Freeze Branding.....

Every year after Thanksgiving, we get together at my Grandpa's corrals to freeze brand all of his registered black angus heifers.  Last year I asked how many of my friends on facebook knew waht that was....there were a couple.  So, I decided to post info from Wikipedia,w hich is accurate, and save myself the time of typing, in order to document our day of freeze branding.  We use isopropyl alcohol with dry ice in styrofoam coolers.  Looks really neat, but don't get too close without your insulated gloves!!

In contrast to traditional hot-iron branding, freeze branding uses a branding iron that has been chilled with a coolant such as dry ice or liquid nitrogen. Rather than burning a scar into the animal, a freeze brand damages the pigment-producing hair cells, causing the animal's hair to grow white where the brand has been applied. To apply a freeze brand, the hair coat of the animal is shaved so that the bare skin is exposed, then the frozen iron is applied to the bare area for a period of time that varies with both the species of animal and the color of its hair coat: Shorter times are used on dark-colored animals, simply causing the hair follicles to lose all color and regrow as white hairs. Longer times are needed on animals with white hair coats, as the brand is applied long enough to permanently stop the hair from growing in the branded area and only skin remains.

Freeze brand detail on shoulder of horse.Freeze brands cause less damage to the animals' hides than hot iron brands, and can be more visible. Horses are frequently freeze-branded. At this time, hogs cannot be successfully freeze branded, as their hair pigment cells are better protected. Also, freeze branding is slower, more expensive, less predictable (more care is required in application to assure desired results), and in some places does not constitute a legal brand on cattle. When an animal grows a long hair coat, the freeze brand is still visible, but its details are not always clear. Thus, is it sometimes necessary to shave or closely trim the hair so that a sharper image of a freeze brand can be viewed.

An animal that is going to have a freeze brand applied will need to have the hair shaved off of the branding site. Hair is an excellent insulator and needs to be removed so that the extreme cold of the freeze branding iron can be applied directly to the skin. Then the freeze branding iron, made of metal such as brass or copper that removes heat rapidly from the skin, is submerged into the coolant. Immediately before the freeze branding iron is ready to be applied, the animal's skin is rubbed, squirted, or sprayed with a generous amount of 99% alcohol, then the freeze branding iron is removed from the coolant and held onto the skin with firm pressure for several seconds. The exact amount of time will vary according to the kind of animal, the thickness of its skin, the type of metal the branding iron is made of, the type of coolant being used, and other factors.

Immediately after the freeze branding iron is removed from the skin, an indented outline of the brand will be visible. Within seconds, however, the outline will disappear and within several minutes after that, the brand outline will reappear as swollen, puffy skin. Once the swelling subsides, for a short time, the brand will be difficult or impossible to see, but in a few days, the branded skin will begin to flake, and within three to four weeks, the brand will begin to take on its permanent appearance.

Of course, it can't be all work and no play, we have to have time for the occaisonal Pepsi or Diet Coke and snacks, along with a few tall tales!

My 4-year old, Stetson, was bound and determined to get those cows into the chute, he had his cattle prod and was taking his job very seriously to help his cousin Kade.

Two years ago, he was a bit nervous around the cows and everyone started to give him a bit of a hard tim, so by last year he had convinced himself (as he would tell me quite often) that he wasn't scared of the cows, huh mom?  And this year he went right to work proving that we wasn't.  Of course, in that spot, you might be a little more afraid of what comes out of the cow, than the cow herself! ;)

GOT HER!

Merry Christmas With Some Fun Facts!!

As you celebrate Christmas this year, here are a few fun Agriculture facts for you!!!

DID YOU KNOW?!?!?

(Christmas Tree Facts from the National Christmas Tree Association)
There are close to 350 million Real Christmas Trees currently growing on Christmas Tree farms in the U.S. alone, all planted by farmers.

There are close to 15,000 farms growing Christmas Trees in the U.S., and over 100,000 people are employed full or part-time in the industry.

It can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree of typical height (6 - 7 feet) or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7 years.

