he’s made belonged to a den, and I’ll just sit here and look at rather big name in Alabama — Gov. it for hours. The tree in the living George Wallace. room will have the white lights on “I had a cousin who cut down a it and is completely decorated with walnut tree, and I went over there ornaments and a few other tidbits to help him clear it away. (Former I’ve made over the years. I think we Speaker of the Alabama House of put around 125 ornaments on the Representatives) Joe McCorquodale’s tree in there… it’s loaded!” wife, Betty — both of whom were

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

17

from Jackson — wanted me to do something special for George [Wallace] for a Christmas present.

So I used some of that walnut to make a little newspaper stand for him, and they loved it because it was made out of local wood.”

Though Bud primarily gives away ornaments to family and friends or sells them from his home in Jackson, a few of his creations can be found in Black Belt Treasures — a nonprofit organization developed to showcase and promote the arts of the Black Belt region. While his relationship with the organization originated from a familiar drive and an ad in the local newspaper, it’s a relationship that Bud is certainly proud of.

“When we go to Auburn, we go through Camden,” he said.

“We had read about [Black Belt Treasures], so one day when we were going through there, we stopped in.”

Prices for Bud’s projects vary based on type and size. His most popular products are: ornaments, $10; wine stoppers, $14.95; small wooden Christmas trees, $15.95; and large Christmas trees, $19.95. Products are available from Bud directly, by visiting Black Belt Treasures in Camden or BlackBeltTreasures.com.

For Bud, whose ties to a sawmill and his own retirement from the paper mill still echo in his mind, closing the door to the woodshed at the end of the day doesn’t close the door to planning his next project.

“I lay awake at night thinking about a different way I could laminate that wood to where it will have a different appeal to the eye,” he confesses.

www.AlfaFarmers.org

By Darryal Ray

T

here’s nothing that’ll bring folks to their knees like sweet potatoes.

Even at 5 a.m., before a merciless late August sun began beating down, no less than a half dozen workers were digging in the dirt with flashlights at Kress Farm in search of

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Cullman County’s favorite ’tater. Of course, sweet potatoes aren’t hard to find in Cullman County — this nine-acre field alone will yield about 108,000 pounds of potatoes before season’s end. But even that is only a fraction of what brothers Kerry and Brian Kress expect to harvest this year.

“We average about 300 40-pound boxes per acre,” said Brian. “This year, I think we’ll do more than that. It’s been hot, but we’ve had moisture.

Conditions have not been perfect, but they never are. But I’ll take this

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year. I believe we’re going to have a good year.”

Another reason for that optimism is the demand for sweet potatoes continues to climb. High in fiber and packed with beta carotene, Vitamin A and other nutrients, sweet potato consumption has grown by 21 percent over the last five years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It’s a demand that hasn’t gone unnoticed by ConAgra Foods, Inc. The company’s Lamb Weston Division opened the nation’s only sweet potato processing plant in Delhi, La., in November, turning out more than 20 frozen sweet potato products — most of them variations of french fries.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

The $210 million facility with more whether for Walmart or a roadside than 240 workers can process 25 stand. “No order is too big or too tons of sweet potatoes per hour, but small. You want one box or one ’tater, it was built with expansion in mind.

I’ll sell it to you,” said Brian. “Or, if The company expects to double its you want a trailer load, we’ll do that workforce to 500 within five years. too.”

“This plant will need about Sweet potatoes have long been 22,000 acres of sweet potatoes,” said a mainstay for Cullman County Arnold Caylor, director of the North farmers. For years, it was the state’s Alabama Horticulture Research top producer but has since taken a Center in Cullman, a substation of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. “And that’s in addition to what’s already being grown. That’s probably one reason you are seeing a bump in acreage; some growers may have planted a little extra, thinking that they will be able to provide some of that.”

