Food in the Field

Welcome to the Talking Total Farmer Health podcast from AgriSafe Network. At AgriSafe, we work to protect the people that feed the world by supporting the health and safety professionals, ensuring access to preventative services for farm families and the agriculture community.

Hello everyone, I’m your host Carey Portell, and the fall harvest season is in full swing. We know it can be difficult to find time to eat, when there’s so much work to be done, for farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers. So today we’re going to dig into a guideline called Food in the Field developed by Hannah and Tara, two Nebraska Extension educators. Tara, would you please introduce yourself?

Yeah, thanks. I'm Tara Dunker. I'm a dietician, by training, a registered dietitian. I actually am housed in Gage County, which is in the southeast corner of Nebraska. I cover the seven counties down in the corner for UNL extension, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. All things food, nutrition and health is what I cover down here in the southeast corner, including food safety and food access work. I'm a mother of two kids. My daughter is five and my son just turned two this last weekend. I like to say that I'm the mom of a very choosy eater. My daughter is pretty choosy and so she really keeps me humble in the dietician department.

I can attest to that. We have a picky eater as well. Yeah. All right, Ms.. Hannah, let's go ahead and have just a little bit about you and your background.

Yes. So I am Hannah Gunther, and I am also a food nutrition health extension educator with Nebraska Extension. But I am located in the northeast part of the state, so I'm located in Cuming County and cover three regions up here, to have a very similar job and description, same as Tara. Something a little bit more unique though about just my background is I have a nine year old, but then we live smack dab in the center of my husband's feedlot. So I am not from a farming or ag background whatsoever, but it's definitely been a learning experience and a learning curve. And so it's just really fun kind of learning kind of the more back side of where our food comes from.

I feel like we're hearing more and more stories like that transplant.

Yes, absolutely.

So today we're going to talk about food in the field. Can you guys go ahead and explain a little bit about that?

Absolutely. So food in the field is a nutrition education program. It is designed for farmers, ranchers and all ag professionals to help them make healthy eating choices during the busy seasons of harvest, planting, calving as well as year round. And as we all know, being in the ag and an ag profession, there's just stressful seasons of life. And even if you're not in the ag ag profession, you can relate to that. And when those stressful seasons come, it's really easy to put our health and healthy eating choices on the back burner. So the whole goal of the program is just to give you tools, tips and resources to help make that healthy choice the easy choice year round. And and so really, it's just kind of an all encompassing program. And and really the inspiration behind it, as I mentioned in my introduction, is just my husband and just being new to this farming lifestyle and seeing how his dietary habits changed during those busy seasons. And we knew that this is a special audience and they need a special nutrition program. And we looked for resources that would be relevant for them and we came up short. And so this is a really tailored nutrition education program that really listens in and satisfies the needs of this audience.

I love everything about that. And as I was sitting here, I was thinking about all the farmers and ranchers and when they hear, quote, healthy eating patterns, they're like, whoa, how am I going to have to figure out how to pack a lunch or a dinner and not feel overwhelmed? So can you give us some ways that they can adopt a healthy eating pattern, either when they get home or more preferably out in the field?

