It all starts with a conversation.......

I have this horrible habit of getting the local newspaper out of the mailbox, scanning the front page for anything that looks interesting, and then throwing it away.  Rarely do i move past the front page.  I love the nostalgia of getting the paper in print and cant come to terms with switching to an online subscription.   A couple weeks ago I called my dad to ask him a quick question and at the end of our conversation he quickly threw in "hey be sure to look at the newspaper tonight in the page of opinion section."  My instant response is.......why?  He chuckles and says "oh it will just get your blood boiling."

I went home that evening, grabbed the newspaper, and quickly turned to the public forum section.  Inside was an article from a local lady with a clear passion and concern for food.  With the title of her article being "Avoid GMO's: Choose organic, chemical-free foods."  While I didn't allow myself to get worked up, I more so just felt bad that this lady had been clearly filled with false information.  Many of her claims and concerns were just not the truth.

While I sat there going over my options of rebuttal it quickly dawned on me that writing an article in the paper to clear up her claims wasn't really getting to the root of the issue.  I quickly turned to social media to seek out this lady.  I sometimes forget that not everyone in rural america understands agriculture and all that is entailed.  I sink into the thought of the "city people" are the only ones that don't get it.  But here is a lady that lives out in god's country of rural america.   I went to Facebook first and quickly found her and sent her a message.  It went like this.....

To my excitement she responded!  We set up a time to chat and I waited.....patiently......  While trying to decide my plan of attack I quickly realized I needed to go into this convo with no agenda to shove research at her.  For all she knew, her info was the correct info.  Their is no good ending to a research war.

As I spoke to the woman that following Saturday I opened the conversation by saying that I grew up in Ag, currently work in the seed industry, and would love to be a local resource for her to ask questions if she had any concerns.  While their was hesitation at first it didn't take long for her to open up and the questions just started flowing.  We discussed everything from gmos's, organic, spraying roundup on wheat, farm subsidies, and health issues.   She was shocked to hear that organic used pesticides and wasn't "chemical free".  She didn't realize that 80% of the farm budget went to food stamps and that every farmer didn't receive over $500,000 in subsidies.  (Wouldn't that be nice though!)  She was also surprised to learn that not all wheat in the US, actually very little, is sprayed with glyphosate pre harvest.

After over an hour of talking we found that we are both very interested in learning more about canning and she gave me tips on dealing with renters (as we now have a rental house) because she currently works in that area.  She even asked me to send her articles on the studies of gmo's because she said she clearly isn't able to find enough credible information.

I was extremely pleased with our conversation and we will be staying in touch and sharing information.  It quickly made me realize how far I have come in my agvocacy journey.  At the beginning I used to get so mad and quickly lash back with research and information instead of listening to the real concerns.  We are all human and sometimes all it takes is finding common interests that builds a little bit of trust and people will open up and actually listen to what you have to say.

Happy National Ag Day friends!!!

The #Underdog

If you have followed along here for any period of time, you have probably noticed my dislike for mainstream country radio.  All (or most I should say) artists sound the same on the radio these days.  The men of country music or "bro country" as it's called, sure don't do it like Willie, Waylon, or Johnny used to, that's for sure!  It is hard to find a song on the radio that tells a story outside of chicks on a tailgate in shorts drinking beer.  Sad.

That is why many years ago I started listening to Texas Country, (also referred to as red dirt music).  I was instantly hooked!  They all have such a unique voice and most of them write their own music.  That is definitely a rarity in mainstream country music anymore.  One of my favorite artists is the extremely talented Aaron Watson.  He is a man that definitely sticks to his roots and beliefs and you can hear it in his music.  If you follow him for even a short period of time, you can tell instantly that his faith and his family are most important to him.