While his farm is 300 miles away from the plant, Brian Kress was aware of its plans when he boosted his sweet potato acreage this year to 100 acres, about 20 more than he’s ever planted. “This fall crop will be the first potatoes they’ll buy,” he said. “That’s a new market for us, and it’s going to help keep the price up.

“Sweet potatoes are our money crop,” Brian added. “We grow other things — corn, soybeans, wheat and Irish potatoes — but sweet potatoes are where we make our Kerry and Brian Kress expect good year. living.”

He said that Cullman County’s rolling farmland and loose, sandy backseat to Baldwin County, which soil make sweet potatoes a logical will produce about 1,500 acres this alternative to row crops like corn and season. soybeans. “Sometimes, it’s aggravatBaldwin is also where grower ing doing these old hillsides,” he said. Leonard Kichler, who serves as “But it’s got its advantages — like last president of both the Alabama Sweet year when it was so wet, Louisiana Potato Association and the United and Mississippi couldn’t get their States Sweet Potato Council, farms potatoes out of the field. We were about 90 acres in Elberta. About getting stuck, but we were wallowing 75 percent of his crop will go to through it.”

Walmart.

This year, the Kress brothers Kichler, who has been farming began in late August digging just sweet potatoes for four decades, says enough potatoes to fill orders, Baldwin County growers are also

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19

excited about the Louisiana plant.

“A lot of guys are interested in it, but it depends on what they’ll pay,” said Kichler. “The plant only wants potatoes that are two inches or larger in diameter — the bigger the better.

We’ll have to see how that will affect the price.”

Even so, Kichler doesn’t see the state’s yearly production changing much. “I think it’s probably going to stay about the same because these new Good Agricultural Practices regulations are scaring everybody to death. It’s a good thing, but it’s a nightmare with all the record-keeping.”

Caylor says the state’s production currently hovers around 3,500 acres, placing it fifth in the nation behind North Carolina (45,00050,000 acres), California (20,000), Mississippi (18,000-20,000) and Louisiana (12,000-15,000).

“There’s no telling how many growers we used to have,” said Brian. “But every time one has quit or died, nobody has taken their place. Every time we lose one that’s just one lost. There’s nobody getting into it.”

The reasons for that, he said, are labor and other input costs.

“You can’t do it by yourself like soybeans or corn or cotton,” he said. “You can’t pick these up by yourself, and you can’t set them out by yourself. It takes a lot of labor to do it.”

At the peak of the harvest, the Kresses will employ about 25 workers, mostly local folks — retirees, housewives and others — who come back year after year. In February, they help bed the potatoes. From mid-May until mid-June, they help pull the plants and set them out.

At harvest time, they pick up the potatoes, placing them in buckets or baskets that are then carefully emp-

F R I E N D S & F AwMwI w LY . A •l f aWFI aNr TmEeRr s2. 0o 1r g0

tied into wooden bins and taken to the packing shed for washing, sorting and boxing.

“This is pretty much my regular crew,” said Brian as he looked across his field. “When I’m setting plants and pulling plants, this is pretty much the ones I work year round. When we start digging every day, then I bring in the seasonal help. But this

is the bunch that helps me pull my plants and set them out. I like to keep something for them to do instead of bringing in other people.”

Of course, there are mechanical harvesters that can dig and pick up the potatoes, he said, but that’s not practical for his operation.

“Yes, it would be easier, but it’s harder on the potato,” said Brian.

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20

“We’re not as big as Mississippi, North Carolina or Louisiana where a ‘little’ farmer is one with 500 acres.

They can do so much more than we can, but we can beat them on quality.”

It’s quality — defined as a “No. 1” by grading standards — that the Kresses strive for in their “fresh market” potatoes.

“When you go into a grocery store and you see them setting out there, that’s the market we shoot for,” he said. “I’ve got one place in Birmingham that supplies restaurants, small grocery stores and schools. The rest usually go to grocery stores. We shoot for the fresh market. That pays more, and you’ve got to have a little better quality, do a little better job, than if you’re selling to some of these other places.”