Yeah. So we recognized that right away in terms of what kids are learning at the high school level. But now it's my plate, which is similar in concept to the pyramid that a lot of us learned back when we were in school. It is a USDA version of nutrition education and it is what we fall back on. It's research based and evidence based in terms of the recommendations being truly what a person would want to follow to live a healthy lifestyle versus, you know, we live in a world where you're hearing things all the time from all different avenues, especially on social media and other other influencers that are out there who aren't necessarily following research based recommendations. So what we did find though, with my plate and we kind of knew this going into it, is that anybody working in the ag profession is not taking this nice sectioned off plate with their four food groups on the plate and their side glass of milk out into the field. Right. And so we knew that that wasn't really going to be relatable. And so what we've done with food in the field is we've taken the concepts of my plate or what used to be my pyramid, and we've really tailored it to how we all live in this busy world. And so the concepts that we cover in our program are things like making half of your grains in a day, whole grains. So that could be anything from just switching out your pasta in the evening to be a whole grain pasta versus an enriched grain pasta. Or if you're making a sandwich for the field, trying to do whole grain bread at least half of the time. In addition to that, some of the other concepts of my plate are making half of your meal fruits or vegetables. So my plate does say make half your plate fruits or vegetables. Well, we know you're not taking a plate out to the field necessarily. So we talk about ways that you can incorporate fruits and vegetables into not only your meals, but the snacks that you may be eating throughout the day. In addition, we really cover the fact that most people are getting plenty of protein, but it's really about varying your sources of protein. That's not to say that beef is bad. We agree that beef is good and it's a really great part of a well-balanced eating pattern. But just coming up with ways that you can make other protein sources nice and portable for the field, and then including calcium rich sources of either food or drink. So the my plate icon really leans on that glass of milk on the side of your plate. And that's perfectly great. And we agree that that's really good for you, but that's not probably realistic for a lot of people to take out into the field or really anywhere during their busiest season. So we talked about incorporating other sources of calcium rich food and drinks and then in addition, so that's that's really getting at the fact that you want to get all five food groups into your eating pattern every day for good health. Additionally, some of the stuff that we cover are decreasing your sodium intake in a way that doesn't feel too overwhelming. Same with decreasing your saturated fat intake and then decreasing your added sugar intake. But we we really go into the small shift concept. So none of this is about overhauling a complete eating pattern at any time in your life, let alone during the busiest seasons. It's really just taking some of these concepts and figuring out what works for you.

Yeah, I think changing your habits takes small steps to begin with, and then it's not quite as overwhelming, but everything you just said, I found absolutely intriguing and I learn something new. I did not realize that they had switched from the typical pyramid to something called Myplate. So now when we're finished, I feel like I want to go look that up and share that on social media and everything. So I appreciate you bringing that up. I was also thinking about when I have my days in the tractor, like I, I have a cooler full of snacks. So can you give us some ideas of some healthy and nutritious snacks that we can take with us in the tractor or whatever we're driving at that point out in the field?

So if I'm really prepared, I try to pack Adam a similar cooler full of snacks. But a lot of times I, I'm just not able to because I work in town. He's still at the farm. So it is so important to kind of have snacks and healthy snacks available that he can pack on his own, some that we really like. Tara mentioned that we really encourage making half of your grains, whole grains. So popcorn is a whole grain and a lot of people kind of forget that. And that is a great portable snack, you know, in place of like something like a potato chip, which is really nice. So we love popcorn. Some other ones that we love for a portable dairy. We love string cheese. He Adam really is a he's a milk drinker through and through. But but during harvest and planting, you know, string cheese does satisfy his dairy kick. He also loves baby carrots. That's about the one vegetable that he will really kind of grab on his own. Again, they're crunchy. They're kind of you know, they have a good flavor. They're easy to eat in the tractor, which he really enjoys. And then some other ones. Another great thing that we love to throw in his cooler. And it's you know, it can be a snack, but it also can just kind of be a portable vegetable is 100% vegetable juice. So if you're a tomato juice fan, you can buy those small little cans at the grocery store. In one cup of 100% vegetable juice is equal to a serving of vegetables. So that's a great portable vegetable option in the field as well, which we really like. And then last but not least, we love to make just like little protein bites with oats and peanut butter and chocolate chips. Adam absolutely is pumped when he finds those in the freezer and he can pack a couple of those. So those are some of our favorites that we really enjoy.

Yeah. And I think like so much of this is a lot of fun working with Hannah on this project because I, even as a dietitian, have takeaways from it, like I have a drawer here at my desk that it's a snack drawer. And when people hear that, I assume they think that it's probably full of things that I need to cut back on, but that's entirely untrue. Like a lot of the stuff that I pack in my snack drawer would be the shelf stable types of things that Hannah just went over. And one of those was I had never thought to put vegetable juice in my snack drawer until we started working on this together. And she tipped me off to the fact that she sends that out into the field with her husband. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I love vegetable juice. I should keep that here. And so I just focus the the only thing that we make sure to do is we focus on keeping it low sodium. And then I feel good about it. Tastes good. I get a serving of vegetables in some of the other stuff that if somebody is listening and they have a desk job in the ag profession, some of the other stuff that they can throw in there would be canned fruits or like the individual fruit packets. The only thing that you want to look for on those is making sure that it's packed in its own juices so that you're not getting those added sugars that we talked about earlier. But what I love about talking about this stuff is it really hits home that none of these things are out of left field, right? These are all foods that we're familiar with that people are comfortable with, that they probably already are choosing off of the grocery store shelf. It's just making sure that you're paying a little closer attention on at least one of your grocery trips so that, oh, well, I pick up canned peaches every time. Well, maybe next time just be a little more mindful of taking the time to read labels and making sure that you're getting the one that's packed in its own juices rather than in heavy syrup.