A couple weeks ago Aaron's latest album The Underdog debuted.  To everyone, except his fans, surprise it quickly rose to the top of the country music charts.  Like the charts that Jason Aldean and that boy band Florida Georgia Line are a part of.  Their is no better way to describe it than how Rolling Stone put it:

 "For the second week in a row, America's top-selling country record isn't a big budget release by Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert or any of the usual suspects. It's Aaron Watson's The Underdog, an independent album released without the help of a traditional record label or a national radio campaign."

His album title and the outcome are so fitting.  The Underdog.  It got me thinking a lot about the Ag industry and how their is a crazy correlation between the two.  Many times I feel like Ag is the underdog even though our time and effort is spent trying to feed the millions and billions of people around this world.......irony?  We have so many groups and activists that want to shut us down or end our practices, but we keep trudging along with our heads high because we love what we do and understand the importance.

What do you feel like the underdog in but your passion just won't let you give up?  Aaron Watson is the perfect example of why you should never give up and keep following your goals and dreams.  You have got to check out this album and take a listen.  You won't be disappointed!   

Good Day!

From Chris Kyle to Temple Grandin and the controversies in between

Sometimes I like to sit back and just read my facebook and twitter feeds without getting involved, posting, or commenting.  I just sit there and read.  Read what people like, what people share, what people post.  It is very astounding to me at times.  I sometimes worry about the future of america after doing this.  I mean there is a lot of crazy out there.

This week has been quite the week of controversy in the social media outlets.  The hottest subjects scrolling down the media pipelines in my small world have been about Chris Kyle with the movie American Sniper coming out and Temple Grandin receiving the Distinguished Service to Agriculture award from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Both of these are quite interesting to me in the controversy they are creating.  First of all lets start with Chris Kyle.  A couple hollywood celebs voiced their opinions of the movie American Sniper in a not so favorable fashion.  I don't even know how one begins to slam a veteran and then is able to sleep at night?  I truly feel that if you don't respect those fighting for your freedom oversees then the gates are open for you to kindly leave.  Unless you have actually spent some time in the battle fields you really have no ground to even start to disrespect anyone in the military.  That's just my opinion......

You can get a lil idea of the comments made here.  Some other celebs quickly took to social media to defend those serving......like one of my favorite country music stars mostly for his lack of a filter

 Next up in the ole interwebs controversy is Temple Grandin.  I've always been inspired by her work in the cattle industry and was fortunate enough to listen to her speak a couple of times.  I think that she is a very honest lady that brings tough issues to the forefront and isn't afraid to speak her mind. She is well known for her cattle handling systems and designing slaughter house facilities.  It was mentioned by some in the Ag industry that she is our own worst enemy and doesn't use scientific evidence to support some of her claims but uses emotion instead.

One of those claims being that in "dairy cattle we are breeding for production and compromising feet and legs and animals are getting too big.  Too many lame cows entering slaughter houses."  First I don't think this is just a dairy issue.  I think all species are bred for production....right?   I also don't think production breeding is 100% correlated to feet and leg problems.  I think that is also a management issue.  You need to evaluate the animal as a whole and while your emphasis may be on production, you need to correct feet and leg issues as well.  Obviously if you want a cow to milk it needs to make it to the parlor.  You can have high production cows that have great feet and legs.  The question is how do you get all producers to equally focus on feet and legs as well as production?

Not to stir up a big debate here but I think a lot of issues come from the show ring.  For dairy they want huge open ribbed cows.  That is not economical for a production facility.  Look at the club calf industry.....Who Made Who....hello?  That bull had the worst feet and legs but was used because 1 out of 25 calves was kickass.  I see so many steers come out of the club calf program post legged and hardly able to walk.  You don't see many people breeding for good females out of club calf bulls do you?  These animals will not survive in a production environment.

