The YF&R Wire

Government Regulations—What are they costing us? And should they be??

2012-03-12T10:30:00.002-07:00

Government Regulations—What are they costing us? And should they be??

We are paying the price at the pumps. Driving a vehicle with a diesel engine meansthat you are paying an even higher price, for a bi-product of the cheaper fuel,too which always seems to rub me the wrong way. And when you live in a rural area where traveling is a large part oflife, doctors appointments, major shopping, family events, etc., are all an 80 mileminimum drive, it is really hard to stay off the road. So, your budget tightens, you start skimpingon spending everywhere you can in order to be able to keep driving. And the oil companies are still makingmillions, but they swear up and down there is nothing they can do—it’s allabout the government regulations.

So, a few more government regulations slip in here and there,and we continue paying the price, only now it isn’t just at the pumps, it is atthe grocery store. More regulations onfarmers and ranchers are driving the cost of our food, UP! This is whyagriculture awareness is so important for everyone, not just those in theindustry—you have the ability to help control these regulations, to voice youropinions—and so many are, just not in the way we would hope. So many think that they are doing what isright for the animals, what is safest, what makes them happiest and healthiestwhile they are being raised for consumption.

Unfortunately, most people do not understand the ins andouts of animal production, of why laying hens are in cages, or sows are incrates. They don’t understand theefforts being put in to keep these facilities clean, disease free and more of acontrolled environment where they can use less antibiotics or other treatmentsthat seem so offensive to many consumers. They don’t understand the care and effort put into these animals by theproducers, who want to maintain their livelihood and know that doing so meansproductive and healthy animals. In 1990, studies and reports (by North and Bell) on battery cages or crates used for laying hens showed these positives:

1. It is easier to care for the pullets; no birds are underfoot. 2. Floor eggs are eliminated. 3. Eggs are cleaner. 4. Culling is expedited. 5. In most instances, less feed is required to produce a dozen eggs. 6. Broodiness is eliminated. 7. More pullets may be housed in a given house floor space. 8. Internal parasites are eliminated. 9. Labor requirements are generally much reduced.

It also showed that 75% of the worlds commercial layers and 95% of those in the US used this system. That's a lot of eggs, you wipe out this system and you put a huge and very heavy burden on these egg producers, production goes down while demand is still going up and the cost will be--well, I never in my life dreamed I would pay over $4 a gallon for fuel and do it often, so I am just grateful at this point we raise our own eggs. There are ups and downs in all aspects of life, but we do our best, American Farmers and Ranchers are doing there best--the ones I wonder about are the ones creating the legislation--are they doing their best? Their best to put us out of business, their best to raise the cost of living? Okay, enough of my orneriness, but take the time to be informed, to know about the things that so strongly impact your day to day living--we Americans take for granted our food supply and we need to stop it and become involved in it before we have no say left.

Whenthese government regulations come up, the voice fighting against them isn’tstrong enough and they pass. More familyfarms shut down, generations worth of farming families can no longer produce atthe level they were because of the expense added to implement and maintainthese regulations—regulations which may not be needed or necessary at all. Not to mention, we pay the price at themarket, and it is looking like the price could be going up 10-25% on most ofour poultry and livestock products if these regulations continue to be broughtto pass and enforced. Unless, you wantto buy cheaper eggs from Mexico, where the standards are way lower and notnearly as safe as what we already have, or your meat from Brazil. Only thing is, why should we trust theirfarmers over ours—shouldn’t we trust our farmers to keep giving us the samehealthy and great products that they have without overwhelming them, evenputting them our of business to try to get them to produce at an even higherstandard than is needed. Just somethingto think about.

Several articlesabout it and a study by the Soybean Checkoff: http://www.agriculture.com/news/policy/imal-rules-raise-food-prices-study_4-ar22606

http://www.farms.com/news/the-cost-of-regulations-and-shrinking-herds-50123.aspx

(this one really details the issue and shows the major potentialimpacts of more regulations)

Government Regulations—What are they costing us? And should they be?? Maybe we could turn regulations into research and really come to a system that works better for all involved.

YF&R Conference 2012 (Part 2--The Tours)

2012-03-06T13:54:00.001-08:00

I have tosay that there are a lot of things that I enjoy about the National YF&RConference, but the final day of tours is always one of my absolutefavorites. Sometimes it is COLD,sometimes it is LONG, and sometimes, mistakes are made and you go the whole daywithout drinks (they made up for it this year!) BUT, it is always such an incredible learning experience that I feel badwe only get to go on one of the four tours because there are so many other neatplaces that we are missing.

As we head out on the tours it is always exciting to me to see the landscape of the area we are in--especially if it is one that I have not yet been to, and this was my first trip to Michigan. I wanted to ask "Is there a law that the barns have to be red?" Everywhere, the land is dotted with red barns, though, I did actually see a couple that weren't. We have barns here in the west, plenty, but the red is not so predominant. The land is mainly covered with cornfields. This area is all between Grand Rapids and Lansing.

TOUR #1 GM PLANT

So, thisyear we loaded onto the tour buses on a chilly Monday morning in Michigan, andwe headed to the Lansing/Delta GM Plant where they make their Acadia/Traversemodels.

This yearGM has become the official vehicle sponsor of the American Farm Bureau, a bigchange after our years with Dodge, but I think that the winners of our YF&Rcompetitions are so thrilled to get a new truck that they better not complainwhat brand it is!

Onlydrawback to the tours—NO CAMERAS! GRRRRRR!! Take my camera away andI just might cry, but I tried to make do, so some shots are through the buswindows and some I had to find online to give you an idea of what weexperienced.

I alsowanted to include an article about the plant we went to because it isrelatively new and uses all of the newest technology, along with being friendlyto the environment, the extent that they have gone to is pretty interesting andimpressive. So, here is the link to thatarticle: http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2011/Dec/1205_ldt

Anyway,here is a rundown on the GM tour-

Weentered a huge building, that is one of three in a row on the property. All three buildings are connected byelevated, enclosed walkways that are actually how they transport the vehicles. They start in the first building where themetal is stamped and formed into the body, then they travel to next buildingwhere they are painted. In the third andmain building, the assembly begins.

Here you can see the cars being transported through the
'walkway' into the next building.

The wholesystem is incredible. I can’t imaginewhat Henry Ford would think to see an assembly line working like this. Whether they are traveling on a flat trailer,or suspended like a hanging rollercoaster ride, they travel in a smooth andeven rhythm through out an amazing course of assembly. In one area seats are assembled, in another,the motors are built and placed on the drive-train. The drive-trains travel to the vehicle frameson a computerized vehicle that follows an outlined path, due to sensors underthe floor. There are mapped out walkwaysfor people to stay on at all times, with signs and lights for warning in areaswhere you might get ran over by one of these little vehicles if you are notpaying attention.

This reminded me of the rollercoasters that you ride in
hanging from the track--these wound around and in and
out through the building as they slowly came together.

Teams of people worktogether in certain areas, who are trained in all the jobs of their areas sothat every couple of hours they can rotate positions and not have to work thesame spot all day long. And minute byminute, these vehicles come together, doors and tires going on near the veryend, but they all have been sent out in jus the right order to match up withthe vehicle that they are numbered to match to. Some are Chryslers, some are Chevy, etc., so it is crazy that they allcome together so perfectly and then they are started and tested on a smallcourse to make sure everything is firing and working the way that they should. They even go through a water test to makesure they have no leaks.

One of the few pics I could snap from the bus window
that actually showed a little of what we had seen inside.

Thisplant generally puts out just over 1000 vehicles a day! This kind of blew my mind since they are onlyproducing 2 styles of the GM line, no other cars, mini vans, trucks, etc., arecoming out of this particular factory. WHERE DO ALL THESE CARS GO???

Very impressiveto see an assembly line working like this, to see how it all comestogether. Thanks GM for the tour!

TOUR #2 HEFFRON FARMS

The next stop on our tour took us to Heffron Farms, a local, family owned and operated farm. At Heffron farms they produce some of their own feed, I believe they had some row-crops and other ventures, but their biggest, and the one we mainly came to see, was their ALL-NATURAL BEEF.

I have to admit, I was a little bit surprised when we stepped around the calving sheds and these little black and white critters started poking their noses out to greet us. My initial thought was, "Really? They are using Holsteins for beef?" See, the things you get to learn when you travel the country with Farm Bureau. And while I come from beef cattle country in the west and that is our family background, I actually have raised Holstein calves by bottle before, so it shouldn't be a total shock. In Michigan, surrounded by dairies, they are going to be able to come by Holstein bull calves a lot easier and cheaper than anything else--I just know that they take a lot to finish out and it didn't seem like it would be that profitable of a venture. Just goes to show how little I know!!

This is the second stage--from the calving sheds to the barn they are now
kept together in the same group of calves for their entire
stay at Heffron. They have been de-horned and weaned
at this stage. But the real reason I took this pic was the cat under
the manager--it had all these calves spooked and running
around as we came in. They were pretty nervous about the
little thing and it caused quite a ruckus before settling down.

Crossing back to the other side of the road we were able to see the last couple of stages of finishing out these calves. This was about the most snow we saw during our entire time here, also, and it was melting and muddy though it was a little chilly out.

Jordan Heffron is the brother in charge of the cattle. He works with a nutritionist to plan their diet for the different stages of growth, and they also do not cut the bull calves until they reach about 600 lbs, which helps add more testosterone than a bull calf/steer would normally have in its system, also promoting growth.

This would be the stage three group of calves

Stage four and definitely getting bigger. I can't remember exactly how many months
they said that they take to finish a calf out, but I believe it was 17 months.

And then we are getting closer to the end with this group of steers.

Heffron Farms Beef is considered All-Natural by USDA standard. They are not Organic, the calves receive their first rounds of shots at the dairy before they are bought by Heffron. The Heffron's also prefer to buy from Dairies that keep the calves on their mothers for at least one week in order to get the benefits of the colostrum that makes an amazing difference in the overall health and growth of a calf, especially one that is going to be pulled off of it's mother and raised by bottle. They usually don't do any shots or additives beyond that unless a calf is sick and in need of it, which isn't very often because of the clean conditions and the different areas they are kept in.

Heffrons market their beef in somewhat of a co-op with other producers around the area. They sell in and out of state, all USDA inspected. They said they actually ship a lot to Florida during the winter months--I guess some of those Michigan people go south for the winter, too. They had a small market there at the farm, and others in different places besides that. I was so curious to see what the prices would be on this all-natural holstein beef that would make it worth producing. Well, if you can see the tags in the freezer, you will think that it must be worth their while, while I will never know what it tastes like, because I don't think $22.99/lb beef tenderloin is in my budget. BUT, I am glad to see American Ag Producers finding a market that works for them and for those willing to pay those prices!! They also vacuum seal and freeze their meat, none of it is sold otherwise, it is just a better storage life this way and longer market availability. You can order meat from Heffron's by the cuts or by the half, whatever fits your needs or your freezer! THANKS HEFFRON'S for sharing your farm with us!!

TOUR #3 ETHANOL PLANT

(Carbon Green Bioenergy Plant)

Once again, this is about it when it comes to the extent of my picture taking--my camera was banned, AGAIN! So, you'll have to just use your imagination as I take you on the tour. This plant buys corn from local framers to produce ethanol, about 50 million gallons a year. What is ethanol?? Ethanol is alcohol, about 200 proof alcohol, that is used as an additive to gasoline. Ethanol burns more completely than gas, burns cleaner, and is a renewable resource. All though there is great debate in the country over the past few years about whether it is worth putting our corn into, or not, the fact is that it is currently blended into about 50% of the nations fuel supply, and has been used in this kind of way for decades. The alcohol is made from the fermentation of starch sources, hence the corn. In some places around the tour the smell of yeast and alcohol was about enough to make some of our tourers giddy. ;)

Has ethanol production taken over the corn market, driven up prices, raised costs for those trying to feed animals? Not a debate I am willing to get into. But, it was interesting to tour the facility to see how the production is done. In one end and out the other, it didn't take very long to finish--I want to say about two days, but it is hard to keep all the facts and figures straight. I do know that they have a railway system that comes right into one of their sheds, they are able to quickly unload massive amounts of dry corn, and also ship out massive amounts of distillers dried grains that go back out to local Ag producers for feed. From their particular plant, it is about 120 thousand TONS of distiller dried grains per year.

All of their ethanol from this plant goes out to local Michigan gas stations. These are a pretty common site in the midwest (well over 150 refineries, maybe closer to 200), and in Michigan where I found they have at least 5 plants in production as of 2012.

The one thing that we discussed after the tour was the amount of power that went into these refineries, and my husband's question was, is it really more efficient? But, we live in a world where efficiency is in high demand, but the fact that it is environmentally friendly tends to out weigh most costs.

Another very interesting tour in Michigan, THANKS Carbon Green. And I must say, we looked pretty cute in the hard hats and glasses, but thank heavens for once, we couldn't use our cameras! ;)

A Sight Along the Way....

This was about the best, and only pic I could really get of this enormous facility that is where Eggland's Best Egg's come from. This commercial operation is huge! We were told that it produces 5 MILLION eggs a day, supplying ALL McDonald's East of the Mississippi with their eggs. Also, for ease of transport, the eggs are all shelled and transported in tankers. Like I said, this is just a small portion of the buildings, which our Michigonian friends tell us is always under construction as more go up. We also passed another large operation at a different spot somewhere along our tour, which they informed us was this same operation's 'organic' site. So next time you are snacking on Sausage, Egg and Cheese McMuffin, maybe you'll think of this!

So, after a great day of touring Michigan, we headed back for our final event of the Conference, the Grand Finale! But, for today, I am done, so you will have to wait until next week to see the final wrap up of our time in Grand Rapids!

Another Success Story of YF&R Membership.....

2012-02-28T17:02:00.002-08:00

AFBF had posted this blog article on facebook about the national YF&R convention and I wanted to share it on here because it is such a great example of what you can be gaining from FB, from YF&R, from these conferences. It also shows how great and dedicated the people that present at these conferences are to the people of the agriculture community. So, check it out:

http://heyhungrypeople.com/2012/02/27/how-social-media-especially-twitter-is-saving-my-farm/#comment-226

What Happens in Nevada Ag Doesn't Always Happen in Nevada--YF&R Conference 2012 (Part 1)

2012-02-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

Ben LaCrosse--AFBF YF&R Chair, welcoming us to his home
state of Michigan for the 2012 AFBF YF&R Conference.

What Happens in Nevada Ag Doesn't Always Happen in Nevada--Actually a lot of times it's happening all over the United States at the different Farm Bureau Conference that American Farm Bureau holds each year. In Fact, this year, it was happening in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the AFBF National Young Farmer and Rancher Conference, where 990 registered members came together to the theme of "Your Voice, Our Future." Last month over 20 Nevada Farm Bureau members headed to Hawaii for the AFBF Annual Meeting, and at the end of that month 11 Nevada YF&R members spent a weekend in Utah learning from their YF&R conference. So, while the cows and the plows stay in Nevada, the learning and development to promote and protect our state's agriculture is happening where you might not expect it!

At this years meeting, we started off with a meeting of the State Chairs and Coordinator from each state, to get a brief overview of the next few days and to give us packets that we could use to collect information for the AFBF's Centennial Development Project- a huge, nationwide evaluation of Farm Bureau and Ag statistics over the past century, the trends that it has followed, the trends that are projected, and how the actual members feel about things such as threats to Farm Bureau, untalked about things in Farm Bureau, changes that should or shouldn't be made. We were assigned tables for lunch the next day and asked to visit with our table members and then compile a report for our State Chair and Coordinator breakfast on Monday morning.

We began the conference Saturday morning with a welcome from Michigan Farm Bureau President, Wayne Wood. He was followed by Jane Eckert, CEO of Eckert Agrimarketing, whose topic was, "IF You Are So Doggone Smart, Why are You a Farmer."' Jane was raised on a family farm and went away to California to pursue a career in marketing, only to find her way back to the family farm and life in agriculture where she was able to combine her career with the lifestyle and tradition of the family farm she loved.

After lunch it is on to the Breakout sessions, where the real learning begins, from technical to educational, to leadership to development, they try to cover areas that will be useful to all of us, only thing is you have to pick and choose. So, while I headed off to the State Chair session (which I felt was one of the best I have attended over the past few years) Grant headed off to "Tools for Successful Farm Transition and Establishing a New Farm or Farmer In, On, or Alongside an Existing Farm or Farmer." Which I am sad to say I missed, because he really enjoyed and a lot of what they covered were ideas that were really great for issues my parents are facing at their farm, and similar to things that will be coming up at my Grandpa's. There were more sessions on Internet Marketing, Effective Risk Management Strategies, Education for Farm Women (mainly on developing leadership) and "Can one voice truly make a difference?" which had a big focus on getting involved in policy development, speaking to elected officials, and what 'grassroots' really means.

Heading to the B.O.B. for dinner with Arizona.

After our busy day, it was time for dinner with Arizona YF&R. Every other year the states are paired to go to dinner at a place of their choosing. So, as per Arizona's request we headed to what Grand Rapids knows as 'The B.O.B." The BIG OLD BUILDING. Once an old warehouse, it has been converted to restaurants, bars and clubs, one, called Gilly's where we had reservation with the 16 members of Arizona's group.

Unfortunately the pics below were awful, I didn't realize I had the wrong setting on and didn't want to take them again since I had already blinded everyone, so this is what you get!!

Anyway, we had a great dinner with them and look forward to seeing them all next year as the National YF&R Conference 2013 goes to Phoenix. After dinner there was ice cream Sundays and the Scott Thompson Band performing back at the convention center for the rest of the evening. Gotta admit, it was actually pretty fun--we don't get to dance much, and even though my husband doesn't have the most talented partner, he is pretty good at western swing and without kids around we got a few dances in!

Sunday brought Matt Lohr, the Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Matt is a former YF&R member who has been very actively involved in some of YF&R's great programs, even winning national competitions and participating in PALs program. Matt and his wife Andrea have spoken at many events to promote agriculture and he served for 5 years in the Virginia State Legislature after realizing that it was time to practice what he was preaching by encouraging such practices. Matt was definitely one of the most dynamic speakers of the conference and really was one of us, leading by example.

After attending the general session in which he spoke, I definitely wanted to attend Matt's breakout session "Making an Impact." Matt said that the hardest thing he has ever done in his life was run that first time for the state senate. It all started with a phone call asking him to consider running for the vacancy in his district. He immediately wanted to say no, but his wife gently reminded him of what he had spent so much time preaching to other farmers and ranchers about getting involved, seeking political office, making your voice heard. So after family discussion and a lot of prayer, he went for it and became the only full time farmer serving in their state legislature. His wife was actually diagnosed with cancer and fought a hard several year battle with it before passing away last summer, which of course, made his work and effort even more admirable. What an example of what our voice means and what we can do by sharing our story and getting involved!

Debbie Stabenow, Senator from Michigan.

Lunch brought us addresses from some of our major sponsors, like CASE IH, Scott Rasch, The United Soybean Board, John Butler, and Greetings from the Hill, Michigan State Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan farmgirl working hard for the Farm Bill and other agricultural issues facing the nation.

Along with the speakers, the food and the new friends, there were also opportunities for learning more in a mock policy development class, the collegiate discussion meet was also being held, and in conjunction with everything else, classes for Beginning farmers and Ranchers who are not necessarily involved in Farm Bureau, but trying to get involved in the field. Their is also a Silent Auction in which states donate items and Nationwide will match funds up to $5000--this year we made $9000 off of it which goes to "building awareness, understanding and a positive public perception of agriculture though education." More breakout sessions on: Sharing you story through blogging, What's in FB for Collegiate members, Communicating with Consumers, Change is?, Knowing your Farm Insurance, and more.

Derek Sawyer from Kansas has been my regional representative from the AFBF YF&R
committee for the past two years.

Sunday closed with a banquet dinner, address from new AFBF sponsor GM, by Bob Briedis, and farewells to the retiring members of the AFBF YF&R committee.

Most YF&R National Committee members serve as couples, though there are
usually several that are single. This is Derek and Katie with Julie Roop at the end of
their tow-year term.

Our closing speaker on Monday morning before we headed out for the tours was Bryan Townsend, a motivational speaker, known best for his 18 years of live radio broadcast from Talladega's NASCAR Super Speedway time trials. Which helped form his speaking theme of, "STAND ON IT! Succeeding in Challenging Times."

I have to say, I still start laughing when I think of some of the stories he told--hysterical, and yet very motivating, too!

After this we headed for our tour buses, so all of that will come in PART 2 of my report!

Does Anyone Else See the Irony in This? Animal Welfare Reform, Really?

2012-02-23T10:22:00.001-08:00

The Irony of Those Living Stacked in Crates and Boxes in the City, Trying to Tell Farmers and Ranchers that their animals should not be kept in such a similar way???