Still, he says, sweet potato farmers only get two chances to make the sales that’ll make the season worthwhile.

“If you are going to grow sweet potatoes, you need to load ’em up on Thanksgiving and Christmas. People will eat sweet potatoes on those two days and never eat them again until the next Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he said. “Thanksgiving is our biggest day — you need to sell every potato you can. After that, it’s Christmas. Easter will pick up a little bit, and from then on out it’s just whatever you can do to get rid of them.”

But with baked sweet potatoes on more and more menus and the new Louisiana processing plant cranking out 25 tons of frozen sweet potato fries an hour, there are signs that America is ready for a ’tater love affair far beyond the golden arches. ______________________________ The Alabama Sweet Potato Association will host the 49th Annual United States Sweet Potato Convention on Jan. 23–25, 2011, at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach. For more information, contact Arnold Caylor at cayloaw@auburn.edu or (256) 734-5820.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

M G K P

By Lois Chaplin

D

id you know that houseplants can clean the air in your house?

Well-sealed houses may contain pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene that originate from synthetics, paints, finishes, building materials, cigarette smoke, cleaning products and other everyday sources.

With all the windows closed for winter, a few houseplants could be your best air purifier. Just one or two in each room can help.

The fact that forests serve as the “lungs of the earth” inspired the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) to look at the value of houseplants to filter the air more than 30 years ago. In the late 1970s, NASA discovered that Skylab had dozens of volatile organic compounds in the air. Research scientists began investigating the use of living plants to aid long-term survivability in closed environments, which ultimately lead to the discovery that the same could be used in our homes and offices to cleanse the air.

Tests found that synthetics taken in by the plants were metabolized and turned into oxygen. Although no one claims that a few plants can completely cure “sick building” syndrome, it is believed that the more plants you have, the healthier the environment is going to be. That is assuming, of course, that you don’t use chemical pesticides to kill mealybugs, scale or other typical houseplant pests.

Of 12 plants tested by NASA, the best at removing trichloroethylene were gerbera daisy, Dracaena marginata, spathiphyllum (Peace lily), Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ and bamboo palm.

For removing benzene, the top performers were gerbera daisy, potted florist’s mum, spathiphyllum, bamboo palm, Dracaena Warneckii, English ivy and mother-in-law’s tongue.

The top plants for removing formaldehyde are bamboo palm, Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’, mother-in-law’s tongue, Dracaena marginata, spathiphyllum, green spider plant and golden pathos.

The research suggests that two plants per 100 square feet of interior space would be enough to help air quality.

GET GROWING AT THE CO-OP. www.AlfaFarmers.org

President’s

essage

Alabama

ardener

If you have high ceilings, you’ll need more.

Notice that super-easy bamboo Country itchen palm and spathiphyllum ranked for all three of the tested pollutants; these are “brown-thumb” houseplants.

Anybody can grow them. In fact, with the exception of gerberas and Market lace pot mums, all of these are relatively easy plants that live a long time with proper placement and routine care.

Consider tabletop plants and large floor specimens, too. Although they were not tested, chances are that almost all houseplants contribute to indoor air health. The ones mentioned here are just the ones that were in the research, but don’t let that keep you from using other popular houseplants such as Benjamin fig, lady palm, kentia palm or others. You can see a clip from the Today Show and learn more about which plants are recommended at O2foryou.org.

Take care of your houseplants by making sure that they get enough light and some fertilizer, especially during the spring and summer. You might even rotate them outside to a shady porch in summer so that they can enjoy the humidity, which most of them like. Keep the foliage clean and check them for insects, especially scale, which looks like little brown lumps on the stems and midribs of the underside of the leaves.

As for plants that you already have, give them a shower this time of year to rinse off dust as the days get shorter and light dimmer through the windows. Houseplants make really good Christmas gifts, too. ______________________________ Lois Chaplin is an accomplished gardener and author. Her work appears here courtesy of Alabama Farmers Cooperative.