One of the important things I think we need to remember is that she is well respected by the large slaughter and packer facilities and the USDA. While some claim not all of her statements are scientific base but emotion based is this really hurting the industry?  With a society that is very emotionally based when it comes to food choices, isn't this something we should embrace instead of attack?  I mean if you can't connect with people on a scientific level but you have someone in the industry that can connect on an emotional level are we really that bad off?  Livestock don't lead their lives by what is scientifically correct.....they do what is comfortable.   I mean lets be real....a woman that can rock those awesome outfits can't be so bad in my book. :)

What are your thoughts on these matters?  I would love to hear!!

Time to Party!

New year, new month, new party! That's right, its time for our new Country Fair Blog Party.  This month the theme is Holiday Treasure Hunt.  If you are like me the holidays are a crazy time.  It's almost like a marathon of gatherings.  So hunt through the archives and share with us what you have been up to!  Perhaps it is your favorite recipe from the holidays or even a project you made or received.  Whatever it is we want to see it!

Be sure to check out the other hosts and see what they are up to as well!

Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom

Country LINKed

High Heels and Shotgun Shells

The TIP Garden

Belong With Wildflowers

Uncharted Rhoade

I hope that your new year is off to a fabulous start!!

An InLinkz Link-up

December CFBP.......Baby It's Cold Outside

So while this may be the theme of this months blog party link up, I must admit that it has been pretty mild in these parts lately.  I even heard it may reach close to 50 degrees this coming week.  For December in Ohio that is pretty rare.  Last year I'm pretty sure we were under a ridiculous amount of snow.  If you can tell I'm not complaining in the slightest.  I will take 50 degrees in December any day!

As mentioned at the beginning.......our December blog party link up is "Baby it's Cold Outside".  That means share with us anything and everything that reminds you of winter and the holidays.  I can't wait to see what everyone has to share since i procrastinate every year when it comes to the holidays  and deciding what to buy/make for people and what dish to take to family gatherings.  So give me some inspiration friends!

Be sure to check out the other lovely hosts as well!

Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom

Country LINKed

High Heels and Shotgun Shells

The TIP Garden

Belong With Wildflowers

Uncharted Rhoade

An InLinkz Link-up

November is a time to Party!

I mean what month isn't a good time to party in all honesty? Can y'all believe it is November already?  This year is flying by!  I recently had my 1st annual 29th birthday this month!  Woo Hoo for never turning 30 right?!  As you can probably already tell, with a new month comes a new blog party theme!  This month we are all about the Giving (as you quickly start to sing "all about that bass")  I know you did. :)

One of the new additions to the party is we have some new and lovely co-hosts!  I will share with you a lil about them for your viewing pleasure!

Nicole shares about her life on a Kansas farm and ranch over at Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom. Her and her husband raise boys, cattle, wheat, corn, grass and soybeans on their family farm. Her days can be unpredictable, sometimes comical, sometimes heart wrenching, but always fulfilling to those who are lucky to be farmers.

Jan, the chick behind Tip Garden, grew up a Kansas farm girl. She now lives in the big city out in the South East. She works 2 jobs outside the home, in addition to her favorite "jobs" of wife and mother!  She knows what being a busy woman is, short on time, and always feeling 2 steps behind and she loves time & money saving ideas!

Caitlin, of Belongs With Wildflowers, a 20-something living on the East Coast of the United States. After a decade chasing college degrees and career ladders, I began blogging as a creative outlet to reconnect with myself. Blogging pushed me to look at what happiness meant to me (and it was found in the most surprising of places). 

I’m learning about agriculture, beekeeping, chickens, goats, herbalism, and organic farming to begin my farm and homestead in the next year. In the meantime, I spend my days chasing adventures with Michael (lovingly called ‘my guy’ and ‘my beau’),with an awfully adorable fur-little family in tow.

Jamie, of This Uncharted Rhoade, is a Midwestern girl. 25 years old. Married to her best friend. Passionate about agriculture. Has a fantastic job working with animals and amazing, smart people. Fixing up their one bedroom house into a home. Happiest when surrounded by open fields and cows. She's been known exaggerate a little bit and sometimes has potty mouth (sorry mom).

