Finally Friday quick hits: National Ice Cream Month; farm co-ops; Appalachian traditions; farmers' survey; be kind . . .

July is National Ice Cream Month. (Image via AEI)

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream! Well, maybe we don't yell quite as loud now. "U.S. consumers don't eat ice cream like they used to, reports Sarah Hubbart for Agricultural Economic Insights. "Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, consumption of regular-fat ice cream exceeded 17 pounds per capita. Since the mid-1980s, however, per capita consumption has decreased, reaching a low of 12 pounds in 2018 and again in 2021. . . . Luckily for the dairy industry, the per capita decline in consumption isn’t the only demographic trend in play."

A "life of crime" is usually negative, but not in all cases. "To address massive staffing shortages across its prisons, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is building relationships with high school programs that train students for careers in corrections and law enforcement," reports Anya Slepyan of The Daily Yonder. "The agency is exploring the option of establishing a pipeline for high school students to become employees."

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Cooperatives give farmers the power of collaboration. "If you've ever sipped Florida's Natural orange juice, buttered a dinner roll with Land O'Lakes, or spread Welch's grape jelly on a peanut butter sandwich, then you've done business with a farm co-op," reports Tim Burrack for The Scoop. "Co-ops are often invisible to consumers, even as they keep grocery prices in check by letting farmers like me stay economically sustainable. Here in rural Iowa, I work with a co-op that helps me buy crop inputs and bring to market what I grow."

Heat, wildfires, hurricanes, floods or other disasters can stress health systems to the breaking point. This tool kit aims to offer help. Tip sheets and response best practices are organized for health care providers, patients and administrators.

In Athens County, Ohio, traditions are celebrated and some are offered with "hands-on" lessons. "A new project seeks to showcase Athens County folkways in their past and present incarnations,"reports Keri Johnson of The Athens County Independent. "Athens County Living Traditions is a five-part event series that celebrates the folkways — art, music, craftsmanship and more — of the people of Athens County. . . . Living Traditions is funded through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation — specifically through its Central Appalachia Living Traditions program."

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If you would like to promote a better world, consider kindness as one of the simplest routes. It begins with a loop. "Begin each day with the resolution that you will treat others in a kindly. . . . Follow this up with a tangible act of kindness as soon as you can," writes Arthur C. Brooks of The Atlantic. While it's true, no matter how kind we are "legitimate disagreements will still divide us. . . . But the disagreements wouldn’t so commonly become insults and threats, and trolls would have less power."

The Mid-West Farm Report is calling all farmers for a "Match Made in Heaven, Livestock + Crops" survey: "The three-year venture aims to bring livestock back into cropping operations. The goal is to boost soil health and the farm's bottom line. Co-director of the project, Laura Paine, says that they're in their second leg of the project. They're surveying farmers about the opportunities and challenges in integrating livestock into crops. Take the survey here.