Turkey Thoughts!

I was born and raised involved in agriculture. The picture that comes to my mind when the word farm is said is one of cows and crops, but recently I have been thinking about other types of farming there are in here in the US. My family was sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner last week, and my little sister said the prayer. The words that stick with me are “Bless this food, and the hands that raised it.” My brother asked who shot the turkey, and I corrected him -  Our turkey came from the grocery store, but before that, it was raised on a farm, one that raises turkeys in its barns. Minnesota is number one in the US for turkey production, with approximately 250 farm families raising 45 million turkeys annually. There are other types of farmers that your family might support during the holidays – potato farmers, fruit farmers, vegetable farmers, and vineyards just to name a few.

Another type of farm I rarely think about is one that is currently decorating and perfuming the Union – that’s right, Christmas Tree farms. According to University of Illinois, there are more than 21,000 Christmas Tree Growers here in the US. These trees take approximately 7-10 years to mature, and are grown in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. 98% of Christmas trees are grown on farms and 73 million trees will be planted in the next year. This is a ‘green’ farming practice – one acre of trees provides enough oxygen for 18 people a year!  

Next time you hear the word farm, go ahead and think about cows and corn fields. But remember there’s other types of agriculture out there that aren’t as common! 

~*~ Remember to thank a farmer for all they do to feed the world! ~*~

The Cattlemens Story

Recently at Mom's Day Out on the Farm, I took some video at the cattle stop, which was Doug VanDuyn's feedlot. He doesn't usually speak to groups of people, but he had me fooled - Doug is awesome at speaking about the beef industry!  I hope you enjoy - I know all the participants of Moms Day Out on the Farm did!

To learn more about Mom's Day Out on the Farm and other Ag United Events visit South Dakota Farm Families on Facebook, find us at @agunited4sd on Twitter or visit our website at http://www.agunited.org/

The Writing on the Wall

 As the Ag United Intern, I get exposed to lots of opportunities to educate people about agriculture at different events. At last month’s Moms Day on the Farm events, 60 Sioux Falls area moms toured  beef, hog and dairy farms to learn more about where their food comes from. While all the farmers, industry representatives and speakers did a fantastic job of talking to the moms, one thing said at lunch the last tour really stuck in my mind as something to blog about. We were eating at the Tri-Valley School, and Dr. Stacy Scramlin, meat scientist from SDSU, looked up at the wall in the lunch area where the words PRIDE, PURPOSE and PASSION were painted underneath the school’s mascot. She said to the crowd “If you only take one thing away from today, look up at those three words and remember that farmers take pride in what they do, they have the purpose of feeding the world, and as you have seen today, are passionate about their animals and way of life. "



Brian Alderson

 We all know the farmer’s Purpose – feed the world. And with the world growing at 222,239 people PER DAY, farmers strive to produce more food with less land. On average, one farmer produces enough food to feed 155 people!

Karen Hofer shows moms a piglet

 

America’s farmers certainly have something to have Pride in. Producing the world’s cheapest, safest, most abundant food supply is a pretty big deal. Farmers love sitting down and talking to each other about their crops and cattle – and when one compliments another, their face lights up.

Laura Nielson

The final word on the wall is Passion. To every mom on the tours, it was pretty obvious that every farmer visited had passion about their operation. Brian Alderson held their attention for twenty minutes when talking about his hoop barns. Ferlyn Hofer and his family talked about their pigs and sheep, and even brought out some brand new baby piglets to meet the moms. Doug VanDuyn spoke to the women about his feedlot and beef industry – and all the women commented later that he really really loved his cows. After visiting the Nielson Dairy, moms commented that they could really see the passion in Laura’s eyes when she talked about her cows.

Doug VanDuyn

Telling the story of farming is so important, and through Moms Day on the Farm Events, moms saw the Purpose Pride and Passion in the farms they visited, and realized that every farm in America has those same qualities. Moms on the tours commented that “I have a face to put with where my food comes from, and I really like that”. As for me, I learned more about how to talk to consumers from all of our awesome farmers and presenters - and found three more words to talk about when people ask me about farming.

Independence Day

It’s almost Independence Day, and my favorite time of the year. It’s hot out, the sun is up till 10 o’clock, with lots of 4-H events and barrel races to go to. It’s also my favorite time of year at the farm – the baby calves and lambs are getting big and at pasture – they are so pretty! Days are spent in the hay field and getting lambs ready for market. And since it’s almost the 4^th of July, American pride is showing everywhere. Almost every house has a flag out in front, patriotic music blares on radios, and every citizen is declaring that we are proud to be Americans.