Laurie is a country gal from Missouri. She was born and raised a farm girl and feels very blessed to be back on the family farm with her husband and children. Laurie loves sharing about life on the farm and living in the country as well as her photography. Every day is different on the farm, so you never know what you might see when you visit COUNTRY LINKED.

Danielle was born an Urban Cajun, transformed into a Rural Okie and now blazing through life as a Kentucky Wife. She writes about my life, faith, my fur-child Oliver, over share about the handsome fella I married and mix it all in with some agriculture flavor on the (sometimes hysterical, but always honest) High Heels and Shotgun Shells.

So now that you know all about everyone, go find your favorite post about giving or anything Thanksgiving related and link it up for all the world to see!  

Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

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New and Improved Blog Party!

Am i normally late to the party?  Yes.  However, you know the saying....be fashionably late to make an entrance.  I feel that applies perfectly here!  If you didn't notice yesterday many of my fellow party hosts shared the new and improved Country Fair Blog Party!  If you didn't notice then perfect, you are about to find out now!

Here's the lowdown:

New and Improved: We are now only partying once a month.  We used to host a new party once a week but as life gets busy we feel this is a much better fit!  I think you will agree.

How it Works: The beginning of every month we will start a new party (or in my case maybe the second day).  All ya'll will share your amazing recipes, or DIY ideas, or just some great informational posts.  The hosts will then pick their favorites and must sees say around the middle of the month.

Best Part...: We are now themed!  Everyone loves a theme right?  This month naturally we will be doing fall!  I love fall and everything about it.  Deer hunting season opens, everything pumpkin flavored hits the shelves, amazing colors of nature, the cooler temps, and of course Halloween!  Don't forget the month of October is also National Pork Month!  That in itself deserves a party because who doesn't love bacon?!

How to Party Along: Be sure to join in the fun and link up one of your posts that has anything or everything to do with this amazing season of Fall!  Just click on the link at the bottom of the page and it will have you put in the URL of your post then you can add a picture if you like.  Bodda Bing, Bodda Boom, you are in!

Hosts: Currently their are 4 of us hosting this, Nicole, Danielle, Laurie, and myself.  We do love a good party so the more the merrier right?  We would love to have some of you also co-host with us!  If you are interested in hosting a party with us just shoot one of us a message and we will get you all set up!

Enjoy and happy linking!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Toledo Water Crisis....Who's to Blame?

The glorious thing about the internet is that it gives many of those uninformed yet very vocal citizens a way to voice their opinion (insert sarcastic eye roll.)  This past week the city of Toledo was placed on a water ban that also included not being able to boil your water for drinking purposes.  This ban affected 3 counties including abut half a million people.  Yes this is a serious issue.  My problem arises with where the blame is being pointed to.

Lake Erie has a very large algae bloom that has been created from excess nutrients that comes from MULTIPLE sources....do you see that word multiple?  This didn't happen overnight or by just one cause.  When the lakes get lack of rain and warm temps the algae can create a dangerous toxin.  A toxin which reached levels in the city water that became dangerous to consume.

Photo Credit: NOAA/NASA

The past couple days all I have read in headlines is that this algae bloom is because of farmers......its always the farmers fault.  Then reports go on to say that nothing has been done over the years to try to stop this bloom or reverse it.  Well I am calling bullshit.  Excuse my language.  This is what is irritating to me.  The agriculture community especially in NW Ohio has made multiple strides to do our part to decrease and ultimately eliminate excess nutrients getting into rivers and streams that connect to the Lake.