WWW.ALAFARM.COM 22

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Alfa, Farmers Federation Award $1,000 To Top Teachers

By Melissa Martin

T

hree of Alabama’s top teachers were honored when they received $1,000 each through Alfa’s Teacher of the Month program in October, November and December.

Each of the winning teachers’ schools also received $1,000 each from the Alabama Farmers Federation.

John Griffin of Wellborn High School was Alfa’s Teacher of the Month for October. After building a strong foundation in leadership as an Army officer for 24 years, he has expanded his leadership activities to include budget committee co-chair and math department chair. Though his school is faced with challenges associated with its location in a high-poverty area, his positive influence has spread school- and community-wide.

“Education is not a collection a dry facts and packaged procedures,” said Griffin. “As a teacher, I work to see that my students view education as I do — as a lifelong journey filled with discovery, intrigue and fascination about the world around us.”

Amy Rasberry, a teacher at Eufaula High School, was November’s Teacher of the Month. A former staff accountant, she decided to move her math career into the classroom. But her corporate experience certainly helped prepare her for a life of teaching math to high school students.

“Since I did not follow the traditional route to becoming a teacher, I think it is often easier for me to think outside of the box,” said Rasberry.

“When I differentiate my instruction and incorporate many strategies that I have added to my bag of tricks, I am able to better serve my children and engage all different types of learners.”

Kate Kimball, fifth-grade teacher at Orange Beach Elementary, is Alfa’s Teacher of the Month for December.

She knows that fostering a love for learning is critical to promoting a passion for knowledge. While her students aren’t of the age to think about what colleges they should attend or how much to invest in retirement, she recognizes there aren’t age requirements on learning that true measures of success are things that matter long F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

after their textbooks are closed.

“While it is vital to teach academic skills to my students, what is equally important is teaching them to live and be productive members of society,” explains Kimball. “My aspirations as I enter my classroom every day . . . are best described in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; . . . to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy

child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

This is to have succeeded.’”

During 2011, Alfa Insurance and the Alabama Farmers Federation are honoring one outstanding teacher from each of Alabama’s eight state board districts, two principals and two private school teachers. Application information is available under Ag Links in the Ag Resources section of AlfaFarmers.org.

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23

www.AlfaFarmers.org

By Darryal Ray

It’s also where the thrillseeking Schwerman gets e flies airplanes, glidhis kicks out of Christmas. ers, blimps and hot air “What I like most about the balloons.

Christmas tree farm is the joy He’s been an inteyou see on the little kids’ faces rior designer, environmental each season,” he says. “There engineer and employee of is always something new hapthe Department of Defense’s pening on the farm.”

Missile Defense Agency.

He has 15,000 trees from “If it’s not fun, I don’t which to choose — white do it,” says Dr. Roger pines, Virginia pines, Leyland Schwerman. “I get bored very cypress, Carolina sapphires, easily. You might say that’s my Blue Ice, Eastern red cedar problem, my curse.” and Murray cypress to But it’s also what spurred name but a few. He’s sold Schwerman to buy a 70-acre trees almost as far north as Christmas tree farm more Memphis and as far south as than eight years ago when all Roger and Patricia Schwerman sell ‘tradition.’

Tallahassee, Fla. he needed was two acres for “As I said, I’m always his two polo ponies. curious. So, yes, I’m always looking for new trees,” said “I figured this would give me a place to play and Schwerman. “There’s one that I was reading about in a enjoy,” he recalled. “I told myself, ‘I grew up on a farm. I Christmas tree magazine the other day and it sounded can figure this out. Plus, I know a little bit about trees.’ So, really intriguing. So I’m going to see if I can find some of I just decided to do the whole thing.” those. I always start with 50 or 100 and if they do well, I The “whole thing” is now known as Schwerman can plant more.”

Christmas Tree Plantation, just off U.S. 231 in the Lacey’s On the average, he’ll sell about 2,000 trees this Spring area of Morgan County.