So, I have to say that after reading of another of HSUS's big wins for Animal Reform, I have to come out and comment on what I feel is a pretty ironic situation. So, go to the link, read about what Bon Apetit is doing to make the world a better place for animals in commercial farming, and then think about this--

Just a few minutes ago I took my preschooler in to school, I then turned around and drove almost three miles home, most of it on a dirt road with either pastures or sagebrush surrounding me. I looked at my home sitting out by itself, with an alfalfa field directly in front of it, pasture and corrals to the side and open land, hills and fields for acres and acres. And, I thought, yes, I love, love, love that this is where and how I live. And as I though about the cows in the fields and corrals of my grandpa's ranch all around me, I thought--well, some people would see them out here in the winter and think, "Poor cows, they need to be in shelter." "Then, when put in shelter or barns, those same people would say, "Poor cows, they need to be free to roam and range." Ahhh, the irony, and I am just getting started.

This is the alfalfa field directly in front of our house,
looking down the valley towards town.

So, as I looked out at my house and all our open area I thought, "And those are the SAME people that are stacked story after story high, crammed in to apartments and condos, homes without yards, surround by fences and walls and security systems." How is it that it is perfectly okay for them to live stacked in crates and boxes, but it is not for these animals? To many of them the thought of living on a stinky, smelly farm, away from the smog of the city, the constant hum of traffic and sirens, is as undesirable as just about anything. They might want to take a drive in the country a walk through a park, but to actual live there--in the fresh air??? (I apologize for my sarcasm, it tends to get a little thick sometimes and it isn't always easy for readers to discern emotions when they are reading.)

Vaccinating calves every year at spring branding
helps keep our cows healthier and more
productive--Anyone out there think it's ironic
that we will vaccinate our kids for just about everything
but it's now acceptable to vaccinate our
food source??

So, yes, I think it is a little ironic, that it is okay for people to rush to the doctor at the slightest hint of a sore throat for a fill-up on antibiotics, the mere hint of cold weather sends them out in droves to get a flu shot, but yet they don't realize that animals are just as susceptible to their own illnesses whether out in the open or in temperature monitored, sanitary barns--and would probably like a little bit of antibiotics to get over what ails them as much as these people do. And, yes, I think it even more ironic that people will cram into buildings hundreds of feet high, wall to wall, loving that they don't have a yard to care for, perfectly content in their concrete jungle, but it is definitely NOT okay for animals to do so. In my personal opinion, if I had to live like they do, away from the country, the openness, the sunsets, the fields, the hills, I think that I would think it inhumane. But, do they know any better? Have they lived any other way? Have these commercially produced animals??
The Reality of the Care that Farmers and Ranchers have for their Animals......
In all reality, Farmers and Ranchers care for their animals in ways that most consumers and 'city folk' can't imagine. Yes, when my sister is done raising a few calves they go to auction and then she takes the money to buy beef--she won't eat the ones she has raised because of the tie she has to them. We recently sold the first calves my kids bottle raised, and though there was heartache and sadness in saying good-bye, there are more there waiting to be fed and the cycle continues. I think I cried almost every time I was done showing my lambs at the livestock show and it was time to load them up and say good-bye after the sell was over. My Grandpa knows his cows, at any time he generally has about 300 head on his ranch, he knows their temperaments, he knows their bloodlines, he knows them. Just the other day he said he had a hard time selling some of his culls to another rancher because he doesn't really like their feeding methods and he wants to know that his cows are taken care of even if they are headed for slaughter.

My Grandpa and son. Grandpa turned 83
last month and is still cattle-ranching full-time.
He has been working cows his whole life,
and started his Angus herd in 1954. It is his
product, and if he doesn't keep them healthy
and productive then what does he have??

So, if you really want to know where your food is coming from and how it is being treated, talk to the source, meet real people
doing what they really love.

At 83 years-old my grandpa doesn't ranch full time because it's fun or easy, but because it is something that is in his blood, something that keeps him alive, and something that America should be proud to say exists in a vast majority of those providing them with the healthiest and most cost efficient food source in the world.

Read the Latest Story and then Decide whether or not you think that HSUS really has the right agenda at hand or not....
Here is the link to the article about BON APETIT and their welfare reforms in conjunction with HSUS--

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/bon-appetit-announces-animal-welfare-reforms/2012/02/17/gIQACPPARR_blog.html

Useless Degrees....

2012-02-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

At some point in time I had missed this Yahoo article (about useless college degrees that you may want to avoid if your looking for a college degree) and didn't hear of it until we were attending Utah's Young Farmer and Rancher Conference at the end of January. Well, maybe it was good that I missed, maybe for helath reason, i.e. high blood pressure, anuerism, etc., it was something that I shouldn't read. But, enough kidding around, it was pretty offensive to me, though I know they did not intend to be, but I really struggle with people who are ungrateful and who have no idea where there food comes from or how and so they dismiss it so lightly because, hey, who needs these degrees when we have plenty of food at the grocery store? While the article does lean towards the degrees being useless because demand is low, maybe we should be taking Bill Gates advice and creating the demand by increasing funding for research in Agriculture. As the Agriculture Industry is the largest employer in the nation I find it a poorly written article that describes all of these fields as being a useless degree to obtain. But, it's time for me to lower my blood pressure while you read and form your own opinion....

So check out the article:

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm
And then tell me how you feel about it.

On the other hand, I would like to very loudly applaud Bill Gates for his recent remarks in one of his annual letters, calling for more money for agricultural research. He said, "Given the central role that food plays in human welfare and national stability, it is shocking – not to mention short-sighted and potentially dangerous – how little money is spent on agricultural research." Now if we were going to rely on someone's opinion (meaning the general public at large, relying on an opinion of oh, say a moviestar, or maybe a billionaire entreprenuer and computer genius) wouldn't you lean a little closer to Bill's than maybe Brittney Spears?

So, thank you Bill Gates!

Here is a link to an article about his comments:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/gates-calls-for-more-mone_0_n_1229216.html

Scholarship Opportunities for Ag Students Available!

2012-02-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

I just received this information from the 4-H Director in our County and wanted to pass it along!

High school and two-year college students are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship from the CHS Foundation, the major giving entity of CHS Inc., the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative.
• Two year college students: 25 $1,000 scholarships are available for first-year students studying an agricultural-related major at any two-year college.
• High school students: 50 $1,000 scholarships are available for seniors
pursuing an ag-related major at any two-year or four-year college.
• University students: 125 scholarships are available to students working towards an ag-related major at 30 universities across the nation. Click here for a list of participating universities.

Click Here for applications or more information:

http://www.chsfoundation.org/upartnerships.html

Applications due April 1, 2012!

The CHS Foundation (www.chsfoundation.org) is the major giving entity of CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com), the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative. As a part of the CHS stewardship focus, the CHS Foundation is committed to investing in the future of rural America, agriculture and cooperative business through education and leadership development.

Fighting for Family Farming.....

2012-02-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

This is an issue that is too personal and important for me not to throw it out there as much as possible--Who is the government to tell me that my boys can't cut hay in the 'front yard' of our house on the swather for their Grandpa or Uncle for a summer job? I hauled so many loads of silage as a teenager in those same fields, 'moved pipes' before the handlines were thankfully all converted into wheellines, which this law would have prevented because it was on my grandpa's ranch and not my parents farm, where I worked lots of hours as a kid, also. I get so fired up just thinking about how many kids have learned to work, and work hard on a farm for a summer job, how many nieces and nephews, grandkids, got their first taste of agricluture working on a family farm that wasn't necessarily their parents.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO TELL DOL WHAT YOU THINK!!!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Farm Bureaus Encouraged to Support Youth Labor Rule Effort
A newly launched website, Keep Families Farming, allows individual farmers, as well as organizations, to register their concerns about the Labor Department’s youth labor proposal.

(Tell your opinion, story, feelings, here: http://www.keepfamiliesfarming.com/ )

DOL last year announced it was considering amending the department’s regulations concerning agricultural jobs that are off-limits to minors. Despite the department’s announcement last week that it is going to re-propose the “parental exemption” part of the rule, farmers and ranchers are still worried about the proposed changes, which could significantly affect the way families work their operations.

Through Keep Families Farming, individuals can tell their own stories and file comments. In addition, the site also allows organizations to register their support of the effort. AFBF strongly supports this effort and urges state Farm Bureaus to list themselves as a supporting organization and to encourage their members to file their own stories and comments about how the rule will affect them.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) plans to use the website’s stories and comments during a meeting with DOL officials later this month.

Also, DOL will soon hold a meeting to discuss with stakeholders the issue of the parental exemption and the department’s effort to re-propose the rule. AFBF will participate. If your state Farm Bureau is contacted about the meeting, please contact AFBF labor specialist Paul Schlegel at pauls@fb.org or 202-406-3687.

Check out the AFBF News release about the DOL's decision to reconsider this issue:
http://www.fb.org/index.php?action=newsroom.news&year=2012&file=nr0202.html

And the words of American Farm Bureau President:
Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Child Labor Rule Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2012 – “The decision today by the Labor Department to re-propose the ‘parental exemption’ in the child labor rule is a positive step, but much more work is needed. We will continue to work with the administration to address our concerns with the rule. Any final regulation must make sense, not infringe on the traditional rights of family farms and not unnecessarily restrict the ability of young people to work in agriculture. As DOL’s proposed rule stands currently, that is not the case.
“Farm work has always played a significant role in the lives of rural youth across the country, whether they are milking cows on their grandparents’ farm or harvesting apples as a summer job. DOL’s rule would have a detrimental effect on family farms and would create an even tighter supply of farm labor when it’s already in short supply.
“Farm and ranch families are more interested than anyone else in assuring the safety of farming operations. We have no desire at all to have young teenagers working in jobs that are inappropriate or entail too much risk. But, laws and regulations need to be sensible and within reason – not prohibiting teenagers from performing simple everyday farm functions like operating a battery-powered screwdriver.
“We appreciate Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s diligent work on the issue and look forward to working with USDA and DOL further on establishing a rule that respects the importance of youth farm work in rural America and the importance it plays in our system of family-based agriculture.”

Dept of Labor Considering Child Labor in Ag again.....

2012-02-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

Please take the time to voice your opinion on this matter--check out this site

http://www.keepfamiliesfarming.com/

This is too important of a fight to give up--my kids are just getting to the age where they could be replacing my cousins in helping my grandpa and uncle during the summer--and I strongly feel the government has no business telling me that they can't be a part of the family business, especially when it is something they love and want to be involved in.

If more kids were raised on farms, working from their youth, I truly believe our world would be a better place, a place like it used to be, where work ethic, integrity and values were instilled in the fields and from sun-up to sun-down. I remember working for my grandpa as a teenager and being amazed that I could not keep up with someone in his late 60's-early 70's and learning so much from his example. Agriculture is generally a family based business where we learn it young. I cannot tell you how many teenager my grandpa has employed through the years and how many still to this day are great friends of his because of the opportunities they were given. My husband's first jobs were the same, working for neighboring farms, and something that is still a big part of who he is. If this is not conveyed to the Deopartment of Labor, we could lose this all for good.

also, check out our former AFBF National YF&R Chair, Chris Chinn, sharing her voice in the matter:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid78974425001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAFSNYN8~,po2BnGhdismrtOMnpzTWS-i0olzJ0nh3&bctid=1430020544001

Learning from the Neighbors......

2012-01-31T14:40:00.000-08:00

I always love it when I can come back from a YF&R trip, full of excitement and ideas to put to use in Nevada. This past weekend was no exception. Last Friday found us crossing the border to visit our neighbors in Utah as they held their annual YF&R Conference in Midway, Utah.

The Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah was where we stayed and where the conference was held.
NICE.
And, even though we were in the height of the Wasatch Mountains,
surrounded by some of the "Greatest Snow on Earth",
we actually had pretty good weather and a wonderful stay.

What brought us to Utah? Well, four years ago, I started my first journey as the Nevada YF&R Chair. We travelled to Evanston, Wyoming to learn from a rural western state, much like our own, what it takes to build a YF&R program. Only problem—the biggest snow storm in years. We made it in from the South-western corner of the state, but most of them didn’t make it in with I-80 being shut down. So we ate, visited and even bowled, but really didn’t get to see their committee in action. The next year the National YF&R Conference was in Sacramento and so we decided to stay close to home and attend the big event. And after a couple more national conferences, we have still felt we were grasping at straws a little. In Orlando, we were able to visit with Marc and Hollie Henrie, who had just come on to the AFBF YF&R Committee from Utah, and friends we had met back in Sacramento, Dustin and Harmony Cox, YF&R Chairs from Utah, also. At their encouragement, we looked into attending their state conference—and I am glad we did.

The NEVADA Crew--
Micah & Shelbie, Jasmine, Stephanie, Candace, Lacey, Hannah, Jamie, Grant, Michele, Kevin.

I have to admit, I was to the point that I was wishing I wasn't committed to this meeting. I am busy chasing four kids, four months into my fifth pregnancy (just getting over the nausea and starting to function again), very busy with church callings, my dishwasher went out, then the heating element in my oven, it's sick seasonfor elementary school age children, so life is a little full. Plus, that weekend fell on the only home wrestling tournament for LCHS which my husband and kids didn't want to miss, it was also a funeral for a friend of ours and a birthday for our second son. Just finding someone to feed the horses and chickens, and someone else to bottle feed the calves was enoughto make me want to give up. BUT, we perservered and I am so glad we did.

Let me tell you why--For the past four years I have been trying to build and establish the Nevada YF&R Program in to something that can stand on its own without me there to do it all. I have been trying to find ways to involve people, trying to find people to involve, and have been reminded over and over that it takes a lot of time, a lot of work and DON'T GIVE UP!! Though I at times come close, I am still here, and after this weekend, I am renewed and ready to keep moving forward.

Reason #1--We had some really great people attend the conference with us, and I am really excited to have the Leatham's, Bunker's, and Smith's involved. I think that it is great people like this who catch the spark and make the program grow.

Reason #2: In the past few months, I have seen the result of perserverance, benefits to others in Nevada Farm Bureau that would not have come without the YF&R program--I'll tell you more about this in a future post.

Reason #3: After attending this conference and seeing YF&R at the state level, visiting with their committee to learn more, and knowing that in about ten years their growth ahs gone from about 30 attnedees to 224, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN!! I now have a vision of what NV YF&R can be, and while we may never compare in size with other states, we can compare in passion, drive, leadership, and members that truly make a difference.

Utah's conference starts out by conducting a Discussion Meet contest for FFA members that have already be narrowed down by district contests into a 'Sweet Sixteen' contest. After two rounds of that, it is time for the conference to fully begin. Our first speaker was Kim Farah, who is in charge of the LDS Church Public Affairs. Her many years of experience as a reporter and in the media helped her share with us the importance of 'Raise Your Voice, Share Your Story.'

In between door prizes, ice breaker games, ice cream breaks and speakers, they also had video features of the YF&R committee members, their families and production. Then it was time to "Get Serious About Laughing More' with Baxter Black.

Baxter Black, Cowboy Poet and Former Veterinarian, was the guest speaker and entertainment at the conference. He had us rolling on the floors with laughter--wait maybe that was him rolling on the floor, and then hopping back up again as he told about cracking open rocky mountain oysters. Pretty agile for someone of his age! ;)

After a great BBQ dinner buffet, it was time for game night, though we spent most of our time just yapping with friends.

Bright and early we were back for breakfast with Baxter and the the final round of the FFA discussion Meet. The winner took home and IPad and the three runners-up each a $100 check. This was followed by breakout sessions, dealing with: Farm to Retail, Application Process for YF&R Competitions, FSA Loans for Beginning Farmers, Grazing Improvement Program, and "You have a story to tell" by a YF&R member who completed the AFBF's intense two-year PAL's program.

As the old committee was thanked and the new committee welcomed on board, Chairs Dustin and Harmony Cox were saying good-bye to their years on the state committee.

For those who were able to attend, there was a tour of the Heber Valley Cheese Plant. Unfortunately I missed this part, we had to head south for a birthday party for our son. So, you will have to check out the Clark County FB blog to learn more about that!

A great weekend, a great meeting, thanks to our Neighbors to the west. And a HUGE special thanks to our state YF&R coordinator/Field Agent/ All-around Superwoman, Stephanie Licht, who does so much to make these events happen!!

Kevin and Michele have recently returned to the family farm in Dry Valley, Nevada,
and we are so thrilled to have them learning the ropes of what Farm Bureau and YF&R are.

Yes, we spend a lot of time at Farm Bureau meetings around the table--we have to support our producers and growers, don't we??

Stephanie, Jasmine, and Candace enjoying Breakfast with Baxter.

Shelbie and Micah.

He loves it when I pull out the camera, especially when its meal time.
This was a great breakfast, though, with Baxter Black cracking us up,
good food and friends, it was worth getting up so early for!

I grew up in a home where Western Horseman Magazine was a monthly arrival in the mail. Most of that time I was too young to care much about the articles, but there was one, on the backpage that I never missed--
"On the Edge of Common Sense," By Cowboy Poet and Veterinarian, Baxter Black.
We had already planned to go to this conference when we found out that Baxter would be the guest presenter, so I have to say, I was pretty darn excited.

Jasmine and Candace are both into team roping and part of the Friday night FUN was a roping contest, along with card games and a wii dance-off contest. Well, these Nevada girls showed those Utahns how to rope and won top honors. Utah YF&R Chair, Dustin Cox presented them with fun gift boxes for their win.

Utah or Bust.....

2012-01-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, everyone, where has the month gone?? Well, for some Farm Bureau members, the month was spent in the tropics, enjoying the beautiful weather of the great state of Hawaii! Another great AFBF conference has come and gone. Unfortunately, I only got to see pictures....yes, instead I opted to got the the National YF&R conference in Febraury, where we will be pulling out the snowshoes and thermals verses the swimsuits and surfboards. I am sure it will be a great conference, though!!
And, We also have the chance to attend the Utah YF&R Conference in Midway, Utah this weekend, so, while that probably means MORE snow than tropics (again) it also gives me and the Smith's from Dry Valley, and about 6 others from Clark County, the opportunity to see YF&R operating at a state level in a way that we hope to someday reach in Nevada.

So, I will hopefully have a few good reports after this weekend, but don't hold your breathe in between waiting, I am sooooooo behind in so many things right now. Besides, my dishwasher went out (AAAAAH!) which means I am washing by hand for 6 people and that is not acceptable, because normally the boys have dishwasher duty and I don't quite trust them to do it by hand. Then my heating element went out in the middle of bread day and I lost four loaves and I am a bread maker so that threw me off BIG time. Not to mention sick kids and all the other stuff life likes to throw at you!

So, hope you all are enjoying a bit of moisture throughout the state as we are today!! We needed it! Check out the NVFB page for reports on the AFBF convention or go to AFBF.org And hopefully I will be back next week with a repot on UTah's conference--did I mention the guest presenter was BAXTER BLACK!! Woo-hoo! Okay, so I grew up reading Western Horseman and Baster Black's poetry and stories, so I am pretty excited about that! See you next post.

Who's Running the Farm....

2012-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Since my last post focused on the return to the farm, I thought I would follow it up with this article that I had found a month or so ago and really liked, too.

This article really struck a chord with me. I remember talking with my mom when I was a junior in high school about college and career choices. By that point I had decided for sure I was going into some field of agriculture. It was hard to narrow down to what field, but Ag was in my blood, and I probably don't need to describe that any further to any of you. I finally narrowed it to Ag Ed, because what other field could cover more aspects, plus share it with others in such a valuable way. My mom told me that it was such an important field to go into, that the world would always need food, and therefore always need agriculture. I had had plenty of people tell me I would be a great English teacher or History teacher, both areas that I excelled in. I had hopes of minoring in P.E. to increase coaching opportunites. BUT, that leads to the whole point of this article--where I am now. I am a stay-at-home mom. I am not an Ag teacher. I put those things on the back burner because I had a burning desire to be at home when my kids needed me. Now, this is different for everyone, but traditionally, farming has been run by the men, while the women ran the home. Today seems to be seeing a slight change in that.
My mom grew up as my Grandpa's right-hand. Though he did eventually get a son, one that has stayed close to him, and helps run the ranch even now, my mom was the one who loved it the way Granpda did. The one he still calls to come over when he needs help with the cows. (My uncle has never cared for the cattle end of it.) Yesterday, I dropped by to grain my calves, and check on my Grandpa as he and a friend were castrating some bull calves he was culling. It never fails that I feel that old familiar tug, to be there and involved, to watch, to learn, to help, even in something like castrating. Okay, so I have always been a bit of a tomboy, I must get it from my mom. My mom has helped plenty with the family farm on my dad's side, though in the last few years, she has come to avoid it as there is usually some discord between Grandpa, My Uncle and my Dad over something and her opinion, though possibly the best (hope dad doesn't read this) is usually the least appreciated....is it the old stereotype that the man is the farmer and the woman the housewife?? They would probably not admit it. Yet, I still know that my mom could run this place better than most men if it ever came down to it, because she was taught by my Grandpa without gender-bias (he ahd three girls before his son came, and by then, she was 9 and had spent as much of her 9 years at the farm with him as possible), and in my opinion, she learned from one of the best. I know that both her and I chose our paths in life, that our family's came first and in that way, she became a secondary participant on her husband's family's farm, while her brother became next in line on the ranch he would probably prefer not to be in line for. For me, it meant that I had to find other ways, like horses, calves, sheep, and chickens for teaching my own children. It meant my role in Farm Bureau, giving me a voice, a chance to teach, to share, to continue learning. To those out there who have been able to take on the role of farming as a woman, I salute you. I always look at motherhood as the hardest job in the world, but to combine that with farming, the next hardest, never-ending job in the world, well, you deserve a pat on the back.
So, read about some of these great women and how their are managing it all:

A Woman's Work

October 5, 2011
By: Top Producer Editors

More women are owning and managing farms today than ever before

Fueled by automated agriculture and a collapsing gender barrier, statistics show, more women are returning home to farm. Of the 3.3 million farm operators in the U.S., more than 30%—or 1 million—are women. "The percentage of farms now influenced by women is significant," says Danny Klinefelter, Texas A&M economist and director of The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP). "We are seeing more women than ever graduating from TEPAP. They are becoming key decision makers and often the point person for purchasing decisions, as many women manage the books for the farm."

