Taking a Tour of Arizona Ag.....National YF&R Conference Continues.....

I don't know how many of you out there have ADD or ADHD, or have child-induced ADHD, like me, but it makes life a bit chaotic sometimes. ;)  Don't know what child-induced ADHD is?  Well, it is what happens when a woman has children and becomes so scatter-brained about all the things that she has to do that she runs around in circles starting and stopping projects along the way, constantly remembering something else she is supposed to be doing, but loving chocolates and good foods too much to ever let all that running get to her metabolism.  Some of you know what I am talking about?  Okay, well, we do have some attention issues in my family, but I think that most of mine are self-induced.  I cam down to the computer to work on some things for my church calling (job) and I realized I had not gotten my blog done for this week, and as I sat down I thought--"Oh, last loaf of bread is in the pantry--I am supposed to be baking this afternoon.  Which I have to schedule around the kids schedules, so it means I have limited time to do certain projects, and so, here I am being silly by rambling on to you when I should be getting something done!!  

SOOOOOOOO, let's get back to Arizona and the tours that we had the chance to go on this year!!!

This is a trailer of CARROTS!  Now, I apologize for the bad photography, please keep in mind that we did not get off the buses for the majority of the tours and not at all at Duncan Farms.  Duncan Farms is a BIG family owned operation that grows conventional AND organic produce for the US and Europe.  Every time we ate a salad I wondered if the greens came from them or their neighbors--and it is quite wonderful to eat salad in the winter and know that it is VERY fresh and came from VERY close by.  I eat a lot of salads and being in a rural town with a very small grocery store (maybe around 1000 sq. ft.??) Our produce is often not the greatest. But, 80 or 90 miles to the nearest Albertson's, Smith's or Wal-Mart and you make do with what you have.  

The day that we toured, Duncan Farms was harvesting Organic Carrots.  They got into the organic business years ago, in the early 90's I think, something to do with his wife bringing school classes out to tour the farm which grew into something bigger and which they did for a lot of years--but then he got sidetracked and never really finished telling why they went organic.  It takes three years for one of their fields to be converted to organic,  and has to be a certain amount of feet away from any conventional crops or any pesticides or chemicals.

This is Mr. Duncan guiding us on the tour and teaching us about the property.  They farm mainly in Arizona, but in order to compete in a year-round market, they also operate in California and keep about 420 employees in one state and about 120 in the other, swapping about 300 out as the seasons and crops change and they are needed in the other state.  The farms have been family-owned and operated for a long time--not going to quote how many generations because I can't remember, but I think it is at least 3.

It is hard to see, but right in the center of this picture is a person in white and another in blue to the left of them.  They walk across the fields and clean up any debris that might get mixed in with the carrots or greens as they are harvested.  They also do weed-pulling in a similar many as they keep things organic.

Here you can see the different types of salad greens--baby greens that are growing in the purple and green stripes.  They also harvest at different stages for different products. The carrots that we know in the market as 'baby' carrots are not true baby carrots, they are regular carrots, harvested and put through a machine that  cuts them, peels them, and rounds them off to give the appearance of 'baby' carrots.

The carrots are harvested in much the same way as potatoes.

In the middle of Duncan farms is a Women's Correctional Facility. Duncan Farms actually works with the prison and has a program to let the prisoners come out and work and harvest some of their fields.  These salad greens are considered past their prime, so most of them are picked and donated to food banks.  If you know about our YF&R Harvest For All food drives, where we partner with FEEDING AMERICA, you will better appreciate Duncan Farms, as they are a major contributor to the Feeding America group.

Just a sign outside of their offices.

And then it was time to smell the roses.....okay, so we didn't get to smell the roses, but we did get to see them being harvested at Wolf Rose Farm, a major supplier of rose bushes to wholesale companies, like Home Depot and Lowe's.  They are in the middle of big time harvesting for up and coming Mother's day--the BIGGEST rose bush selling day of the year!

This is a picture of Dann Mathews and Shorty and Lacey Tom--all of NVFB YF&R learning from Mr. Wolf why this rose bush in particular is a cull, even though it looked like a good strong plant to the rest of us, it need to have three strong branch systems coming of it, which it only had two.  Mr. Wolf's family had been in the valley for generations--starting out as cotton grower's, which they referred to as 'poor man's wheat.'  Several decades ago (the 1960's???) they decided to try roses, and have had a successful (as farming goes) time with them.  They rotate in crops of barley every couple of years, but other than that I do not know if they produce anything else besides roses.

Here you can see the roses stretching on and on and the urban-sprawl in the background, which is how you find much of the valley's farming--surrounded by the city.  This has been a big challenge for AZ farmer's, fighting the infringing city and the regulations that come with it.

This attachment gently vibrates the roses right up out of the soil.  Earlier they had been trimmed down to size, and now the workers come right behind to cull, sort, string, and load.  The workers are organized into groups that always work together--they are paid not by the hour, but by their production level.  This has been a good system at Wolf Farms, as they encourage and work together and report those who are not doing their part.  The workers had good morale there and had better wages and more free-time because of their desire to be productive.

And after two rows, the wagon is loaded down with lots and lots of rose bushes.  They are sold to the wholesaler companies who then decide whether they will sell them as bare root, potted, or other ways to the big chain stores.  There is no way of knowing when you buy that bush if it comes from Wolf Farms, because they are not on any of the labels, but if you are looking for roses this spring--there is a good chance that if may have been grown in the Arizona winter!

We had one more stop on the tour, but since my little helper is awake and wanting mom's attention, well, I will leave that for next week!!