Christmas — a far cry from the 50,000-100,000 trees this It’s a full-fledged Christmas tree farm, a place where farm cranked out in the 1970s when Dr. George Brown Santa Claus shows up with Donner and Blitzen every (who Schwerman calls “father of the Christmas tree indusweekend after Thanksgiving, where a Nigerian dwarf billy try in Alabama”) from Alabama A&M owned the place and goat named Leroy serves as the “Reindeer in Training” and before the industry became so saturated. two donkeys named Festus and Marshall Dillon bray at When Schwerman bought the farm from Brown, the the scores of visitors who come in search of just the right only trees growing were Virginia pine, white pine and tree.

50 Leyland cypress trees. “George said that nobody ever bought the Leyland cypress, but they were big, nice trees. So I shaped them, and George was right — nobody wanted them,” he said. “I talked a friend into buying one, which left me with 49 that didn’t sell. Well, that fall, guess what? Southern Living ran an article that said the Leyland cypress is the tree that the ‘true Southern belle’ has in her home at Christmastime. Do you know that Friday after Thanksgiving, we sold 48 Leyland cypress trees! We only had one left. So, on Saturday, everybody comes out wanting a Leyland cypress. So I ask them, ‘Why would you want a Leyland cypress? Last year I couldn’t give them away!’”

He puts the knowledge learned from his environmental engineering studies to use in maintaining his trees, Santa inspects a tree at Schwerman’s farm.

H

www.AlfaFarmers.org

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F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

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using herbicide only as a spot treatment and releasing beneficial insects like wasps and praying mantises to keep down flies and bag worms.

“I’m still learning,” Schwerman admits. “George and Webb Thornhill and Paul Beavers (fellow tree farmers in Pisgah and Birmingham, respectively) still provide me with guidance. It’s like all the tree farmers I know — we all do other things, but this is our passion.”

That’s why he’ll be open on Christmas Eve. “There’s always somebody who’s forgotten to get a tree,” he says.

“I sell tradition,” Schwerman added. “You can go pick a tree up in the grocery store, but the difference is mine are alive. When you look at a green Christmas tree and it’s rainy and cold or snowing, it symbolizes that there is going to be new growth in the spring. It’s a great thing.

I know when I first bought the tree farm, we had lost several family members in December — December is a tough time for us — and we were standing up there on the porch when Santa Claus and his reindeer got here.

And there was this little boy who’d gone inside our Christmas tree store with his parents, and when he came walking out and saw Santa Claus and his reindeer, his face just lit up! My son reached over and put his arm around me and said, ‘Dad, thanks for bringing Christmas back.’

So I don’t care if I make a buck on this place or not. It was worth everything. That’s what it’s all about. It’s the magic of Christmas, the magic of the season.”

Alabama Christmas Tree Farms

T

he tree farms — except those listed in red — are members of the Southern Christmas Tree Association. For more information about SCTA member farms, visit SouthernChristmasTrees.org.

This listing should NOT be considered complete, and customers should phone ahead to verify the farm’s supply and operating hours.

For other possible tree farms in your area, consult with your local county Federation office.

www.AlfaFarmers.org

Right, Schwerman and Santa take a stroll through the farm’s 15,000 Christmas trees.