There are approximately 25-30 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year.

North American Real Christmas Trees are grown in all 50 states.

For every Real Christmas Tree harvested, 1 to 3 seedlings are planted the following spring.


The top Christmas Tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington.

The most common Christmas Tree species are: balsam fir, Douglas-fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine.

A History Of Christmas Trees......

(ever wonder when and where the tradition started to cut down a tree and plunk it the middle of our house--covered with all kinds of pretty things?)



1510 – The first written record of a decorated Christmas Tree comes from Riga, Latvia. Men of the local merchants’ guild decorated a tree with artificial roses, danced around it in the marketplace and then set fire to it. The rose was used for many year and is considered to be a symbol for the Virgin Mary.



1530 – There is record from Alsace, France (then Germany territory) that trees were sold in the marketplace and brought home and set up undecorated. Laws limited the size to “8 shoe lengths” (slightly over 4 feet).


1600s – By the 17th century, it was common in Germany to decorate Christmas Trees with apples. This practice was a holdover from the 14th and 15th centuries when evergreen boughs hung with apples were the only prop used in the “miracle plays” that were performed at the churches on December 24. December 24 was Adam & Eve’s Day in the early Christian calendar, and the plays were used as ways of teaching the Bible to a largely illiterate population.


1700s – In parts of Austria and Germany, evergreen tips were brought into the home and hung top down from the ceiling. They were often decorated with apples, gilded nuts and red paper strips. Edible ornaments became so popular on Christmas Trees that they were often called “sugartrees.” The first accounts of using lighted candles as decorations on Christmas Trees come from France in the 18th century.


1800s – The Christmas Tree was introduced in the United States by German settlers. It rapidly grew from tabletop size to floor-to-ceiling.


1851 – Christmas Trees began to be sold commercially in the United States. They were taken at random from the forests.


1853 – Franklin Pierce is credited with bringing the first Christmas Tree to the White House.


Late 1800s – The first glass ornaments were introduced into the United States, again from Germany. The first ones were mostly balls, but later chains of balls, toys and figures became more common.


Around 1883 – Sears, Roebuck & Company began offering the first artificial Christmas trees – 33 limbs for $.50 and 55 limbs for $1.00.


1900s – Due to overharvesting, the natural supply of evergreens began to be decimated. Conservationists became alarmed, and many magazines began to encourage people to substitute an artificial “snow” covered tree, consisting of a branch of a deciduous tree wrapped in cotton.


1901 – The first Christmas Tree farm was started in 1901 when W.V. McGalliard planted 25,000 Norway spruce on his farm in New Jersey. Also in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt tried to stop the practice of having Christmas Trees out of concern about the destruction of forests. His two sons didn’t agree and enlisted the help of conservationist Gifford Pinchot to persuade the president that, done properly, the practice was not harmful to the forests.


1930s – President Franklin D. Roosevelt started a Christmas Tree farm on his estate in Hyde Park, New York.


1966 – The National Christmas Tree Association began its time-honored tradition of having the Grand Champion grower present a Christmas Tree to the First Lady for display in the Blue Room of the White House. That year, Howard Pierce of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, presented a tree to President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.


Today – Approximately 25-30 million Real Christmas Trees are sold each year in the United States. Almost all of these come from Christmas Tree plantations.

And Don't Forget the Turkey Dinner for Christmas, Either!!

TURKEY TRIVIA!
(From the National Turkey Federation--EatTurkey.com)
In 2009, more than 247 million turkeys were raised. More than 226 million were consumed in the United States. We estimate that 46 million of those turkeys were eaten at Thanksgiving, 22 million at Christmas and 19 million at Easter.

 It's estimated that turkeys have 3,500 feathers at maturity. The bulk of turkey feathers are composted or otherwise disposed of, however, some feathers may be used for special purposes. For instance, dyed feathers are used to make American Indian costumes or as quills for pens. The costume that "Big Bird" wears on "Sesame Street" is rumored to be made of turkey feathers. Turkey feather down has been used to make pillows. For commercial use, turkey skins are tanned and used to make items like cowboy boots, belts or other accessories.

