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.

National YF&R Conference in ORLANDO 2011 ! ! !

Our early bird deadline for reservations for National YF&R is coming up at the beginning of November--so, if anyone is interested in going this year, it is time to start thinking and planning!!  Below is the tentative agenda!

2011 AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference

Orlando, FL

February 5-7, 2011

Hotel: Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

1000 W Buena Vista Dr,

Orlando, FL 32830

(407) 939-3895

 

Reservation cutoff date: December 31, 2010

• Available starting July 8, 2010

• The rate is $150/per night (Single/Double occupancy), additional person (18 yrs and older) $15 per person per night

• When reserving rooms call 407-939-1020 and tell them you are with the Biennial Joint National Leadership Conference or American Farm Bureau Federation
Items for your Attention
Theme: TBD
Registration: Registration will be available starting July 8. The registration form will be electronic and based in SILO.

Early Bird fee - $200 – deadline November 1, 2010

*Note the earlier date this year*

Regular - $250 – November 2- December 31, 2010

Children - $75 – under 12 years old

Joint Leadership Cost: The cost for attendees who will attend both conferences is $250 if registered by November 1st and $300 if registered between November 2 and December 31. Please register for both conferences and AFBF will correct during the billing and reporting process.

Cancellation - There is a $50 cancellation fee if cancelled prior to January 14. No refund will be made if registration is cancelled after January 14.

Tours: When you register your attendees you will need to check the tour box for the tour option they intend to go on. Space is limited on each tour. First come, first served.
Dress code: Business Casual for the entire conference is acceptable

Casual Dress (respectable) for the tours is acceptable – no open toed shoes
Silent Auction: All proceeds from the Silent Auction will benefit the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture®. We are asking each state to donate 2 items to the silent auction that have a value of at least $50 - $75. Attendees will be given the opportunity to bid on these items on Saturday.


Tentative Schedule of Events

Friday, February 4, 2011
Registration/ Silent Auction Drop-off 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
State Chair/Coordinator Meeting 3:00 pm
Evening on your own
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Cyber Café All Day
Registration/ Silent Auction Drop-off All Day
Opening Session 8:00-9:45am

• FBACT Awards

• President Stallman Address

• Keynote Speaker
Break 9:45am
Issue Breakout Sessions 10:15am-11:15am
Issue Breakout Sessions 11:30am-12:30pm
Luncheon 12:30-2:00pm

• PAL Graduation
General Session 2:30-4:00pm

• Keynote Speaker

• President Stallman Wrap-Up
Afternoon/Evening Free
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Cyber Café All-day
Registration 7:30 am – 12:00 pm
Morning Devotional 8:00 am – 8:30 am
Discussion Meet- Round 1 8:30 am – 9:15 am
General Session 9:30 am – 10:30 am

Speaker: Dick Wittman

“Are You Getting a Passing Grade in Farm Management”
Collegiate Discussion Meet- Round 2 10:30 am – 11:15 am
Morning Break 10:30 am – 11:00 am
Leadership Breakout Sessions 11:15 am – 12:30 pm
Luncheon 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm

Leadership Breakout Sessions 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Afternoon Break 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm
Collegiate Discussion Meet- Sweet 16 3:45 pm – 4:30 pm
Collegiate Discussion Meet Final 4 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Awards Banquet 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Monday, February 7, 2011
Cyber Café All Day
State Coordinator/Chair Breakfast 7:00 am – 8:00 am
Beginning Farmer/Rancher Development Breakfast 7:00am-8:00am
Closing Session 8:30 am

Speaker: Andrew McCrea

“Ordinary to Extraordinary: The ‘Extra’ that Brings Success”
Tours 10:00 am

Grand Finale Event 6:00-8:00 pm

Tour Descriptions- Coming Soon!
Tour Option 1: (North Central) AG3, Inc., Cherry Lake Tree Farm, Knox Nursery, Inc., Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards
Tour Option 2: (East) Evans Fish Farm, The Magnolia Company, Vo-LaSalle Farms Inc, Wm. F Puckett Inc. Fernery
Tour Option 3: (South Central) Deseret Ranches, Kempfer Ranch and Sawmill

