Pre-season update from Guide to Chodosh

[Y. Herman]

SECOND REMINDER: SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE
GUIDE TO CHODOSH

If you have not already done so, please send in your
subscription to have the three issues of the Guide mailed to
your home for the forthcoming season. Use the renewal
form given below. Send a check for $15 made out to
"Project Chodosh" to
Project Chodosh Subscriptions
PO Box 297279
Brooklyn, NY 11229-7279
All other correspondence should still be sent to the old
Monsey address, listed at the top of this page. We also ask
that you send us your phone number, in addition to your
name and address. In case the Guides we send you come
back as undeliverable, we will be able to call you for
address corrections. The first issue of the Guide is due to be
mailed out approximately mid September, to be followed
by the other two issues in December and February.

THE AGRICULTURAL SITUATION
The Chodosh crops are progressing on an average schedule.
The oats harvest in the USA has already started. By Jul 25,
about 14% of the oats has been harvested. To check on the
weekly progress of the Chodosh crops, see the reports
available on the BBS (see below.)
  As of the second day of pesach, about 6% of the new
spring wheat, 10% of the barley and 7 % of the oats were
already planted. This represents the Yoshon part of the new
plantings. We estimate that at the beginning of the Chodosh
season the following percentages of Chodosh for the
following crops: durum spring wheat (noodles, pasta)
100%, hard red spring wheat (breads, rolls, challehs, pizza,
etc) 88%, barley 75%, USA-grown oats 85%.

ESTIMATED CHODOSH STARTING DATES
The following are preliminary estimates only, supplied as a
general frame of reference. Corrections and updates to
these will be posted when available, on the News section of
the Chodosh Hot Line and by E mail to those who
subscribe to the E mail list (see below.) The corrected dates
will be published in the first edition of the Guide.

*       Freshly baked products in local bakeries such as
breads, challehs, rolls, bagels probably Yoshon if
purchased up to: Sept 7 in the East and Far West,
Aug 15 in the Mid West.
*       Packaged foods containing wheat, other than
pasta probably Yoshon if purchased up to Sept
15. After that package codes have to be used.
*       Packaged pasta probably safe if packed before
Sept 15, probably safe to purchase up to Sept 30.
*       Foods containing oats may be Chodosh as early
as the purchase date of Aug 15 from some
companies that use US-grown oats. However,
they are probably safe if packed up to Sept. 8,
probably safe to purchase up to Oct 1. (The
reason for this range of dates is that US-grown
oats is harvested starting late July, but many large
companies use Canadian oats that is harvested
much later.)
*       Foods containing barley (other than malt)
probably safe if packed up to Sept 15, probably
safe to purchase up to Sept 30.


POSITIVE RESULT OF LAST SEASON'S WORM
PROBLEMS
At the end of last season, there was a serious problem with
worm contamination in one large batch of stored Yoshon
flour. As a positive reaction to that situation, two
approaches are being used this coming season. (1) One
company is greatly increasing their refrigerated storage
facilities and (2) a new development, that Yoshon flour will
be milled by a second company on a weekly basis from
stored wheat. This will avoid the need to store Yoshon
flour, and will give Yoshon flour the same freedom from
worms that exist currently with Chodosh flour, which is
also milled frequently.

MASHGIACH'S GUIDE TO YOSHON AND
CHODOSH
An updated version of the Mashgiach's Guide to Yoshon
and Chodosh has been prepared. It is available now to be
downloaded to your computer from our the new Chodosh
BBS (see below). It can also be ordered in printed form.
This report is not written for the average consumer.
Practical product information for those who want to eat
only Yoshon will be contained in the Guide to Chodosh, as
in the past years. This report on the other hand, contains
detailed technical information aimed for Rabbonim and
mashgichim who can request it free of charge by writing to
the Guide at 20 Sylvan Road, Monsey, NY 10952. For
others who are not Rabbonim or mashgichim, the charge is
$1 (check to Project Chodosh.)

A NEW SERVICE: THE CHODOSH BULLETIN
BOARD SYSTEM (BBS)
A new service of the Guide to Chodosh is now available.
This was implemented to provide the option to receive
information via a computer without any connection to
the Internet. It allows you to use your computer's modem
to have your computer dial directly to our computer. It
requires no Internet or E mail accounts or connections.
After you connect, you can download files. At this time,
two files are available (1) The Mashgiach's Guide (see
above) and a weekly report from the US Department of
Agriculture on crop progress. After it is available, The
Guide to Chodosh and cumulative updates will also be
available, all free of charge. Most of these reports are in
PDF format. If your computer can not read PDF files, then
you need to download first the PDF program. (The PDF
program takes about 1 hour to download. The Chodosh
files take 5 minutes or less each.) The new BBS also allows
you to leave messages (like E mail) to the Guide and to
others using the BBS, allowing for exchange of new ideas.

HOW TO USE THE NEW BBS SERVICE?
You will need a computer with a dial-up modem (not
DSL). We are also assuming that your computer is using
some fairly recent version of Microsoft Windows (98, ME,
2000, XP). To access our BBS, do the following one time
preliminary setup steps.

1)      Activate the program "Hyperterminal". (Start-
 >Programs->Accessories-> Communications-
 >Hyperterminal).
2)      Enter a name such as Chodosh, and choose any
icon. Click OK
3)      Enter the area code=845 and phone number=356-
9348. Click OK
4)      In the "Connect" window, click on "Modify".
Then click on the "Settings" tab at the top.
5)      In the "Emulation" window, click on the down
arrow and choose "VT100J" (if not available, the
second choice is VT100). Click OK
6)      Click on "Dial" to dial our BBS. (If the line is
busy, call back later. We only have one incoming
telephone line.)
7)      After you are connected, you will be asked to
enter your name. You can use any name, but,
unless you object, use your own name. Use the
same spelling each time you log on. Conclude
each entry with the Return or Enter key.
8)      If asked if you want to create a new user account
type "Y" and return or enter.
9)      For password, choose "Chodosh" which you will
enter twice.
10)     Hit return to accept the default option
C=Continue
11)     If asked where are you from, enter your home
town.
12)     If asked if you want pages, enter N=NO
13)     Keep hitting the Enter key until you reach the
"Bulletin Menu". There you will find 3 options.
Choose 1="How to Use This System" for further
instructions.
14)     View Bulletins 2 and 3 to learn how to download
files and how to use the message system.
15)     After you finish the first time session on the BBS,
when you exit the Hyperterminal, choose to save
the settings for the next time.









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