Compare the White and Dark Meat


White meat is generally preferred in the United States while other countries choose the dark meat.

 A turkey typically has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.


The two types of meat differ nutritionally. White meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat.



The rich flavor of dark meat is especially valued in soup and stew recipes. Dark meat holds up well in rich marinades and is a perfect choice for grilling and barbecuing.

 When Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to eat their first meal on the moon, their foil food packets contained roasted turkey and all of the trimmings.


Turkey consumption has more than doubled over the past 25 years. In 2009, per capita turkey consumption was 16.9 pounds compared to 8.3 pounds in 1975. It's easy to see why when you consider the many benefits of turkey.

Did you Know?Only tom turkeys gobble.

Hen turkeys make a clicking noise.
Domesticated turkeys cannot fly.
Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour and can run 20 miles per hour.
June is National Turkey Lovers' Month!

Have you ever wondered why we have Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Here's a fun article I found:

Wherefore Turkey?
How poultry made its way onto the holiday menu.

By Michelle Tsai

On Thanksgiving, most of us will sit down to feast on a turkey dinner. The bird also shows up on the table at Christmas. How did we end up with the tradition of eating turkeys during the holidays?

They were fresh, affordable, and big enough to feed a crowd. Americans have long preferred large poultry for celebrations because the birds could be slaughtered without a huge economic sacrifice. Cows were more useful alive than dead, and commercial beef wasn't widely available until the late 19th century. Chicken was more highly regarded than it is today, but rooster meat was tough, and hens were valuable as long as they laid eggs. Venison would have been another option, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries, though it would have required you to hunt for your Thanksgiving meal. There was plenty of ham or brined pork around, but it wasn't considered fit for special occasions. Eating turkey was also in keeping with British holiday customs that had been imported to the New World.


Among the big birds, turkey was ideal for a fall feast. Turkeys born in the spring would spend about seven months eating insects and worms on the farm, growing to about 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. They were cheaper than geese, which were more difficult to raise, and cheaper by the pound than chickens. Cost was an important factor for holiday shoppers, because people weren't necessarily preparing just one meal; Thanksgiving was the time to bake meat and other types of pies that could last through the winter. Harriet Beecher Stowe, in Old-Town Folks, described making fruit pies at Thanksgiving "by forties and fifties and hundreds, and made of everything on the earth and under the earth." (The British once served geese, swans, and even peacocks on special occasions, but they came to prefer turkey after it was first introduced to England in about 1540. Swans, because of their diet, would taste fishy unless they were fed wheat for weeks before slaughter.)


Sara Dickerman held a turkey derby to find the best bird and explained what stuffing choice tells you about the cook. Andrew Santella chronicled how the debate over "the War on Christmas" spread to Thanksgiving. Dear Prudence gave tips for dealing with difficult family members at Thanksgiving.By 1863, when Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, turkeys had taken center stage at Thanksgiving. (Americans had started holding unofficial Thanksgiving dinners in the previous century.) And while the bird had already been associated with Christmas, the turkey also gained iconic status as a yuletide meal around the same time. The classic menu of turkey with gravy, stuffing, and plum pudding was popularized by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, published in 1843 and widely read in the United States. Some culinary historians believe Scrooge's gift of a Christmas turkey to the Cratchit family helped cement the turkey's place at the center of the holiday meal for both modest and affluent households. Among the wealthy, however, this changed around the turn of the 20th century as the birds became associated with the working class and poor immigrants, who often received turkeys from charities during the holidays. Americans continued to serve Thanksgiving turkey, but at Christmas, those who could afford it turned to game and beef.

Nevada FB Annual Meeting--NV YF&R & The Discussion Meet

Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Chair: Jamie Perkins, from Panaca, Lincoln County, Nevada.  (Yep, that's me, thanks to Zach for getting a few pic's of me, I generally try to hide out behind the camera, especially since photography is a hobby of mine, but also because I am not really fond of being on the other side!)  I am in my third year as State YF&R Chair, mainly because I have a very strong desire to see the program grow and succeed in Nevada, but also, because I really, really enjoy it.

