Writing calendar dates and times
Oftentimes, we find ourselves in situations where we are forced to interpret dates that are written in documents that require our attention as we try to figure out which digits represent the day, the month and the year. Similarly, we are oftentimes told that “I will come by at eight O clock” or “pick me up at the airport at five O clock”, forgetting to inquire whether it is eight O’ clock or five O’ clock in the morning or the evening. Situations such as these always result in unwanted frustration or the wastage of time which could have been spent doing something else meaningful.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has sought to address this situation by educating the general public of the standardized and internationally recognized way of writing dates and times to eliminate confusion and allow for easy interpretation. This method follows the principles set out in the international standard ISO 8601 which deals with numeric representations of date and time. The standard outlines the procedure for using the internationally acceptable formats.

DATES
The standard recommends two (2) formats for writing the date as listed below:
1. All numeric format (only numbers and hyphens or dashes are used):
Example: 2010-05-25
The all numeric format places the year first in four (4) digits followed by the month in two (2) digits and then the date also in two (2) digits.  It must be noted that the year, month and date are separated by a hyphen or dash (-) and not a slash (/).
2. Non-numeric format:
Example: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The non-numeric format is written starting with the day, followed by the month and the date and then the year. However, it would also be correct if the day was left out. It must be noted that the abbreviations “st, th, rd and nd” are not used under the ISO 8601 Standard.
Example 1:   Wednesday, May 26, 2010.
Note: Where the commas are placed and also there no “st, th, rd and nd”

TIME
The international twenty four hour clock system should be used instead of a.m. or p.m. Say eight hours (08:00 h) instead of eight O clock and, sixteen hours thirty (16:30 h) instead of four thirty (4:30 pm or sixteen thirty hours) NB. The day starts at 00:00 h and ends at 23:59:59.

South American investors considering investing in cattle farms here
INVESTORS from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia are considering the setting up of cattle farms in areas such as the Rupununi to take advantage of the foot and mouth free status in Guyana to gain valuable markets. Guyana and Chile are the only two South American Countries free of foot and mouth disease without vaccination.
The South American Commission in its effort to eradicate foot and mouth (COSALFA) was successfully hosted in Guyana by the Agriculture Ministry after 37 years, allowing local investors to interact with counterparts from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
The main focus of COSALFA this year is to implement more cattle farming in Guyana. The international investors are due to visit sometime in August with the aim of setting up these farms. The COSALFA would meet to advise coordinate and evaluate the programmes and agreements of the region on foot and mouth disease and other vesicular diseases annually. It acts as a regional coordination mechanism to promote lines of action and to evaluate activities carried out for foot and mouth eradication as well as control in the continent.
The second visit to Guyana during the month of August is in an effort to solidify arrangements between the investors; however activities for that visit will be organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Go-Invest.
The Ministry of Agriculture said countries like Guyana and Chile, who are free from Foot and Mouth disease would benefit from the implementation of disease surveillance programs, however added emphasis will be placed on consolidating surveillance activities at the borders and in cases where necessary. This will be vital in the fight against this virus since 60% or more of the world’s livestock lies in South America.
The initial plans by the Government of Guyana is to have trained professionals at the borders and increase co-operation between countries that are free of Foot and Mouth disease along with those countries that are not free. This is an ongoing process between Brazil and Venezuela in an effort to protect Guyana since they pose the greatest threat to Guyana.
The facilitators for the US Aquaculture Association also held a discussion between the Chief Fisheries Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and the Chairman of the United States of America Soya Bean Board in efforts to eradicate the disease.