Beer, Blogs, and AgNerds

So last week I got the honor of being a guest blogger to cover the events at the 29th Annual Alltech Symposium.  For those of you who have never heard of Alltech check them out!  They have some great products for both the livestock and crop industries.  I was way excited for this opportunity for many reasons.....1. it was in Lexington KY, home of green grass, white picket fences, horses galore, bourbon and beer. 2. Alltech owns a brewery...after attending this conference I don't feel the need to attend any conference ever again unless they own a brewery.... You get a bucket of beer placed in front of you at every sitting.....amazing! 3. I got to meet up with some of my favorite social media friends....some I had yet to meet in person!

Most of the group: L-R Nicole Small-Tales of a kansas farm mom, me, Ryan Goodman-Agriculture Proud (Also Ag's most eligible bachelor), Carrie Mess-Dairy Carrie, and Jenn Zeller-The South Dakota Cowgirl, Missing: Janeal Yancey-Mom at the meat counter

 

 

So as we are sitting waiting on the opening ceremonies to begin we hear a hello from behind us.....you'll never guess who it is!  None other than thee Ganaderia Mexico (@GanaderiaMex on twitter)!!!!  This guy is a celebrity in Mexico twitterverse. 

 



 

 

As the opening ceremonies began we had the opportunity to hear from the president of Alltech, Dr. Pearse Lyons.  Listening to this guy speak it didn't take you long to realize that he is legit.  This man is a successful businessman for many reasons and I will just quote a few.....

 

Dr. Pearse Lyons

 

"A leader’s job is to awaken a person’s greatness”

 

“What is greatness?  Greatness is going the extra mile.  Greatness is being out front.  Greatness is the guy who lets the others take the credit.” 

 

“Leaders create a space to flourish and remove the nay sayers. Put your best people in the opportunity not the problems.”



 

 “Our industry is our own worst enemy. We run from our story. We are the world’s worst marketing people.”

 

 “There is no greater group of entrepreneurship than farmers”. 

 

His statements were short but powerful and he pretty much hit the nail on the head with all of them!  It was with these statements I realized that many a company could learn quite a bit from this man.  He came out with intense energy and it followed throughout the whole symposium...(or the thought of beer kept us going).

 

One of the unique things that they did during every session was have someone doing a character sketch.  This was awesome.  One of the many things that set this symposium high above the rest!

 

These people have mad talent!

 

While this symposium has honestly been one of the best I have ever been to, mostly for the high energy, amazing speakers, and copious amounts of beer, the highlight of the whole thing was snagging this amazing serape in trade for an orange scarf.  Yes it is a serape, not a poncho!

 



 

 Stay tuned for a corn growing update later this week.....I know the suspense is killing you!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Corn Update: Whats going on your food?

It has been a little over 2 weeks since we planted our corn and with the sunny hot days we have been having and the moisture that is still in the soil this corn is growing like hotcakes!

 Meet Stewie the corn

 

Onto the great question at hand.....What has been applied or sprayed to our corn?  Nothing!  It has just been spending it's time growing and soaking up the sun and some moisture!

In other news......
I was given the amazing opportunity to be a guest blogger and cover the events at the 29th Annual International Alltech Symposium. It is discussing the future of food and how we are going to feed a growing population with a look at the future of 2020.  There are approximatly 2700 people from 76 different countries attending.  Feel free to follow along on twitter with #glimpse and also through my Facebook I will be posting updates.



Have a great start to the week friends!

The life of a corn seed: Part 1

It has been a little while since I got to blog, mostly due to the fact the it is prime planting time and for someone that sells seed this is quite a busy time to say the least.  Driving around dropping off seed to customers and putting in test plots takes up quite a bit of time.  While putting in a test plot last week I thought it was the perfect opportunity to start a series of what all phases a corn seed goes through from start to finish and all the different things applied to it to help it grow. 

Many people have preconceived ideas about certain companies forcing people to do certain things and farmers just spray chemicals on seed all year round.  Why not show exactly what DOES happen to a corn seed?  Now granted this may not be what all farmers practice but I have chosen one of my customers and you will get a first hand look at what all is applied and why!

First they work the ground to make sure it is all nice and smooth and the big clumps of dirt are broken up.  It also helps with weed control by ripping up the weeds and killing them.  Now like stated not all farmers work ground.  Many farmers practice no-till in which they don't work the ground.