American Farm Bureau helps Nevada YF&R GROW!!

The final workshop of the annual meeting was put on by AFBF's own, Matt Scramlin. I first met Matt a couple of years ago at the National YF&R Conference in Sacramento.  We had attended a couple of his very dynamic workshops there, and afterwards, Dann Mathews of Dry Valley, Nevada, approached him and asked what it would take to have him come to Nevada and put on some workshops.  Well, he told us all we had to do was ask, so I emailed him later to verify that that was all it took, and our state coordinator, Stephanie and I went to work to make it happen.  So, this is the second time in a row, that Matt has been in Nevada for our annual meeting.  He has been able to fly in to Vegas and drive to Ely, and fly in to Reno and drive to Winnemucca, both very different views of our state, and very interesting.  He said the first time he waited to get out of Vegas before deciding to find a place to eat, when his GPS told him the nearest food was 50 miles behind him, it started to make him nervous about how far and few between these Nevada towns really were!

So, Matt's workshop basically focused on the need for YF&R at the county level and different approaches as to how to get it established.  My monthly article in the Journal reported on that.  So, I am going to insert it, in case anyone wants to know more!

The rest of the pictures show those in the workshop working in groups to understand the pro's and con's of each of his ideas for getting YF&R going.

Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmer & Rancher

DISCUSSION MEET--The FINAL FOUR



Kadee Buckmaster, Stacie Schwandt, Charlie Mann (our moderator), Lacey Sproul and Aly Reynolds compete in the Final Round of the Discussion Meet)



'The Discussion Meet contest is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. This competition is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic. The judges are looking for the contestant that offers constructive criticism, cooperation, and communication while analyzing agricultural problems and developing solutions.' -From AFBF

It is held in up to four rounds, with generally 4-6 contestants, though 4 is the ideal.  We usually have about 8 contestants at the state level, which means we only have three rounds--the final four being made up of the top scorers from the first two rounds.  There are five topics related to Farm Bureau and Agriculture, one is drawn at random to be topic of each round. 

(Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out during the first two rounds, so all the pic's are of the Final Four round)

Stacie Schwandt was our first place winner, followed by Aly Reynolds, Kadee Buckmaster, and Lacey Sproul.  The winner, Stacie, will go on to compete in the Collegiate Discussion Meet at the National YF&R Conference in Orlando, Florida this coming February.  This is the third year in a row that we have had a collegiate level winner, otherwise the winner would go on to compete at the American Farm Bureau's Annual Meeting held in January in Atlanta, Georgia.  We have had a lot of involvement from our State FFA officers, including Charlie Mann, who acted as moderator for the Discussion Meet.  Charlie was our 2008 winner and completed at the collegiate competition in Sacramento.

YF&R Breakfast & Committee Meeting

Blake and Kessa Stratton represent Clark County YF&R.  Blake is the County YF&R Chair and has been helping to build the program there.

Lacey & Jasmine

Grey and Jordan

So, after all the great food was gone, we held our meeting, reviewed the previous year, the year to come, budget, program of work, harvest for all, ag literacy program, etc.  One step at a time, we are building and growing!

American Farm Bureau Teaches Nevada How to Build Their YF&R Program
YFR& Report
By: Jamie Perkins, Chair

Another great annual meeting has come and gone for the Nevada Farm Bureau. And, hopefully, with it came inspiration and tools for county board members to take home and start growing the Young Farmer and Rancher Program in their areas. With the help of Matt Scramlin, a staff member with the American Farm Bureau Federation, we were given lots of great ideas to implement to build the program. Matt teaches a workshop that Nevada Farm Bureau members were first exposed to last year at the Western Region Farm Bureau Meetings held in Sparks. Those who attended the workshop there felt that it would be a great asset to the state meeting in order to spread ideas and tools that our county boards could use, so we did.