Tour Option 4: (West) G&F Farms and Driscoll’s of Florida, Inc, Noble Worldwide Citrus, Publix SuperMarkets Corporate Office
Keynote Speaker:
Dick Wittman-
Keynote: “Are You Getting a Passing Grade in Farm Management”
Business management practices, not economic issues, are often the reason family operations dissolve business relationships or fail in their efforts to achieve viable business succession. Wittman examines key managerial proficiencies that must be implemented as well as consequences of failing to adopt these practices in everyday operations. This speaker combines keynote comments with case study topics in the breakout sessions to tackle a number of sensitive issues related to family business management. It is presented from the viewpoint of a working family farm manager who has also provided family farm business transition consulting for over thirty years.
Bio- Wittman manages a 19,000-acre Idaho family farm partnership involving crops, cattle and timber and provides consulting services and seminars in family farm business and financial management in the US and abroad. A former FCS lender, he’s also served on numerous commodity and financial institution boards; is a director and past president of the Farm Financial Standards Council and past president of the PNW Direct Seed Association. He is an adjunct faculty member of Texas A&M teaching annually at the TEPAP program and King Ranch Institute, and also serves on the Ag Carbon Markets Working Group which provides policy development leadership in climate change legislation impacting agriculture.

Andrew McCrea-
Keynote: “Ordinary to Extraordinary: The ‘Extra’ that Brings Success”

We have a choice…to be ordinary or extraordinary. We choose to be extraordinary. But what does extraordinary leadership look like? How do you build an extraordinary business? What is the ‘extra’ that makes the difference? Andrew McCrea will take you to the farm and around the globe as he uses his experiences as a rancher and an award-winning journalist to share the story of the ‘extra’ that makes people and businesses stand out among the rest. Be inspired and motivated with practical ways you can put extraordinary leadership to work in your life!
Bio- Anrew McCrea is a farmer and rancher, an award-winning syndicated radio broadcaster, and a frequent speaker on leadership topics. He is a past state FFA President and national FFA Secretary. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he earned his degree in agriculture and returned to the family farm in northwest Missouri to help manage the operation with his father. Today the farm encompasses over 3500 acres where he and his father run a stocker cattle business and grow corn, soybeans and wheat.
In 1996 he began producing “The American Countryside” radio program. Today the program is heard Monday through Friday on almost 100 stations across the Midwest. McCrea has interviewed a great variety of guests over the years…Emmy and Grammy winners, Hall of Fame athletes, Iditarod sled dog mushers and even the rooster crowing champion! The program has won five Oscars in Agriculture. He is the author of four books, “American Countryside: Where Does Lost Luggage Go?”, “The Man Who Was President For a Day”, “God’s Perfect View” and “Making Molehills out of Mountains.” All of his books are real-life short stories offering insights into life and leadership gathered through his radio broadcasts.

He has provided leadership programs for groups in 49 states addressing audiences of up to 10,000. He believes in building strong communities. After returning to the family farm he began to serve in many volunteer roles. He is the past chairman of the Missouri Beef Industry Council. He is a current member of the Heartland Regional Medical Center Board and serves as a speaker at many Protestant and Catholic churches.

An Almost Lost Art......

In our backyard, sits a very strange looking machine.  Occasionally, it is loaded on to our flatbed pick-up truck and this always gets plenty of strange looks and questions.  It is something that was once a commnly used tool in our area and in so many others that are surrounded with hay fields.  It is a 'Hay Boom.' Technically speaking, it is a Luden Boom, built in 1984, and ran by a Briggs and Stratton 18 horsepower engine.  It was used by my father-in-law and brother-in-laws for years, as my husband was growing up watching them.   ( I really wanted to upload the videos, but couldn't figure it out--so maybe someday you'll actually be able to see it in action!)