Next we put the seed into the planter.  This farmer chose a seed that is corn borer, earworm, armyworm, and cutworm protected as well as rootworm protected.  That makes this seed genetically modified to protect against these insects.  The reason this farmer chose those protections was because he has had these insects cause a problem in the past.  A farmer could easily lose a whole crop to an insect so to have this protection in the seed is insurance for the farmer.  It is like having a tomato plant and coming out and seeing a bunch of tomato worms have eaten the whole plant and ruined the tomatoes.....not a good day.  Being able to protect these plants from those insects is huge for farmers.  Granted not all farmers have these insects present and therefor do not need to use the technology.

You will also notice that there are 2 different colors of seed.  There are green and some small amounts of purple.  The purple seed is what we call refuge seed.  Refuge seed is not genetically modified with Bt traits which are the insect protection.  The purpose of the refuge is prevent pests from becoming resistant to the technology. 

Before heading off to plant the farmer added talc to the bins of seed to act as a lubricant.  As the temp warms up along with humidity the chance for seeds to stick together and bridge up increases.  When that happens seeds can fall inconsistently which then can effect yields come harvest.  This keeps that from happening!

Last but not least we head to the field and plant the corn seeds into the ground!  Nothing like some sunshine and 75 degrees to get the corn growing.  We also made sure the soil temp was at least 55 degrees to ensure the corn seed would grow.

Stay tuned to watch the different stages of growth and to see what gets applied to help this corn grow. 

Enjoy!

Texas you have my heart

Recently I took a little vacation time to attend my cousins wedding in North Carolina.  While the mountains of NC are enticing.....they have nothing on the red dirt of Texas.  My sister and I thought it made nothing but perfect sense to make a quick trip to Texas on our way to NC.  For many this did not make sense in the least to go all the way south to go all the way east but if you have ever been to Texas you understand that it really can never be out of the way.

We decided to detour to Texas first to attend the Mule Barn trunk show with Anderson Bean and Rios of Mercedes.  First if none of you have been to the Mule Barn it is a must the next time you are in Texas!  The owner Nancy is pretty much the most amazing business woman ever!!!!  They have some of the most unique boots around!  Anyway the trunk show is pretty much the greatest thing ever!  You actually get to design and create your very own personalized cowboy boots!!!  For me (a boot addict) this is pretty much the closest thing to heaven and I find Anderson Bean and Rios of Mercedes boots the most comfortable boots hands down!  While this may have been the biggest reason for the trip south there were many other events of the trip to share so here you go!!

Here are the events of the great trip:

 We first headed up into Oklahoma to visit some of the great boutiques that we can only shop at online because we are clearly too far up in the Midwest to get to personally shop these great stores.  The first stop was at Unbridled in Ada, OK.  Not only amazing clothes but amazing home decor!  Be sure to ask for Dawn, she will take care of you!  However after coming out of the store we saw we had a flat tire.....not how we wanted to start the trip.  We limped into a tire repair shop and for $15 we got a great patch.....cheapest repair ever!!!

Next was the Pink Pistol which is owned by the Famous Miranda Lambert.  It is more of a trinket shop instead of clothing but also has a soda bar!!  Definitely a must stop if you are close!!

Rob Baird

 As we headed back to Texas we went to a concert in the evening....obviously.  Texas has the best music hands down!  Texas country/red dirt is the greatest thing to come out of the south since BBQ!!!  We got to listen to Rob Baird and Reckless Kelly that night!  Two solid bands that all of you need to check out!!

Reckless Kelly



One of the highlights of the evening was sitting next to the cutest couple ever.  They were in their late 60's and had a passion for music as deep as myself!  While talking to the husband he shared that his wife has Alzheimer's and has had it for 6 years.  Surprisingly she was quite aware of her surroundings.  He told me that he brings her to listen to music because it keeps her engaged instead of sitting her in front of a television.  They go listen to live music every week!  I thought that was a very interesting little tid bit to share!  He also had Rob sign a CD for me and I convinced him we came all the way to Texas just to listen to him in concert.........

 

 The next day we went to the Stockyards and found some great little treasures and if you know me at all you know I love bacon!!