Fast Facts: Women in Ag
•Of the 3.3 million U.S. farm operators, more than 30%—or 1 million—are women.

•The total number of women operators has increased 20% from 2002.

•The number of women considered principal operators of a farm or ranch has increased almost 30% since 2002.

Because women statistically live longer than men, they often inherit the farm. A growing number of women are now the nation’s landowners. More than 75% of women operators are full owners of land, reports USDA. In Iowa, women own 61% of the rented land, notes the Iowa State University Farmland Ownership and Tenure study. In Minnesota, farms operated by women rose from 4,205 in 1997 to 7,361 in 2007, per the USDA census. This number jumps to 30,000 if farms where women are joint operators are counted. That’s 40% of Minnesota farms.
As America begins to transfer farms to the next generation, more women will become decision makers and owner–operators. The following women offer insight into the changing roles of farm women.
Growing New Leaders: Pam Johnson, Floyd, Iowa

Authenticity is a core principle for Pam Johnson of Floyd, Iowa. Whether in her role as a farm partner or incoming president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), she strives to convey authenticity, humbleness and a love for agriculture. "I never want to be singled out for a job because I am a woman; I want to be chosen for what I bring to the table. If I stay true to who I am, there is no question of my intentions," Johnson says.

There is a whole new generation of corn producers that Johnson hopes to connect with in her role as president of the nation’s largest commodity organization in 2012. "What motivates me is the desire to serve and do rewarding work," she says.

She believes women have the ability to build rapport and credibility with a diverse range of consumers, media, state organizations and producers. As a longtime NCGA member, Johnson has built solid relationships with not only corn growers, but key decision makers, legislators and researchers. She notes the number of women filling ag advocacy roles. Women have a unique ability to connect with people not only in industry, but in grocery stores, churches and school groups, she adds. It’s one reason NCGA is cosponsoring the CommonGround program, which provides access for women to tell their ag story to an urban audience.

Johnson is excited that more women are in leadership positions within commodity organizations. "There are so many opportunities today for women to gain skills, more than when I was a young wife and mother on the farm," she says. "Women have much to bring to the table, and I hope my leadership at NCGA will facilitate more women working in agriculture."
Farming Means Business: Mandy Bryant, Allensville, Ky.

From cleaning out grain bins and bush hogging as a child to running combines and planters as a teenager, Mandy Bryant has been a "jack of all trades" on Long Vue Farms, which spans 5,000 acres in four counties in Kentucky and Tennessee. Bryant holds a master of science degree in agronomy, which keeps her in tune with production issues. But it’s her current management role in land leasing, bookkeeping, marketing and succession planning that challenges her the most.

"With all the volatility in the grain markets, weather and land rental rates, it’s been an interesting year," Bryant says. She and her father work side by side to make marketing decisions and use financial consultants for advice and trading. Lately, Bryant has been seeking business education to fill in the gaps in her financial skills. This past winter, she attended The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP), and she regularly attends industry trade shows and financial seminars.

"It’s a sacrifice to be away from my family, but I feel like I have to constantly look for ways to continue my education to stay competitive," Bryant says.
Her management duties on the farm keep her busy analyzing costs per acre, working with accountants and managing operating loan renewals, cash flow budgets and taxes. This year, she’s been bombarded with paperwork to meet Farm Service Agency requirements and land lease negotiations.

Succession Shifts. During the past two years, the farm has shifted to a team management approach, with both a field manager and assistant manager. Bryant has found this new structure beneficial as her father works with much of the staff behind the scenes and in the field, allowing her to take more of a senior role on the business side.

"Dad and I shadow each other in many areas of the business to stay in close communication as a safety net for both of us," Bryant says. "I’m thankful for that, so he can continue to prepare me for the day when he won’t be there." Bryant lost her grandfather, the family patriarch, this past spring, which has made her more cognizant of learning what she can from her father.
One of the keys to her father’s success has been developing a network of farmers, not only local but across the country, Bryant says. These farmers are his greatest friends, advisers and allies. From trips looking for good deals on equipment to surveying the crops in surrounding states, these connections lead to partners, landlords, employees, good ideas and great equipment trades. Though Bryant has developed strong friendships, there are fewer opportunities for her to network with other women in management roles or at an executive level in farming.

"I don’t have a handful of women farmers I can turn to when markets turn sour, or who can brainstorm with me on the things I deal with each day on the farm," she says.
Having It All. One of three sisters, Bryant was the only sibling to choose the farm as a way of life. She is in line to someday take over the farm business but knows this opportunity comes with strings attached.
There are days when the farm calls early and requires her to stay late, and Bryant doesn’t get to see her seven-year-old son, Bo, when he’s awake. She knows some evenings there won’t be a hot meal on the table and the house probably won’t be spick-and-span, especially not with she and her husband, Billy, both farming (Billy farms with his family in a separate operation).
"I was used to my dad’s career calling for family sacrifice, but not my mother’s. That guilt eats at me," Bryant says. Even though she may not be a "Leave It to Beaver" kind of mom, she is teaching her son about work ethic and tenacity. Bryant is modeling to the next generation that women work on the farm, too, and are respected for it. She and her husband are teaching their son that the whole family can pitch in. She is a woman idealizing the love of a family farm and the joy of a family business.
"I’m building a future and a life around what I do," Bryant adds. "I love that I don’t feel like it’s a job, even when days are difficult. It’s my life. It’s our future, and I love it."
Farming Following Loss: Anita Hilliard, Bryant, S.D.

Anita Hilliard is a superwoman. There may be a few rips in her cape, but she keeps flying. After her husband died three years ago at age 35 from a massive heart attack, Hilliard was left not only with deep grief for her high school sweetheart, but also 2,000 acres to farm and market, eight children to raise and many new hats to wear. From grain hauling to tax paying, bookkeeping to lunch making, she does it all. Hilliard and her sons farm 1,800 acres, sharing labor and equipment with father-in-law Terry and brother-in-law Jesse.
A typical day starts at 7 a.m. to get the kids up and ready for school. If she is not in the fields, Hilliard meets at her in-laws’ farm to check on the markets and make decisions regarding the marketing of corn and soybeans. Since her husband did all of the grain marketing previous to his death, Hilliard has had to learn "on the fly." She had no training or experience, and she says it took her a year to feel comfortable with the marketing vocabulary and decisions.
Hilliard attends seminars, reads market reports faithfully and receives daily advice from a market analyst to provide her with as much information and increased knowledge as possible. She has confidence in her marketing consultant, and it’s helpful to be able to draw on her brother-in-law’s years of experience when she has a question. "As far as my technique in marketing, I think I’m less likely to get married to my positions and am quicker to change my positions," Hilliard says. "I trade more often."

Life Balance. As a woman, Hilliard says she is a minority at farm meetings, grain elevators and other ag-related events. "I still get treated more as a secretary than an owner-operator, but that is changing," she says.

At home, she is still mom. Hilliard’s four-year-old is her constant companion—from the tractor to the grocery store. When in the fields, she has lunches made for her older sons, who help after school. During harvest, she runs the grain cart during the day and drives the semi as needed. Then it’s off to spend time with her school-age children at home, along with dinner preparations, homework and listening to the kids read aloud every night.
Despite all the juggling acts, Hilliard says she is blessed to give her children the opportunity to farm with their uncle and grandfather. "There is reward in a good life on a farm, where the family is together and learning a great work ethic," she says. "There is reward in continuing the dream that my husband, Vance, started so many years ago."

Starting From Scratch: Amy Echard, Farmersburg, Iowa

When her husband, Nick, purchased his grandparents’ dairy and started farming from scratch, Amy Echard discovered a sharp learning curve. "My responsibilities are mostly management, but I’ve learned to drop everything to go pick up feed or process pigs," says Echard, who didn’t grow up on a farm.

Their farm went from 250 to 1,500 acres and added a semi business in a short amount of time, which necessitated a new skill set for Echard. She discovered how to let technology work for her on the farm. She now receives text messages or e-mail alerts when loads become available for the semis, or when fuel purchases have been made or markets change. She subscribes to load boards, such as Hoploads.com, where she can post where trucks will be at certain times in case someone needs to move product. She can run the semi miles from her phone and determine pricing. She later files these e-records in her office.
Echard also has established a system for record storage that is accessible and intuitive for both she and her husband. "We don’t always think alike, so discussing where he would look for information aided me in how files were developed and stored," she says.
To keep information overload to a minimum, Echard keeps only records that serve a purpose. The farm’s records reflect what is required by the government, education/training, goals and efficiency. Meeting notes are kept and used as a way to recreate a conversation.
Echard has challenged herself to discover and implement best practices to be more efficient. She began attending Annie’s Project, a state Extension program dedicated to women in agriculture and risk management. While there, she discovered other training programs, and came home with ideas and questions about the farm. Eventually, Nick started attending conferences with her. They now consider farm meetings a retreat, and they tend to talk about their plans more.

"Being married to your business partner and living in the middle of your operation 24 hours a day is challenging," Echard says. "Knowing that you are developing a legacy makes it all worth it."

Returning to the FARM?

2011-12-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

I liked this article and since I am little out of blogging during the holiday season, this gave me a good article to share and not a lot of time to do it!!
More young people see opportunity in farming

By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press
Wednesday, December 21, 2011.

A Wisconsin factory worker worried about layoffs became a dairy farmer. An employee at a Minnesota nonprofit found an escape from her cubicle by buying a vegetable farm. A nuclear engineer tired of office bureaucracy decided to get into cattle ranching in Texas.

While fresh demographic information on U.S. farmers won't be available until after the next agricultural census is done next year, there are signs more people in their 20s and 30s are going into farming: Enrollment in university agriculture programs has increased, as has interest in farmer-training programs.

Young people are turning up at farmers markets and are blogging, tweeting and promoting their agricultural endeavors through other social media.

The young entrepreneurs typically cite two reasons for going into farming: Many find the corporate world stifling and see no point in sticking it out when there's little job security; and demand for locally grown and organic foods has been strong enough that even in the downturn they feel confident they can sell their products.

Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., discovered her passion for farming about a year after she graduated from college with an anthropology degree. She planned to work in economic development in Latin America and thought she ought to get some experience working on a farm.

She did stints on five farms, mostly vegetable farms, and fell in love with the work. Frerichs and her husband now have their own organic farm, and while she doesn't expect it to make them rich, she's confident they'll be able to earn a living.

"There's just this growing consciousness around locally grown foods, around organic foods," she said. "Where we are in the Twin Cities there's been great demand for that."
Farming is inherently risky: Drought, flooding, wind and other weather extremes can all destroy a year's work. And with farmland averaging $2,140 per acre across the U.S. but two to four times that much in the Midwest and California, the start-up costs can be daunting.

Still, agriculture fared better than many parts of the economy during the recession, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts record profits for farmers as a whole this year.

"People are looking at farm income, especially the increase in asset values, and seeing a really positive story about our economy," said USDA senior economist Mary Clare Ahearn, citing preliminary statistics. "Young people are viewing agriculture as a great opportunity and saying they want to be a part of it."

That's welcome news to the government. More than 60 percent of farmers are over the age of 55, and without young farmers to replace them when they retire the nation's food supply would depend on fewer and fewer people.

"We'd be vulnerable to local economic disruptions, tariffs, attacks on the food supply, really, any disaster you can think of," said Poppy Davis, who coordinates the USDA's programs for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has called for 100,000 new farmers within the next few years, and Congress has responded with proposals that would provide young farmers with improved access to USDA support and loan programs.

One beginning farmer is Gabrielle Rojas, 34, from the central Wisconsin town of Hewitt. As a rebellious teen all she wanted to do was leave her family's farm and find a career that didn't involve cows. But she changed her mind after spending years in dead-end jobs in a factory and restaurant.

"In those jobs I'm just a number, just a time-clock number," Rojas said. "But now I'm doing what I love to do. If I'm having a rough day or I'm a little sad because the sun's not shining or my tractor's broken, I can always go out and be by the cattle. That always makes me feel better."

Rojas got help in changing careers from an apprenticeship program paid for by the USDA, which began giving money in 2009 to universities and nonprofit groups that help train beginning farmers. The grants helped train about 5,000 people the first year. This year, the USDA estimates more than twice as many benefited.
One of the groups that received a grant is Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, or MOSES. The Spring Valley, Wis., chapter teaches farming entrepreneurs how to cope with price swings and what to do in cases of catastrophic weather.

MOSES also organizes field days, where would-be farmers tour the operations of successful farms to learn and share tips. Attendance is up 20 percent this year, director Faye Jones said, and some outings that used to attract 30 or 40 people have drawn as many as 100, most between the ages of 18 and 30.

"I think for many people, farming has been a lifelong dream, and now the timing is right," she said. Among the reasons she cited: the lifestyle, working in the fresh air and being one's own boss.

If farming is beginning to sound like an appealing career, there are downsides. The work involves tough physical labor, and vacations create problems when there are crops to be harvested and cows to be milked.

In addition, many farmers need second jobs to get health insurance or make ends meet. As the USDA notes, three-fifths of farms have sales of less than $10,000 a year, although some may be growing fruit trees or other crops that take a few years to develop.
None of those factors dissuaded 27-year-old Paul Mews. He left a high-paying job as a nuclear engineer last year to become a cattle rancher in Menard, Texas. His wife's family has been ranching for generations, and Mews decided he'd much rather join his in-laws and be his own boss than continue shuffling paperwork at the plant.
"When you're self-employed it's so much more fulfilling. You get paid what you're worth," he said. "It's really nice that what you put into it is what you're going to get back out."

Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/21/national/a000148S62.DTL&ao=2#ixzz1hHb3h2tM

Nevada Farm Bureau's 2011 Annual Meeting (Part 2)

2011-12-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

If you are paying close attention, I did go MIA last week. Sorry for those who were just ditting around their computer waiting for my next post, unfortunately, croup hit, and with 2 of our 4 susceptible, it makes for a fun two weeks of sleepless nights and long days. I think the end is in sight for this time, though, so I am back to blog!!

I left off on the tour--And, I have to apologize, again, because for someone who is kind of camera crazy, I neglected to make sure that my back-up battery was charged and by the time we made it to Churchill Vineyards, I had lost all power. So, I do not have pictures of the tour past Liberty Dairy...which brings me back to my report!

Welcome to Liberty Dairy, owned by the Cristoph's and their family. They were kind enough to show us around their 400 cow Jersey Dairy, based out of Fallon, and even treated us to cookies and milk afterwards!

At Liberty Dairy, they raise a large amount of heifer calves, which is more than they need as replacements and so they are able to sell enough each year to have a good business off of them, also. The Jersey cows are more efficient in terms of eating lower amounts of feed and producing higher amounts of milk for their size than other dairy breeds.

The cows are brought into the milking barn where they are entered into the computer by using the number on their eartag. This enables the dairy to keep track of a cows production, which is also a very important key in managing the health of the cows. Anytime they are off of production by 20% or more, the cow is flagged, and many times it is a sign of early health problems that can be dealt with before they become a larger problem.

Liberty uses a variety of feeds in a balanced mix. Most of the feeds are shipped by rail to Nevada and brought by semi to the dairy. This feed pictured is a bi-product of the ethanol industry--it is the corn that is left after processing and still has a lot of good nutritional value as a feed.

Another part of the mix is cotton seed, very high in fiber.

Okay, my brain is working overtime to remember what this was--and I am just not going to come up with it while I am thinking too hard about it.

Happy cows at Liberty Dairy.

Anyway, thanks to Liberty dairy for a great tour, and also to the Churchill Vineyards--It was so interesting to learn more about the vineyard and the wine production that they have started in the last decade. The have about 90 acres of European grape vines that take 3-5 years to become productive and then if they are not productive they have to start over and find something else that will work. I believe they said they have ten that are producing well now, 5 of white and 5 of red varieties. They have a great facitlity--most of their barrels and tanks come from Europe, also, because they are not prodiced in the US and because it requires such specific types to get the wine to turn out just right.

Anyway, if you want to learn more, check out their website at:

http://www.churchillvineyards.com/

After finishing up with the tours, it was time to head back to the Museum in Fallon, where the Churchill County High School Culinary Arts class had prepared a wonderful dinner, and we started our first workshop with Dick Wittman.

Because I have already posted a lot about Dick Wittman in my National Conference '11 Report, and in preparation for state meeting, I am not going to rehash all the details, you'll just have to look for them if you want to know more about the great workshop and presentation that Dick gave on family farm management. We also had a great time getting to know Dick and enjoyed having dinner with him. You never come away from state meeting without gaining new friendships, new knowledge, and hopefully a desire to use it and share it.

Nevada Farm Bureau's 2011 Annual Meeting (Part 1)

2011-11-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

For those involved with the planning and preparation for this year’s Nevada Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, you should be giving yourselves a big pat on the back for a great meeting! The Annual meeting, held the 16-19th of November, in Fallon, brought together Farmers and Ranchers and Agriculturists from across the state to tour various operations in Churchill County, to attend workshops, and to finalize our state Farm Bureau’s policy for the coming year.

This year we started out with Board training and dinner at the Slanted Porch in Fallon. Of course, I was too busy looking for my keys to have a chance to get my camera out and take any pictures, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. It was a great dinner and the training put on by Doug Busselman was also very well done. And, in the end, I also found my keys—and was not the only one to lose them that week—though I did receive the most ribbing for it.

Farm Bureau Members headed to the Desert Oasis Teff Plant.

The following day we began with more training from Doug. We then broke for lunch and then began the planned tours. Our first stop was at Desert Oasis Teff. Instead of telling you all about it myself, I found this article online, which does a much better job:

http://www.unce.unr.edu/news/article.asp?ID=1499

You really need to read that article to understand the basics of Teff, what it is used for and why it is becoming such an important crop in a world of increasing numbers with celiac's disease.

Jay Davison, UNCE Agent that helped introduce Teff to Nevada
growers.

Teff is harvested with a few manipulations to regular machinery. The swather has been adapted to have as large as a swath as possible to dry the teff qucikly. A combine is sealed as much as possible, even using duct tape to cover any minor holes to keep the tiny seed from being lost.

This is what they use to spread the tiny seed with,
and have had success in flood and sprinkler irrigation systems.

Teff before cleaning.

This is just the chaff left after the first cleaning.

Dave Eckert and John Getto, owners of Desert Teff.

The seed as it prepares for further cleaning and processing.

Here it is again processed, and the different sizes of seeds and
colors of seed are separated.

The darker seeds are more preferred in the Ethiopian Market
because they can mix them with regualr flour and it is not as noticeable.

The final sorting of the Teff.

The final cleaned seed, like grains of sand.

Gluten-free Teff flour, ready for use.

So, stop one of our tour and I had already learned so much more than I had known before I got there. Nevada and Idaho vie for the spot of top-producing state, with Nevada's production valuing around 1 million a year in 2010 with 1,200 acres of Teff in production.

And, that is all you gert for this post, which I am pretty proud of myself for even having gotten out during this crazy week! Tune in for the rest of the tour to Liberty Dairy and Churchill Vineyards, hopefully next week. But, for now: HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!!

STATE MEETING!!

2011-11-14T13:09:00.001-08:00

Well, this is finally it--a year of perparation puts us headed to Fallon in the next couple of days, so since Farm Bureau is taking up the majority of my week, blogging is not!! But I am sure I will have plenty to share next week!!!

November Holidays

2011-11-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we are well into November, so it is time to see what great agricultural products we are celebrating in our nation this month! This month is a bit NuTtY as it is the month that we celebrate

Georgia Pecan Month,

Peanut Butter Lover's Month, For all you peanut butter lover's out there--check out the peanut butter lover's website: http://peanutbutterlovers.com/ .

You can also find the recipe for this peanut butter lover's pie and many other fun recipes!! Way more than just your PB&J, not that PB&J isn't an all time favorite for many--especailly MOM'S!!

Their site even includes spotlight's on peanut grower's in our nation!! and November 23rd is designated as National Cashew Day!! November is also home to Good Nutrition Month!! So, enjoy good nutrition by adding pecans filled with antioxidants to your diet this month!

Pecan Facts

Every pecan pie uses 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb of pecans. It takes about 310 pecans halves to fill a one-pound bag. So there are about 78 pecans used in every pecan pie!

Pecans are the only tree nut that is truly native to the United States.

WHY A NATIONAL MONTH FOR GEORGIA PECANS??: Georgia leads the nation in pecan production. Georgia has been the top pecan producing state in the nation since the late 1800s.

Pecans are one of the largest fruit-bearing trees. One irrigated, managed acre of pecan trees will produce about 1,000 pounds of pecans.

