Showing posts sorted by relevance for query ag day. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query ag day. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, December 1, 2014

Time to Wrap It Up


It’s the end.

The end of the outdoor growing season.

The end of the Farmers’ Market.

The end of the Ag blogging challenge.
(okay, I realize that was supposed to be yesterday…but…I really wanted to say one more thing)

With all this stuff ending, you might think that it’s time to take a vacation, a break, or go into hibernation. That always sounds good, but after about 2 days I’m ready to climb the walls and starting to lose my mind. So…no.  No hibernation. No vacation or long break…

While we may have reached the end of the season.  We really haven’t reached THE END.  That is only reached when we decide to quit some venture…or, I suppose…we eventually die. (now, that sounded pretty depressing.  sorry)

The “off-season” is just the next stage in the cycle of this thing we call Life.  Things are slower (and colder) but we definitely do not just sit around and wait for the next season.

The end of the growing season means it’s time to review the past season, looking for successes and failures, making notes for the upcoming season and asking the hard questions about what we want to do in the future.  Because, despite what some might think, we really do need to turn a profit doing this whole “farming thing”.  There is a very real need for cash, even though we do grow most of our own food.  While I must admit I haven’t tried it…I’m pretty sure I can’t go to the gas station and pay with vegetables.  And, I am almost certain that the county wouldn’t accept lamb chops (even a whole lot of lamb chops) for our annual real estate bill.

 While the Farmers’ Market is closed until Spring, there is a whole lot of work that goes on during the “off-season” behind the scenes to assure that next year provides another great season for all those involved.

And, even though the Ag blogging challenge has come to an end, it doesn’t mean the end of Ag blogging.  Those who write about food and farming and all those issues involved in Agriculture will keep writing and working to provide for all those who are not directly involved in Ag.

But, it’s time to wrap it up and say THANK YOU!

Thank you to all our great customers who support us in so many ways.  Not only do they buy our products, but they keep us encouraged and motivated.

Thanks to all involved with the Market for the opportunity and atmosphere that make our efforts such a success on Saturday mornings.

…and thanks to Holly Spangler for providing the blogging challenge. It’s always interesting to see what other bloggers are doing and to learn new things. Thanks to all those bloggers who write about their own experiences and the issues of Ag.  This is informative and educational and often downright inspiring.

Then, there’s YOU.  Thank you for reading!  Thank you for commenting.  I hope that you have found something of interest in the past 30 days.

This isn’t the end…it’s just a pause as we head to the next stage in this thing we call Life.

I know there are far more than 30 lessons from here on the farm. (believe me, there are a WHOLE lot more)

I’ll be back soon with some of them.

Did you miss the link to the Blogging Challenge?  Here it is one more time.
Agriculturalists Who Influence: The Series
30 Days Bloggers

And, if you missed my posts, you can find them all here.Lessons from the Farm - the challenge.

Lessons Learned:

There are a lot of lessons. (yes, I did say that on day one)

A lot of work goes on in the “off season”.

There are some amazing and inspiring...and very hardworking...folks out there!

The end of one thing is just the beginning of something new.


 
a new day dawns






Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, March 8, 2012

National Ag Day


In one of life’s more humorous ironies, I find that despite my deep connection with agriculture, I have never managed to note the special day throughout the years. It would have passed by again this year, if not for one of my non-agricultural friend’s status on Facebook!

According to the dictionary: “Agriculture is the science and art of cultivating the soil, producing crops and raising livestock.” (New World Dictionary, third college edition)

National Ag Day was started back in 1973 by the Agriculture Council of American in hopes of increasing public awareness of agriculture’s vital role in our society. I was totally unaware of this fact.

In 1973, I was in the third grade, where I was the odd little kid who baffled the teacher by knowing the different types of grass that were in a bale of hay. I had entertained teachers and students alike by bringing baby goats and bunnies and other creatures for show-n-tell. …and no one ever wanted to trade lunch with me…no pre-packaged stuff for us….home-grown goes back a long way.

My folks were part of the “back to the land” movement of the late 60’s, although I don’t think communing with nature had anything to do with their decision. We had cows and chickens, goats and pigs…and a huge garden. I never thought of this as agriculture.

Our property backed up to a cattle farm, a fairly large cattle farm. Now, THAT was agriculture. At the time, that county was one of the largest cattle producers in the state. We were surrounded by agriculture, despite the encroaching suburbia.

As life moved on, my ties to the land lessened. It wasn’t until the Boss and I had our own children that we began getting “back to the land” ourselves. Although a garden was always a given. We added chickens and goats and began to learn new skills and experiment with new crops. Our appreciation for and involvement in agriculture grew greatly.