They owned Perkins Feed in Las Vegas for many years, and my father-in-law bought hay from farmers and loaded and hauled it himself, my husband was his little side-kick until he was in school and then when his year-round school was on break he was right back with him.  In fact, buying hay from farmers in Lincoln County is what actually led them to retiring here.  But, before that happened, my father-in-law retired from the Fire Department in Las vegas, leased the Feed Store and headed to the year-round hay fields of Blythe, California and Ehrenberg, Arizona. Here they spent a couple of years trying to support a couple of kids who were in college and serving church missions.   I can't imagine how many loads they boomed during those years--my brother-in-law told me that they averaged 13-19 cuttings a year in the various kinds of hayfields there. They worked the evenings when it was cooler--but if you've ever been there, you realize that means that it might have been around a 100 degrees after dark, still. 

Our family spent a couple of days there at the end of our summer vacation two years ago.  It was amazing to see--the canal system is incredible and the stackyards sometimes go on for a mile, while the hayfields, the orchards, and the cottonfields stretch as far as the water will support them before turning into dry, bare, desert.After leaving the heat, they settled in Dry valley, where they still used the oom to load for wuite a few farmers around the are, by this time my husband was getting old enough to start stacking and loading, learning the trade from his dad and the truckers who had worked with hay booms for years.  So, through the years and the passing of my father-in-law, the boom came to reside with us, and over the last ten years, there are still those who have yet to upgrade to squeezes and fork lifts to load, who occasionally need someone to boom hay for them.  This summer Grant has already loaded six sets of doubles and had several other people call to say that if they get some of their next crop sold could they get him to come and load for them, too?  Many of the truck drivers are ones that knew his dad and brothers well, some are even the ones that Grant first learned to boom or load with.  And, though he may be a little rusty at first, with each bale, he gets a little smoother and a little more comfortable and starts to place them just right.  It is a tradition that has been passed down, from generation to generation, like so many in agriculture,which are slowly being reaplaced by most innovative technology, by changes in farming.  Yet, listening to the hum of the motor and watching the bale lift and swing in to place kind of has a rhythm and magic that cannot be replaced by even the quickest and easiest of squeezes.  I guess that is the way it is with so many of the changes that we often face in agriculture.

Did I mentuion that the hay boom also makes for a great swing at the local warm spring we use as the community swimming hole?

****I have had a couple of people asks questions about this post--in answer, I have no idea where you would get a boom these days.  And in response to another comment, my husband was a little boy when his brothers and dad were loading in Blythe, so if you would most likely not have known him, but if you knew any other Perkins' that was probably them!*****

Ag in the Classroom--Time to Pick a Book!

It is that time of year when iam supposed to have an idea of what great book or books we want to use for our Ag Lit Project this coming spring.  I have lists from AFBF that show books that are approved by the Farm Bureau as Accurate Agriculture Books, because, let's face it, we don't want to teach them things that aren't truce or accurate like many of the books floating around the world are when it comes to portraying agriculture.

Our goal is to help kids, whether rural, urban, or suburban, to learn about the important role that agriculture plays to all of us on a daily basis.  A new book out, PIGS& PORK:IN THE STORY OF AGRICULTURE, is one that we are looking at, along with it's counterpart for younger grades, Pigs an A-Z Book.  I think this could be a great time to share these books because of the scare last year with the "SWINE" flu (I say that  name with disgust) and maybe, as we get into the schools and better teach the kids, they can in turn take it home to their parents and families.  Last year our books covered a dairy cow and the process of milk from start to finish, along with a  book about farm equipment.  Those books were aged for 1st-3rd grade, while these are 3rd-6th, and Pre-K-1st. 

One of the big books this year that was being pushed quite heavily by the Ag Foundation, was by the same authors about Soybeans, which is great, but we want to cover as much as we can that is relative to Nevada Agriculture before we start into areas that aren't really in production here in our state.  