Yep. I'm really glad that you ladies brought that up, because immediately I was thinking when you were talking about tomato juice, immediately the brand that everybody's going to go to and it's so high in sodium to make sure that you get the 100% vegetable juice. And same thing for fruit, that syrup is basically sugar in most zones. So you really got to look for that Whole Foods section packed in their own juice type thing. Otherwise, you're you're kind of battling the health benefits versus the right.

Right. It's all about when when we talk about my plate recommendations or the USDA recommendations, it's really all about making sure you're getting a good variety of all of the food groups and those five food groups would be dairy or another. If you're somebody who can't do dairy, some other calcium rich source of food or drink. So there's greens that are high in calcium like broccoli or some alternative milks like soy milk and stuff like that. So you've got the dairy or the calcium rich foods, you have protein, fruits, vegetables and then grains. So making sure you're getting a good variety from those five food groups. But then also, like you said, staying away from the things that have those added sugars, the added sodium and the added saturated fat.

Now, when you give your class, do you give alternatives for those who do have maybe intolerance to dairy or gluten and that kind of stuff? Do you give them some kind of idea of what they can use instead?

And I usually we kind of just recommend any kind of calcium fortified soy or almond or kind of milk of their preference. The only thing is just make sure you're checking the label again for just those added sugars. But any kind of calcium fortified milk alternative is encouraged. But we also, you know, whenever we teach the class, too, it's shocking how many people are like, ooh, I don't like milk or I don't want to drink milk. And we're like, That's okay too. If you don't want to drink milk. There's a great variety of other dairy sources, like, do you like to eat cheese? Do you like yogurt? And or were you did I feel like there was one time where we even were like, Do you like ice cream? And you're like, Obviously that shouldn't be your only source of dairy, but it is. I mean, it's another dairy food that's available. So we always try to again make the program palatable in a way that it's like you get to decide what you want to eat within those food groups. Just make sure you're kind of finding that variety, as Tara said. But ultimately, yeah, I mean, milk isn't the only option. Get creative. Enjoy what you like. Yeah.

And I even like to say so. One of the huge obstacles for people in any rural part of the country is there's not always a grocery store handy. Right. So if you if you didn't have time to plan ahead and have a really well stocked kitchen that morning, and so you really don't have a lot to pack. A lot of us then end up having to rely on a convenience store for our lunch or a fast food drive through which. I think people expect Hannah and I to be like, No, no, no, no, no. But really, we make room for that stuff, too. So I even say as a dietitian, I have busy seasons. There's weeks where we're going into fair season right now here at Extension in our county. And so I'm exceptionally busy for a lot of different reasons. And there are some days where I don't cook for my family, which means I don't have leftovers at home, which means I'm not really packing a lunch. And so the closest thing to my office is a Casey's general store. And for anybody listening who maybe isn't local to Nebraska, that is a gas station, essentially. And so they do serve pizza. It's delicious pizza. I'll go grab a slice from Casey's and then I really rely on that snack drawer that I have in my office to then pair it with some fruit or something else that I that I can feel good about the balance that I'm achieving with my meal, even if I wasn't able to plan ahead and really feel like I was packing for health.

Yeah, I think those are perfect examples and kind of lowers the pressure a little bit to be perfect on that diet. And I'm thinking that anybody, even if you're not in the agriculture world, like the number one thing to healthy eating they want is convenience. So how can you make some easier choices for these farmers and ranchers?

