Robots, Drones, Big Data.....Oh My!

This year I was honored to be asked back to cover the events of the Alltech Sympoium as a guest blogger.  I absolutely love this event because it is full of information and actually keeps your attention.  Which is normally a pretty hard task for me......you know the classic hold your head up by resting it in on your hand in attempts to make it look like you aren't napping through the session.  Yeah that has yet to happen here!  This year's symposium was all about the What if......

Founder and Owner of Alltech: Pearse Lyons

I love technology and I love hearing about what is coming down the pipeline when it comes to awesome gadgets and technology that will help the Agriculture industry be more responsible and efficient.  During this year’s Alltech symposium I got to hear about just that and the future is looking quite exciting!!

 My favorite session was: A Farming Revolution, which discussed drones and GPS and what the possibilities look like.  Majority of the drones that are available today to the average buyer are a small drone with 4 propellers that has the ability to take a photo over your field or location.   That is cool and all and has come a long way from where we were before which pretty much consisted of climbing the nearest silo or antenna tower to look out across the field and farm. 

Some of the ideas of what the future of drones looks like was mind boggling to me and makes my inner tech geek excited!  Some of the ideas and even projects being tested include the idea of having drones keep real time over long periods of time by hovering over the field or farm (kind of like a blimp).  How great would it be to be able to see exactly when your crop started to mature or when a certain disease was really spreading throughout your field?  That is valuable information to be able to capture. 

One of my favorite ideas was multiple small drones in large numbers flying over your fields at all times and even going so far as being able to suck up harmful insects and recycle them into fertilizer to help eliminate the use of insecticides and even recycle weeds into fertilizer to replace herbicides.  How amazing is that?  The best part is that it’s a serious possibility for the future of farming. 

One of the key statements that was said multiple times throughout the session is that farmers really need to be open minded to technology innovations and try to look beyond the practices that have been in place for multiple centuries.  While these practices have been successful we still need to be more efficient to be able to feed the 9 billion by 2050.  Also stated was the fact that farmers need to work together to share ideas and advancements and I couldn’t agree with that statement more!  The more we work together as an industry the better we are as a whole!

This year’s symposium did such an amazing job of really making you think “what if”.  The possibilities for the future of Agriculture really are endless.  I leave you with this question that was asked to us….. “Do you want to be the disruptor, or do you want to be disrupted?”

Cheers!

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!

Country Fair Blog Party....Mothers Day Edition

Sunday is Mother's Day.  For those of you that have forgotten and need a great recipe or even a DIY gift to give to that wonderful mother of yours do we have just the thing for you!!!  It's our weekly link up!!  Full of great recipes and projects and even great stories about Ag! Check it out!

Here is last week's winners:

AG

Farmland

FOOD

Homemade Bread

DIY

Deck Garden

Now for those of you that link up to this be sure to grab the button that the lovely Kelly over at Old Blue Silo created for us and share it on your blog or even your post!  Get it here:

<div align="center">
<a <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">dirtroadcharm</span>.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com/" title="Country Fair Blog Party"><<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i896.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/ac168/coppertop1985/<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">countryfair</span>_button_zps7427c677.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">png</span>" alt="Country Fair Blog Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

She also created an adorable ribbon for the winners to add to their blog post so people can find the link up to see just why it was a winner!! Get the code here:

<div align="center">
<a <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">dirtroadcharm</span>.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com/" title="Country Fair Blog Part"><<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i896.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/ac168/coppertop1985/<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">countyfair</span>_ribbon_zpsd1937d63.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">png</span>" alt="Country Fair Blog Part" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Check out the newly added posts and you may just find your perfect mothers day recipe to add a lil something new to the meal!

Please be kind and follow your hosts for this party:

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

+taysha reitzel  of Dirt Road Charm on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

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

+Laurie Link of Country Linked on Facebook, Pinterest  
+Krista Stauffer The Farmers Wifee  of The Farmer's Wiffee on Facebook, Twitter 

Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Spring Beauty Swap

Makeup, chocolates, beauty products, meeting new amazing women......yeah that just happened.

I was asked by the lovely Crystal Cattle to co host her spring beauty swap and I couldn't have been more excited!  It is such a great way to meet new people and get introduced to new products that you may have never thought to try!

This beauty swap I was partnered up with Sandy Porter from Idaho.  She pretty much nailed it!

I knew we needed to be friends once I saw this hilarious card!!

She also got me these amazing chocolates and they have a hint of mint in them so if you put them in your freezer they are delicious and I pretty much became addicted so Sandy if you read this please tell me where I can get more of those!!!!

Now onto the good stuff......

1. It's A 10- miracle leave in plus keratin.  This......by far one of the greatest things to ever receive in a beauty swap.  I have put in on my hair after my shower everyday since I received it and my hair is so soft and it for real is getting rid of my split ends and frizz!!!  A must have!

2. Hempz Moisturizer- this is some amazingly good lotion that is so soothing and doesn't leave your skin feeling oily or gross afterwards.  

3. OPI Cajun Shrimp- this color is one of the summer's best!  I wasted no time putting it on my nails!

4. CND nail and cuticle conditioner- I have yet to try this mostly because this time of year my hands are normally covered in dirt but can't wait to give it a try!

Be sure to check out what all the other ladies received in the Spring Beauty Swap link up!

Enjoy

Country Fair Blog Party...#10

Planting season has officially started here and things have been a little crazy to say the least!  With long days and running around to get seed to customers I little time to be spending trying to decide what to make for dinner or a gift for mothers day!  These blog parties have been life savers when it comes to getting ideas!  And the best part is you know they are tried and true!

Here are last weeks winners!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

 It's Safe and All Natural and It'll Work For You

 Wedding Inspired Blanket

Be sure to link up some of your favorites because I need some great meal and gift ideas since mother's day is right around the corner!!!

Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

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......Easter Edition!

Easter is coming up......quickly and if you are anything like me you wait until the last minute and frantically call all of your family members to see what they are bringing to Easter dinner in hopes of trying to decide what you should bring.  This happens at pretty much every holiday for me.  Everyone always snags the staples such as the meat, potatoes, scalloped corm, green bean casserole, etc...so I'm left normally with looking online for a great recipe to try.

So if you are anything like me then this blog party may be just what you need to find a new recipe or gift to make for the Easter weekend upon us.  Check out the past week's winners for some great recipes and DIY projects and even past entries may just be your saving grace for the side dish you are looking for!

Last Week's Winners:

AG

Everstuff Ranch; Making Babies We're In Lockdown 

FOOD
Desserts Required: Gooey Easter Brownie Cups

DIY
Hasekamps of Tulips: Homemade Gifts Are Best

For all of you men and women out there that have great dishes for Easter or a great DIY project that would make the best Easter gift we need you!!!  Share your recipe or project or even just your post about Ag and help out those of us (myself) that wait until the last minute and need a good recipe!  Link up below!

An InLinkz Link-up