If I have said it once, I have probably said it a hundred times, but without the Young Farmer and Ranchers in our organization, we are missing our future leadership. So, it is pretty important that we find out who they are and give them the opportunity to get involved. So how do we do that?

#1: Problem Solving Approach—In this approach, Farm Bureau members are encouraged to invite potential YF&R members and offer them an opportunity to talk and discuss (solve problems) about issues facing agriculture today. After the discussion, which could involve a dinner, also, they would be invited back for further discussion and involvement.

#2: Organizing a Committee Approach—In this approach, FB members would get approval from the Board President to move forward on organizing and building a YF&R committee for their county, by searching out potential members, inviting them to a meeting/potluck where a state YF&R member would give a presentation about YF&R and then talk about formation of a committee, and decide if they were ready to go ahead with that or set a date for a future meeting where they could do so. They would also have opportunity to consider activities and projects and begin assigning sub-committees for those, also.

#3: A Social Event Approach—the third approach we were taught involved the county sponsoring a social activity for potential YF&R members to attend, at which time they would be able to give a presentation on the YF&R program and talk to those who would be interested in getting more involved.

When I first became Chair, I was taught that there are Three Hot Buttons that get people involved—the idea being that all people have at least one of the three as a need for them to join a group—Social Opportunities, Leadership Development, and the Chance to make a Difference, which all seemed to be covered by one or more of these approaches. Not everyone joins Farm Bureau for all the same reasons, so we need to make sure we try to find out others needs and how to meet them, also. And, if you are interested in getting together and having a state YF&R representative there, just send me an email and we’ll see what we can work out, and GOOD LUCK GROWING!!

Break in Blogging for the week......

Okay, I know there are so many of you out there who are just dying to read my next post and I am going to disappoint you horribly this week by skipping Part 3 of the state meeting report.  Actually, I hope that there are at least of few of you out in  the world who have actually read--or at least glanced through my posts!  So, why am I skipping out this week?  Well, due to Nevada State Farm Bureau Meetings in Reno this week, I am pushed to get everything done that I need to, in order to leave tomorrow and be gone a couple of days--unfortunately, living in Nevada means that if you have to travel across at least half of the state for meetings, then you will need most of a day to do it in, so even short meetings make for long events!  Stay tuned, though-- I WILL have Part three up next week and more to come of some other great topics after that!!

Nevada FB Annual Meeting--Welcome BBQ & Day 2

NVFB President Hank Combs

Hank Combs of RC Farms and Recycling in Las Vegas, Nevada is the Nevada Farm Bureau President, and after formal election at the end of the annual meeting, he will continue to remain our PResident for another year.  Hank does a great job and has a lot of work coming up--winter is a busy time for Farm Bureau (why?  Well, what better time for farmer's to get together than the cold season when the crops are dormant--it may not work for everyone, but that is when the majority of Farm Bureau's big events are held.  In December he heads to Washington D.C. to meet with the Presidents of the rest of the States' Fram Bureaus, in January it is on to the Annual American Farm Bureau Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, and then February brings the Farm Bureau's National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. A lot of time and effort goes into serving in the Farm Burea, but there is a lot of pay-off as you see the results of the work you do trying to educate about and preserve such an important industry.

Welcome to Winnemucca from Humboldt FB County President, Arlow Nielsen

Welcome to Winnemucca from their Mayor, Di An Putnam

Lincoln County Members (I am not prejudice, just from there, too, so they are the lucky group that got my camera's flash)

Jule Wadsworth, Secretary/Treasurer, JoAnn and Bevan Lister, Co. President, and Paul Mathews, State Vice President.

Welcome to Nevada Farm Bureau Policy.....

Voting Delegate Session

Doug Busselman is our Executive Vice-President at Nevada Farm Bureau and our key lobbyist.  He is always on top of what is happening in Nevada legislation in regards to agriculture or what should be happening and helping to keep us in-tune so that we will have the policy in place to protect or promote our needs.