More than 500 varieties of pecans exist today. Over 1,000 cultivars have been released over the history of pecan culture. Only three are common and all three are available Georgia orchards.
America’s President, food connoisseur and gardener, Thomas Jefferson, was very taken by the flavor of pecans and had trees imported from Louisiana for his Monticello orchards.
In 1995, Georgia pecan wood was selected by the Atlanta Committee to make the handles of the torches for the 1996 Olympic Games. The torches were carried in the 15,000-mile U.S.A. relay and in the lighting of the Olympic flame in Atlanta on July 19, 1996.

(all info from the Georgia Pecan Commission)

Global Demand for Food Booms

2011-11-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

This was a really interesting article to me, and since November is a CrAzY month for me, I tried to make it a little easier by cutting a bit of my blogging down....so take time to read it, I liked the quote in the second paragraph--you know, sometimes in the Ag business you can really use a positive outlook or two! ;) But what do you think? I know there is definitely some debate over whether America should worry ab out feeding the world or feeding America. I think the information in this article is really interesting, and I think that if there is anyway for America to keep a hold over China, then our Agriculture is one of our best resources to do so. Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the post and share what you think! Anyway, here's what he had to say in case you need a reason to read the article:

"In my 30-year career, I’ve never seen a better environment and outlook for American agriculture," says Mike Dwyer, director and chief economist for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Global Demand for Food Booms Top Producer Magazine

PIZZA--America's Favorite Meal??

2011-10-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

In celebration of October and National Pizza month, here are some fun facts about one of America's favorite meals!! Also, one of my favorite home-made pizza recipes, and don't worry yet, it is really simple! You can buy pre-made crust, biscuit doughs, or make your own--add your favorite BBQ sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's) and then saute onions and bell peppers and chicken breast or add shredded chicken, whichever you have on hand. Add to crust and top with lots of mozzarella then bake for required time for crust (on my home-made dough, it is usually 20-25 minutes) And dinner is ready! YUM!! Or you could swap the BBQ sauce for a bottle of Alfredo, add to it the chicken and diced green onion, plus a sprinkle of parmesan with the mozzarella, and you have another awesome pizza that breaks the pepperoni mold!

Anyway, here are some great fun facts to learn more about your pizza as you eat it!! All come from the site below.

http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/pizza-facts.html

Pizza Facts:
The people of America eat around 350 slices of pizza each second, or 100 acres per day.

Each year, pizza is a $30 billion industry.

In the U.S., there are about 61,269 pizza parlors.

Everyone in the United States eats about 23 lbs., or 46 slices, every year.

Each year in the United States, 3 billion pizzas are sold.

In America, the most popular ethnic food is Italian.

Children ages 3-11 prefer pizza over all other foods for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

36 percent of all pizza orders want their pizza topping pepperoni.

We consume around 251,770,000 pounds of pepperonis every year.

A few popular pizzas toppings are: Mushrooms, Extra cheese, Sausage, Green Pepper, and Onion.

In the list of most popular pizza toppings in America, the last one is anchovies.

New gourmet pizza toppings have rapidly became popular. Some of those toppings include: Chicken, Oysters, Crayfish, Dandelions, Sprouts, Eggplant, Cajun Shrimp, Artichoke Hearts, Venison, Duck, Canadian-Style Bacon and Tuna.

Practically every kind of pizza topping has been tried by pizza chefs, some of those toppings being peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, and mashed potatoes.

Americans prefer meat toppings to veggie toppings by a ratio of 62 to 100. Women order twice as much vegetable toppings than men.

Some popular pizza toppings in Japan are squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonaise, potato and bacon).

In India they like pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu. The people of Brazil prefer green peas for their topping. Russians serve pizza covered in mockba (a mix of sardines, tuna, mackeral, salmon and onions.)

Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112790/facts.htm
General Sales and Consumption Statistics: Pizza Facts
There are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States. (Source: American Business Lists, Omaha, Nebraska)

Men wearing muscle shirts when answering the door order pepperoni three times more than any other kind of pizza. (San Jose Mercury News, Food Section, 1/11/95 )

Italian food ranks as the most popular ethnic food in America. (National Restaurant Association)

There are over 9,000 pizzeria's in New York alone. (The Tony Modica Pizza Dance Foundation)

94% of the population of the U.S. eats pizza. (Source: Parade Magazine)

Approximately 3 BILLION pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year...pizza fact.

Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza EACH DAY, or about 350 slices per second.

October is National Pizza Month. It was first so designated in 1987.

Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News)

93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one pizza per month. (Source: Bolla Wines)

Each man, woman and child in America eats and average of 46 slices, (23 pounds), of pizza per year. (Source: Packaged Facts, New York)

Saturday night is the biggest night of the week for eating pizza.

Three of the top 10 weeks of pizza consumption occur in January. Another pizza fact: More pizza is consumed during Super Bowl week than any other week of the year. (Source: Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill.)

U.S. Toppings: Pizza Facts
Pepperoni is America's favorite topping, (36% of all pizza orders). We eat approximately 251,770,000 pounds of Pepperoni per year. Other popular pizza toppings are, mushrooms, extra cheese, sausage, green pepper and onions.

Gourmet toppings are gaining ground in some areas of the country such as chicken, oysters, crayfish, dandelions, sprouts, eggplant, Cajun shrimp, artichoke hearts and tuna. More recent trends include game meats such as venison, duck and Canadian bacon.

Pizza makers have tried virtually every type of topping on pizza including peanut butter & jelly, bacon & eggs, and mashed potatoes.

Mozzarella cheese represents 30% of total cheese output. Production of Italian cheeses such as mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, parmesan and romano by U.S. cheese makers more than doubled between 1980 and 1992, (from 688.6 MILLION pounds per year to nearly 2 BILLION pounds per year. (Source: Cheese Market News)

Cheesy pizza fact: Manufacturers' sales of pizza cheese should top $32 BILLION by 2004. U.S. per capita consumption of mozzarella cheese was 7.93 pounds in 1994 and is predicted to reach 12.51 pounds by 2004. (Source: Business Trend Analysts, BTA)

62% of Americans prefer meat toppings on their pizza, while 38% prefer vegetarian toppings. (Source: Bolla Wines)

Barbeque pizza emerged as one of the more popular pizza variations in a 1994 study by the National Restaurant Association. Nearly 33% of menus offered some form of this dish. Other popular variations were Mexican pizza, five-cheese combos, cheeseless pies and traditional Italian pizzas such as Margherita, Florentine and New Potato Pizzas. (Source: NRA)

Anchovies are Americans' least favorite topping.

World-Wide Toppings: Pizza Facts
Some of the more popular international toppings are pickled ginger, minced mutton and tofu in India; squid and Mayo Jaga (mayonnaise, potato and bacon) in Japan; and green peas in Brazil. In Russia, they serve pizza covered with mockba; a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions. In France, a popular combo is called the Flambee with bacon, onion, and fresh cream. (Source: Domino's)

Around the world, toppings vary greatly, reflecting regional tastes and preferences. In Japan, for instance, eel and squid are favorites. In Pakistan, curry is a big seller. In Russia, red herring is the topping of choice. Australians enjoy shrimp and pineapple as well as barbeque toppings on their pies. Costa Ricans favor coconut. (Source: Numero Uno Pizzeria)

Vegetables for pizza toppings in Iceland are grown in greenhouses because of the lava terrain there. (Source: Domino's)

In the Netherlands, the "Double Dutch" is a favorite pizza recipe: double cheese, double onions, and double beef. (Source: Domino's)

In Saudi Arabia, all meat toppings must be 100% beef. Pork products are not consumed in the country. (Source: Domino's.)

Source: http://www.virgiliospizzeria.com/funfacts.htm

October and Apples--Autumn is in the Air!

2011-10-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

October Fun....What do we Celebrate this Month???? Well, how about a National Month for PIZZA, APPLES, POPCORN POPPING and, I saved the best for last: DESSERT!! So, if you missed last weeks article on popcorn, you might want to check it out, but now it is on to the, giving you lots of fun facts, and then combing APPLES with DESSERT in an awesome CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE recipe at the bottom of the blog

Apple Facts

•The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

•Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, and yellows.

•Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.

•Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.

•2,500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States. (WOW!!)

•7,500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world. (BIGGER WOW!!)

•100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the United States.

•Apples are grown commercially in 36 states.

•Apples are grown in all 50 states.

•Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free. (AND YUMMY, TOO!!)

•A medium apple is about 80 calories.

•Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin. One apple has five grams of fiber.

•The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

•The science of apple growing is called pomology.

•Apple trees take four to five years to produce their first fruit.

•Most apples are still picked by hand in the fall.

•Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit.

•Apples are propagated by two methods: grafting or budding.

•The apple tree originated in an area between the Caspian and the Black Sea.

•Apples were the favorite fruit of ancient Greeks and Romans.

•Apples are a member of the rose family. (How interesting)

•Apples harvested from an average tree can fill 20 boxes that weigh 42 pounds each.

•The largest apple picked weighed three pounds. (How long did it take to eat??)

•Europeans eat about 46 pounds of apples annually.

•The average size of a United States orchard is 50 acres.

•Many growers use dwarf apple trees.

•Charred apples have been found in prehistoric dwellings in Switzerland.

•Most apple blossoms are pink when they open but gradually fade to white.

•Some apple trees will grow over 40 feet high and live over 100 years.

•Most apples can be grown farther north than most other fruits, because they blossom late in spring, minimizing frost damage.

•It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.

•Apples are the second most valuable fruit grown in the United States. Oranges are first.

•In colonial time, apples were called winter banana or melt-in-the-mouth.

•The largest U. S. apple crop was 277.3 million cartons in 1998.

•Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. Each pocket contains seeds. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the vigor and health of the plant. Different varieties of apples will have different number of seeds.

•World's top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy.

•The Lady or Api apple is one of the oldest varieties in existence.

•Newton Pippin apples were the first apples exported from America in 1768, some were sent to Benjamin Franklin in London.

•In 1730, the first apple nursery was opened in Flushing, New York.

•One of George Washington's hobbies was pruning his apple trees.

•America's longest-lived apple tree was reportedly planted in 1647 by Peter Stuyvesant in his Manhattan orchard and was still bearing fruit when a derailed train struck it in 1866.

•Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.

•A peck of apples weight 10.5 pounds.

•A bushel of apples weights about 42 pounds and will yield 20-24 quarts of applesauce.

•Archeologists have found evidence that humans have been enjoying apples since at least 6500 B.C.

•The world's largest apple peel was created by Kathy Wafler Madison on October 16, 1976, in Rochester, NY. It was 172 feet, 4 inches long. (She was 16 years old at the time and grew up to be a sales manager for an apple tree nursery.)

•It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.

•Apples account for 50 percent of the world's deciduous fruit tree production.

•The old saying, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.” This saying comes from an old English adage, “To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread.”

•Don't peel your apple. Two-thirds of the fiber and lots of antioxidants are found in the peel. Antioxidants help to reduce damage to cells, which can trigger some diseases.

•In 2005, United States consumers ate an average of 46.1 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products. That's a lot of applesauce!

•Sixty-three percent of the 2005 U.S. apple crop was eaten as fresh fruit.

•In 2005, 36 percent of apples were processed into apple products; 18.6 percent of this is for juice and cider, two percent was dried, 2.5 percent was frozen, 12.2 percent was canned and 0.7 percent was fresh slices. Other uses were the making of baby food, apple butter or jelly and vinegar.

•The top apple producing states are Washington, New York, Michigan,Pennsylvania, California and Virginia.

•In 2006, 58% of apples produced in the United States were produced in Washington, 11% in New York, 8% in Michigan, 5% in Pennsylvania, 4% in California and 2% in Virginia.

•In 2005, there were 7,500 apple growers with orchards covering 379,000 acres.

•In 1998-90 the U.S. per capita fresh apple consumption was around 21 pounds.

•In 2005, the average United States consumer ate an estimated 16.9 pounds of fresh market apples

•Total apple production in the United States in 2005 was 234.9 million cartons valued at $1.9 billion.

•In 2006/2007 the People's Republic of China led the world in commercial apple production with 24,480,000 metric tons followed by the United States with 4,460,544 metric tons.

•In 2006/2007 commercial world production of apples was at 44,119,244 metric tons.

•Almost one out of every four apples harvested in the United States is exported.

•35.7 million bushels of fresh market apples in 2005 were exported. That was 24 percent of the total U.S. fresh-market crop.

•The apple variety ‘Red Delicious' is the most widely grown in the United States with 62 million bushels harvested in 2005.

•Many apples after harvesting and cleaning have commercial grade wax applied. Waxes are made from natural ingredients.

•National Apple Month is the only national, generic apple promotion conducted in the United States. Originally founded in 1904 as National Apple Week, it was expanded in 1996 to a three-month promotional window from September through November.

•On August 21, 2007 the GoldRush apple was designated as the official Illinois’state fruit. GoldRush is a sweet-tart yellow apple with a long shelf life. The apple is also the state fruit of Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

Source Apple Statistics:
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
United States Apple Association

Mmmmm, October makes my mouth water--hope it makes yours water too, but if doesn't try a few of my favorite recipes and it will then!

CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

( Streusel topping, recipe follows )

1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Source: adapted from Paula Deen

What's Popping? National Popcorn Popping Month and all the things about popcorn you never knew??

2011-10-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to admit, I LOVE POPCORN!! I love it at the movies, I love it with caramel, I am especially fond of kettle corn. And, I can defnitely eat my share of popcorn. But, in celebration of October and National Popcron Popping month, I decided it was time to learn more, and learn I did--did you know popcorn even has it's own national board?? Well, check out the info below, and especially the fun facts towards the bottom, cool stuff about popcorn, who knew?? Another great product courtesy of American Agriculture!!

All info below comes from:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa011501b.htm

Next time you're at the movies, with every crevice of you mouth stuffed with hot, buttery popcorn, think about this: The U.S. produces 498,000 TONS of popcorn every year, of which 103,000 tons is exported. That's more than would fit in the Mammoth Cave-sized tub the kid at the refreshment stand tried to sell you. Why, that's so much popcorn, we must need the oversight of the United States Popcorn Board.

The U.S. Government Popcorn Board comes from the Popcorn Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act signed by President Clinton, a big fan of popcorn, on April 4, 1996. Just so you'll know I am not making this up, here is a link to the actual law: [7 U.S. C. 7481-7491]

If you love the stuff, you will be happy to know that the Popcorn Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act tells us right off the top, that no lesser authority than the U.S. Congress finds, "popcorn is an important food that is a valuable part of the human diet." See. mom? Congress says so.

The nine-member Popcorn Board works to expand the popcorn market by conducting special promotions, research, and informing consumers of the qualities and economic importance of popcorn.

Membership is currently limited to nine U.S. processor chosen from among all processors who typically distribute over 4 million pounds of popcorn annually. Members are appointed to the board by the Secretary of Agriculture from a list of nominations submitted by the industry itself.

Funding for the board comes from assessments collected from all U.S. popcorn processors who distribute over 4 million pounds per year, with annual individual assessments limited to $81,000.

Under this arrangement, the popcorn industry itself pretty much covers the cost of the Popcorn Board.
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) monitors the Popcorn Board's administration of the program.
Popcorn Production, Export and Import

According to the latest Census of Agriculture (Census) data, domestic production of popcorn totaled over 996 million shelled pounds in 1997. Popcorn is grown in 25 States. According to the Census, the top five major popcorn-producing States in 1997 were Nebraska (27 percent), Indiana (21 percent), Illinois (13 percent), Ohio (9 percent), and Missouri (6 percent).

U.S. exports of popcorn totaled 206 million pounds in 1999 (down from 219 million pounds in 1998), with a value of $58 million (down $8 million from 1998). Popcorn was exported to over 90 countries. The two largest export markets in 1999 were Mexico (with 17 percent of the poundage exported) and Canada (with 14 percent). Other major destinations for U.S. popcorn included Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, the Philippines, and Japan.

Nearly all of the world's popcorn production is in the United States, and imports are usually minimal. In 1999, only 0.3 million pounds were imported from all countries. Normally, small amounts are imported from Canada and Argentina.
The U.S. Popcorn Board

**PoPcOrN FaCtS and FuN!!** Running out of things to say to your blind date? Then pop up with some of these tidbits:

•In an average bag of popcorn, the number of yellow kernels will outnumber the white ones by 9 to 1.
•It is believed that popcorn was the very first form of corn to be cultivated.
•The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico in 1948 and 1950. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about 2 inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears are about 5,600 years old.
•In southwestern Utah, a 1,000-year-old popped kernel of popcorn was found in a dry cave inhabited by predecessors of the Pueblo Indians. (There may be older ones than that under a cushion of my sofa.)

•Americans today consume 17.3 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. The average American eats about 68 quarts.
•The ancient way to pop corn was to heat sand in a fire and stir kernels of popcorn in when the sand was fully heated.

•In 1945, Percy Spencer discovered that when popcorn was placed under microwave energy, it popped. This led to experiments with other foods, and the birth of the microwave oven.

**WhY PoPcOrN PoPs!**

Each kernel contains a small drop of water inside a circle of soft starch surrounded by the hard outer surface. As the kernel heats, the drop of water expands and pressure starts to build up. When the hard surface eventually gives way, the popcorn explodes. During the explosion, the soft starch inside the kernel inflates and bursts, turning the entire kernel inside out.

Varieties of popcorn are grown to pop into two distinctive shapes: "snowflake," the large popcorn sold in theaters and ball parks; and mushroom, the smaller variety used in popcorn candies and snacks.

Making Your Voice Heard.....

2011-10-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

A HUGE part of what we do in Farm Bureau, is to be a voice for the agriculture industry. Without our voices, the ones who live it, who understand it, sharing it, the vast majority of our society will just go on hoping that their food will just magically appear at the store and they will go on living happy, albeit, oblivious lives. AND, there is so much more than just talking about agriculture--there is the policy that keeps it safe, protects it from crazy and damaging legislation, that promotes it and puts it in the correct place of importance in the minds of legislators and the public.

SO, if you are interested in sharing your voice, when it comes to water rights, irrigation prices, wildlife habitat, wild horses , public and federal lands, brand inspection, commodities, education, and so much more, then check out Nevada Farm Bureau's Policy. With the annual meeting coming up, it is the perfect time to read up on policy and see if you agree or disagree or if you have an opinion on something that should be added. The link below will take you to the list of the policies that we already have, and that are up for review. Take the time to raise your voice, speak up for agriculture and ensure the way of life that feeds the world.
http://policy.nvfb.org/index.html
General Ag Policy
Ag Research Policy
Commodities Policy
Education Policy
Extension Policy
Government Policy
Land Use Policy
Miscellaneous Policy
Natural Resources Policy
Pest and Weed Policy
PUC & Energy Policy
Taxes Policy
Transportation Policy
Water Policy

PETA Promotes with PORN.....

2011-10-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, just when I thought that PETA couldn't possibly be any lower in my estimation, it goes and breaks through the bedrock, digging an even deeper hole. I recently learned that PETA is working on a XXX porn site in order to promote the ethical treatment of animals. Are you kidding me??? How in the world are the two to be combined? Well, whatever it is, I don't want to know. Let me quote Robert Peters, general counsel for the New York-based anti-pornography group Morality in Media. "Metaphorically speaking, they're getting in bed with hard core pornographers to prevent cruelty to animals. That borders on insanity."

Well, most of us from Agriculture backgrounds feel that PETA and HSUS border on insanity, anyway, so to me, this is just flat out insane. Apparently, a lot of the feedback I read in the news is that this could alienate people from supporting and helping PETA, so let the alienation begin!! I am all for spreading word of anything that helps alienate people from PETA. Now, of course, someone reading this might suppose that by this I mean that I don't support the ethical treatment of animals, which is a far cry from reality. I have horses, chickens, cows, dogs, cats, and very often lizards and birds and frogs around our fuuny farm that we call home. I obvisously love animals, or would not have so many around. I also want people throughout the world to care for their animals in the way that they see as fitting, but I don't approve of people who have been raised in the city coming around and telling my family how to take care of animals that we have been raising for generations in my family. I oppose PETA because of their over-the-top ways, demonstrated by their new pornography site, things that go against the basic morals and values of good, hardworking farm and ranch families, or just every day hardworking families of all walks of life.

Some of the other intent for PETA's promotion is to raise veganism awareness--really? If people want to be vegans, I believe that is their choice, but should not be pushed on anyone else, especially in exploitive manners. Not that PETA is 'pushing' anything, they are just using whatever shocking things they can to get attention. But, a lot of vegans seem to think that because they don't want to eat animal or animal by-product, that the rest of us shouldn't, and that they need to fight and oppose anyone who has anything to do with animals as food-production. Well, don't let me get any more wound up on this subject, I am sure you can all form your own opinions, once you check out a little bit more about who PETA actually is.

So, check out the info, spread the word, and let's look to those with decent values and morals to teach us how to care for animals, like the farmers and ranchers of our great nation!!!

Article links:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/peta-plans-porn-website-promote-message-14570593

http://news.discovery.com/animals/peta-porn-site-coming-soon-110921.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/18/us-pornography-peta-idUSTRE78H1IR20110918

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/09/19/peta-porn-site-will-raise-veganism-awareness-peta-says/

AND PLENTY MORE ON THE WEB.

