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| Duane A. Lienemann Nebraska extension educator |
There is so much going on this time of year
it seems you don’t have time to relax. To compound it all, this week’s
significant snow storm kind of pushed things a little further. I am not
complaining however as it is nice to see some winter moisture. Quite honestly I
have heard many people of my era say: “Now that is what it used to do!” There
is a lot of truth to that, but at any rate the moisture and nitrogen that is in
that snow is a welcome relief from what we haven’t had in the past several
years. I know it is a little tough on the cattle producers, especially with
those that calf this time of year. But, when it is all said and done, most
everyone I knew took the warnings to heart and were for the most part ready for
this big one!
I, like most every other male (and some
females) in this part of the country, love football and all that goes with it.
I couldn’t wait to hear who signed with Nebraska’s recruiting class and who got
away, or if we had any surprises. I think the timing is about right, because
another big football event comes right after that momentous signing day. I have
watched I think every one of the NFL’s Super Bowl Games. Mostly to watch the
game, but I have to admit I can’t wait to see the Super Bowl Commercials. That
is always fun. It is too bad that PC
(Political Correctness) is so much in vogue right now as I see that
ultra-sensitivity cutting into the creativity and fun that we used to have with
some of the commercials. But maybe that is just me! At any rate, regarding the
Super Bowl, I read something that I would imagine some of you saw, but in case
you didn’t- this is very much
appropriate, especially when I have been espousing AgVocacy! The following was
printed in this week’s Drover’s Cattle Network, and was written by Laura
Mushrush. I thought it was timely and has some good ag advocacy material, so I
decided to share this with you this week. I think you will find it fun, and
very educational.
“It’s
that time of year again for American’s to gather around the big screen to catch
the biggest football game of the year with friends and of course, good food.
While Super Bowl food is most commonly pegged in the appetizer department, it
has landed the football faceoff as the second biggest American eating holiday
of the year – just behind Thanksgiving. According to the Calorie Council
Control, the average American will shovel in 2,400 calories during the game. So
as you’re contemplating on going back for seconds and breaking your healthy
lifestyle New Year’s resolution, here are some #agfacts to chew on during Super
Bowl 50 as the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos play Feb. 7.”
1. One cow hide makes 20 pigskins, aka
footballs. The term pigskin comes from the 1800’s when animal bladders, most
typically pig, were inflated to be used as a ball since they had a round shape.
120 game balls are used during the Super Bowl, including 12 kicker balls,
meaning six cow hides will be tossed around the stadium on Sunday.
2. 1.25 billion chicken wings will be
consumed on Sunday by Super Bowl fans – enough to circle the Grand Canyon 120
times. The first chicken wings were fried up at Anchor Bar, Buffalo, N.Y., in
1964 and have been a tradition ever since the first Super Bowl on January 15,
1967.
3. 325.5 million gallons of beer will be
drank on Super Bowl Sunday. One bushel of barley produces approximately 565
12-ounce beers. A little bar stool math tells us that 6,145,132.74 bushels of
barley are used to make the brews for the game, and that barley farmers are the
real MVP.
4. 139 million pounds of avocados (about
278 million avocados) are expected to be eaten during the game – most likely to
be smashed up into that sweet, sweet guacamole. To get a visual, this is enough
avocados to fill a football field end zone to end zone in a pile 53 feet high.
This is a 15 percent surge from 2015, says Hass Avocado Board, and has even
lead to Avocados from Mexico to buy a 30-second commercial spot on game day.
5. 10 million pounds of ribs are sold
during Super Bowl week, say our friends at the National Pork Board. Since Farm
Journal Media has an office location in the Kansas City metro area, we
recommend cooking those baby backs up with a Kansas City-style barbecue sauce.
Put extra napkins on your shopping list because things might get messy.
6. 12.5 million pounds of bacon are also
consumed, adds the National Pork Board. The editors at Pork Network recommend
“Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes.” This bacon wrapped
sausage roll will make you a believer in a higher power.
7. 11.2 million pounds of potato chips
will be snacked on. It takes four pounds of raw potatoes to make one pound of
chips, meaning potato farmers will be feeding the country 44.8 million pounds
of spuds in one day.
8. 14 billion hamburgers were estimated to
be served in 2015. Keeping up with that total and estimating each patty is a
quarter of a pound, 3.5 billion pounds of ground beef are going to be put on
buns this Sunday. However, when you consider the estimated total of Super Bowl
50 viewers to be 189 million Americans, 14 million seems more likely.
9. 4 million pizzas are expected to be
delivered by Dominos, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns. Estimating that each pizza has
8 ounces of cheese, that is 2 million pounds of cheese or 20,000,000 pounds of
whole milk. But since cheese is a gift from the heavens, we won’t judge if you
load up your pizza pie with 32-ounces of dairy goodness. Go big or go home.
10. 3.8 million pounds of popcorn will be
served on Sunday. Not a fan of plain popcorn? Turn it up with this kettle corn
recipe. While we’re on snacks, fans will
also consume 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips and 3 million pounds of nuts.
The preceding information comes from the research and
personal observations of the writer, which may or may not reflect the views of
UNL or Nebraska Extension. For more further information on these or other
topics contact D. A. Lienemann, Nebraska Extension Educator for Webster County in
Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email: dlienemann2@unl.edu or on the web
at: http://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster
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