Our current policy is shown on the screen during the delegate session with any proposed changes, so that we are able to read and discuss it as a delegation.  County Farm Bureau's are given voting delegates based on the number of voting membership that their county has.  A month or two before state meeting we are assigned several areas of policy for each county to very closely look at and see if there are changes to be made.  The proposals are then brought together at the Open Resolutions meeting which is usually held by video conference several weeks before the state meeting.  By the time we meet for state meeting it has all come together for the voting delegation to meet and decide on.

President Combs, and Vice President Paul Mathews, run the delegate session.  Which progressed very quickly and efficiently at this meeting.  Changes are discussed and voted on then added or excluded, while Doug types them all up in order to put them all together in our policy book.  You can find current policy on our webpage at nvfb.org

And, I figured I had better show the other side, too, the delegates!  Don't let them fool you, if the right policy subject comes up, they can be a VERY lively group!

Lincoln County Delegates, Jule W. Bevan and JoAnn L.

Did I Mention the Food??



Matt Scramlin, of AFBF, was in town for our state meeting from his home in Virginia.
Here he is visiting with State FFA Officer Kadee Buckmaster, and Craig and Marlene Shier of Humboldt County.  Marlene is the Vice Chair for the Women's Leadership Committee and was instrumental in helping put on the meeting in her home county.



One thing about Farm Bureau Meetings is that you never go without good food.  As the people who produce the food, we know what is good and we always have plenty of--Oh, and if you have never had the Tri-Tip that Winnemucca's FFA Chapter can cook, well, you are missing out!  They sponsored our Welcome BBQ the first night, and with the help of the NV FFA State Officers, did an excellent job of serving it, too!

YF&R Members at the State Meeting.  The State FFA offers us a great opportunity for recruitment and so we try to involve them each year in our annual meeting and Discussion Meet.  Here are Three current officers, Jordan, Aly, and

The Silent Auction....

Each year a silent auction is held and county's are asked to bring donations for the auction--a couple of items that represent their county or agriculture or just fun stuff they know others will be interested in.  Over the course of the meeting people browse the selection, placing bids, trying to bid items up for others, and sometimes getting quite competitive.  At the end of the meeting the bids are closed and the winners are announced.  The money raised is divided between the Women's Leadership Committee, The Heritage Foundation and the YF&R.  So thanks for all who support it!!  And, I must say that I am really enjoying my chokecherry jelly and hot pads!

Just a couple more odds and ends......

I took a couple pic's just to show the people and what was going on--the final one is President Combs with our newest addition at the Farm Bureau office in Sparks, Zach Allen, who does all of our media coordination and technical stuff like the website and the journal, etc.  This was his first meeting with us and we are so glad he survived to start getting ready for the next!



Thank a Farmer/Rancher for Thanksgiving Feasts.....

Thanksgiving Dinner at My Home....

Well, Remember I told you in my post about the annual meeting in Winnemucca that I had gotten my potatoes there?  Here's the proof!  I had to show my kids the bag and the map and show them how I had traveled from the far right, closer to the bottom, all the way up and over to the star.  They thought it was pretty cool. (So did I ;) )  Anyway, they made for some GREAT mashed potatoes!   So, thanks to Winnemucca Farms and all of the nations potato producers, potatoes are a staple of life that I just can't even imagine life without--we normally eat Sunday dinner with my grandparents and my uncles family, and if there is one thing that is the highlight of dinner, it is the mashed potatoes and gravy.  We had a lot of things going on this fall and had to miss it several times in a row, which just about did my six-year old under, he missed Grandma's mashed potatoes. 

So, I decided I would take a few pic's of some of the things on our table this year and express my thanks for the bountiful harvest that we have in this nation due to the hard-working agriculturists that are the backbone of the country!

Dinner Rolls.....