IF you have the time to click on the links and check out the books, I always love feedback, also, where or not you would be interested in both books, or which grade level you would rather have being taught in your counties grade schools!

Lincoln County Farm Bureau 4th of July BBQ

Well, here I am trying to catch up as usual! 

Since I am a member of the Lincoln County Farm Bureau, and each year we have a fundraiser dinner on the 4th of July in Caliente, I thought I would share it with all of you.  These are some of the pictures of that evening.  I would love to share happenings of lots of other county's Farm Bureau's and their YF&R's, so if anyone ever has anything going on and wants to share the event and/or pic's--let me know!!

Our State Vice-President, Paul Mathews, is also from Lincoln county, and one of our chief dutch-oveners, along with Lincoln County President, Bevan Lister, and Lincoln VP, Lee Mathews.  Mmmm, can you see how good those potatoes were?

The Deep-Pit Pig!!

Lee Mathews got roped into preparing the deep-pit pig and then spending the day cooking it.  He did an AWESOME job, we were all impressed!  And, yes, that is him wearing the protective coat in Caliente on July 4th--amazing what our Farm Bureau members are willing to do!!

Too bad I couldn't add smell to the blog--you'd all be ready to eat!!

Lee's brother, Dann Mathews, was there helping him with the pig, and my husband Grant came along to help them with the taste-testing.... ;)

Rose Park in Caliente was recently renovated with a great new gazebo and also has areas for dutch-ovening and deep-pitting.

Okay, now I am making myself hungry again!  Those are just about perfect.

It wouldn't be dutch-ovening without the COBBLER!

Well, this was actually the last one--as you can see to the top, the apple went almost as fast as the chocolate/cherry and the peach ones.  The only one I really got a picture of was the blueberry/cherry, which was the only one I really got a taste of, either.  Which was probably for the best, or I might have waddled home.

Well, we had a great time, and a great dinner, next year we have a few things to work on--like our advertising, so we can get a better turn out.  We tend to flucuate each year with turn-out, but with the parade and fireworks being the next night and the Senior Citizens doing a Luau dinner/fundraiser the same night, we didn't have a 'great' turn out, but we sure thought those who turned out were GREAT!

Life's been crazy...

Sorry that I haven't been posting--life got crazy and I will hopefully catch up soon, but for now the blog's been a little bit on hold as we help my mother-in-law get through some crazy health issues.  I do have great new info about the upcoming Leadership Conference in February of 2011 in Orlando, so if you are interested, let me know!!

National YF&R Conference Tulsa 2010 (Part 1)

This Blog is all about letting everyone see what YF&R is and what they can get out of it.  So, one of the most exciting events in YF&R each year is the National YF&R Conference, held each year in a different destination.  This year we headed out to Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Last year was spent in Sacramento, which will be reported on in future posts, and next year (drumroll please):  Orlando, Florida!!    I hope that the pictures and information included help give an apt picture of what a great time we have had at these conferences, but unfortunately, I think that that truly only comes through experiencing the conference first-hand.  Well, enough of that, here is Part 1 of our trip to Tulsa: 

Trying to say Farewell to Nevada.....

.....But, getting out of McCarran International was a little harder than normal due to the fact that Air Force One was sitting on the tarmac waiting for President Obahma to finish his weekend of fun in our great state.  Security was upped, lines were beyond long, and we were pretty happy to get out of there, even if the next stop was a little frigid:

In the far-outer reaches of the airport in Denver, Colorado is a place that those who have been ther might refer to as 'outer-darkness.'  Bear in mind it was still winter and we came to the end of the terminal only to find stairs leading way down into another terminal, which led even further away, walking and walking as the temperatures dropped until we were all bundling up again.  We finally came to the end of the terminal and realized that we would actually be walking out onto the tarmac to board a little propjet plane to take us in to Tulsa.  It was here that we (Jamie and Grant Perkins and Lacey Sproul) met up with State-Coordinator, Stephanie Licht, and Dann Mathews.  The others from Nevada ahd flown out of Reno and were already heading into Tulas at this point.  This is also the point where four of us almost missed the flight because we didn't hear the announcement and Lacey didn't realize we were deaf and had gone on without us. ;)

Tulsa, Oklahoma!  Finally here, but stumped at the airport trying to get a shuttle.