Um, well, you know, we kind of talk about one of the best things you can do, especially during those busy seasons of life, is planning ahead. There was one, one of the first runs of harvest I ever went through. I did not plan ahead. And my husband literally ate just plain bread for lunch. And I was like, oh my goodness, I have got to change. And so one thing we kind of talk about is like, you know, just planning ahead, whether that is literally stocking up on again, as we kind of talked about previously, you know, those vegetables, low sodium, vegetable juice, sugar, sugar free or canned fruits options and just kind of like stocking up and preparing your kitchen, your pantry and your freezer with nutritious food options is huge. And, you know, one thing Tara and I talk about, too, in our program, we always mention this, is that planning ahead. A lot of times when people think meal planning, they they get completely overwhelmed and they shut down and they're like, oh, my gosh. Like, I can't even I don't even know what I yesterday, let alone can I think about what I'm going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner in three days. And so we kind of try to take the pressure off of that and just say maybe just honestly, shoot for three meals, just just for that week, shoot for three meals. And one of those meals can 100% be a frozen pizza in a bagged salad mix. You know, that's a great, well-balanced meal with a glass of milk on the side. We actually had that for dinner last night at our house. And and so we kind of just that's one of the best tools that we kind of go over in the program of, just like helping people kind of get through those busy seasons and to help make that healthy choice, the easy choice is just kind of planning ahead.

And the way that Hannah initially set up that I don't remember if you mentioned it in what you just said, Hannah, but it's called the Meals to Remember worksheet. And the way that she set it up makes it so that the whole family can be involved. So everybody kind of gets to participate in the worksheet if they want to, kids, spouses, whatever the case may be. And everybody gets to decide like, okay, well, here's the handful of meals that we all really enjoy together and we can kind of build an easy don't got to think real hard about the side dishes type of meal as long as we can all agree on, say, the entrees or whatever the case may be.

That's fantastic. Now, your program highlights something very important, and that is safety with food in the sun when you're out on the farm. So no one wants to eat a sandwich that has mayo on it, that may have gone bad in those those few hours. So how do you keep farmers and ranchers from getting sick whenever whenever they do have food out in the field? And what are some ways to keep that food safe?

Well, I'll kind of jump in and talk about I mentioned when I introduced myself that I do a lot of food safety education as part of my work. So I'll kind of start by talking about food safety from the start. So like from when you're grocery shopping and then I'll kind of let Hannah give some anecdotes on how she makes sure that food is packed well for the field since she lives in that world. But so when we talk about food safety, we can obviously get down into the weeds. I mean, I teach classes that are 8 hours long, so and that's for food service professionals. But for food in the field, what we really focus on are the four concepts of food safety to just kind of keep at the forefront of your mind to make sure that you're not accidentally getting a stomach bug at your busiest sea son and then being laid out for a couple of days. Nobody wants that. So we talk about clean. So that's the first concept. So that's making sure that you yourself have clean hands and that you also are working with clean surfaces. And so one of the ways I guess I can touch on it real quick, but one of the ways that we kind of get on that topic with being out in the field is maybe you don't have running water and soap where you're at, but the least that you can do in that scenario is have some hand sanitizer on hand and then also making sure that you've tried to think ahead to have some sort of clean and sanitary eating utensil. We know that that's not always possible, but maybe trying to have that in the forefront of your mind before you get out into the field. So that's the concept of clean. Then we have the concept of separate. So that means when you're at the grocery store, you want to make sure that your raw proteins are separate from the other foods in your cart. I like to say I love reusable bags. I use them when I go grocery shopping to try to reduce my use of plastic bags. But one thing that you do want to give a resounding yes to is when they ask you if you want your meat bag separately in a plastic bag, say yes because you just don't want those juices from that raw chicken to get on something that you might not be cooking and then make you sick with something like salmonella and then cooking. So cooking to the proper internal temperatures on meats, especially if you're prone to stomach bugs like some people are. So having a good food thermometer so that you can check the temp of, say, your chicken breast or your hamburger patty before you serve it, especially to the little ones that may be in your home just because they haven't built up their immunity yet, because not only do you not want to be sick, but me having two young children, I also don't want to deal with them being sick and then making sure that you're chilling food appropriately once you've cooked. It's all kind of that kind of tees Hannah off and she can kind of talk about keeping foods at the proper temp before eating out in the field.