Photo by: Sarah Sample, 2010

As proud as I am of our great country, I want to recognize and industry I am so proud to be a part of. It’s our nation’s most vital industry. It’s American Agriculture. American farmers work every single day to feed 100% of the population.



Photo From: Ag United



However, many criticize American farmers. There are groups that would like to see the way we feed the world end. But American Farmers farm on.

Photo From: Ag United

There are never ending winters, bone chilling cold, wind, snow and ice that make their jobs that much harder. While others take snow days and shelter inside from the snow, American farmers brave the storm to farm on.



Feeding Horses, Spring 2011 Blizzard



In times of drought and flood, insects and disease, markets good and bad, and when nature unleashes its rath, American farmers don’t quit. They farm on.



Photo From: Kott Farms, Tornado, Summer 2010



When they reach retirement age, face illness, injury and crisis, their fellow farmers and friends offer help. Increasing their workload for a friend, they farm on.



Neighbor helping with hoop barn reconstruction



American pride runs deep in the rural communities. Serving their country, both at home and overseas, they offer their hard work to others. When they return as heroes, they return to the farm. American family farmers teach their children passion for farming and to work hard and to play hard - and hope that someday, they will keep on farming on. 



My siblings sledding after working in the lambing barn



American farmers are passionate and kind to animals. From the tinest duckling, to the biggest bull, they strive to give their animals the best care possible.

Ducklings rescued when momma duck got caught in hydroswing

American family farmers work 24/7 365, through heat and humidity, wind and rain, snow and ice to provide the 21 million jobs in American Agriculture and the cheapest, safest, most abundant food supply in the world.



Photo from: Ag United for South Dakota



I am proud to be a part of this amazing industry that is constantly working to feed, clothe and fuel the world. Happy 4^th of July!!

Why my job is SO important

Last week I took 17 day care goers on a field trip. Their big green van followed me to two farms.  Our first stop was near Hartford at Dennis Steinke’s farm.  I knew it was likely that these kids had never visited a farm.  Having grown up on a farm, it was an eye opening experience for me as well to see how these kids reacted to things on the farm, I just assume it is common for everyone to experience.  The first thing the kids fixated on?  Mud. They were all a leery of it, even the boys, to my surprise and the teacher’s relief!  Next, the Steinke family’s dogs caught their attention, as did the 4 wheeler.  These little things that I never thought would be new to them were – the dogs racing the 4 wheeler is a common sight at my house as is the mud, but both were new things to these kids!  We saw pigs, cattle and fed a bottle calf at the Steinke farm. They wanted to pet every critter they saw from the pigs to the feeder steers. The highlight of that stop, however, was feeding the bottle calf.

Our next adventure took us to Lynn Boadwine’s dairy near Baltic.  Lynn talked to the kids about different dairy products they may have in their own home and how those products get to their home from the dairy.  I had to laugh when one of the kids told him that cows weigh only 100 lbs!  We showed them the parlor and the feed lane of the dairy, plus the baby calves. They were so eager to pet the cows and even wanted to try their hand at milking. After a half hour at each place, we headed home. I bet their parents get a good education on the ins and outs of farming that evening!

Events on a farm always remind me of why we do what we do here at Ag United. Connecting consumer to field and farmer so that they know where their food comes from is essential in our world. People want to know they are getting the healthiest best food for their family, and that it is produced in the best way possible. 

My first post!

Long have I been amused, entertained, educated, and distracted by other peoples blogs. After my boss's urging, I have decided to start my own! So here it goes:

I am many things.

I am a Farmgirl - from south central South Dakota. We have 1000 sheep, 100 cattle, 20 goats and many acres of farmland. Living on and working on the farm has giving me passion for agriculture and what I want to do with my life.

I am a Cowgirl - We also have 12 horses. My favorite thing to do is ride them, work with them, and just be with them. I love barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and rodeo

I am big sister to 2 little munchkins - J and J are my best friends, worst enemies, and favorite people to play with. Even though I am 11 years older than them.

I am a sheep and goat person. (Yes I even admit it :) I love working with our sheep on the farm, talking to others about sheep and working at the SDSU sheep research unit.

I am the intern at Ag United: I work in Sioux Falls, helping plan events and do outreach to consumers so that they can learn more about agriculture.

Thats about all I have for now, hopefully I will update this about once a week, so stay tuned!!