While in the stockyards we ate at H3 Ranch.....holy amazing steak!  This place is legit.  Also if you are in the Ft Worth area you have to eat at Railhead Smokehouse.  Best BBQ in Texas in my opinion!!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was while we were sitting in a traffic jam.  If any of you are from the Midwest you know that any freeway is fenced off on the outside so people can't just come on and off through the ditch i suppose?  Well not in Texas......we were sitting in stopped traffic and kept seeing these trucks jump this ditch to get on the side road.  We opted out because we didn't feel the little car we rented would make it but it was quite comical to watch.

 

After our short stint in Texas we made it to NC for a fabulous wedding in the mountains!

 Also a little side note if you are sitting up in the mountains and there is a breeze you should probably realize there is a chance of sunburn even though you do not feel the sun beating down because the breeze is blowing......epic fail

 And that folks is a quick synopsis of our trip and a little travel guide to Texas!  Nothing gets much better than the south!

One thing I struggle with.....emotion

I have never been that girl that showed a ton of emotion.  Few have seen me cry however many have seen me laugh. I mean just for instance when my husband proposed to me I laughed. (don't most cry?)   I never really would get attached to things that would make me break down or bawl my eyes out.  I remember distinctly while showing cattle at the fair that on sale day all the kids would be crying their eyes out while they loaded their steers up on the trailer.  I never cried.  I guess I never saw them as my best friend even though I spent many hours with them getting them to walk and stand for me.  My mom would always look at me and be like "aren't you sad to see it go?"  My reply "nope".  Perhaps my understanding of the food system was too high so I was excited for the hamburgers and steak.  Not sure.

While dating my husband back in the day we had 2 dogs.  One was a border collie that I purchased and for having no training in herding cattle it was like natural instinct.  He would run out and just run circles around the cattle or sit at the fence and taunt them.  However his downfall was that he liked to chase vehicles down the drive.  Well needless to say one day he went to chase the truck down the drive and didn't see the goose neck trailer connected.  My husband called me at work to tell me that Bear had passed away and what had happened and all I could think was "well he should have known better."  At that point everyone was just telling me I was heartless with no emotion.  Could it be?

Our next dog was a chocolate lab with a ton of energy that my husband brought home.  I was never a fan of this dog.  He was into everything and dug up my plants and always jumped on you.  He also learned that if he ran really fast through the electric fence it wouldn't hurt as bad.  However he wasn't as eager so run back.  He would sit on the other side of the fence looking at us like "could you turn it off so i can come back now?"  Well he also liked to chase things and was not happy when the guys were baling hay behind the house and he couldn't help.  So like normal he ran through the fence except when they left to take the hay to the barn he followed.  I got the call the Buster passed away and what happened and my thoughts were "well he should've known better."  Again, I was told I was heartless and emotionless.  At this point I was beginning to believe it.  Why do I not get attached to animals?

After a year or so we had the opportunity to bring our latest dog Bella home.  She was perfect.  She was about 6 years old and had quite a few litters of pups so she was just ready to retire. 

 

She didn't jump.  She didn't dig up my flower bed.  She didn't run off.  She just layed around and soaked up the sun.  In the beginning she would go on walks and runs with me.  However later on you could tell her age was catching up with her and she had a hard time keeping up.  She made great company when Joe would go on his week long snowmobile trips.......Not sure if you can see where this is going.

Last week Bella had come down with pancreatitis.  We took her into the emergency vet and due to her age and the fact that they also found a tumor on her bladder she was not able to pull out of it.  We had to put her down.  I bawled my eyes out.  I have never cried over an animal in my life.  I may actually be crying as I write this....(you'll never know)!  It felt like I was losing a family member.  I almost had a sense of being cured.  Like I was relieved that I could have emotion!  I suppose it isn't a bad thing right?  It only makes us human.  I learned that it's ok to cry and you don't always have to be the strong one.

RIP Bella.  We loved you to pieces!

Temple Grandin and the first day of SPRING!

Yesterday being the first day of spring was definitely not a spring day most of us in the Midwest would imagine.  It was cold, windy, and 24 degrees.  While meeting with my financial planner the other day he told me that we saw 80 degree days at the end of march last year but for some reason I have no recollection of this.  My memory sometimes leaves me hanging and while a 60 year old man is remembering the weather from a year ago I just nod my head in agreeance because admitting my memory is worse than his didn't seem like the action I wanted to take at that moment.  However I'm hopefull he is correct and warmer weather is quickly approaching!

