Returning to the FARM?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy cows at Liberty Dairy.

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

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

http://www.churchillvineyards.com/

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

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

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

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

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

Farm Bureau Members headed to the Desert Oasis Teff Plant.

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

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

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



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

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


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

 

Teff before cleaning.

 

This is just the chaff left after the first cleaning.



Dave Eckert and John Getto, owners of Desert Teff.

The seed as it prepares for further cleaning and processing.

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



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



The final sorting of the Teff.



The final cleaned seed, like grains of sand.

  

Gluten-free Teff flour, ready for use.

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

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

STATE MEETING!!

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

November Holidays

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

Georgia Pecan Month,

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

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

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

Pecan Facts

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

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

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

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

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

(all info from the Georgia Pecan Commission)

Global Demand for Food Booms

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

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

Global Demand for Food Booms Top Producer Magazine

PIZZA--America's Favorite Meal??

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

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

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

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

Each year, pizza is a $30 billion industry.

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

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

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

In America, the most popular ethnic food is Italian.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anchovies are Americans' least favorite topping.

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

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

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

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

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

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