YF&R & FB Members: An event you should not miss!

2011-10-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so if there was one workshop from the National YF&R Conference in Orlando, Florida this past February that really seemed to strike a note with all the Nevadans who attended, it was the series put on by Dick Wittman. Let me tell you why the workshops struck a chord with me--My family on my dad's side, has been farming the same land, since the late 1800's. Because of family issues, some of my great-grandpa's step-sisters were able to sale a large majority of the land out from underneath him, but what remains has been ran by the family ever since. My dad grew up on it, me and my siblings grew up on it. My dad's twin has helped him run it, with my grandpa still technically in charge of it, though my dad and our family were the only ones who lived there and worked it full-time. 5 years ago my grandpa suffered an anuerism, followed a few months later by open-heart surgery. Though he has recovered, this gave my grandma power-of-attorney, and with 8 children to vie for who gets what and when, there has been a lot of pressure on her to divide assets evenly between the eight, though only the oldest two have really ever been involved with the farm. They now want my dad and uncle to either buy them out, or it will be sold out from under them, even though they have been working it for 30-40 years in their spare time and vacations and holidays, without paychecks, but because they love it. What is earned from hay or cattle usually goes back into as farmers know, to keep it afloat. And that is part one of why the Dick Wittman workshops hit me so powerfully. Dick has dealt with these family situations in so many shapes and forms. He knows how to help families, generations, relatives, friends so that they can merge, work together, have a productive business, where everyone knows their part, their specific role, and it all works together to last. The family farm CAN be carried on--siblings, fathers and sons, cousins, etc., CAN work together and together they CAN make it work and be productive. I could tell you part two, my mom's side, where my grandpa iss till ranching at 83, and my uncle works full-time and farms full-time to keep it going, even though he doesn't shre the same deep love for it that my granpda does. With each year of age coems the worry ofwhat will happen, will it be sold off, kept in the family, some of each? I think that at some time this strongly affects all who farm and ranch because it is such a family-oriented business. So, if you want a more productive farm or ranch or family business, you should NOT miss the state meeting in November. My husband has taken over managing the property/lease that his parents left to all four kids. Dick's workshops were invaluable to him in giving him ideas of how to communicate with his siblings and better manage the property with four heads instead of one. So, that is all the rambling I am going to give you for now, I hope you get the point......the Nevada Farm Bureau State Meeting in Fallon, Nevada on November 17-19, with special guest, Dick Wittman, is an event you should not miss!!

HERE'S MORE INFO ABOUT DICK WITTMAN::

R.L. "Dick" Wittman
Dick Wittman manages a large-scale dryland crop, range cattle and timber operation in northern Idaho in partnership with three other family partners. He also provides seminars, workshops, and private consulting services on a part‑time basis to agricultural lenders, agri-businesses and farmer/ranchers.

After receiving a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Idaho (U of I) and an MBA from the University of Utah, Wittman worked for the Farm Credit System from 1972-1980. His banking career concluded with the Farm Credit Administration in Washington, D. C., where he supervised Farm Credit operations in several Eastern, mid‑West, and Southern U.S. districts.

In 1980 he joined the family farm in Idaho and established a part-time private consulting practice. Wittman has worked with numerous farm clients and professional practitioners, conducted seminars, facilitated strategic planning, taught college classes and developed videotape training modules on a variety of topics throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. He specializes in financial management and developing management systems and solutions for business relationship/transition problems. In January of 2004, he released a guidebook entitled Building Effective Farm Management Systems. This guidebook provides a toolkit for commercial-size family farm businesses to define their ultimate vision and put in place a professional management and transition process that will lead them to that goal.

Wittman has served on several industry, community and financial institution boards including the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council (5-yrs as president), U of I Ag Consulting Council (chairman 1997-98), Inland Empire Pea Growers Cooperative, Twin River National Bank (1982-89), and Advisory Council (chairman) for the U of I Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Department. He is a founding director and past president of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association, a regional organization working to further the adoption of no-till practices in the Northwest, and is currently active on several advisory boards developing national policies on Carbon Trading.

He recently completed a term as president of the Farm Financial Standards Council, a core group of farm management and financial experts who have been working for over 25 years to professionalize farm accounting and financial analysis processes. The Council recently released national guidelines to help producers implement Managerial Accounting systems.

Wittman is a contributing editor for Farm Futures magazine, serves on the faculty for the TEPAP Ag Executive Program in Austin, Texas, and appears regularly on the Canadian AgVision television program as part of the Top Manager Team.

Stewardship has been a Wittman Family Farm tradition. The farm was selected as the national Millennium Farm Family in 2000 by the Ag Earth Partnership. Wittman also received the 2002 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Agriculture in Environmental Stewardship. The Wittman Family sponsors an Outdoor Education Camp located on their farm in cooperation with the local Boys and Girls Club. Begun in 1988, this camp gives hundreds of students, teachers and natural resource professionals annually an exposure to key natural resource concepts, and it enables the farm to share its vision on how a farm can be managed, shared, and kept sustainable for future generations.

Wittman and his wife, Dawn, have raised five children and have four grandchildren.

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Background and Management Philosophy

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I am a firm believer in the preservation of the family farm as the preferred entity to manage and steward our food production industry. This belief has been a primary driver in motivating me to help family farmers adopt more professional management practices. Many struggling farmers are quick to blame government interference, low prices, uncooperative lenders, foreign subsidies or greedy and indiscreet neighbors for all their problems. In fact, much of the blame in their failure to achieve full potential rests with their management system and practices. Improved performance, teamwork, and quality of life is easily attainable if one develops a clear vision of how to incorporate improved management practices and invest in the effort to change. “God helps those who help themselves.”

Some perceive that greater focus on professional business principles will erase the spirit of the family farm or turn it into a Ford Motor Company, Cargill, or Archer Daniels Midland. I firmly believe that promoting professional management systems and maintaining a strong family and community focus are complementary strategies, not conflicting targets. Preferring to work together as family should not be an excuse to ignore business principles, but an added reason to follow them. The hurt and long term damage to relationships is often much harder to swallow when family business relationships disintegrate than when ventures between unrelated parties fall to pieces.

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Wittman Consulting Services R.L. "Dick" Wittman 37737 McCormack Ridge Road, Culdesac, ID 83524 PH: (208) 843-5595 C: (208) 305-1344 C: (208) 299-3521 FAX: (208) 843-5095 dwittman@lewiston.com

Copyright 1993 Wittman Consulting, R. L. “Dick” Wittman, 37737 McCormack Ridge Rd, Culdesac, ID 83524

Work-(208) 843-5595 Fax (208) 843-5095, email: dwittman@lewiston.com, www.wittmanconsulting.com

Managing Business Relationships & Transitions in Multi-Family Farm Operations

Seminar Synopsis

Business practices and relationship problems, not economic issues, are often the reason family operations dissolve business relationships. This tragic conclusion generally stems from operators failing to run the farm like a business, rather than a family venture. Farms with good production and financial footings still fail because they either don’t know the basic rules of conducting a business, or they know the rules, but don’t document them and apply them consistently to daily farm operations.

This seminar presented in combinations of formal lecture plus case study work sessions tackles a number of sensitive issues that relate to managing family businesses. It is presented from the viewpoint of a working family farm manager who has also provided family farm business transition consulting for twenty five years. The seminar combines serious and humorous discussions of basic principles, actual farm problems and practical, successful solutions. The goal of this seminar is to change behavior by convincing participants that: (1) their problems are not unique…nor are the solutions, and (2) implementation of a professional management system is doable and must be given equal priority to energy devoted to production, marketing and financial management. It re-vitalizes teamwork, communication, and creates a positive work environment, and it helps assure family farm survival and effective transition from generation to generation.

Seminar Outline

 Introduction “These family deals never last! …is this opinion destiny or a choice?”

 Defining the puzzle pieces of a ―Management System‖—―What’s more important…process, results or BOTH?”

 Benefits of working together and consequences to family business success from failing to manage toward excellence

 Mission, Vision and Core Values – defining these core guidance statements and using them in a family business

 Planning

 Operational vs. Strategic Planning—what issues should be addressed and why are they important to document?

 Operating issues—production, marketing, financing, personnel, and capital items…systems that work!

 Long Range/Strategic Issues—transfers of management and ownership; expansion; major improvements; enterprise shifts; manpower planning; business structuring… ―Reasons farmers avoid strategic planning”

 ”I know it’s important…just didn’t know where to start!” Strategies for making progress on strategic issues.

 Organization and Division of Responsibility

 “What is my piece of the pie?” Who will make the decisions and implement them?

 Techniques for defining specific roles and dividing responsibility – staff, management, board/owners

 Considerations in bringing new principals into the operation, or retiring others—ownership vs. responsibility

 Using job descriptions as a tool in transition situations

 Company Policies & SOPs - “The Hidden Land Mines”

 Establishing clear policies in areas such as: housing, insurance, compensation, division of earnings, buyout agreements, capital injections and withdrawals, inter-entity transactions, work days/hours/leave policies

 Common sins that violate good business practices—“…on the neighbor’s farm, of course!”

 Strategies and guidelines for developing policy statements

 ―What am I worth per hour to this business?” Understanding the value of ―Hidden (non-cash) Benefits‖ and techniques for structuring ―Compensation Packages‖ for employees, partners or business principals

 Standard Operating Procedures – what are SOPs and where can they be applied in a farm operation?

 Communication, Coordination and Control

 Business tools often ignored or abused—meetings, farm records, and documentation of key business understandings… “Don’t let them know there is money in the bank!”… “We’ll remember what we agreed on!”…

 The ―I can’t be fired!” family business syndrome. Impact of unprofessional communication habits.

 Developing corporate climate of openness and professionalism…”How do mission and core value statements work?”

 “You want to evaluate me?…you must be kidding!” Should family business partners/employees be evaluated? How?

 What performance gauges do you watch? … tractor gauges or your financial gauges? Which one will put you out of business, if you are operating in the red zone?

 Are you ready for Managerial Accounting? What is this and how can I compete with neighbors who know cost of production when I don’t?

 Summary—The Basic Business Management Model Applies to Agriculture, Too!

 The family farm business… a constant transition of inheriting and passing on values…then letting go of the wheel!

 The FARM—Your Children’s ―First Business School‖…Teaching good business principles or bad habits?

2011 VIDEO CONTEST!!!

2011-09-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

2011 STATE FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST CD/electronic entries due to your County Farm Bureau by October 5, 2011. JUNIOR DIVISION: 6th - 8th Grade JUNIOR TOPICS: "HOW WATER BECOMES AMERICA’S FOOD", or "FARM SAFETY ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS" SENIOR DIVISION: 9th - 12th Grade SENIOR TOPICS: "HOW WATER BECOMES AMERICA’S FOOD" or "HOW AGRICUTURE BENEFITS WILDLIFE",
YOUNG FARMERS & RANCHERS: Division for FB Members age 18-35. Any of the three topics.

STATE AWARDS FOR EACH DIVISION: st Place - $100; 2nd Place - $ 75; 3rd Place - $50
Entry forms and Video CDs for the State Contest are due by 5:00 p.m., October 8, 2011
Please submit videos to the State Farm Bureau Women’s Chair- Cindy Hardy
SIGNED
Any questions, please call 702-398-3137 or 702-375-8124

Hard Copy Entry Forms and Video CD’s Submitted by Mail: P.O. Box 112 Logandale NV 89021 See below for RULES and Additional Information
2011 FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST ENTRY FORM: TITLE OF VIDEO: _____________________________________________________________________
CONTESTANT(S) NAME(S): ADDRESS: CITY: ZIP: GRADE:
List Main Contact on First set of Lines:
*______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ _______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ _______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ SCHOOL: _______________________________________________
COUNTY: ____________________
*MAIN CONTACT: HOME PHONE: ____________________
CELL PHONE: ___________________ Permission to Post Video on the internet
SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): YES________ NO_______ _____________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): _____________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): _____________________________________________________________ This SIGNED permission form is required to accompany the video entry. Thank you. (Previous Videos can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/user/NVFBVideoContest#p/u ) 2011 STATE FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST SAFETY
WATER
WILDLIFE
GENERAL INFORMATION: (Please retain a copy of this information for your records.) Please have CD/electronic entries to Cindy Hardy by
County rules and prizes are at the discretion of the respective County Farm Bureaus October 8, 2011. GENERAL RULES: 1. Each video is to be produced by an individual or a group of up to three contestants. The oldest contestant in a group determines Jr./Sr. Division placement. Group prize money is a lump sum. 2. Limit is one video production per individual or group and must have an entry form with it. 3. Videos will be 3 to 5 minutes in length and penalties are assessed for under/over the time limit. 4. Each video will cover a single topic and be judged on the following merits: 25 pts: Appropriateness to topic, Accuracy and Organization; 15pts: Delivery, Special Effects and Music; 10 pts: Interesting and Understandable. Use permanent marker to list contestant name(s), school, Division, title/topic on a CD. 6. The Videos will become and remain the property of the Nevada Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee which reserves the right to determine which videos will be forwarded for judging. 7. State video entries will be judged at the Nevada Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, Nov. 17 – 19, 2011. (Churchill Convention Center, Fallon, NV) 8. All decisions of the judges are final. Videos submitted without a SIGNED entry form are disqualified. 9. Failure to adhere to any one or any part of any of these General Rules may disqualify an entry. Entry forms and Video CDs for the State Contest are due by 5:00 p.m., October 8, 2011 Please submit videos to the State Farm Bureau Women’s Chair- Cindy Hardy
SIGNED
Any questions, please call 702-398-3137 or 702-375-8124 Hard Copy Entry Forms and Video CD’s Submitted by Mail: P.O. Box 112 Logandale NV 89021 5.



**For Clarification--all entries need to go to your county farm bureau first for judging before they go on to state--PLEASE contact me if you do not know who to send it to, or contact Cindy Hardy for more help and info**

A Whole List of Honey-Do's for You!

2011-09-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

September is still not over, so that means it is still time to to celebrate National Honey Month with a few fun facts and tidbits that you probably didn't know, but just might sweeten your day!! All of my facts an info come from the National Honey Board's website at Honey.com

Honey is honey, it’s just that simple. A bottle of pure honey contains the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or secretions of living parts of plants. Nothing else.

When scientists begin to look for all of the elements found in this wonderful product of nature, they find a complex of naturally flavored sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Honey is made by bees in one of the world’s most efficient facilities, the beehive. The 60,000 or so bees in a beehive may collectively travel as much as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey!

The color and flavor of honey differ depending on the bees’ nectar source (the blossoms). In fact, there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossoms. In general, lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor, while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.

How do bees make honey?

Honey is the sweet fluid produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowers. Worker honey bees transform the floral nectar that they gather into honey by adding enzymes to the nectar and reducing the moisture.

Here's what I learned about the different forms that honey comes in:

Comb Honey - Comb honey is honey in its original form; that is, honey inside of the honeycomb. The beeswax comb is edible!

Cut Comb - Cut comb honey is liquid honey that has added chunks of the honey comb in the jar. This is also known as a liquid-cut comb combination.

Liquid Honey - Free of visible crystals, liquid honey is extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining. Because liquid honey mixes easily into a variety of foods, it’s especially convenient for cooking and baking. Most of the honey produced in the United States is sold in the liquid form.

Naturally Crystallized Honey - Naturally crystallized honey is honey in which part of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized. It is safe to eat.

Whipped (or Cremed) Honey - While all honey will crystallize in time, whipped honey (also known as cremed honey) is brought to market in a crystallized state. The crystallization is controlled so that, at room temperature, the honey can be spread like butter or jelly. In many countries around the world, whipped honey is preferred to the liquid form especially at breakfast time.

Thank Heavens for Farmers.....

2011-09-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Julie Wolf from Churchill County Farm Bureau shared this video with me and so I wanted to pass it on to all of you this week.

"Farmers Tribute: So God Made a Farmer"

Thought You'd Rice to Know....

2011-09-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hi! Have you had your rice today??

You may not realized it, but in China, that is about the same as asking "How are you Today?" Want to know more interesting facts and legends about rice from cultures around the world--read here: http://www.menurice.com/All_About_Rice/Rice_Variety/Legends.asp

In celebration of National Rice Month, I wanted to share what I have learned. Rice is a staple of life for my family, along with potatoes, it is on the menu at least once a week. I was really surprised to hear what I did about rice, I always assumed most of it was grown out of the nation and didn't realize how much is produced by Americans. And, my family is just a itty-bitty speck out of the 2/3's of our world's population that's diet is sustained by rice.

Rice in the United States:

"Over the past 25 years, the demand by U.S. consumers for milled rice has tripled. That astonishing rate of growth is unsurpassed by any other grain. So who’s growing all that rice?

In large part, U.S. farmers are. U.S.-grown rice accounts for nearly 90 percent of the rice consumed in this country. And it is also in demand abroad because of its exceptional quality.

Rice is picky about where it grows. Only a few states have the climate and soil suitable for commercial rice production. In alphabetical order, they are Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Can you guess which state is the largest producer? (See answer below.) All of these states primarily grow long-grain rice, except California which produces primarily medium-grain rice. The latter is prized by consumers in Northeast Asia for its exceptional cooking and eating quality.

The top rice-producing states? Arkansas ranks first, followed by California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Missouri." (All information and facts, above and below come from : http://www.menurice.com/ )

Rice has been around since 5,000 years ago in China, but how did it come to the U.S.???
"Early American colonists began cultivating rice quite by accident. In 1685, a storm-battered ship from Madagascar reached Charles Towne harbor in South Carolina. As a gift for repairing the ship, the ship’s captain gave local planters a small quantity of “Golden Seede Rice.”

Fresh-water marshes of the Carolinas and Georgia proved ideal growing environments for rice production. In truth, the rich, wet flood plains could grow little else. By 1700, rice had become a major crop for colonists. Bills of sale from that year record that 300 tons of “Carolina Golde Rice” was shipped to England.

The substantial hand-labor requirements of growing rice led to the plantation era of the southern states. Farming equipment of the time was ill suited to the demands of soggy soil preparation, planting, harvesting and threshing of the grain. Even small tracts of rice production required hundreds of manual laborers.

By 1726, the Port of Charleston was exporting nearly 4,500 metric tons of “Carolina Golde,” which had become the world standard of rice quality. By the time of the American Revolution, rice had become one of the nation’s major business enterprises.

Upheavals of the Civil War, combined with the ravages of hurricanes and competition from other crops, pushed rice agriculture westward. It was during this time that rice became a major crop in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Not until mechanized farming methods became practical in the 1880s would southern rice crops become viable again.

The California gold rush of 1849 spawned a rice boom in the far west. A steady influx of Chinese immigrants created demand that prompted growers in the Sacramento Valley to plant and harvest the grain. By 1920, California had become a major rice-growing state.

From its humble beginnings in South Carolina, rice continues to be an important U.S. agricultural product and export. The high quality of U.S.-grown rice is respected the world over. So are our innovative growing and production methods. New techniques have reduced the time spent in fields to just seven man-hours per acre while some Asian growers still require 300!"

What kinds of Rice are out There?

Long Grain: Kernels are slender and four to five times as long as they are wide. When cooked the grains are separate, light and fluffy.

•Rice varieties: U.S. long grain brown, white and parboiled, U.S. jasmine, U.S. basmati, U.S. aromatic red

•Great for: Entrées, rice bowls, pilafs, stuffings, rice salads, jambalaya and more

Medium Grain: Kernels are two to three times as long as they are wide. The cooked grains are moist and tender, with a greater tendency to cling, a desirable characteristic in many dishes.
•Rice varieties: U.S. medium grain brown and white, U.S. arborio, U.S. black japonica
•Great for: Sushi, rice bowls, risotto, paella, rice puddings, desserts

Short Grain: Kernels are plump and almost round in shape. After cooking, the grains are soft and clingy.
•Rice varieties: U.S. short grain, U.S. sweet
•Great for: Sushi, paella, Asian dishes, rice puddings, desserts

So why is Brown or Whole Grain Rice Better for you??
"When it comes from the growing field, each grain of rice is enclosed in a tough hull, or husk, which must be removed. Underneath is the nutritious whole grain, which may be brown, reddish or even black, depending on the color of the bran layers. All rice may be eaten at this stage, but most are processed further.

Under the hull are the bran and germ which are high in vitamins, minerals, oil and various phytonutrients proposed to have health-benefits. Rice at this stage is 100% whole grain.

Remove the bran and germ and what remains is the endosperm, the white rice enjoyed throughout the world. To replace some of the nutrients lost in milling, most North American processors apply a thin coat of thiamine, niacin, iron and folic acid to milled rice to produce what is known as enriched rice.
To recap:
Whole-grain rice (sometimes called brown rice): longer cooking time; more fiber; high in vitamins, minerals, oil and various phytonutrients; shorter shelf life which can be extended using cool storage temperatures.
Milled rice: shorter cooking time; enriched to restore nutrient value; longer shelf life."

Well, I hope you learned a little more about Rice today than you knew yesterday, but most of all, I hope you know a little bit more about American Agriculture today than you did yesterday and all of the great things that our nations Ag Producers are providing for you!!

September is National Chicken, Honey and Rice Month!!

