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

 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....

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

PETA Promotes with PORN.....

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.

Ag in the Movies.....

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......

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. 

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

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.

Spirit of the American West....

Okay, so there are millions of Americans that have a romanticized view of the American West, one that involves the mustang as the epitome of grace and beauty.  Oh, how misled these poor people can be.  Have you seen some of the mangy, scrawny horses running around this state?  Now, don't get me wrong.  I was raised in the west, we have always loved spotting mustangs as much as elk and deer and other wildlife.  It can definitely be a treat, even picturesque to see them in the wild.  I grew up to the stories of my dad and grandpa chasing wild horses.  My grandpa lost the tip of his middle finger while trying to end a dispute with a friend as to the age of the mustang they had caught in one of the many mustang 'traps' that were set up along the springs in the surrounding hills.  Some of these even became favorite pets.  My husband's family always talks about his dad's favorite horse as being a mustang he and his brothers had caught, broke and loved for years to come. 

So, why I am on this subject anyway?  Well, I have been trying to come up with an idea of what to take to Orlando, for the National YF&R Conference for our Silent Auction.  Every year, each state is asked to donate two items that would be auctioned off, the proceeds going to the Heritage Foundation to benefit Agricultural Literacy programs.  So, I have been trying to decide what to take.  My mom is able to get some pretty great framed pictures at wholesale prices, and some of them are western scenes, more specifically, some of them are depictions of 'wild horses'.  So, I thought that these would definitely be something that could 'represent' Nevada in the auction--though, at the same time, I am not sure that I want to glorify them and make that the representation of Nevada.  I would much rather educate about them, and the damage that results from their mismanagement to the rangeland of the west.  The pictures here are some that I took in 2009 after some great rains had brought to life the vegetation in the summer, after a very dry spring. 

The result was beautiful.  The lupine, the globemallow, phlox, all kinds of wildflowers, were out in full force.  They blanketed the land in carpets of orange and purple.  But, that also meant that there was nothing left of the good quality grasses and legumes.  The horses have done severe damage in these ares.  These areas are all outside of the fence line that surrounds our family's rangeland.  I wish I could have taken a picture or two that depicted how strong the contrast really was.  On the inside, these plants show up occasionally, bu the grasses were stronger and more plentiful. 

On the outside, the only sign of grass was cheat grass, maybe some foxtail.  The horses run rampant outside of the fence lines.  They have destroyed precious feed.  On the inside, my grandpa's management practices, along with some of the BLM's, have supported the growth of the grasses, forbs and legumes, to the best of their ability amidst the years of drought.  I have seen the crested wheat (a medium tall grass) reach heights of almost tall grass status when the rains fall in the right season, turning the land almost into meadows. 

The Indian Rice Grass, Gamma Grass, and Wheat Grasses are hard to find outside of the fence lines.  In just a short drive that day, we saw two separate herds of mustangs, of about 6-9 head per herd.  The icon of the American West, is destroying one of the American West's most important resources.  So, when people oooh and aaah over the mustang, I tend to struggle, though, as a horse lover, I still enjoy the occasional sighting--occasional being the key word.  Management would be the other key word.  I guess it all goes back to the joke that we need to let the Nevada Division of Wildlife manage the horses and the BLM manage the wildlife. ;)
So, I will still probably use the pictures for the auction, they can still be representatice of Nevada, as long as we are working to educate and inform and progress teh issue, hopefully someday, it will be at a manageable level, that we can actually be proud of here in the west.

Lupine and Globemallow cover the ground, due to overpopulation of mustangs, the land has been over-grazed and there are no desirable grasses or feed left in this area.  Fires have passed through here, and without proper management, or reseeding, the results is a somewhat pretty, but very unproductive and useless land.

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!!

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!

Sept. 19-25 is National Farm Safety and Health Week

In a typical year, 551 workers die while doing agricultural work in the United States and about 88,000 suffer lost-time injuries. Most of these incidents are preventable.
National Farm Safety and Health Week (Sept. 19-25) recognizes the hazardous nature of the agriculture industry and promotes awareness of safety solutions. This annual event was initiated by the National Safety Council in 1944 and has been proclaimed as such by each U.S. president since. In conjunction with the weeklong observance, the National Institute for Farm Safety is sharing its collective expertise with an updated list of farm safety and health professionals, who serve as contacts for agricultural safety and health issues, in order to provide access to local professionals.


The list can be found on the NIFS website at http://www.nifsagsafety.org./ There also will be a link to the list from the website of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (http://www.necasag.org/). NECAS is the agricultural partner for the NSC, and has developed a variety of other safety articles and public service announcements on this year’s theme for National Farm Safety and Health Week, ATVs: Work Smart, Ride Safe.