With the help of Ohio Farm Bureau, farmers have made multiple strides over the past years including:

•   Farmers are using soil tests to avoid applying excessive amounts of fertilizer. One survey showed 82 percent compliance with Ohio State University-approved testing practices.  
• A pollution reduction project in the Lake Erie Basin reduced phosphorus application by more than 180,000 pounds across 8,653 acres
• 4,421 farmers attended 163 nutrient and water quality training sessions put on by Ohio State University Extension. 
• The state’s agribusiness community, working with non-government organizations, universities and government agencies, has developed a third-party certification program for commercial nutrient applicators that will encourage adoption of nutrient stewardship practices. 
•   Farm organizations and agribusinesses contributed $1 million to match a federal grant that is funding a three-year study to measure nutrient runoff and identify preventative practices.
•  Farmers are volunteering the use of their crop fields for the installation and evaluation of management practices to help reduce the off-site transport of nutrients.
• Farmers supported state legislation that will help lead to improved water quality
• In addition, Ohio Farm Bureau has launched the Healthy Water Ohio initiative to develop a long-range plan that will  sustainably meet current and future water needs while enhancing the economy and quality of life for all Ohioans.

Also, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (OFSWCD), with the support of the Ohio Soybean Council, created the 4R Tomorrow program to educate and promote wise nutrient management to conserve water quality and soil health using the 4R nutrient stewardship principles and conservation practices.*  The 4R's include: 

• The Right Source
• At the Right Rate
• At the Right Time
• In the Right Place

And they say nothing has been done?.........

So now that we have debunked that statement that farmers are doing nothing and are horrible stewards of the land lets look at some other sources of nutrient excess that are causing this bloom.

• Residential septic systems- old and deteriorated systems are dumping nutrients into rivers
• Detroit River- this flows right into Lake Erie including industrial waste and sewage from Detroit....they don't call it the Dirty D for no reason
• Lawn chemical-the glorious thing about urban city living is that we claim residential hierarchy on who has the best lawn.  With that comes copious amounts of fertilization to keep those lawns nice and green.  Once a rain comes in or over watering all of those nutrients wash right into the storm drains and directly head to the lake.....
• Heavy Rain-when their is heavy rains the city is allowed a certain percentage of raw sewage to enter the river (that is enticing isn't it)

So instead of pointing your finger one direction lets look at the big picture.

As you can see the Agriculture community has recognized a problem long before this situation occurred and have taken steps to do their part to fix it......what can the rest of you say?

Good Day!

*Information from www.4rtomorrow.org

How you know its farming season again.....regardless if you're a farm wife or farm husband!

Yes, as many of you may have noticed from those large pieces of machinery driving around out in the fields that the spring farming season called "planting" (genius i know!) is finally underway!  Which is then quickly followed by wheat harvest and baling of hay and straw and before you know it fall harvest is just around the corner (here in the Midwest anyway).  I noticed by many in my news feed that the infamous comments such as "planting season makes me a single mom/lady again" or the "you can never plan anything due to farming" statements began to roll.

I don't know if it is feminist in me that is secretly trying to come out but the whole time I read those all I can think is....no, no, no, no, no!  Now grated this may be the case for many but I don't believe that it is "majority" anymore.  I have the opportunity to work with many farms of many sizes and different production types so I feel I get to see quite a bit of diversity.  Any more I see women becoming equal partners in the operation and having just as much responsibility; such as she plants the soybeans and he plant the corn, she is in charge of irrigation pivots while he sprays.   I also run into women that are the ones working at/operating farms while the husband works in town.

So while their are many lists out there of how you know you're a "farm wife" and planting season has started I decided to create my own list of how you know it is farming season again......regardless if you are the "farm wife" or "farm husband".  Mostly because I just don't seem to relate to many of the other lists. So here is my list of how I can tell that farming season has begun:


1. The laundry piles up.   When you leave early and get home late you find yourself washing the essentials such as socks underwear and jeans.  Yes this is a shared duty in my household so whoever notices the dirty jean pile first normally throws in a load into the washer.

2. Dinner is many times subway or pizza or whatever can be made and eaten in a slightly quick manner because falling into a nice slumber is slightly more important than consuming nutrients.  And yes this is a shared roll in the home as well......for instance the husband had burgers and steak grilled when I got home last night.  (you know he's a keeper when he grills you beef!)