I don't know about your family, but my family is very big on dinner rolls, with butter and jam, dipped in gravy, stuffed as a sandwich, whatever.  We like our breads and carbohydrates--I usually stick to whole wheat, but when it comes to dinner rolls we have to have basic white, soft and yummy!  I made about 9 dozen this year for Thanksgiving.  My kids thought I was crazy for making so many--I guess they aren't counting how many they eat!  So, to all the wheat growers in our nation, and those dairies producing the cream for that sweet cream butter--thank you for helping make my Thanksgiving Wonderful!  I enjoyed learning more about Winnemucca Farms' wheat production, also--I make about 12-16 loaves of multi-grain whole wheat bread every two weeks, so wheat is a very important part of my storage room.

My FIRST Turkey!

Well, I have to say that I kind of shock myself in this category--I love to cook, BUT I have never had to cook a whole turkey before--always had mom or grandma or my mom-in-law there, but not this year, so my sis-in-law and I muddled through it--from the pic, I'd say we did okay--from the taste, I'd say we ought to start our own catering business!  Okay, so I am maybe a little out of control, but it was pretty great.  Thanks to all those poultry producers our there--this 24 lb bird came from the Butterball plant in Utah, close to my sis-in-law's.  They wanted to get the 48 lber--YIPES--where in the world would we have cooked it?  And to think there are people out there adopting them, instead of letting them come to their full-potential on a Thanksgiving table--I know if I was a turkey, I definitely wouldn't mind it if I ended up looking this good! ;)

Cheesy Broccoli Bake

Okay, so this was a new one that I found and loved--and at the request of many, I will be adding the recipe to my personal blog over the next few days--so, if you are interested, let me know!  (Broccoli, Red Peppers, Cheddar and Cream Cheese, Fried Onions, More thanks go out to the veggie producers out there that keep us filled up on vitamins and flavor!)

SWEET CORN!

Straight from my garden to my freezer, with only a little parching and cutting off in between.  So, this time I get to thank ME for the hours of planting, watering, and weeding, not to mention the work of harvesting and freezing 30 quart bags of corn this year--should have been double that, but we had a hard time not eating it straight off the cob until we had about made ourselves sick and we finally decided to freeze some for later!!

A Few Past Salads....

Fruit and vegetables and pasta and more thanks to all of those great things that American farmers put on our table that just make Thanksgiving dinner so memorable and worth all the work for one meal a year!

Sweet Potato Better Than Pie?

This is one of those dishes that should be served as dessert--it is filled with butter and sugar and topped with pecans and coconut, and so good that you would never dream you might be eating a vegetable in there!  Our cousin has requested now that I make this every time he comes to visit, and I really do think that he skipped the pie because he ate so much of this!!

Well, I honestly can't believe that I didn't take any pictures of the pie!  Pecan, Coconut Cream, Hawaiian Cream, Chocolate Cream, Pumpkin, Key Lime, and Cheesecake all graced the dessert table--what would life be like without our dairy products and our SUGAR!?!?!?!  I also toured a pecan farm last year at national YF&R which really opened my eyes up to where nuts come from on a production-basis.  From sea to shining sea, our nation is covered with a bountiful harvest thanks to the American Farmer and Rancher!  I am thankful for their dedication and hard work in making this industry one that provides so much for our nation and others!

Hope you all had a FABULOUS THANKSGIVING, too!

Nevada FB Annual Meeting--Day 1 THE TOUR!

Winnemucca Farms Inc., Winnemucca, NV

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Day One of the Nevada Farm Bureau's Annual Meeting began with a Tour of Agriculture in Humboldt, County, which meant a trip to Winnemucca Farms, the 2nd Largest Potato Producers in the United States.  (Did you know that Nevada produced so many potatoes?)  The land is very, very sandy here, and of course, the wind was blowing pretty bad this day, so you can see the haze across the valley, but the sandy soils mean great potatoes--which those of you, like me, who have tried to grow them in much heavier soils would envy.

This is just one of their on-site storage facilities that is currently holding seed-potatoes for the coming year.  They do grow a lot of their own potato seed, in fact, the have about 1700 acres in production in Orvada that is mainly for seed, but still buy some, too, and so what kind of potatoes they produce often depends on the availability of seed.