When the girls were still young, I had the opportunity to teach a course in our homeschool co-op. A friend and I were quite taken with a curriculum based on the “little house books”. Our little group of kindergarten children were exposed to all sorts of skills and subjects during our reading about life on the prairie. The one activity that made the biggest impression was when we had the children start seeds. Each child was given three seeds: a bean, corn and cabbage seed. When they planted these in little Dixie cups, they got to see firsthand the amazing act of germination. I had been doing this “forever” and didn’t remember the thrill. Even my own children thought it was pretty humdrum. So, I was taken aback at the comments…particularly from the parents! They were so excited, astounded and downright thrilled that they had witnessed this miracle of life. Some even attempted gardening as a family activity.

When the Ag Council started back in the seventies, the dis-connect between “regular” folks and the farming community was already an issue. The Ag council was hoping with National Ag Day to allow every American to:

Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

Now, that we are in the Valley, we are not only surrounded by agriculture, we are completely immersed in it. We consider it a privilege to count ourselves among the farm population of the state, making up a part of the agricultural community…the largest influence on the economy by far. Food, clothing and shelter are all direct products of agriculture.

It just occurred to me that I haven’t missed Ag Day all these years…I’ve been living it every day!

Happy Ag Day, everyone!
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Celebrate AG Day 2013




It’s National Ag Day!





Are you celebrating? 

Should we make a cake?  
Blondie made this one to enter in the county fair years ago.

Have a party?  Nothing says party quite like a John Deere cake!








What about a parade? The annual fireman’s parades always make me think of Ag…what with all the vintage tractors that participate. But, parade season doesn't start 'til May.
Tbone and Blondie-Fireman's parade '09













Ag Day is being observed across the nation today. It is a day set aside to recognize the essential role that agriculture plays in all our lives.

Do you have any idea what I am talking about? Have you got any idea just how essential AGRICULTURE is to everyday life?

Here’s a little bit about Ag Day.


Purpose
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) is an organization uniquely composed of leaders in the agriculture, food and fiber communities dedicated to increasing the public awareness of agriculture's vital role in our society. The Agriculture Council of America and the National Ag Day program was started in 1973.

Core Values
ACA believes that EVERY American should:
 Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
 Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
 Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
 Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.


It always surprises me how very little folks actually know about food and the farmers who produce that food.  Of course, farmers are involved in fiber and fuel production as well.  You would be hard-pressed to think of an activity or a product that don’t have some tie to agriculture. But, it's not just about food, fiber and fuel.  We're talking everything!
The cow inhabitants of our county are only outnumbered by poultry 
Agriculture is the NUMBER ONE industry here in the Old Dominion, providing something like 357,000 jobs and utilizing around 8 million acres. It would seem that everybody would know somebody who is involved with agriculture and that lots of folks would be looking forward to recognizing such an important influence in so many lives.  However, I am going to guess that the date will go largely unnoticed…which is more than a little sad.

As a farmer, I can tell you that personal recognition is awesome.  Since we direct-market everything we grow, we get that positive (and occasionally NOT so positive) feedback on a regular basis.  But, those farmers who don’t have the opportunity to meet the consumers, either because they grow commodity crops or don’t direct market, miss out on that contact with the end user.  I think that it is this lack of connection that allows the horrible mis-information to run rampant across the internet and gives rise to urban myths causing consumers to become frightened and distrusting of the very folks who feed and clothe them.  It is hoped that the focus of Ag day might just open up a few conversations and make a few new connections.  Take the time to learn more.   

As a consumer, it is crucial that I have some idea of what I am buying. Talking to farmers helps me to understand just what goes into the products we use on a daily basis. Personally, I have learned immensely from other farmers, particularly those who run operations that are different than ours.  I have yet to meet a farmer who isn’t proud of what he/she does for a living and every single one has been glad to answer questions and even give advice.

So, I hope that as you go about your daily routine today, you will pause a minute and think about all those hardworking folks who made all that stuff you use possible.  The lifestyles we all enjoy are possible only because some farmer somewhere worked hard producing food, fiber and fuel.

For those of you who may have missed last year's entry...here's more.



Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

30 Days-Lessons from the Farm-The Challenge

November is just around the corner.  And, you know what that means…don’t you?

Aside from Thanksgiving and the end of Market season, it also means that my cyber-friend, Holly Spangler over at Farm Progress has once again issued her annual 30 day  Ag blogging challenge.

Last year was my first year to participate.   Click HERE to read. the post that includes the links to all my daily entries for the challenge. I had never tried blogging every single day before. It was indeed a challenge, but it was fun, too.  I also found some great blogs to read that I didn't know were out there.


So, I’ll take Holly up on her challenge again this year.

I really need something to push me out of my blogging funk. I know I’ve been pretty bad about blogging this summer.  I’ve had lots of ideas, but they seem to fall flat when they are written.  Focus…maybe I just need some focus.

I have decided that this year I will write about lessons learned here on the hill.  The series will be entitled
30 days of Lessons from the Farm.