3. You CAN in fact RSVP to things but you may be going alone.  We try to make sure that at least one of us attends the important things.  So if there is a wedding and the husband is super busy I have no issue going alone or with a friend.  When you come from a small town any large gathering is really just like going to see family.  Vice versa also.....if I'm working or away the husband is not afraid to go and make a presence.

4. When it rains and you turn on the TV to catch up on all your shows you started to watch on a regular basis over the winter you quickly realize your DVR is to capacity because you have had no time to watch the episodes.

5. You notice the amazing aroma of freshly turned dirt.  It is hard to explain but the smells of rural America are bar none the best!  I can't get enough of the smell of dirt or freshly cut hay.....if only we could bottle that stuff!!!

Those are just a few and I'm sure that many of you could add to the list!  Whether you are finishing up or just getting started with planting I hope you all have a safe start and a plentiful crop!!

Enjoy!

Who is Your Voice?

Who speaks up for the issues that your concerned with?  Who voices the opinions and thoughts that you have?

Your grandparents?
Your parents?
Your peers?
Yourself?

I recently attended a district legislative meeting put on by our county Farm Bureau that brought that exact question to mind. The meeting brought together our district legislators including my favorite Senator Hite to discuss issues currently happening in congress at the state and national level effecting farmers and producers.  We also had a chance to voice our concerns or certain issues that we wanted to be addressed.

This is great right?  A chance to speak directly to the people creating laws and regulations that will effect your farm and production!  Pretty much amazing if you ask me.  So that is why I was quite surprised that I was one of the few if not only person from my generation in attendance.  We the millennials that is. 

I step on a ton of farms throughout my days with work and see many of the younger generation coming back to the farm.  So why are they not getting involved in the political side?  Why do they not want to directly share their concerns with the people creating the legislature that will directly effect them?  Were they all just busy that day?  These are my questions.......

So here are thoughts to you my dear millennials.  We are the future of Agriculture.  Our grandparents, parents, and neighbors will not be around forever to voice the opinions and concerns of the industry for us.  It is time that we get involved and have our voice heard.  The people in the urban areas that are pointing their fingers at you do not have a problem voicing their opinions.  So if your legislators are not hearing from our industry how do you think laws and regulations will be made?  In your favor?  Highly unlikely!  It's time to get involved!

Williams County members with Senator Hite

 Good Day!

Country Fair Blog Party

Do you love to blog about recipes, what's happening on your farm, or an awesome do it yourself project?  Then have I got an awesome opportunity for you!  Or if you just like to read about these then you are in luck as well!  My wonderful blogging friend Nicole Small over at Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom invited me to co host a blog party that is kind of like how your county fair works!

 Here are the details:

Country Fair Blog Party

Welcome to our weekly addition of the Country Fair Blog Party!  It’s a place for bloggers to share their finest each week whether they live in the city, country, or somewhere in between.  It’s a place to brag a little about what you have been doing in the kitchen, the farm, or craft room.

Just like a local county fair we name Grand Champions each week in 3 divisions:

Food

DIY Projects

Agriculture

The posts with the most clicks each week are featured the following week as our Grand Champions!

Feel free to join in the fun and link up with up to 3 posts!  Click through the links and find some new friends and leave us a comment to tell us what your favorite post is.

So if you are a blogger be sure to add your post by linking it in or if you don't blog and just want to vote and check out all the amazing posts you can do that too!

Here are the top 3 posts from last week for the 3 categories

Food: My Other More Exciting Self

DIY Projects: Hewitt Farms Inc

Agriculture: Old Blue Silo

Please be kind and follow your hosts for this party:

Nicole of Tales of A Kansas Farm Mom on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

Taysha of Dirt Road Charm on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

Danielle of High Heels and Shotgun Shells on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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?