2011-08-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome September (okay, techincally this post is a couple of days ahead) Can you believe it is already here? I think I was just barely blogging about spring and now we are edging into fall!

So, did you know that September is National Chicken, Honey and Rice Month??? Okay, so not all together, but each of the three claims September as it's month to be celebrated and acclaimed nationally--so how could I possibly clebrate this??? Well, of course, by sharing with you my favorite combination of all three!!

Honey Lemon Chicken Kabobs (Over Rice)

Okay, so this can either be lemon or lime, your preference, I just usually always have lemon juice on hand. So, take about 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (Sorr,y I am not really good with detailed recipes, I usually just kind of throw stuff together and see what I get) Slice them in thin strips. In a zip-lock gallon bag add 1 cup of Honey, 1/4 cup of lemon or lime juice and a 1/3 cup of Soy sauce. Add the chicken to marinate for at least an hour, but not more than about three. Then stick them on your kabob sticks, get your grill hot, turn down to medium, and grill evenly on both sides until done. You can boil your remaining marinade to kill any bacteria and the use it as a baste for even stronger flavor while grilling.

We stir fry or steam up veggies and serve with long-grain brown rice (we rarely use white rice, and while it took a little bit of adapting to when we first switched over, I am glad my kids were young and never noticed that once again mom was trying to get them to eat healthier!!) and a fight usually ensues over who gets the last few morsels of chicken. I have yet to find anyone who didn't like these.

So, what better way to celebrate a month of CHICKEN, HONEY and RICE!!!

Growing....with a Few Weeds

2011-08-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

My kids are growing like weeds, while my pastures is growing with a few weeds--but, it's GROWING! Where once was dirt (though many years ago my grandpa did raise alfalfa out here)we now have a grass hay pasture that we have been working on since last year--just about the time we got all or our plumbing ready to go in, my mother-in-law became ill and so most of it was put off until this spring. Now, my kids have had the 'fun' and 'happy' experience of picking rocks, which they of course, hated passionately, but is one of those treasured opportunities that no farm kids should really go without. ;) (Yep, you should have heard me whine as I had to move 'pipes' as a kid, especially since my hand-me down water boots always had holes in them.)

It's a small step for us, but we are excited about it. The kids helped dad disc, which they definitely enjoyed more than the rock picking. And, of course, my filly, Penny, was a lot of help, too, as she loves to try to understand everything that is going on, especially the tractor that had invaded her space.

So, here it was just a few months ago.....

....And, here it is today, with way more windrows than I expected!!

Agriculture is a BIG deal, even on a small basis. From backyard gardens and 'Hobby' farms all the way up to the Corporate Farms with thousands of acres...it is our backbone, and satisfy's the most human needs--giving us nourishment, fiber, and work.

Take a look around, how does agriculture affect your daily life???

Lincoln County Fair & Rodeo!!!

2011-08-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Lincoln County Fair & Rodeo!!!

It is time again for the Fair--each year a bit bigger and a bit better! For NV YF&R members, if you are interested in coming up, LCFB will cover your gate charge!! Let us know so we can have armbands ready for you!!

Events:

Friday August 5, 2011

FRIDAY

8 am Gymkhana

Gymkhana 8 am - 2pm

Barrels

Poles

Keyhole Race

Flag Race

Goat Tying

(Entries close at 7:45 am)

Ages:

Junior: 8 and under

Intermediate: 9-13

Senior: 14-17

Adult: 18+

9 am - 5pm Petting Zoo

10 am Jackpot Roping

1:30- 4 pm Tractor Barrel Racing

4:30 pm Pet Show

5pm Lincoln Co Farm Bureau Dutch Oven

6 pm Live Entertainment

7 pm RODEO

9:30-11 pm Dance

SATURDAY AUG 6

7 am Adventure Run

8 am Open Horse Show

9- 4 Exhibits

9-5 Petting Zoo

10 am Jackpot Roping

1:30- 4 Tractor Barrel Racing

2 pm Lawn Mower Races

3-5 pm PEE WEE Rodeo

5 pm FFA BBQ

7 pm RODEO

MORE INFO:

JACKPOT ROPING--Fri & Sat at 10 am

entry fee: $50 per event or $50 per team for roping

RODEO--Fri & Sat at 7 pm

Steer riding: 14 and under

Rough stock: 15 and up

Saddle bronc

Bareback

Bull riding

Team Roping

Calf Roping

Barrel Racing

Steer Riding

Wild Cow Milking (Fri olnly)

Mutton Busting (Sat only)

(ENTRIES CLOSE JULY 31, 2011)

OPEN HORSE SHOW

Sat. Aug. 6, 2011

8 am - 3 pm

PEE WEE RODEO

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

3-5 pm

Call Merre Scott for info

775-725-3882

12 and under

EVENTS:

Mutton Busting

Calf Riding

Stick Horse Barrels

Poles and Flags

GOAT DRESSING

A Tribute to the Creature that makes my Ice Cream Possible!

2011-06-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's still June and that means it is still DAIRY MONTH!!! I am going to 'milk' this one as long as I can!! So, this weeks post is to help educate you a little bit more about where those great dairy products are actually coming from--it was kind of a fun trip down memory lane for me and the very short time that I did Dairy Judging in FFA, but I did learn a lot from it that I hadn't known before! So, here is some great info, the source is at the bottom of the article if you want to learn more when you are done!!

Dairy cows have been providing nourishment to humanity since ancient times. Evidence of humans using dairy cows has been found in Bronze Age Switzerland, and the ancient Egyptian nobility feasted on dairy products. Dairy cows, along with other cows and some other animals, are referred to as cattle, a word that comes from the old French word chattel, which means property.

Ancient History

Cows, along with sheep and goats, have been milked for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians enjoyed dairy products, but they were so expensive that only royalty, priests and the extremely wealthy could afford them. The old testament of the Bible mentions man milking cows 44 times. It is believed ancient cows produced much less milk than modern cows, as little as one-tenth of what a modern cow can produce.

Breeds

Each of the six major modern breeds of dairy cow--

Ayrshire,

Brown Swiss,

Guernsey,

Holstein,

Jersey

and Milking Shorthorn

--was developed separately. Guernseys were first raised by monks on the Isle of Guernsey. Jerseys, the smallest breed of dairy cow, were raised on the Isle of Jersey. Ayrshires were raised in Scotland, in the county of Ayr, and Holsteins were nurtured in the Netherlands. Milking Shorthorns were raised in northeastern England. Brown Swiss cows are the oldest breed of milking cow and have been in the Swiss Alps for thousands of years.

Cows in America

The first dairy cows were brought to the New World on Columbus' second voyage, and the first dairy cow was brought to Jamestown in 1611, per the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory (AIPL). Nearly all early settler families had their own cow. In 1822 the first Ayrshire cows were imported to America, and 1852 marked the arrival of the first Holstein. Brown Swiss were first brought in the 1850s, but by the end of the century they were found all over, even reaching as far as the Pacific Ocean.

Dairy Cows Today

There are around 110,000 dairy farms in the United States, and they contain over 9.2 million cows. Cows spend nearly eight hours a day chewing their cud, which means they regurgitate and then chew the food again. Cows have one stomach, but four separate digestive compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. The rumen can hold up to 50 gallons of undigested food, and the reticulum is where foreign objects (like bolts, pieces of fence or anything else that may accidentally fall into the cows food supply) get trapped to keep from injuring the cow.

The Dairy Industry

Milking machines were invented in 1894. Before milking machines, it took a farmer an hour to milk six cows. Now, one farmer can milk up to 100 cows an hour using modern machines. Each of the 9.2 million cows in America drinks a bathtub full of water and eats between forty and ninety pounds of food every day. Wisconsin dairy cows produce between five and seven gallons of milk a day, and each gallon of milk takes about 350 squirts of milk, according to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Read more: Fun Dairy Cow Facts

eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6382589_fun-dairy-cow.html#ixzz1O8qlXgVS

JUNE IS HERE!!

2011-06-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am not even going to ask how it got here so fast or July will be hitting me upside the head before I know it...instead I am just going to try to deal with it and see if I can't get in the occasional post this summer!

So, here's what I have for you today:

JUNE IS NATIONAL DAIRY MONTH!!!

Ice cream, milk and cheese, OH MY!! How would I live without dairy--yeah, I'd die. Okay, so I might be a bit 'cheesey' (ha ha ha) today, but I running on low energy (maybe I need some protein? Any idea where I could find a good source??) DAIRY PRODUCTS!!

Did you know that Milk is the Official beverage of Oklahoma??

● It takes more cows to produce milk annually for Pizza Hut cheese (about 170,000) than there are people living in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

● Cows have an acute sense of smell, and can smell something up to six miles away.

● Vanilla is America's favorite ice cream flavor.

● The average cow produces enough milk each day to fill six one-gallon jugs, about 55 pounds of milk.

● Each person in America eats an average of 46 slices of pizza a year.
● All 50 states in the United States have dairy farms.

● The natural yellow color of butter comes mainly from the bets-carotene found in the grass cows eat.

● The average cow drinks from 30 - 50 gallons of water each day - about a bathtub's worth.

● It takes 12 pounds of whole milk to make one gallon of ice cream.

● A cow can't vomit.
● It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs, because a cow's knees can't bend properly to walk back down.
● The greatest amount of milk produced in one year was 59,298 lbs by a Holstein cow named Robthom Sue Paddy.
● Dairy cows can produce 125 lbs of saliva a day.
● A cow chews her cud (regurgitated, partially digested food) for up to 8 hours each day.

● The oldest cow ever recorded was a cow named "Big Bertha", she died 3 months short of her 49th birthday on New Year's Eve, 1993. She also holds the record for lifetime breeding as she produced 39 calves.
● A cow has to be a mom before she will produce milk.
● Contrary to popular belief, cows do not have 4 stomachs; they have 4 digestive compartments in one stomach:
● The rumen holds up to 50 gallons of partially digested food. This is where cud comes from. Good bacteria in the rumen helps digest the cow's food and provides protein for the cow.

● The reticulum is called the hardware stomach because if cows accidentally eat hardware (like a piece of fencing scrap), it will often lodge here causing no further damage.
● The omasum is sort of like a filter.
● The abomasum is like our stomach.

● Cows only have teeth on the bottom

Cool Facts from: http://www.greenmeadowfarms.com/cooldairyfacts.htm

After researching a little more about June being Dairy month, I found out a few other astounding facts: June is also National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, and Turkey Lovers Month--so, I might have to add a few posts of fun facts about those great Ag industries this month, too. But for now, let's celebrate Dairy Month by thanking our great American Dairy Producers for all they do to provide us with some of our favorite foods and treats!!!

The Crusade to Save the Wild Horses......& REALITY

2011-05-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

So What's up with Ms. Pickens crusade to save the American 'Mustang' here's an update from:
Eastern NV Landscape Coalition’s latest Newsletter

Volume 10, Issue 2 Page 11

BLM Statement Regarding the Prospectus Submitted by Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation to Build and Establish an Eco-Sanctuary for Wild Horses

• The BLM is committed to improving the management of the Wild Horse and Burro Program by working together with people and organizations that care about these iconic symbols of the West. However, recent inaccurate information from one such organization has been widely distributed, and the BLM would like to set the record straight.

• The BLM has been working with the Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation, founded by Madeleine Pickens, for more than two years in an attempt to place wild horses gathered from Western public rangelands into a private sanctuary. Some of the information distributed in the Foundation’s recent media campaign requires some clarification and context; other information that is being distributed is just plain false.

• The Foundation has stated that the BLM will spend $85 million to remove 10,000 wild horses from public lands this year. This is not true. The BLM’s Fiscal Year 2010 total budget for the program was $65 million, of which $37 million went to caring for animals in short- and long-term holding facilities, $7.7 million went for gathering animals to keep the animals and the range healthy, and $6.8 million went for adopting out wild horses and burros to the public. The requested 2011 budget for the program is $75 million. However, under the existing Continuing Resolution, funding for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program remains at the FY 2010 level.

• BLM managers, staff, and specialists have invested substantial time to accommodate and consider ongoing and evolving ideas from the Foundation. However, despite numerous requests from the BLM, the Foundation has not provided a formal and detailed proposal so that the BLM can properly analyze and determine its feasibility. This would be required from any individual or group proposing ideas involving public funds, public lands, and wild horses and burros.

• The Foundation has indicated that it will be prepared to provide holding services on land in Nevada by next fall and that it would result in a “significant cost savings.” Without a written, detailed proposal, the BLM cannot determine whether this is true. However, Mrs. Pickens in her prospectus has suggested a stipend of $500 (adjusted to inflation) per horse, per year, for the life of each animal. This would exceed the BLM’s existing cost per animal in long-term holding of $475 per year. Her prospectus, as presented, does not demonstrate an obvious cost savings to the American taxpayer.

• The Foundation has asked the BLM to postpone an upcoming Nevada wild horse gather in the Antelope Complex Herd Management Area until its facility is built. In our December 17, 2010, response, we explained that the number of wild horses in this area is significantly above the capacity of the range’s ability to provide adequate forage and water to sustain them. If we postpone the gather until the Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation completes a facility, the BLM may well face having to conduct an emergency gather – more costly and potentially more difficult for the horses, which would likely be weakened by a lack of water and forage.

• The Foundation’s information states that 30,000 wild horses remain on public lands. The BLM’s census numbers put the wild horse and burro population at more than 38,000, according to the agency’s latest official count.

Actions needed to move forward with the Saving America’s Mustangs idea.

• To implement the Foundation’s concept as presented, under existing law and regulations, the BLM would be required to transfer title of wild horses through sale or adoption to Mrs. Pickens and change the class of livestock authorized on several Nevada allotments from cattle to horses. This would require a land-use plan amendment and additional site-specific environmental analysis (under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA). All such environmental documents require a period for public review and comment before being finalized.

• Existing law would need to be changed. The BLM does not have the legal authority to reimburse a private party for grazing titled horses (i.e., formerly government-owned horses now privately held) on either public or deeded land; reimburse a private party to graze untitled (that is, still government-owned) wild horses on public lands; or manage wild horses on public lands outside Herd Areas that were legislatively created in 1971.

• To ensure the American taxpayer r eceives fair value, the Saving America’s Mustangs Foundation would need to submit a formal proposal in response to a BLM solicitation that would be open to the public for private-partner preserves. The BLM is developing such a solicitation.

The BLM is concerned that in some of the areas proposed for the Nevada sanctuary, forage and water exist to support a maximum of 970 wild horses, far below the 10,000 the Foundation has indicated it would like to support.

Where Did I Go?

2011-05-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, So much for my great dedication to my weekly blogging for YF&R. So much for a lot of things at this point. My great state coordinator told me to look up a painting by famous artist Salvadore Dali about melting clocks--She said this is what happens to leaders when they are the only ones doing too much for too long. I somewhat feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall--and you know what they say about that, right? Well, duh, it is the definition of insanity--doing the same thing over and over even though you keep getting the same result!!
So, to the few of you out there who have read my blog and actually told me that you did and appreciated it, I apologize for my lack of diligence. It seems that as spring comes, the work for me extends from home and family to yard and garden and more focus on the horses and other animals, to the point that I rarely even sit down at the computer any more, until I am forced to do so because certain things absolutely have to be done. It is the end of the school year and soon they will all be home all day--wanting to go swimming, wanting the horses saddled, unsaddled, wanting to go somewhere, and ALWAYS needing something else to fix even thought I just fed them ten minutes before. I hope that you are not reading this in a negative way (but, I did kind of set the tone for that, didn't I?) because, really, it means that my life is full of richness and blessings, my time is not wasted on things of no value, even if it sometimes leaves little time for idleness that I might occasionally crave. It means that I have incredible land to care for when some are crowded in concrete on top of each other and next to each other and never know the semll of rain on alfalfa or sage. It means that I have animals to care for, calves to feed, chickens to chase and eggs to gather, and most of all that my children are spending time in the saddle and on four-wheelers. We can laugh and run and yell and we are not bothering anyone else because we have so much room and wide open space to do it in. So, instead of whining because I can never seem to get it all done, because the weeds are growing faster than I can cut them down, because the garden needs to be started sooner than I am ready, because the pasture fence needs repairing from the race buggies that took it out, I just try to see these things as the blessings they truly are. And though my children will spend the next three months underfoot, there will be incredible moments that remind me that above all, they are my greatest blessings in the midst of it all.
Quite often, that means that these many different time-taker-uppers take me away from YF&R, where more of my time is needed because I don't have the support structure that most states have. It means that I am the ONE working on it. The ONE trying to keep it going, the ONE that it all comes back down to, and so every-once-in-awhile, I might go MIA for some time in order to recharge my batteries, to build up my energy to keep building the program, with the hope that someday there will be many keeping it alive and I can fade into the supporting structure a bit, too. So, if you are wondering where I've gone (is that a bit egocentric? To think that anyone has even noticed that I haven't been YF&R blogging???) just know, that I am still here, that I am still dedicated to the building of NVFB YF&R, just trying to fly under the radar a bit until I can pick up enough speed to keep up with it all again.
Life is good, YF&R is awesome, sure would love to share the wealth, so let's get going on getting others involved.

Food Shortages in America?

2011-04-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

This was a really interesting article that I read today--I have kind fo been wondering about the outlook for ag, the economy, and everyday life as this year passes on and so I have been stopping to read anything that I see related to it and I thought I would share.....what do you think this year holds??

Food Shortages in America?
April 12, 2011
By: Dairy Today Editors
Source: Congressman Devin Nunes

Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) and 25 of his House colleagues called on President Barack Obama to release willing farmers from their Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts in order to produce additional grain. With Americans facing rising food prices and government officials predicting the possibility of grain shortages, immediate action is necessary to enhance U.S. production. (see letter here)

“Americans deserve a government that plans for the future. That means responding to threats of grain shortages, not just predicting them. Releasing some land from CRP contract will provide an infusion of additional production that is desperately needed. It’s a decision the President can make and one he should act upon as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Devin Nunes.

Record Production / Falling Stocks

In 2011, grain production in the United States is expected to cover 92 million acres – one of the largest plantings in more than 50 years. Yet despite this enormous production, domestic supplies of grains are falling at the fastest rate ever recorded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Meanwhile, U.S. consumer food prices (for proteins) have risen by 6.8% in the past year, more than triple inflation. The costs of staple commodities are rising at an alarming rate, threatening the weakened U.S. economy but also pushing struggling families beyond their limits.

Real Shortages

Global demand for grains has soared and various national and international agencies are predicting that shortages are likely. As a result, many nations are stockpiling reserves. Throughout Asia and the developing world, governments are working to establish significant reserves. It is time for the U.S. government to recognize the crisis and take action.

Action

Congressman Nunes and his colleagues believe it is essential for the President to act. The USDA can promote increased grain production by releasing willing farmers of arable land from the Conservation Reserve Program. There are 32 million acres currently out of production under CRP contracts. A significant amount of this land could be used to produce crops.

Trying to Close UNR's College of Ag AGAIN!?!?!?

2011-04-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

The following is a copy of a Legislative Alert that was sent out through the Farm Bureau and I thought it was important enough to share with those who hadn't seen it yet--

The Details Of The Plans By UNR To Close The College of Agriculture (Again)Our report today takes a slightly different format than past e-notices of this type because the subject is not one we are looking for you to respond to, necessarily. Yesterday, April 4th, we were notified that announcements were being made at the University of Nevada in regard to possible plans for closing the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR), if the Nevada Legislature doesn't provide the funding that is sought for the upcoming biennium. This is the document which explains the specifics of those plans.
Our initial reaction (and not completely dismissed even after a candid conversation with UNR's Provost) was that this approach was being used to persuade rural constituents to make contact with their representatives to support tax increases and funding deemed more appropriate by University officials. We have been assured that while it is necessary, in the political sense, for the Senate Majority Leader to secure rural votes for a tax increase, that isn't the reason that the College of Agriculture is again being targeted for possible elimination. The purpose for doing away with the College of Agriculture, through the proposed merger of programs into the College of Science (moving the Agricultural Experiment Station into that College as well) is simply because of cost savings and preservation of priority areas that UNR Administration believes necessary.
This is the letter sent to all University personnel by UNR President Dr. Milton Glick. It provides a more comprehensive overview of the extent of both planned cuts and possible cuts.
As you may already be aware (and covered briefly in Dr. Glick's letter of impending actions) Nevada Cooperative Extension is currently involved in the review process used to eliminate tenured University employees through the disbanding of program areas. This is the same operational system that CABNR went through in 2010.
The interesting perspective for the planned re-distribution of $5-plus Million from Cooperative Extension to the support of UNR program areas considered more essential, is that the Legislature (when they get to it) will adopt a specific line-item for Cooperative Extension not contained directly in the UNR Budget structure. Both Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research have their own line items in the state budget and some might suggest are stand alone components. Since employees who are supported by General Fund dollars in Extension are University of Nevada faculty. It appears that the plan is to free up their salary dollars (by no longer having the employee) and then moving those "unencumbered" resources into the operational realm of UNR.
Nevada Farm Bureau has not been a vocal opponent of the move by UNR to acquire Cooperative Extension dollars, primarily because of Extension still being in existence after the plan would be implemented. Granted there would be significant reductions, but each county would retain an Extension Educator and six specialists would be maintained. Although not a perfect world - the potential for continued service (albeit at reduced levels) would be available.
We are aware and wholly support Farm Bureau members/leaders and others who have more vigorously engaged in the defense of Cooperative Extension. We have also reviewed and shared response comments to the proposal by Cooperative Extension to counter the proposal put forward by the UNR Provost. If you wish (and haven't seen this document), you can go to the following website:
http://www.unce.unr.edu/budget/

The website will provide instructions on how you can provide your input online. Input must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 7.
Nevada Farm Bureau's Current Perspective:
It seems likely that there will be upcoming meetings to further discuss the potential closure of the College of Agriculture. In all likelihood, an effort to rally support and oppose the closure will be mounted as it was successfully carried out in 2010.
Nevada Farm Bureau does not currently have plans to support tax increases necessary to provide the funding that University System officials believe necessary.