The fact that I actually figured out a working plan is quite possibly a first for me. I have a lesson a day that I hope will be inspiring and educational. Don't worry, not all the lessons are exclusive to our life in Agriculture. Many apply no matter your lifestyle or livelihood.  A few of them might even be funny, giving you get a chance to laugh and learn from our mistakes. And I will still do the Sunday Walkabout since I know some of you wait for that one.  I understand T-bone really likes to read that one while he drinks his Sunday morning coffee!  



When we settled here in ’97, it was with broken hearts and battered dreams, no plan (except to somehow survive), our two little girls…and about $5 in the bank. Dark days indeed.  It has taken a lot of hard work to get to the point we are today.  Many changes have occurred and a great number of lessons have been learned. (and more than a few of those were learned the hard way) I hope you’ll come along with me as I chronicle some of the lessons throughout the month of November. Actually, I'm going to start the 31st of October with a little bit of the backstory for you.

I would also encourage you to check out all the other blogs from all sorts of Ag bloggers. There should be a lot of participants this year. It sounds like a great time! I’ll be posting a link to all the other blogs on my daily entry.  Read along and let me know what you think. I'm pretty sure you will find something interesting.

This is a pretty big commitment...I'm going to be typing like a crazy woman for a while.  Off to the keyboard...


Looking forward to November 1st!



P.S. A big THANK YOU to Holly for the inspiration and opportunity! Here's the link to Holly and all the other Bloggers. Click HERE.

Here are the links to my posts in this series:
The Backstory
Day 1 - All the Things You Don't Know
Day 2 -Sunday Walkabout 11-2
Day 3 - Thinking "Outside the Box"
Day 4 -Learned a LOT on that Sheep, Tom!
Day 5 - Oh, Those Brown-eyed Girls
Day 6 -  Ya Know You're Good...
Day 7 - Say "NO" to the Llama, Mama!
Day 8 -Man and Machine
Day 9 - Sunday Walkabout 11-9
Day 10 - For the Love of Bacon
Day 11 - Like Ripples in a Pond
Day 12 - Solving the Henhouse Mystery
Day 13 - #Thankful4Ag
Day 14 - It All Adds Up
Day 15- WHY Do I Do the Farmers' Market?
Day 16 - Sunday Walkabout 11-16
Day 17 -Here Chick, Chick
Day 18 - Home, Home on the Range
Day 19 - Lucky Growin' Up Like That
Day 20 -Reduce, Re-use, Recycle
Day 21 - Kick First, Ask Questions Later
Day 22 -  So...Here We Are
Day 23 - Sunday Walkabout 11-23
Day 24 - I Owe a Lot to Alternative Ag
Day 25 - Food as Art
Day 26 - ...'Til the Veggies Come In
Day 27 - In Everything Give Thanks
Day 28 - Seeds of Change
Day 29 - Sunday Walkabout 11-30
Day 30 - Time to Wrap It Up
Posted by at 8 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

National AG Day



Hey there!


It’s National Ag day.  Have you thought about agriculture yet today?

I’m going to bet you’re going to say “NO” and look at me oddly.  You’re probably going to think that I’m a little strange when I counter “well, you should have!”  And you probably think I have an unfair advantage when I say it seems I am always thinking about it because…well, I am an agriculturist (a farmer). Or then, you might just continue to look at me oddly and  think I’m a little strange. (that’s okay…you wouldn’t be alone!)

But, seriously…it’s National Ag Day!

Have you thought about Agriculture today?

WHAT is Ag Day?

It's a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture.

Visit the website. http://www.agday.org/

More importantly…What is AGRICULTURE?

It’s the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

The University of California expanded the definition a little bit.

Agriculture is the science, art and occupation of cultivating the soil, producing crops and raising livestock.
Agriculture is the very basis of civilization.
It is the food we eat, the clothing we wear, the material of our homes, the gardens around us, and many of our traditions and values.   University of California

Ag day had its beginnings back in the 70’s.  It was hoped that the leaders in the Ag community could help to increase the public’s awareness of agriculture’s vital role in our society by setting aside a special day (the high point of Agriculture Week---this year March 23-29) Events are planned around the country to emphasize Ag's importance in all our lives.

To be perfectly honest here, if you hadn't heard of it, you're not alone. I’m pretty sure that National AG Day gets past a whole lot of the folks that are deeply involved with Agriculture, too.  But, I think that’s probably because they’re kinda busy providing the products necessary for the feeding and clothing of the nation.