Yeah. And so one thing to one of the best things you can do for food safety during these times is just kind of like making sure you have an insulated cooler if it's a cold food. I like to freeze a water bottle, just like an old water bottle or a new water bottle, freeze it and then throw it in there. And not only does it help keep your food cold, but then you also have a beverage out in the field, which is great. And then if it is warm, aluminum foil is your best friend. And to kind of help keep that food nice and warm until it's ready to eat. And the biggest thing is kind of trying to eat within that two hour window of whenever that food was prepared. So one little tip that I like to do is I put a sticky note on on the cooler and I sent whenever I send it out with Adam or if I deliver it and I just say, eat before this time. Now, does it always get eaten before that time? Maybe not, but it is a helpful reminder for him where he's like, okay, you know what? I probably should stop and eat really quick. And so that that has been a really helpful tip for him to get his food eaten, to take a break and get it to prevent a foodborne illness, which is good.

Yeah. And the reason for that to our window specifically is because bacteria doubles every 20 minutes. And that might not sound like a lot when you're talking about like two bacterial microbes. But then once you think about like, okay, well, 6 hours later, if I haven't eaten this sandwich and it's been sitting at room temp, there can be billions of little bacteria that have grown on the surface of your food. And so and then that just just the fact that they they are that populous than on your food is what makes you sick. And so the rule of thumb is try to eat things that have been out at room temperature. Try to eat it within 2 hours.

I feel like a lot of people's eyebrows just raised at that. Now, the next point I want to talk about is something that is very close to my heart and that is skin cancer. And I have just been diagnosed with my fifth melanoma. And it is something that I harp on my husband all the time because it's I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm like, no, put this double in the tractor and the truck. Put the sunscreen in there, reapply. So skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer and ag professionals are one of the most of the population that is at the highest risk. So what are some ways to practice safety in the sun?

So we have three main kind of recommendations that we talk about in our program. The first being sunscreen. Sunscreen is one of the best and easiest ways to protect yourself from skin cancer. So we always just kind of say we recommend a minimum SPF of 30, just any any place that's going to be in the sun, including the tops of the ears, the back of the neck, etc., Next as much as possible. And I understand that sometimes this is life happens. And obviously we can't find shade all the time when we're doing certain activities, but trying to find the shade between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.. And I also think that includes a lot of times nice. Thankfully. Now most tractors these days do have a cab on them and they do have a covering. But older some older tractors do not. So finding some sort of protection, whether that's a wide brimmed hat or something that's going to shield yourself from the sun. And if you're unable to find shade, making sure that you're wearing some long sleeves and I understand it's hot, but thankfully I feel like with today they do have some amazing new resources that do have great SPF in them, like clothing wise. So just making sure that you're covering up as much of that skin as you can between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4:00 PM. And then last but not least, that I think is something that's really important is sunglasses. We also have to protect our eyes from the sun as well. So just making sure that you're finding high quality sunglasses to protect your eyes. And there there's a lot of other ways to protect yourself from skin cancer. These are just three really simple things you can literally do today to help prevent your chances of skin cancer tomorrow.

Yeah, that's awesome. Are there any final tips that you want to tell us to promote the whole body health?

Last but not least, the final thing that we kind of help and promote in this program is just the importance of sleep. I think that sometimes, again, during those busy seasons, sleep gets pushed on the back burner and one in four Nebraskans is actually sleep deprived. I'm not sure what the statistics are in other states, but just for our local Nebraskans, one in four are sleep deprived. And there is an interesting statistic that found that adolescent youth on farms are more 2 to 3 times more likely to get injured if they sleep less than 9.25 hours per night, in which I just think is so kind of a scary statistic in terms of thinking about how much of us have youth working on the farm and how sleep deprivation can really just have scary effects in terms of safety. So the biggest thing that we kind of try to hit home is sleep should as much as it can be 7 to 9 hours per night. And that's one of the best things you can do for your health as well as your safety in terms of ag professionals today.