I am extremely ready for spring weather, you know the 50-60 degree days with sunshine and warm enough to wear a hoodie or light jacket and not be cold (mind you it is snowing as I'm writing this.....)  While yesterday was the first day of spring it was also a day that I was looking forward to since January when I signed up to attend the Animals for Life Foundation Summit.  The main reason I signed up was because i saw that THEE Temple Grandin was going to be speaking.

I was asked on facebook what about hearing Dr. Grandin speak interested me?  Well I find this woman to be quite admirable!  She is one of the people that I look up to and inspire me.  If I can do 1/4 of what she has done and impact my favorite industry in a postive way, I will have a fulfilled life!  Throughout high school and especially in college we were taught of her amazing discoveries through research of cattle handling and behaviour of cattle in particular (cattle was my focus in college if you couldn't tell).  Working in the cattle industry it is just amazing to be implementing her findings and research by using working cattle chutes that she designed and to get to meet in person the lady behind it all was quite an opportunity and honor for me!

Now onto the important part, as I was sitting in the room listening to one of the speakers on the line up the door behind me opens and in walks Dr. Grandin.  My heart started racing and it was like the deer in the headlights kind of moment.  As she took the stage utter excitement grew inside me.  This is a no BS type of lady.  She will explain to you exactly why something should happen and will explain to you why she thinks something is completely idiotic!  One of the most profound statements I heard her say was "We've got to show them everything we do.  Period.  We've got to open the doors electronically".  She nailed it!  She gave great examples of how she has videos on what exactly goes on in a slaughterhouse and commended the Peterson Farm Bros for telling their story through YouTube.  I think she made a great point when she said Fair Oaks Farms did a great job creating the Pig Adventure but then screwed it up by making it illegal to take pictures.  If we are going to have transparency then have transparency!

What I also found interesting was that she said companies that have main headquarters or people running the companies interacting with non rural citizens understand the impacts of animal welfare better than the companies that only surround themselves with rural people like themselves.  That is a great point to sit and think about!

 

Some other great things that happened that day was the people that I got to meet and interact with.  I sat beside a newly acclaimed vegan that decided to go that lifestyle because she didn't like the way animals were treated and cared for from videos she had seen.  This statement instantly makes my blood pressure rise.  I kindly told here that most videos depicting horrific images have an agenda.  No industry is perfect but the majority do truly care about the animals.  I encouraged her to actually go and visit some farms (surprise surprise she has never been on one....).  She was very receptive!  My favorite part I would have to say was when she came in for lunch with cheese filled pasta I looked at her and said maybe you ought to try vegetarianism because I don't think the eggs and cheese are allowed in veganism.  She just looked at me and said "I'm still learning"! Ha!

 

Also, while standing in line to meet Dr Grandin we all were wearing name tags and under our name had our company.  Mine happened to say Stewart Seeds Monsanto....dun dun dun!  So while talking to this nice lady about blogging she kindly turned to the man behind us who happened to have just started an organic cattle farm and said "This is Taysha, she works for Monsanto".  He quickly looked at me and said "well you won't like me then."  Confused I asked him why and he returned with well because I am organic.  I said and why would that make me hate you?  I sell seed to organic farmers.  We have a conventional lineup.  He was shocked!  His response was "Well I HEARD you guys hated Organic."  Here again with that "heard" word.  I told him not to always believe what he hears.

 

All in all it was a great day!  Not only did I get to meet the most inspiring lady in my eyes but I also got to have so great conversations with some people that had some misconceptions and hopefully I was able to clear some of the confusion up for them!

 



 Dr. Temple Grandin is an amazing speaker and I feel we as an industry have a lot to learn from her still!  If any of you get the chance to hear her speak Do It!!!

Enjoy!

It's National Ag Day Y'all!

You read correct!  Today, March 19, 2013 is National Ag Day.  National Ag Day is a day that is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating agriculture!  If you haven't realized already I'm pretty much in love with agriculture and everything about it so this is definitely a day that I will be celebrating!

There are some great events happening that you yourself can get involved with as well to celebrate this great day and be involved!

• The US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance are holding a Tweet Up on Capital Hill (that means a discussion on twitter) from 9:30-11am.  Follow along using #FoodD
• AgChat Foundation is holding a facebook chat and a twitter chat from 8-10pm so whichever platform suits you join in! Follow along on twitter using #agchat

I will be starting off National Ag Day in the morning by attending the Williams County Farm Bureau monthly meeting and meeting the board members.  How will you be joining in the special day?