Locally,(if yesterday was any indication) today will be spent getting ready for the upcoming growing season,.  Trucks and tractors ran in a steady stream up and down Mbrook Road as our farming neighbors begin to gear up and get back on schedule. The weather in our part of the world (in lots of parts of the world) during the winter season was not kind.  The cold, snow (and subsequent mud) and relentless wind kept fieldwork from happening on a timely basis and caused a new set of troubles that will be felt long into the future.  Today’s predicted snows will again interfere with the spreading and spraying that need to occur before the early planting. The snow also means that hay and feed must be hauled to the animals in the fields, again. It’s sale day down at the stockyard, too…and that means animals must be handled and transported.   

Looks like outdoor work is on hold...
it's snowing AGAIN!



On a personal level, our work for the day is far less ambitious, but every bit as necessary.  We will make repairs, start crops and maintain our livestock. The Farmers’ Market opens in less than two weeks…and we are SO NOT READY. (but, that's another story)


When you think of Agricultural products, you may think of fruits and vegetables, meat and milk and fiber for clothing. That’s just the beginning!  


Look at this list (which is not exhaustive by any means) :



Health Care: Health Care: Pharmaceuticals, ointments, pharmaceuticals, ointments, surgical sutures, latex gloves, x-ray film, surgical sutures, latex gloves, x-ray film

Manufacturing: Adhesives, lubricants, solvents, detergents, polymers

Education: Crayons, textbooks, chalk, desks, pencils, paper

Personal Care: Shampoo, lotions, cosmetics, toothpaste, fingernail polish

Construction: Lumber, paints, tar paper, brushes, dry wall, particle board, and tool handles




I realize that there is much discussion and a lot of concern in certain circles about the various practices in modern Agriculture.  So much so that some folks use “agri-business” as a bad word. (seriously people…it’s just the business of agriculture) Ironically, it is the very fact some have devoted their lives to Agriculture that allows us to even have these debates.  If we were all still engaged in a hunter-gather lifestyle, there would be little time for debate and discussion.  We’d be too busy attempting to provide our own sustenance and clothing! (if we existed at all) And, it is foolhardy to think that the world’s population could be fed and clothed by the meager offerings from backyard gardens. But, this is not the place for divisive wrangling.


Bet you didn't know some of these!


Instead, I’d rather focus on some of the amazing facts about Agriculture. You would be hard-pressed to come up with some aspect of your life that is NOT affected by Ag.     

Did you know?

Family farms account for most of the farms in the US.




Farmers and ranchers are independent business people who provide for their families by growing and producing food and fiber. They use modern production techniques to increase the quality and quantity of the food they produce.

The top five agricultural commodities are cattle and calves, dairy products, broilers, corn and soybeans. U.S. farmers produce 46% of the world’s soybeans, 41% of the world’s corn, 20.5% of the world’s cotton and 13% of the world’s wheat.

Soy crayons have been created to replace toxic petroleum-wax crayons, soy crayons are brighter in color and less expensive to produce.

One acre (43,560 square feet) of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.

Soybean oil is the most widely used vegetable oil. It is found in margarines, salad dressings, canned foods, sauces, bakery goods, and processed fried foods.



It takes just 40 days for most Americans to earn enough money to pay for their food supply for the entire year. In comparison with the 129 days it takes the average American to earn enough money to pay federal, state and local taxes for the year.

 Cotton is also a food crop. Almost 200 million gallons of cottonseed oil are used in food products such as margarine and salad dressing. Cottonseed and cottonseed meal are used in feed for livestock and poultry. And even products such as toothpaste, ice cream, and the paper money used to buy them contain by-products of the cotton seed.

The environment and everyone in it benefits from research on biodegradable plant products that break down easily in landfills.

Agriculture land provides food and habitat for 75% of the nation's wildlife. Deer, moose, fowl and other species have shown significant population increases in the past several years.

Genetic engineering with plants and animals has resulted in new antibodies for immunizations. Other research has developed surgical techniques and pharmaceuticals from agriculture that help save lives.

Ethanol and new bio-diesel fuels made from corn and other grains are beneficial to the environment and promote energy security.

Heart valves from hogs are used to replace damaged or diseased human heart valves.

One bushel of wheat will produce 73 one-pound loaves of bread.



More facts about agriculture can be found here. Check it out! 
  
Agriculture practices today are far different than they were way back there at the dawn of time.  But, then so is society.  I don’t think many folks would want to return to the accepted difficulties of daily life long ago and it is unfair to suggest that Agriculture turn its back on technology. 

Rather than fear what you don’t know… Take a few minutes and learn just a little bit about Ag today.  

You’ll be amazed! (I know I was)


Check out some of the blogs on Blogging for Agriculture. There are over 200 agriculture-based blogs listed here.  https://www.facebook.com/BloggingforAgriculture

My favorite one today is by my friend, Katie, who wrote this...(read) about what she has learned about Agriculture.

…and here is my own entry from last year.

Now, you can say that you have indeed given some thought to Agriculture today. 

Have a great AG Day everyone! 



  




















Posted by at 8 comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)