FARM NAME

COUNTY

CITY

PHONE

Fish River Trees

Baldwin

Summerdale

(251) 988-8114

Navonod Farms

Baldwin

Seminole

(850) 436-8989

Gillam Christmas Tree Farm

Calhoun

Alexandria

(256) 820-8095

Gilbert Christmas Tree Farm

Chambers

Lanett

(334) 499-4007

Neely Farms

Chilton

Thorsby

(205) 688-1826

James Martin Farms LLC

Coffee

Enterprise

(334) 494-0333

Stinson Christmas Tree Farm

Coffee

Jack

(334) 897-5515

Glasscock Tree Farm

Cullman

Vinemont

(256) 734-4589

Wadsworth Christmas Tree Farm

Elmore

Wetumpka

(334) 567-6308

Promise Land

Houston

Cottonwood

(334) 677-3365

Thornhill Farm

Jackson

Pisgah

(256) 451-3640

Beavers Christmas Tree Farm

Jefferson

Trafford

(205) 681-4494

Valley Christmas Tree Plantation

Madison

Huntsville

(256) 851-9375

Tara Place Christmas Tree Farm

Marion

Hamilton

(205) 921-7680

S&W Tree Farm

Mobile

Eight Mile

(251) 649-8818

Excel Christmas Tree Farm

Monroe

Monroeville

(251) 765-2075

Schwerman Christmas Tree Plantation

Morgan

Lacey’s Spring

(256) 882-6155

Old Baker Farm

Shelby

Harpersville

(205) 672-7209

Zeigler’s Christmas Tree Farm

Talladega

Sylacauga

(256) 245-5674

Gandy Tree Farm

Tuscaloosa

Vance

(205) 553-6305

Murphy’s Christmas Tree Farm

Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa

(205) 752-9660

Clear Creek Christmas Tree Farm

Walker

Jasper

(205) 275-8523

26

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Announcing Something For The Whole Family

Alfa has dental.

Did you know Alfa has dental insurance? All Alabama Farmers Federation members qualify for this dental plan. Alfa dental is underwritten by Delta Dental Insurance Company, a member of the nation’s largest dental insurance organization. For detailed benefits or quick and easy on-line enrollment, go to Convenient Monthly Rates Single Family alfadentalins.com. Or contact your local Alfa office $33.22 $75.72 or call 1-800-392-5705.

By Janet McCoy

G

ordie Cartwright has earned a slice of national fame – a cornbread slice that is.

The 10-year-old Alabama 4-H’er won this spring’s 2010 4-H Cornbread Cook-Off, a competition that is part of the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh, Tenn. For Cartwright, from the small town of Gantt near Andalusia, it was the first big contest he ever entered, and as a first-year 4-H’er, he set his sights high.

He created his winning recipe, sweet potato cornbread, after watching his mom eat a sweet potato. “I’d never made cornbread before, but I got to thinking about it and thought I’d give it a try,” he said.

“The first couple of times, it didn’t taste right, but we worked on it and came up with a recipe we liked,” added Cartwright, who is president of his 4-H club.

Cartwright learned about the contest from 4-H Agent Assistant Tanya Bales, who leads clubs of fourth-graders at Straughn Elementary School.

www.AlfaFarmers.org

Bales told the youngsters about the national contest and worked with them on the specific rules of the competition. “The rules are strict, and Gordie did a good job doing exactly as instructed,” she said.

Only 10 finalists were selected nationally from about 200 who submitted recipes in the annual 4-H cook-off, open only to fourth-graders. “The national cornbread committee, which consists of cornbread and cooking professionals, as well as Tennessee state 4-H staff, judges the recipes and narrows them down to the top 10,” Bales said.

Once selected, Cartwright, Bales and others worked to raise money for him to attend the contest in Tennessee. To help pay for the trip, Gordie, Bales and others spent several Saturdays at the Tractor Supply Company store in Andalusia raising money, offering slices of his cornbread for a donation.

Once there, Cartwright and the other contestants had to cook in front of the judges as well as talk to them about his recipe. “I wasn’t too nervous when I was cooking,” he said.

28

“But the judges came up to my table, and I had to tell them what I was doing and mainly why my recipe was original.”

For his efforts, Cartwright won a $400 cash prize and a gift bag filled with Lodge cast iron and Martha White products.

Cartwright has become a local celebrity – the Covington County Commission has honored him, and plans are being made for other recognitions in the community.

The Cartwright family has an interest in cooking. Parents Rick and Christy previously owned a restaurant and still cater occasionally. “I saw my mom and dad cooking and liked it, and they would let me help sometimes,” he said.