Young Farmers and Ranchers - America's Heartland

This is a great video from America's Heartland that showcases quite a few YF&R members from around the country--we were shown it on our tour buses in Michigan and then they put it online after we were home.  I thought it was really neat because I have come to know quite a few of the people showcased--some who are our close neighbors in Utah, some who I have gotten to know from serving together as state chairs.  Anyway, if you have a few minutes, it is fun to watch and see the diversity of American Young Farmer and Ranchers and at the same time, the similarities.  The Sawyers served as my Area Representatives for the last two on the National Committee.  The Coxes we have been friends with since we met them at a National Conference in Sacramento in 2009.  The Christiansen's are our neighbors across the state line--just a few weeks before I watched this video, I made salsa with some of their hydroponic tomatoes.  We met them at our first national conference in 2007.  I actually just met Brandon from the Batey farms this year at the conference in our state chair session.  And, of course, Chris Chinn was out national chair for YF&R a couple of years ago and has been a keynote speaker at our meetings before.  Farm Bureau makes the world a smaller place, and has really opened my eyes to the diversity of Ag in our nation.

YF&R Conference 2012 (Part 3--Grand Rapids)

So, here is the last of my report on the YF&R National Conference for 2012.  Basically, it is just the leftovers, a little bit of what we saw outside of the conference.  A lot of times, between the conference and the travel time, there isn't any time left for sight-seeing, but our 'Grand Finale' event was at the Public Museum, which gave us a little tour and taste of Michigan, and across the river was the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum.

Dinner at the museum, on all three levels, people visiting,  and checking out the exhibits.  They actually had kind of a scavenger hunt through the museum and if you completed it you could turn in your paper for door prizes.

Grand Rapids was actually the furniture center of the US for a time, and this was an exhibit of some of their incredible quality of furniture that was made here.

Just another cool exhibit.  The Museum there was great for all ages and had a lot of really fun sites.

MICHIGAN!!  The 'Upper Peninsula" and 'The Hand"

The museum also boasts an antique carousel that has been refinished and is walled on one side by a great view of the Grand River.

The old clock tower from an original courthouse in Grand Rapids, that had a neat story behind it, but I am too slow getting my report done to remember it.

Over the Grand River cross many bridges--we were surprised as we sat at dinner the first night in the motel restaurant and saw people--in the wind and flurrying snow--fishing from the bridge!  This seemed crazy to us, as cars and buses roared by, the building all around--unfortunately, we didn't actually see anyone catch anything.

Grand Rapids is named after the River that flows through it, the Grand River.  Early settlers tried to find ways to slow down the rapids because the river dropped so many feet in such a short distance that it was very full of rapids.

We stayed at the Amway Grand Plaza, which was at one point in the early 1900's ranked as one of the top 10 hotels in the United States.  The tower behind it has been added since it was bought and restored by Amway Corp.  We were in the older part and it was a very neat and historic hotel to stay in.

At one time, this was the lobby to the motel, and the ceiling was the, or one of the largest gold leaf ceilings in the world.

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Since our flight was later in the day, we were able to visit the museum before we left.  I am kind of a history buff and  recently read a historical biography about Harry S. Truman, and was so disappointed that for all my trips to Kansas City, I had never been to the Truman Library or historical sites, so I was glad to go to the Ford museum and learn more about another one of our President's past.

A little piece of the Berlin Wall.

A replica of the Oval Office from Ford's time there.  

Another bridge across the Grand River.  The building on the left was where the Public Museum is housed.

A few more fishermen in the cold morning on the Grand River.

I know that you couldn't have enjoyed my trip as much as I did, but maybe next year you can be apart of it!  See you in Phoenix in 2013!!

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

I have to say that there are a lot of things that I enjoy about the National YF&R Conference, but the final day of tours is always one of my absolute favorites.  Sometimes it is COLD, sometimes it is LONG, and sometimes, mistakes are made and you go the whole day without drinks (they made up for it this year!)  BUT, it is always such an incredible learning experience that I feel bad we only get to go on one of the four tours because there are so many other neat places 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, this year we loaded onto the tour buses on a chilly Monday morning in Michigan, and we headed to the Lansing/Delta GM Plant where they make their Acadia/Traverse models.

This year GM has become the official vehicle sponsor of the American Farm Bureau, a big change after our years with Dodge, but I think that the winners of our YF&R competitions are so thrilled to get a new truck that they better not complain what brand it is!

Only drawback to the tours—NO CAMERAS!  GRRRRRR!!  Take my camera away and I just might cry, but I tried to make do, so some shots are through the bus windows and some I had to find online to give you an idea of what we experienced.

I also wanted to include an article about the plant we went to because it is relatively new and uses all of the newest technology, along with being friendly to the environment, the extent that they have gone to is pretty interesting and impressive.  So, here is the link to that article:  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-

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

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

The whole system is incredible.  I can’t imagine what 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 and even 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 frames on a computerized vehicle that follows an outlined path, due to sensors under the floor.  There are mapped out walkways for people to stay on at all times, with signs and lights for warning in areas where you might get ran over by one of these little vehicles if you are not paying 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 work together in certain areas, who are trained in all the jobs of their areas so that every couple of hours they can rotate positions and not have to work the same spot all day long.   And minute by minute, these vehicles come together, doors and tires going on near the very end, but they all have been sent out in jus the right order to match up with the vehicle that they are numbered to match to.  Some are Chryslers, some are Chevy, etc., so it is crazy that they all come together so perfectly and then they are started and tested on a small course to make sure everything is firing and working the way that they should.  They even go through a water test to make sure 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.

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

Very impressive to see an assembly line working like this, to see how it all comes together.  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!