The Conference opened with a Family Fun night at the Doubletree where we were staying and the conference was held.  Lots of fun activities, though I think a lot of them had been planned for slightly smaller kids, the BIG kids still had a great time.  YF&R (& Farm Bureau) are very family oriented and do what they can to make these conferences easier for families to attend, since so many YF&R members are in the stage of raising families.

We met up with our group from Reno, enjoyed hot dogs, cotton candy, treats, bounce houses, mechanical bull-riding and roping.  Not to mention, just visiitng with our Nevada group, and friends from previous conferences.

Lacey trying her hand at Roping.....

The Mechanical Bull.....We had so much fun!!

Nathan Whipple

Dann Mathews, getting ready!

Jimmy Lotspeich

Grant Perkins

Jamie Perkins

I wish there were pictures to show some of us going off--we had a ball on the bull.

The Nevada Delegation.....Getting Serious.

Lacey Sproul, Nathan Whipple, Hannah Hardy, Jamie & Grant Perkins, Jimmy Lotspeich, Dann Mathews, Ashlee Diamond.   

This morning was the beginning of the Discussion Meet in which Jimmy was competing for Nevada.    I will be adding more about the Discussion Meet in future posts, including the topics for the competition this fall at the state meeting.  We met for breakfast before the big event and then spent the day attending rounds of the Discussion Meet and workshops based on different agricultural aspects, leadership development, how to accurately tell our stories in agriculture, how to handle the passing on of the family farm, Accurate Ag Books and Ag Literacy, State Chair Development, etc. 

Attending Workshops......

This was a workshop put on by Matt Scramlin, who works for AFBF, and also attended our State Farm Bureau meeting last fall in Ely, as a presenter.  Mat always puts on very interesting, fun, and informative workshops. 

An important workshop on accurate agricultural books for school children.  As YF&R members one of our big projects every year is our Agricultural Literacy Project, where we place books in elementary schools around the state that accurately depict American agriculture.  This was our third year doing the project and it has grown each year.  AFBF is a big sponsor of these books and the programs that will get them into our schools.

Nevada Delegation.... A Bit More Casual

Lacey and her mom made this Nevada-themed quilt as an item for the Silent Auction that is held every year at the conference.  The Auction offers items from each state's YF&R and lines the hallways for several days as people try to outbid each other on items of all sorts.

(Hmmmm.....can anyone guess who's feet are hiding behind the blanket? Bonus points for identifying locations pictured on the blanket!)


General Sessions.....Giving You an Idea of the Size and Scope of the Conference.

The conference has several general sessions with keynote speakers and presentations by AFBF YF&R Committee members.  CASE IH is a huge sponsor, along with Dodge and we came home with lots of little gifts, such as Dodge mugs, Farm Bureau hats, and Case toy tractors after most of the meals.  Did I mention that we eat A LOT on Farm Bureau trips?  It seems like we just get finished and they are having snacks in the hall, or it is time to head to another meal.  I hope that doesn't sound like a complaint, those don't come until we get home and get on the scales again!

Standing Up and Speaking Out!!

At the general sessions there is a tradition of each state's Chair person giving a 30 second spiel about their state.  This is sometimes a bit of a bragging session, sometimes a bit humorous, and usually very informative.  I was able to report some fun facts about Nevada's size, amount of federal land, agriculture, and even a few bad apples--one of which we are trying to keep from returning to Washington this coming election.

If you want to know more about the national conferences, YF&R, Farm Bureau, Discussion Meet, etc.  all you have to do is ask--post a comment or email!