Cartwright is not old enough for statewide competition, but he’s looking forward to state 4-H Competitive Events Day in the future.

In the meantime, you can find Gordie’s Sweet Potato Cornbread below, followed by several other recipes from the United States Sweet Potato Council.

F R I E N D S & FA M I LY • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

GORDIE CARTWRIGHT’S SWEET POTATO CORNBREAD

1 (7-ounce) package Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup milk 1 cup mashed cooked (in microwave) sweet potatoes 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup melted butter 1 large egg 1 pinch nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in order. Pour into a greased cast iron skillet, and bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done (light brown).

SWEET POTATO PARTY PUNCH

1 quart cooked sweet potatoes, pureed 2 quart orange sherbet 2 quart cold ginger ale 1 (46-ounce) can apricot nectar 1 (46-ounce) pineapple juice 1 (16-ounce) 7-Up

Combine sweet potato puree and apricot nectar, mixing well. Chill everything. Just before serving, combine sherbet, sweet potatoes and apricot nectar mixture in punch bowl. Gently stir in other ingredients.

Makes 2 gallons.

SWEET POTATO CHEESE BALL DIP

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 2 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 1/4 cup chopped pecans Assorted crackers, breadsticks or raw vegetables

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sweet potatoes until smooth. Add the next seven ingredients; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Roll in chopped pecans (optional). Serve with crackers, breadsticks or vegetables. Makes about 3 cups.

Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, use rubber or plastic gloves to protect your hands. Avoid touching your face.

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GARLIC MASHED SWEET POTATOES

2 pounds fresh sweet potatoes quartered 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 6 tablespoons butter, divided 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon salt 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cook unpeeled sweet potatoes, covered, in boiling salted water, 20 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon butter for 2 minutes. When potatoes are fully cooked, drain thoroughly. Peel and dice and return to pan. Add sautéed garlic, remaining butter, sour cream and salt. Mash thoroughly. Fold in cilantro. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with additional cilantro, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

SWEET POTATO PINWHEELS

4 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes 4 cups sugar, divided 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 2 cups chopped nuts 1 cup shortening 3 eggs, well beaten 4 cups self-rising flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Yellow and red food coloring (optional)

In saucepan, combine sweet potatoes, 2 cups sugar and spice, mix well. Cook over low heat until thick, about 10 minutes. Add nuts, cool. Cream shortening and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, continue mixing until well blended.

Add flour, salt and baking soda, mix well. If desired, add 8 drops yellow and 4 drops red food coloring, mixing until well blended. Divide dough into 3 parts. On lightly floured foil, roll each into an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle, spread with 1/3 of filling mixture. Starting from wide end, roll as for jellyroll. Wrap in foil. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Place in freezer several hours or overnight. To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap rolls, cut with sharp knife into 1/4-inch slices. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 7 to 8 dozen cookies.

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SWEET POTATO BON-BON CANDY

1 pound dried apricots or peaches, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups cooked, sweet potato puree 4 cups coconut 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2 cups chopped pecans, toasted 2 pounds powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Chill 2 hours or until firm enough to shape into 1-inch balls. These can be served with a pecan on top or dipped in white chocolate to coat. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

NORTH CAROLINA’S FAVORITE SWEET POTATO PIE

2 1/4 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup packaged French vanilla instant pudding 3/4 cup evaporated milk 2 large eggs, room temperature 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

In a large bowl combine all filling ingredients and beat at medium speed until well blended. Spread evenly into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 4 minutes longer or until set. Cool on wire rack. If desired, garnish with whipped cream, raspberries and mint leaves. Makes 8 servings. ______________________________ Editor’s Note: Recipes published in the “Country Kitchen” are not kitchen-tested prior to publication. Look for more “Country Kitchen” recipes online at www.AlfaFarmers. org. Janet McCoy is a program coordinator with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Alabama 4-H.

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