Given the way in which closing the College of Agriculture is always considered as the first alternative to solving UNR's funding shortages, we have to wonder how sustainable the College of Agriculture might be.
Perhaps, a better and more effective approach would be to spend the energy and attention on obtaining necessary benefits for Nevada agriculture elsewhere. A number of very good agricultural colleges are available in the West to provide opportunities that UNR deems to be less of a priority. Arrangements and support might be possible to assist agricultural students acquire their education in these institutions.
Agricultural research, to address Nevada concerns, may or may not be satisfied through the proposed restructuring of Nevada's Agricultural Research system. Follow-up and follow-through will be required to properly communicate the importance of obtaining relevant research for agricultural needs. Exploration is also underway to determine workable safeguards that secure agricultural research assets for the benefit of Nevada agriculture - as opposed to simply selling them off for the benefit of UNR.
Preliminary information does not provide much guidance on how to approach removing the University of Nevada, Reno's "Land Grant" status and relocating it to an institution more inclined to follow the mission of a Land Grant University. As they continue to maintain their worthiness for such status, UNR officials use an extremely broad view in defining what a Land Grant University might be. They also point to elements of activities being conducted which qualify as still being properly engaged.
As Nevada Farm Bureau (and our state agriculture's community) prepares for future policy activity, we believe it would be extremely useful to consider specific actions that should be taken to achieve identified goals/objectives that extend beyond saving what we thought we had. An emphasis on determining what we need and where best to go in order to have those needs met would seem a more productive approach.
For Your Contact With Doug Busselman:
Office Phone: (775) 674-4000
Cell Phone: (775) 742-6245
Fax: (775) 674-4004
E-mail: dbuss@nvfb.org

So, you think you are having a bad day.....

2011-04-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

In case you are having one of those days and you are ready to throw in the towel on your operation, check out these pic's and see if your day compares...

What a Day!

Florida Legislator Targets Animal Activists | AGWEB.com

2011-03-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Thought this was a great article to follow up my previous post on the media and agriculture, which goes hand in hand with animal rights activists that are out of control. And, since we were just in Florida, I am feeling a bond with our fellow farmers and ranchers there--way to go for State Senator Jim Norman!!

Florida Legislator Targets Animal Activists AGWEB.com

Ag in the Movies.....

2011-03-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

By chance, I watched a popular tv show the other day that had me fuming by the end. The show, was BONES, Season 5, episode 6, "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken." I don't watch much television, beacuse, well, we don't have it out where we live and we opted against satellite. We do however get Netflix, and have watched the series which is usually light-hearted and humorous even as the scientists and FBI agents sift through remains trying to uncover the cause of death. And though it is often cheesey and somewhat unbelievable, I still found myself up on edge as I watched this episode because I know that many, many people out there would not understand how unbelievable their portrayal of a chicken farm was. As they tried to uncover the mystery of who the dead body had been and how it had been killed, the forensic artist draws a picture of a man who looks supsiciously like a chicken. Supposedly the guy had worked in the chicken farm/processing plant for many years without wearing a mask and the fumes in the plant had caused disfiguration of his face. WHAT!?!?! And to make him look like a chicken? Really? How many people are watching this and believing it? Oh, and of course he was killed in an extremely violent way, which happened to be through the machines used to kill and clean the chickens in the plant--portraying poultry production in an even harsher manner.
Another part of the show that got to me was that one of the key players got wrapped up in the worry about the animals and ended up with a chance to 'adopt' a piglet for $1500, saving it from slaughter and human consumption. Of course, most of the other players in the show were against this, even the 'vegetarian'. I was very happy that one of them was even an out and proud meat-eater that loved bacon, pork, ham, etc. So, I was glad that they tried to be somehwat well-rounded in their portrayal. In the end, a friend helps her get the money to adopt the pig, saving it from death and human consumption in order to just be her friend and help her even though they thought the cause was ridiculous.
I wonder how many people were inspired by this show to search out and 'save' some kind of animal. I probably wouldn't even think that it was possible if I didn't already know better. Some of the blogs that I follow through the YF&R have had posts on theirs about these types of things--a farm that rescues turkeys--no really, you can pay for one, or even a whole flock and they go to live out the rest of their natural lives on this farm, protected, safe and happy. Or have you seen the newspaper article (don't know if it is a joke, or really was submitted to a paper) about how hunters need to get their meat from a store where it has been made, instead of killing harmless animals. Unfortunately, I really believe that there are so many people who can't stand the thought of an animal being killed, but, so as long as they don't ever have to think about it, they can easily chow down burgers and bacon and chicken salad without worry. It's when PETA and HSUS and the media portray the supposedly inhumane treatment of their food that they begin to worry. This is why it is so important that they know about where there food really comes from and the time and care that goes into those animals--and why American Ag producers are working wo much harder to tell the story of their farms and ranches so that the story being told is the truth.

In my research for this article, I found plenty of sites that are advocating for the humane treatment of animals and especially chickens--this is what they think you should do to help out (please remember that I took these next few paragraphs straight from bornfreeusa.org, after searching for facts about poultry--these ideas followed paragraphs of information such as this: The average consumer may not be aware of the suffering of billions of birds raised for meat and egg production in the United States each year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Statistics Service reported that 7.07 billion “broiler” chickens, 67 billion “egg” chickens, and 321 million turkeys were killed in 1998 for food. In addition, millions of birds die as a result of disease, injury, and during transportation.
•Decrease or eliminate poultry products — meat and eggs — from your diet. Decrease or eliminate foods containing poultry products from your diet. The 1997 Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorses a vegetarian diet.

•If you do purchase poultry products, buy them from a health food store or natural foods co-op and purchase only products produced on organic farms. While organic farming does not necessarily mean animals are treated humanely, it is better than factory farming, which can never be “organic.”

•Support federal and state legislation that would improve the well-being of farmed birds by imposing limits on farming, transportation, and slaughter practices.

SERIOUSLY??? This is what the public is searching out after watching shows like the one I did--if we don't tell our side, more and more legislation like PROP 2 in California will be passed. More and more American Poultry producers will be put out of business and our food will be shipped in from below the border.

Can't we have well-cared for animals and eat them too? ;)
So, if you really want to know about how poultry and eggs end up on your plates and what the standards for these types of farms are in our nation, then check it out from a decent source, and give American Ag Producers the credit that they deserve for providing such a great, clean food source for our nation and so many others!!

The first link is an awesome and easy to read overview about all things chicken:
http://www.nationalchickencouncil.com/consumerInfo/docs/IntroductiontoChickenProduction.pdf

http://www.poultryegg.org/ The US Poultry and Egg Association
http://www.poultrynews.com/New/Associations.htm
http://www.aeb.org/ The American Egg Board
http://www.meatami.com/ The American Meat Institute

And of course, there are tons of others--links to individual states and even family and corporate production that can give you an idea of what poultry and egg production is really like in our nation....and it definitely won't disfigure your face or pollute your community.

State Board Training......

2011-03-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

Since it is almost time for our next State Board Meeting of the Nevada Farm Bureau, I figured it was about time to report on the last one. ;) Okay, so I had good intentions of doing this a long time ago, but as you can see from the background in the first picture, it was just a couple weeks before Christmas and life was hectic and then I had Orlando--okay, you get the idea. This meeting was not our usual state board meeting. This meeting may have been a pivotal one for many of our board members. I know that our Lincoln County FB Board meetings have taken on a new dimension because of it. We are setting and working on goals that will hopefully make a lot of great and needful changes to they way the Farm Bureau is seen and utilized.

So, AFBF sent in Jill Casten to give us a day of training at the Atlantis in Reno. Jill helped our state board see that we needed to really start to have a shared focus--the importance of a mission statement and what it says about an organization. We started by forming ideas of what goals we have as a Farm Bureau and then tried to combine those ideas into a mission statement. We read through a few from other organizations and one thing that stood out to us all was that no one read through the entire mission statement of one of the organization's because it was way too long. SO our focus was to make it direct and concise and really get our point across. The power point screen picture shows the ideas that we need to focus on to generate the goals that are the basis of the organization andd which will be the foundation for the mission statement.

Another activity that Jill had us work on was coming up with good things that had happened for Nevada Farm Bureau in the past three years (all the post-it notes on the top half of the time-line) and then the not-so-good things (post-it notes on the bottom half of the time-line). This really helped to give us an idea of what has been going on in the organization, and when and why--which helped to illustrate why those things were good or bad and how we can avoid, change, or grow on them.

We really worked on a lot of great ideas, we were divided up into different groups and different subjects to work on long-term goals for the Farm Bureau and what needs to be done to accomplish them. One thing that really made me happy was to see how many times building the YF&R program came up. This is an exciting thing for me since I have been working so hard for that for the last few years to really show the board what YF&R is and why it is so important to be building. I really felt that we were moving forward and seeing progress in this area, along with quite a few others!

A great tradition of NVFB is that when we have an evening at meetings such as this or at a national conference, we usually go to dinner together, which is a great opportunity to really get to know each other well outside of the meetings. THis time was no exception and we met for dinner and had a great evening of visiting, eating, and even more eating! Though most of us were a little picky about the oysters (BLECH!!!) The calamari and kobe beef appetizers were great! And Paul Young, of Austin was able to amaze the waiter as he put away the waiter's choice for him of a 32 oz porterhouse. He then had a few bites of his wife's steak. We may not do well with the oysters, but we sure know how to enjoy a good steak!

Paul and his waiter with the steak on the tray...

....and below, Paul with nothing but the bone left on the plate!

A few pictures of all of the group at the steakhouse.

This was a pic of dessert that the waiter brought for us with a couple of interesting items on it . I can't even remember what they were--one was neopalitan ice cream and the other had macadamia nuts in it. Like I said, interesting. Most of us there are what you would expect 'country folk' to be like, we love home-cooking and sometimes the fancy, gourmet stuff is a little too out there, but it was sure interesting and fun to try!

And our other entertainment for the night was Zach's coffee that was prepared tableside with flames and all. Even if they said it tasted like cough syrup, it was fun to watch!

Well, that's it for this post--while it may have been a little late in coming, I did want to report on it because I think this is the best state board meeting we have had since I started a few years ago. we covered so much and really worked to gether, sharing so many great ideas. The results of the training with Jill from AFBF have already shown up so much in our county board meetings and on Thursday, the board will continue to work on the goals we set and keep moving forward with more.

The Final Chapter of Our Trip to Orlando......(Part 4)

2011-03-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Part 4, the final post on our National YF&R Conference in Orlando. I would have been done last week, but our great state YF&R Coordinator/Field Rep., Stephanie Licht, sent me a disc a pictures that she had taken, many of which are from the tour that the other half of our Nevadans went on. So, while I don't have a lot of detailed information about their tours, their is a brief description of each of the places they went to and what they had the chance to see. They all said they enjoyed drinking tangerine juice and eating ice cream (almost as much as I enjoyed holding an alligator?).

I hope you have enjoyed my reports as much as I enjoyed retelling the story of such an awesome conference--feel free to pass on throughout your counties to anyone you might want to introduce to Farm Bureau and the YF&R program. We were so excited to have such great support from Churchill County this year in inviting Pete and Michelle Olsen to go with us--we loved having them and hope that they loved going with us--we are looking forward to great things developing in Churchill FB and in their new and growing YF&R!

Yep, that's me, and no, I am not singing or whatever it looks like I am doing ;) Every year at the conference the state YF&R Chairs are given a 30 second slot at one of the lunches to introduce their states. Sometimes it is a rush to tell what they produce, or what they are number one in, sometimes it is who can be the most creative, humorous, or longest (which gets booed off the stage at the 30-second mark, though some try to keep talking through it ;) Being so close to the Kennedy Space Center I told that we were home to the nation's 'other' space center, Area 51, that we also like our meat and potatoes--beef being our largest livestock industry and we are home to the 2nd largest potato farm in the nation (the things you learn when you come to state meeting in Winnemucca!) and that 14 of our 17 county's did not send Harry back to DC (Last year I mentioned a lot of what we produced, and how we were trying not to send any bad apples back to DC in the next election)

Pete and Michelle

Pete, Michelle, Lee and Grant in one of the Workshops by Dick Wittman. These workshops were some of the GREAT highlights of the conference. We all thought that they had incredible value for anyone in the agriculture industry and definitely those with issues passing on, sharing the farm, starting from scratch, etc.

Here's a bit more info about Dick:

Keynote: “Are You Getting a Passing Grade in Farm Management”
Business management practices, not economic issues, are often the reason family operations dissolve business relationships or fail in their efforts to achieve viable business succession. Wittman examines key managerial proficiencies that must be implemented as well as consequences of failing to adopt these practices in everyday operations. This speaker combines keynote comments with case study topics in the breakout sessions to tackle a number of sensitive issues related to family business management. It is presented from the viewpoint of a working family farm manager who has also provided family farm business transition consulting for over thirty years.
Bio- Wittman manages a 19,000-acre Idaho family farm partnership involving crops, cattle and timber and provides consulting services and seminars in family farm business and financial management in the US and abroad. A former FCS lender, he’s also served on numerous commodity and financial institution boards; is a director and past president of the Farm Financial Standards Council and past president of the PNW Direct Seed Association. He is an adjunct faculty member of Texas A&M teaching annually at the TEPAP program and King Ranch Institute, and also serves on the Ag Carbon Markets Working Group which provides policy development leadership in climate change legislation impacting agriculture.

Every year on the final morning, the state YF&R Chairs and Coordinators meet for Breakfast with the AFBF YF&R committee to meet those who will be over them on the committee. We had a couple of really neat things that we did to reinforce the importance of who we are in the agriculture industry and how important it is to share our stories. My Reps for another year are the Sawyers, in black to the left. They are from Kansas, so definitely a different dimension from the Reps I have had over us out of Utah and Arizona, but it is always fun to visit and get to know the AFBF committee members from across the nation. They serve a two-year term after they are elected, each year half of the committee retires as new ones come on board.

Our final address was given by Andrew McCrea, who also taught a workshop that I had attended the day before, he is a very dynamic speaker and really had some great points to make that went along well with Ken Schmidt from Harley.

Andrew McCrea

Keynote: “Ordinary to Extraordinary: The ‘Extra’ that Brings Success”
We have a choice…to be ordinary or extraordinary. We choose to be extraordinary. But what does extraordinary leadership look like? How do you build an extraordinary business? What is the ‘extra’ that makes the difference? Andrew McCrea will take you to the farm and around the globe as he uses his experiences as a rancher and an award-winning journalist to share the story of the ‘extra’ that makes people and businesses stand out among the rest. Be inspired and motivated with practical ways you can put extraordinary leadership to work in your life!

A couple of fun Farm Bureau T-shirts Steph saw along the way......

Stacie, Alyss,a and Hannah getting ready for the tours!!

Here's where their tour went:

Noble Worldwide Citrus Noble

Worldwide is a fourth generation grower/
packer/shipper of fresh Florida citrus.

Their focus is tangerines and other

specialty varieties. During the tour,

they will cover Noble’s business history,

evolution of quality and how they go to

market in today’s environment. They will

also exhibit running and packing fruit to

show their packing facility best practices.

We will also spend time in the Roe familyowned

groves.

G&F Farms & Driscoll’s of Florida, Inc.

Driscoll’s berries are grown on family

farms in some of the world’s premiere

growing regions. These farmers share a

commitment to growing the world’s best

berries and to protecting their family

land to hand down to future generations.

Driscoll’s contracts with a number of

growers in the Dover/Plant City area for

both strawberries and blueberries.

Publix Super Markets Corporate Office

Publix is a privately-held company

operating stores in Florida, Georgia, South

Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. It

has grown into a Fortune 500 company

with more than 1,000 stores and is one

of the fastest growing employee-owned

companies in the United States. During

your tour you will not only be able to see

firsthand the impressive volume of the

dairy processing facility in Lakeland, you

will also have the opportunity to taste

their own brand of ice cream.

The TOurs ended at the Florida FFA Retreat where dinner and activities had been prepared. Unfortunately, the rains were coming down and that pushed it all inside--where I would guess they were trying to feed about 700 or more people. Our bus was one of the last to show up and the line for food was over an hour long, so instead of waiting, we hopped a bus back to the resort to have dinner there.....though usually well prepared, we had been all day without water and they ran out of drinks at lunch, so hungry and thirsty we decided we wouldn't wait, but this group got there earlier and were able to try all the deep-fried treats and hopefully had a great time.

AFBF YF&R Chair

This was the line for food--the had yet to get into the room where the food was--but looking back as the picture was taken, you could see the people still waiting, and not the people around the corner still coming in from buses....like I said, about an hour wait for the food.

Chasing Gators in Florida Agriculture.....(YFR& Conference Part 3)

2011-02-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I am still trying to get my report on the YF&R conference finished, but it seems there is so much to tell that it is hard to get it all done in one sitting. So, here is the telling of one of the greatest parts of the conference--THE TOURS! Seeing agriculture up close and personal in a state so different from ours, is fascinating. There is so much that is different and yet, so much that is the same.

(Okay, here is the video of me holding an alligator--and no jokes about what a 'girl' I am. I can hold my own just about anywhere, but an alligator is a little to closely related to a snake for me to be very comfortable, but this was a chance I could not pass--soooooo AWESOME!)

I guess I have a bit more of an understanding about why some people are so excited to come to the west and see our wild horses, because, I have to say, I was pretty thrilled every time we got to see an alligator sunning itself on the bank of any old stream or pond. They see them more as a nuisance--hmmm, sound familiar? Kind of like our wild horses?

So, as I said before, there are huge differences--climate, moisture, what they grow, but there are still so many things that are the same--love of the land, the lifestyle, old cowboys with their horses and cowdogs, the ups and downs of the economy. Yes, no matter where we go in the agriculture industry, the ties that bind seem as strong as religion.

So, Wayyyyy ahead of time, I had seen the tour choices and was pretty excited about getting in on the one that was going to Deseret Ranches. I will admit that this has to do with a few facts that aren't as much Ag related, but because the ranch is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Having been raised as a member of that church and also watching my Grandpa serve for years on the board that oversees the ranches owned and operated by the same church for welfare purposes, here in Nevada, I have heard much about it and wanted the chance to see it for myself. Actually, we even have friends here in Panaca who worked on that ranch in Florida for a time--Shane Mathews, brother of NVFB State VP, Paul Mathews. Of course, Deseret Ranches is not one of the welfare ranches of the church, it is owned and run by a separate entity that is a for-profit business owned by the church.

Anyway, a little bit about the ranch: It is home to about 44,000 cows, the most anywhere in the nation, with an additional 1,300 bulls. Brahman cattle have a big influence here because of their ability to handle the heat, humidity and insects. They use a Braford, Brangus, and Simbrah rotational cross to develop replacement heifers and use almost exclusively their own stock for all of the process.

They are divided into 12 units of about 3,500 cows per one foreman and a couple of cowboys. All cattle work is still done on horseback, from their 120 head of working horses that they raise from their quarter horse brood mares.

This map of Central Florida show
the outline of the Deseret Ranch in yellow.

The ranch covers over 290,000 acres of central Florida land, most of which was purchased in the 1950's as very low quality cut-over timberland. It is now a combination of pastures, wetlands, woodlands, and citrus groves. From the comments of our Floridian Ag Teacher/Tour guide/YF&R member on the way to the ranch, it seems that the ranch is very well thought of by ranches throughout the state because of the good stewardship of the land by the ranch, and because it is the second largest ranch in the nation, land-wise, and the largest owner of so many 'mama cows' in the nation.

Lee Mathews hamming it up for the camera.
This gator is in the visitor's center of the
Deseret Ranches main office area.

A Cyprus Grove in the middle of a Deseret Ranch pasture--yes, this is Florida in early February. The grass is green, a lot of the trees have leaves or are already blossoming. The greenest grass in these pictures is generally field-planted winter Rye.

Another thing that I really thought was neat--probably because it is so different from what I am used to, or I read to many novels about the Civil War and the South and I have a romantic notion of trees dangling Spanish moss over grand plantations--is the Spanish moss. Even in the middle of the cities, trees have it hanging everywhere. Hey, I have bought this stuff from craft stores before and it is everywhere here, for free!

This is the system that the ranch uses for each of it's 12 units. The foreman and a couple of cowboys manage their 3,500 head all in one day, separating through this chute system with one opening gates to the five pens around as the foreman calls out the number for the pen as the cow comes down the alley.