Yeah. And I think just to round it out, I truly think that people underestimate so often how important both sleep and good hydration are to really helping support that healthy eating pattern that you're trying to accomplish. Because the more tired you are and the more thirsty you are, the more you start relying on some of those less healthy sources of food throughout the day. And I don't even like to talk about it in terms of weight or weight loss. I just know that I myself, when I'm sleep deprived and I'm not properly hydrated and I start eating things that weigh me down throughout the day in terms of how I feel physically, I just don't feel good. Right. And so then, then I'm tasked with continuing to be a productive employee and get some things done and then be a good mom in the evening and chase after my two kids with like a brick in my gut. Right? Because I've overeaten to try to compensate for my lack of sleep or my poor hydration. And so really focusing on getting good sleep and drinking your nice cold water throughout the day can really help you make better eating choices as well.

Perfect points. Now, earlier, you each talk just a little bit about the inspiration behind food in the field. Can you clarify that just a little bit more for our listeners?

Yeah. Tara and I kind of always talk about this that, you know, it's it's farmers and ranchers and ag professionals who are feeding us. And it's so important that, you know, here they are putting their lives, you know, at risk to feed me. And that's that really is the inspiration because really the health behind any ag driven economy is the health of the ag producers themselves. And so really, it's kind of our way of taking care of our farmers and ranchers.

Yeah. So tell us, why are easy healthy meals important to better feed those who feed us?

The mental health crisis, I feel like, is still kind of a huge a huge kind of weight on all of our shoulders. When you eat better, you feel better and you're better able to handle stressful situations. So not only is it again, we've talked about the physical health, we've talked about food safety, sun safety, getting enough sleep, water, all of those big parts. But also, I think our goal for this whole program is also taking care of the mental health of our rural audience and ag professionals in general, just again, because it is a stressful industry and you know, obviously eating healthy is not going to solve any mental health problems. But it is it is a way to make yourself feel a little better tomorrow. Eat better so that you feel better today. And that's something we can control and something we can do.

Yeah, I agree. I feel like our listeners are going to just want so much more information about your project. So where can we send them to learn more about food in the field.

So they can go to our website, which is food.unl.edu/foodinthefield. And on that website it has information where if you guys want to contact us, if you want us to, to bring us to your next conference field day, etc., Talk to them, talk to your organization. We're happy to do so. We can do that in person or via Zoom, but also we have information on our newsletter. So we also have a monthly, monthly ish. We say newsletter called Hey There. And Again, it kind of takes all these little pieces of information that we provide in the food and field program and just kind of gives you a little a little bit a little tidbits each month in newsletter form. So we include a recipe, usually a video, and just again, some more relevant resources and information to help make the healthy choice the easy choice.

And the newsletter really does feel like a community because there are people who, like I mentioned, with the original farmer of Hannah's original program, sending in photos. There are people who still send Hannah photos about like, Hey, here's my field meal. And so we will include those in the newsletter. And so it really does have a community feel of other ag professionals who do what you do, who are living through those stressful seasons just like you are, and how they're incorporating these things into their own lives. Because truly, I mean, Hannah and I are take on this is we can give you all of the tidbits and pointers and ideas that we have at our disposal, but not everything is going to work for everyone. And so it's really nice to have these other folks who have participated and who have already seen the value in this program also add their voice to it. And it's it's fun. The newsletter is a lot of fun and it's free.

It sounds like you ladies are on top of it and making an impact in that agricultural world. And we thank you for sharing all of your information on the Talking Total Farmer Health podcast. All right, everyone, we will link everything in the show notes for you so that you can get a hold of these ladies. And we thank you so much. Have a great day. All right, everybody, that’s all for today. Thank you again for tuning in to another episode. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast to hear more from AgriSafe on the health and safety issues impacting agricultural workers. If you’d like to suggest topics, or have a story you’d like to share, contact us by email at INFO AT AGRISAFE DOT ORG, and title your email “T T F H Podcast.” To see more from AgriSafe, including webinars and our newsletter, visit w w w dot agrisafe dot org. This episode was created by AgriSafe Network. Script arranged by Laura Siegel, hosted by Carey Portell, edited by Joel Sharpton, with special guests Tara Dunker and Hannah Guenther.