Our tour was conducted by this guy-and I cannot recall his name, so you'll have to forgive me that, but he is the current manager of the operation.  The picture to the left is of the air-cooling system for the storage barns, on the wall to the left are several large fans pushing air into the building.  Temperatures have to be controlled, because the potato heaps begin to produce their own heat and can cause temperatures of up to 100 degrees in a day, even when outside temps are twenty below.

Winnemucca Farms has about 20,000 acres in production right now, in three locations, this site is their largest, with around 15,000.  The have 112 irrigation pivots, ran off of 53 wells, with around 35,000 acre feet of water.  That also means that there is close to 75 miles of water pipeline running through their land.

Bob Combs, President of RC Farms in Las Vegas, wanted to take this picture for me so that I had proof I was actually there--Otherwise, I am usually always behind the camera.  This computer screen shows their irrigation set up--at anytime they can click on any one of the 'pivots' on the screen and pull up a control panel for that pivot, they can also see what direction the pivot is facing, whether it is running, how much pressure it is using, etc.  Pretty amazing!!

It wasn't horribly cold, but that wind sure could blow!  It was worth standing in to learn about the farm.  Unfortunately, we were not able to go into the processing plant because the manager was in China for meetings with the company that owns Winnemucca Farms, RD Offut.  Their processing plant does a lot of things like hash browns and french fries that are frozen and sold.  They sale a large amount of potatoes to Frito Lay for Chips, to Wal-Mart, and to a dehydrating plant in Winnemucca that turns them into flakes--their largest buyer is a producer of fish feed in Asia.

Our Youngest, Young Farmer and Rancher on the tour was not really thrilled about the wind or the tour--maybe someday!

I have to say that it is pretty impressive to see this much equipment on one farm--okay, one VERY large farm.  Oh, wait, did I forget to mention that they (Meaning owners, RD Offut) have the largest ownership of John Deere dealerships in the US?  Well, amongst quite a few other large and profitable businesses.  So, when their farms have issues, they go to John Deere for solutions, and when John Deere comes out with new tractors--well, guess who gets to try them out?  I didn't get a picture of the shop-but from the size of it it looks like they have their own mechanics shop and tire dealership to keep them running, too.

So, Winnemucca Farms not only produces lots and lots of potatoes, but they also have Alfalfa, Timothy, and Wheat on the premises.  Some of us might think this bag was stuffed full of silage--well, we would be wrong, it is full of 15,000 bushels of wheat kernels.  This is their first year storing in the bags, so they say it is a huge learning process for them that they are taking one step at a time, but due to shutdowns in transports on the Columbia River, they decided to look for new options in selling and storing their wheat and this is what they found.  There are 650,000 bushels of wheat on the premises in bags, and another 250,000 in a storage unit in Winnemucca.  They plant winter and harvest the end of summer, and say their biggest problem is getting the over 7,000 acres of wheat cut with higher than 7% moisture content.  In one week the content plummets and that is too short of time for them to get it all harvested.  (By the way, if you think in pounds and not bushels, think of 60 lbs per bushel--that's a little bit of wheat! Don't have a calculator handy, okay, I'll tell you--54,000,000 pounds.)

So, while I have to say I was a bit disappointed by missing the processing plant (Hey, I got up at 4 am and drove over 6 hours to get there in time for it!)--I really, really enjoyed the chance to go on the tour and learn so much.  I am definitely proud of Nevada Ag and it's potatoes, wheat and hay--all this time and I never knew until we started planning this meeting a year ago and looked into the potato farm as a potential tour.  A few weeks ago on my way to Las Vegas we stopped at the Chevron in Alamo and above the Frito Lay chip stand was a sign with someone from Winnemucca farms, and information proudly telling that Frito Lay gets their potatoes form them!  I think we could use a few more of those signs throughout the state and help Nevadans see and appreciate Nevada Ag a little more.

Oh, and in case you haven't ate any Frito Lay chips lately, I did buy two bags of Winnemucca Farms potatoes from Wal-Mart before I headed home--I'll let you know how our mashed potatoes turn out for Thanksgiving Dinner!