One thing that always surprised me was the sand--I think that our tour guide made some crack about what kind of soils they had there--spotty soils. The had a spot of soil here, and a spot of soil there. Ha ha. But, really, you would drive down the highway and see some torn up ground and it looked like someone had dumped a load of sand--only they hadn't, that's what us there naturally! This pen is a good illustration of what the bare ground looks like--the beach!

If you have followed any of my articles in the monthly journal you'll remember me talking about the billions of dollars in losses that Florida agriculture suffered last year do to unusual amounts of freezes--these oranges are part of that--they look great, but the freeze got to them and that means they will be dry and not good for much.

They have 1,700 acres of citrus, almost a quarter of a million trees. Most go to juice production, though there are some navel oranges, tangerines and tangelos produced.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Deseret Ranches. Our Tour guide (I believe it was David???) grew up on the ranch, and came back to work there himself. He was hilarious. I heard someone from a different bus say that there tour there seemed kind of dry, but I think everyone on our bus absolutely loved it. When we weren't laughing, we were learning. So, they took us to their own rodeo grounds, where they hold a rodeo each year with their employees participating and the public invited, and we had lunch before heading across the road to Kempfer Farms and Sawmill.

Across the road at Kempfer we find American Agriculture at it's truest, a family that has been on this land for several generations, trying to raise their kids to come back and do the same--at the same time, trying to adapt to changes in the world and economy. They have always been cattle ranching cowboys, but they have also tried to integrate as many aspects of the ranch into production as possible to keep it profitable and running.

The Kempfer's run a (confusing to me) mix of Brahman cattle, but they seem to know what crosses they are going for, which ones are in which pastures and when they are coming and going.

They also have normally been know for their Cyprus and pine sawmill, which burned to the ground a few years ago. They rebuilt in time for the economy to come crashing down and now the sawmill is almost unused because of the decreased demand for the product.

At one point they raised watermelons, but advances in watering systems took away they market to producers in northern part of the state.

They do utilize waste from one of the county sewage plants that is brought in and spread on their fields, which then have to be kept untouched for 30 days, but it is free fertilizer and application for them and a great way of promoting to the city how agriculture takes their waste and turns it in to productive fields and pastures. Kempfer Farms has also had a pretty good turf business in the past that has also been greatly down-sized due to decreased demands in the economy. A lot of their laser-leveled fields are now being reverted back to pasture. But, they are always on the lookout for new ways to utilize what they have, and one of their cousins is a hunting outfitter. Certain parts of the ranch he can use all year round for hunting, but other parts are only seasonal. In fact, there was a 12-foot gator in a pond near the pasture that they had just moved a bunch of cows and calves into and so, the cousin was bringing someone in to hunt the gator the following week.

This gator was on the bank of one of their ditches. The gators are somewhat of a nuisance, though Kempfer's say the biggest problem is that they get their dogs. The dogs are a special breed started up by the matriarch's family years ago. Though the bigger the gators get, the scary they become. The kids go out shooting them like our kids go out after jackrabbits. They are also allowed to keep the eggs from half of the nests that they find on their ranch in a years time. Alligators don't reproduce well in captivity, so the eggs are bought by those wanting to raise for food and whatever else you do with them?

So, as we were touring through Kempfer Farms, a baby gator was just off the road in the field, and the brother giving our tour and the brother in the bus ahead of us decided to jump off and catch him for us and let us have a real live gator experience. Once again, I will say, SOOOOOOO AWESOME!

Lee Mathews, putting the moves on the little feller.

Grant Perkins putting the other moves on the little feller. (Actually, I have no idea if it was a male of a female, but Lee and Grant sure had fun goofing around with it)

Back at the Kempfer Offices, there are orange trees just growing here and there, not to mention the Spanish moss hanging from everything, so I had to get a few pic's of that to show what it is like around there. What a great day. We had such a wonderful time on the tours.

And, before you know it, the alarm is going off at 3:30 am and it is time to head back to real life again! Over the storms of the Midwest, we sailed straight from Orlando in to SLC and it was time to drive down to get our kids and drive on home. So, after a full day of travel, we were finally back in dry, cold, home sweet Nevada. But, I did LOVE the shots of coming into SLC, crossing over the Rockies and back into the vast open west, Oh, how I missed those wide open spaces and glorious mountains of the west. Florida, was beautiful (though I am still sad that I never made it to the ocean), I really enjoyed my time there, but Oh, how I love the west.

Over the Great Salt Lake and it's semi-frozen waters as we return from Orlando.

And then we're home again.

A couple of National News bits about YF&R.......

2011-02-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Farm Bureau Support of Feeding America Breaks Records

The farm and ranch families of Farm Bureau last year raised more than $273,000 and donated more than 18 million pounds of food to hungry Americans as part of Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All program through Feeding America. Combined, the monetary and food donations provided the equivalent of more than 16 million meals.

The money raised, food donated and meal equivalents in 2010 all shattered program records. The Harvest for All program was established in 2003.
In fact, the 18 million pounds of food donated by Farm Bureau families in 2010 is nearly three times as great as the 6.7 million pounds donated in 2008, the previous record. The $273,000 in funds donated in 2010 surpasses the 2009 level of $213,000, which was also a record. And the number of meal equivalents served at 16 million bests the previous record of 6.4 million also set in 2008 by nearly 10 million meal equivalents.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman urged Farm Bureau members to make 2011 another record-breaking year for the Harvest for All program.
“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of Farm Bureau’s young leaders for last year’s record-breaking performance in Harvest for All,” Stallman said. “I know Farm Bureau members and YF&R leaders can make 2011 another record-breaking year for feeding America’s hungry, and that is my challenge to them.”

Ohio Student Wins FB YF&R Collegiate Discussion Meet

Emily Krueger of West Salem, Ohio, competed against 47 other college students or recent graduates to win the American Farm Bureau’s 2011 Collegiate Discussion Meet, Feb. 6, at the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Krueger, a junior at Ohio State University majoring in agriculture communications with minors in animal science and psychology, plans to pursue a career in agricultural journalism or public relations upon graduation. “Growing up in a small, rural community I was surrounded by agriculture,” Krueger said. “I grew to love agriculture and all that it stands for, working as a herdsman for a local beef farm and a trainer for a nearby horse farm.”

As the top winner in the final round, Krueger won a $2,500 scholarship from the CHS Foundation. The topic of the final discussion was, “How will food movements such as ‘foodie’ and ‘locavore,’ which are primarily focused in urban centers, influence national agricultural production and federal programs?”
New releases from: http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.newsarchives

At Work and Play in Florida..... (Part 2)

2011-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

So, day two of the National YF&R Conference is largely defined by the Collegiate Discussion Meet. It starts out first thing in the morning, back to back rounds of college attending members of the YF&R who have competed in their home states to earn the right to compete at the national level. The Discussion Meet is held nationally at two levels of competition, one for the collegiate and one for regular YF&R members. The regular discussion meet is held at AFBF's annual meeting each January, while the collegiate meet is held each February at the YF&R conference. Collegiate members are able to compete more than once in the national meet, as long as they have not won it previously. Regular competitors cannot compete again after they have won their state competition and competed at the national level.

The Discussion Meet is set up to simulate a board discussion, preparing YF&R members for future involvement in their county and state Farm Bureau Board. They are judged on their participation in the discussion as well as an opening and closing statement on the topic being discussed. Cooperation, knowledge, presentation, and speaking skills are all part of the scoring, also. Their are four rounds. The top scorers from the first two rounds move on to a round of 16, known as the sweet sixteen, from which they are narrowed to a 'final four.'

Because our state competition is small, we have only had one contest, involving both collegiate and regular members, and so we send a competitor to whatever national meet they qualify for. The last three years we have had collegiate winners. This year, Stacie Schwandt, from Spring Creek, and one of our State FFA officers, won the state meet and represented us at the contest in Orlando.

Below are the five questions that were randomly drawn for each round--recently a fifth question was added so that it is no longer a given what the final round's topic will be.

2011 Discussion Meet Questions

1- Farm Bureau is the leading voice for agriculture but not the only voice. How do we encourage other agricultural groups to work together for the common good of our industry?

2- Government has always been involved in agriculture. Is the current level of government involvement a net hindrance or a net benefit to agriculture?
3- How will food movements such as “foodie” and “locavore,” which are focused primarily in urban centers, influence national agricultural production and federal programs?

4- Has technology become essential for American farmers? Should Farm Bureau influence and encourage all generations of farmers, ranchers and agriculturalists to embrace technological opportunities?

5- Given recent challenges, such as volatile food prices and limited world food supplies, do American consumers adequately appreciate the importance of US-produced food? Will American consumers consider American agriculture important to our security in the future?

It is always great to watch as the 4-6 members of the board panel discuss these topics, share ideas, and show their skills. Sometimes it gets a little intense--a lot of them are out there to win no matter the cost, while others are more relaxed. If you want to see it in action, come to our state meeting this November in Fallon! Or, you can contact me for more information if you are interested in getting involved.

Stacie represented us well, though she did not progress through to the last two rounds. We were excited to have her there with us.

BUT, the title of this post is about work AND play, so I had to add some play into the mix...The first afternoon of the conference we were actually done with workshops and meetings by about 4:00, which gave us the chance to to get half-price tickets to EPCOT CENTER. Where we travelled around the world and back in just a few hours. And, like I said before, the weather may look chilly, but it was in the seventies, even as the rain misted or fell.

And what happens when you are at the YF&R National Conference and the Super Bowl is on? Well, you just have an even bigger party than usual!! They combined the awards dinner on Sunday night with the Super Bowl party, so we said good-bye to the retiring AFBF YF&R Committee, and a few other things, then they brought out the burgers and pulled pork and wings and salads and cookies and brownies. Then, we watched the big game on the big screens!

Hannah, Stacie, Ken, Stephanie, Grant
Michellle, Pete and Lee
Enjoying the Super Bowl Party!

And a few minutes enjoying the beautiful weather on a hammock on the sandy side of the lake.

We also had a few hours to visit Disney's Magic Kingdom the first day we were there.

Lots of snapping turtles, bunny rabbits, and even armadillo's around the resort. Two of our Nevada people saw armadillo's while we were there, unfortunately, it wasn't me--though I'll tell you about the alligator's next week!

A night shot of the resort reflecting on the lake with a low ISO on my camera--just having fun.

What do Harley's, the Apollo 13, and YF&R have in common??

2011-02-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

What do Harley's, the Apollo 13, and YF&R have in common??

Well, you are about to find out--Welcome to the first part of my report on the YF&R National Conference in Orlando, Florida! That's where Harley Davidson, Apollo 13 and the Young Farmer's and Rancher's of the American Farm Bureau come together.

First of all, we have to get to Orlando....this is how it went:

We left on the 3rd, after taking one kid to the doctor, getting the rest finished with school, packed and loaded, we headed for Utah to drop them off at their Aunt and Uncle's. It was cold in Nevada it was colder in Utah. On the way to the SLC airport the next morning at 5 am our time, the temperature began to drop even more--at -11 it was too cold for my camera to wake up and take the picture, so this was the coldest that I got a picture. YAY!!! WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA!

After flying from SLC to Atlanta and then on to Orlando. After a 40 minute shuttle we were finally there, at 9:00 pm, exhausted and ready to fall into bed, just one more long trek across the resort, around the lake, and FINALLY, we were there. This picture shows the resort, where the convention center is, our rooms were far across the lake and back behind a few other buildings on the side the picture was taken from, so at least we got a lot of walking in! And though it looks cloudy, it was about 78 with high humidity, so it was really nice weather.

But, on to the conference!!!

The National YF&R Conference started out bright and early on Saturday, February 5th, 2011 at the Coronado Springs Resort inside of Disney World, Florida. And, that is where the Harley's come in. Our keynote address entitled, "Make Some Noise: Open the Throttle and Dominate" came from Ken Schmidt, the former director of communications of Harley-Davidson. He spear-headed the movement that took Harley-Davidson from the brink of bankruptcy and death to the top of the motorcycle industry.

I have to say that I loved this address. It was not something that you would think would relate so closely to agriculture, oh but it did, to the changing world and the way we need to present our industry to the world, and also how to get build membership and retain it.

Ken pointed out key points to getting people's attention, having energy and enthusiasm about what we are doing and who are are. He told us that no one is engaged to listen, they have to be engaged through something else (energy, enthusiasm, etc.) in order to want to listen. Another key point that he made was that we need to get them talking about themselves, learn about them and really listen and then they will know that you actually care about them and they will be more willing to like you and listen to you in return.

Harley was days away from declaring bankruptcy in the mid '80's. They had slipped to a place that no one thought they could recover from, and Ken gained invaluable insight from the tools they used to rebuild and come back on top. They received input from their customers and potential customers and acted on it--they listened, they learned, they were excited about their product and gave everyone the chance to test-drive it and become excited about, asking for feedback and then putting the feedback to work for the customer. Harley-Davidson is now run debt-free and selling bikes at twice what their competitors do because of the reputation and name they have built for themselves by knowing how to reach those out there that they might not have otherwise.

Another workshop I attended was this, "Speak Up, Speak Out" by AFBF Staff members, Jill Casten and Kyle Perry. Jill came to Reno in December and did our State Board Training. This workshop was more about learning to speak out about the concerns we face in agriculture and doing in the way that the general audience can better understand. In a lot of ways it focused on public speaking, learning ahead of time who our audience will be and preparing ahead to make it fit their level of knowledge about our topic and how to present to keep them interested. They focused on a tool called 'mind-mapping' that maps out 3-5 main topics of the topic you are discussing and having subpoints, statistics and examples for each of the main points to better control the flow of the information and keep it from becoming more than your audience's attention can handle. Most of all, they told us to 'tell them what we are going to tell them--tell them--and then tell them what we told them." And then challenge them to do something with what you taught them.

On to the Spacier side of things......APOLLO 13

Okay, so here's where the Apollo 13 comes into it all--Our Closing Keynote Address on Saturday afternoon was Captain Jim Lovell, the astronaut who calmly and carefully commanded the Apollo 13 mission, even when all hope was lost of their survival, and was able to bring it back to earth with the help of 'teamwork and decisive leadership' from all involved. I must say that it kind of blew my mind away to think about being out there in space, thousands of miles from the earth (I know it sounds ridiculous, but I am claustrophobic and the thought of being surrounded by all that darkness and space--well, I don't think I would do very well with that). He said that it is pretty hard to fathom when you look back at the earth and you can cover it with your thumb. He told the story of the Apollo 13, how it should have been a very routine trip, his third to the moon, one that the general public hardly had any interest in at this point. But, unfortunately, some minor complications caused some major problems. Captain Lovell is recognized as a national hero and has received many honors, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We were so close to the Kennedy Space Center, though we didn't get there, that this really hit even closer to home. What an amazing story. In fact his address was called: "A Successful Failure: What Apollo 13 Teaches Us About Leadership, Action, and Excellence."

(Are you starting to see why I love these conferences so much? And this was only day 1!!)

So, to sum it up here are a few more pics from our first day (Grant and I came one day early and spent part of it at Disney's Magic Kingdom, then met up with the Nevada delegation and had dinner at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse at the Disney's Yacht house Resort (?) ) Below is the first morning--warm, pleasant, but you could see the moisture floating in the air.

The NEvada Delegation. The Farm Bureau's National Leadership Conference Precedes the YF&R's conference by two days and we overlapped with them for one. This happens every other year as teh NLC conference is only held every two years.

So back to front and left to right:

Hank Combs (NV Pres), Doug Busselman (NV Exec VP) Jamie Perkins (NV YF&R Chair) Grant Perkins, Paul Mathews (NV VP) Pete Olsen III.

Bevan Lister (LC, NV Pres) Hannah Hardy, Alyssa O'Toole, Stacie Shcwandt (NV DM Winner) ShaRee Mathews, Lee Mathews.

(Not pictured: JoAnn Lister, Theresa Mathews, Michelle Olsen, Stephanie Licht (NV YF&R Coord) )

Orlando or BUST!!!!

2011-02-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

You know, when I was a kid, I remember seeing those signs on the wagons in pictures of pioneers, headed across the plains that said: 'Oregon or Bust' or even on some crazy vehicle traveling down the road, and thinking to myself, what does that really mean? Now, as I have one day left to pack six people for six days and travel 4 hours to drop off kids, another 3 to the airport, and then across the US to sunny Florida, I think I understand. I'll get there or BUST in the process of trying, and I am trying, I am really looking forward to this trip. Of course, major snow storms have shut down thousands of flights today and tomorrow, but hopefully, the impact to southern travel will continue to be fine (like I said, or BUST!)

Anyway, the last couple of years have taught me something important about National YF&R Conferences--you do not go to them for a vacation (sniff, sniff, since I will be in Florida, I am definitely having twinges about all the things I would like to do, places I would like to see), but you also never leave them without so much more than you came with.

So, I am looking forward to this trip. And, not just because we are staying at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort and there is a slight chance I might convince my hubby to hang out at DisneyWorld with me for a few hours on the only day we have that is partially free! Every other year the National YF&R Conference overlaps the final day of the National Leadership Conference for Farm Bureau leaders from all of the states, so there are more workshops, more people, and even more to learn. We jump (okay, we crawl, exhaustedly out of bed, cursing the alarm clock) out of bed each morning and hit the ground running. We usually go all day, though between meals and snacks, we are refueled enough to come home a little bit heavier, too, in order to keep us going. In the evenings we are beat, but full of new ideas, new friendships, and new goals for our state YF&R program. We come home needing a vacation. But, it will then be time to form reports and thank yous to the Board for the budget to send us and to let them know what we did that was really worth the money spent.

I can honestly say that the last few years I have gained leaps and bounds of better understanding how to promote and educate about agriculture, how to use technology do so, to tell the story of agriculture that I know and see around me. I have learned about agriculture in various forms and states that I never dreamt of--I mean, really, I did not know that peanuts were a row crop, more like a bean than most nuts that grow from trees--thanks to Georgia Farm Bureau for educating me on that one! One thing that is a huge highlight of the trip is the final day of tours, getting to see Ag production in the state that we are visiting. It is so cool. I know, how old am I, but I am very serious and very much looking forward to this year's tours. I will hopefully be bringing back plenty of pic's to share and maybe even some video. SO, I hope you are looking forward to my report (which will be up as soon as I have sufficiently recovered, got the kids back to normal schedules, and have the laundry started ;) ).

Oh, here is the schedule in case you want to know more about what we do there:
http://fb.org/programs/young/2010-11/2011-Leadership_Conference.pdf

Big Support for Nebraska Ag against HSUS from their Governor.....

2011-01-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

Well, there was no way I couldn't share this--what an awesome story this is, from Nebraska Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Conference. In the fight to defend our nation's agriculture against the war being waged by the Humane Society of the United States to supposedly 'protect' the animals that our nations farmer's and rancher's are raising. Though they have won battles in California's poultry industry with things like Prop 2, in 2008 and Arizona's hog farmers (few thought they were) with Prop 204 before that. Legislation passed by a general public with very little understanding behind the reasoning for the animal confinement to smaller crates, etc., with the help of the hefty wallet of the HSUS, a lobbying agency backed by many vegan and anmial rights groups. While there may be humane society's operating at local levels who care for the mistreated pets, and even livestock of their areas, DO NOT confuse them with HSUS and their alterior motives.

In fact, if you are on facebook--check out the 'Humanewatch' page and learn more!! http://www.facebook.com/HumaneWatch#!/HumaneWatch

And one last WAY TO GO GOVERNOR HEINEMAN!! Thanks for your support of your state's Agriculture, it would be so nice to have more out there like you!

Gov. Heineman Tells YF&Rs "We'll Kick HSUS' Butt!"

.by Nebraska Farm Bureau on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 11:57am.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman reiterated his opposition to HSUS today in remarks at the Nebraska Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference in Lincoln and said if HSUS attempts to force legislation in Nebraska, it will get its butt kicked.

“You (HSUS) come to Nebraska and you’re going to have the fight of your life. If you think you can intimidate Nebraskans, you’re kidding yourself. I’ll organize the whole state if that’s what it takes.” Heineman said he would work nonstop if HSUS pushes a ballot initiative, to be sure all the state’s citizens understand HSUS’ agenda and what it would mean in a state where livestock is the leading industry. “And then I’ll go to every state in the nation,” he said: “You have to be willing to stand up for your principles” he told the young agricultural leaders at the conference.
“We’re a state of 1.8 million people. We know each other pretty well in this state and that’s an advantage we have. Lincoln and Omaha (the state’s largest cities) will look to you (farmers and ranchers) for leadership” regarding HSUS’s actions, the governor said.

“Money doesn’t always win elections. People win elections . We’ve got to have people at the grassroots. It will be important for you to use social media to connect with all Nebraskans,” he said, along with talking about HSUS in every conversation after church and in the coffee shop.

HSUS will not find a single elected official in Nebraska willing to stand up in support of HSUS, he said, down to the NRD level. “They’re tough, but we’re tougher.
“I went to Ranger School and I’ve faced lots of tougher opponents. If they want to engage in guerrilla warfare, I’ll teach ‘em a lesson. I’ll do everything I can to stop them.”
The YF&Rs expressed their appreciation to Gov. Heineman for his leadership on the HSUS issue.

Nevada Farm Bureau Picks up Honors at National Conference!

2011-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00