Wordless Wednesday: Binoculars

L and I went on a ranger ride with Grammy over the weekend, just to get out and enjoy the weather and see what kind of wildlife we could find.  L was prepared with Papa's binoculars. 

Funniest part was that L was constantly looking thru the binoculars and was afraid that Grammy was going to run into the trees that were WAY off into the distance.
  

We saw squirrel nests, trees that beavers had chewed on, deer, hawks, an owl... but the favorite of the day?  Calves of course!

Wordless Wednesday: Dirt

Harvest

I've been gone the last two weekends so I took today off work to have a Mama/Daughter fun day.  I asked Monkey what she wanted to do on our day and without hesitating she said she wanted to go combine.  So that's what we did.  

 

In the combine with Uncle Jack

Watching the corn dump into the auger wagon
 

Farming with Papa Bob
 

It's not all fun and games, he put her to work too!

 

Farming is dirty work.... but loads of fun

Hats off to Funk Farms

I wanted to share this awesome accomplishment by a family who I consider to be my own!  Congrats Dan and Kathy!

Originally posted by the Illinois Beef Association

Dan Koons of Funk Farms Trust
Picture courtesy of Summit Livestock Facilities

Funk Farms Trust, located in Shirley, Ill., was recognized as a 2012 regional Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) winner during the 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, Colo. Funk Farms Trust is the Region III ESAP award winner and will compete with six other regional winners for the national ESAP award, which will be announced during the 2012 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Tampa, Fla. The ESAP award is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife; the National Cattlemen’s Foundation; and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

According to a nomination by the Illinois Beef Association, conservation of the land and efficient utilization of the resources have been a long time priority at Funk Farms Trust, which is managed by Dan and Kathy Koons. The Funk Farm Trust is one of the oldest farms in Illinois, dating back to 1824. Presently, Funk Farms Trust encompasses 2,175 acres, of which 1,700 acres are used for corn and soybean production.

Funk Farms Trust has worked with many organizations to improve the environmental quality of their operation, including the USDA NRCS, the McLean County Soil Conservation Service, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Conservation and stewardship measures taken by the farm include establishing 35 miles of waterways and 25 miles of terraces to prevent soil erosion, establishing grass along hedge rows, recycling nutrients back into fields by utilizing a feedlot and handling manure through composting.

Preserving hedge rows and buffer areas throughout farm is required at Funk Farms Trust. The farm uses hedgerows to help improve air quality by diminishing wind and airborne dust and pollutant distribution. These hedge rows also address water quality issues by filtering and slowing rainfall, allowing runoff to percolate slowly into the soil and water table.

“Funk Farms has always been a shining example of what conservation and stewardship could be and should be on farms and feedlots in the Midwest,” said Steven L. Foglesong, owner of Black Gold Ranch and Feedlot, and past NCBA President. “Funk Farms has always been willing to try new technology in their conservation efforts and then share the results with others as is evidenced by the many open houses and field days held there over the years. Dan and Kathy have always been willing to open their doors and be advocates for not only the beef industry but the rest of agriculture as well.” Through a dedication to responsible environmental practices and conservation, NCBA has represented America’s cattle producers since 1898, preserving the heritage and strength of the industry through education and public policy. As the largest association of cattle producers, NCBA works to create new markets and increase demand for beef.

The National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) advances the future of the beef industry by assisting in the education of the next generation of beef industry professionals. For more information, visit www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org.

Food, Think!

I attended a conference today for work.  Since I work in the ag industry, this was a conference centered around agriculture.  I have been so busy the last few weeks I hadn't really had a chance to look at the agenda before actually showing up at the conference.  Once there, I took a peak at it and one speaker stood out to me, Cassie Payne Webb. 

Cassie grew up with an urban childhood, attended college at Vanderbilt University and was a school teacher in Brooklyn, NY.  She readily admits she was a believer of all things Michael Pollan and had MANY questions about the safety of our food supply.  She went on to get her Masters Degree at Texas A&M University in Animal Science.  She now understands the degree of safety and system of checks and balances the U.S. food supply undergoes and is now advocating for the industry! 

Check out her blog, Food, Think!  Cassie does a great job at getting right to the heart of the matter of food safety and dispells a lot of the myths that are out there.  It goes to show that first-hand experience is the best way to change someone's opinion.  If someone is willing to learn, we should be willing to teach.  Let people come to your farms and answer the questions that they have. 

Shed Hunting

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, we decided to take a family outing and go shed hunting. 

My mom came across the one find of the day, not too shabby!

LETTER OF APPRECIATION

I wrote this post for my blog at work, Corn Corps.  Thought I'd share it here as well:

In life’s hectic day-to-day grind, we all probably take many things, and people, for granted. It’s easy to do. This week is National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week, so take a few minutes today and think about something, or someone, you’d like to show appreciation for and write a letter. Here’s mine:
Dear Farmer - more specifically - Dad,

Growing up on a family farm, life wasn’t always easy or ‘fair’. I wasn’t able to run down the street to play with my friends after school or on many weekends like the rest of the kids in my class. You expected me to be at home helping in the garden, in the field mowing hay, or in the pasture checking cows. And you didn’t pay me for doing these things. If I wanted to buy something extra, then I had to earn the money for it. Summers of my youth were spent detasseling and baling hay. Once I hit sixteen, I worked part-time outside of the farm. You were always there for me and supplied me with the necessities, but if I wanted more, I was expected to earn it myself.
I wasn’t able to have all the coolest, up-to-date clothes that other girls in my class sported. Mom took us shopping at Farm & Fleet and we got the Wranglers that were on sale. Boots were handed down from older siblings, it didn’t matter if they were boys or girls, we wore what fit.

While my town friends were sleeping in or watching Saturday morning cartoons, we were working cattle before the heat set in for the day. Sometimes even being woke up in the middle of the night to round up cattle that got out.
You know what though… I wouldn’t change it for anything. Life on the farm taught me many lessons that I have carried with me into adulthood.
- Determination and Commitment – When I got bucked off a horse, the world didn’t stop turning for me, I had to get right back on and ride. You taught me that when something isn’t going right, you don’t give up, you dig your heels in and finish the job.

- Roll with the Punches – Things don’t always go as expected on a farm… you’ve got a 30 acre field of hay cut and an unexpected thunderstorm rolls in, or a heifer is having problems calving at 2 in the morning, you’ve got to deal with the obstacles as they come at you, not everything can be done by the book…. Not so different than the hurdles I face in life now.

- Caring – Farmers care about the welfare of their sources of livelihood - the livestock and the land - like no other profession I've ever come across. You taught me this. How many corporate folk do you know that would go out in the driving rain and sleet to help a downed cow? I can’t name any. That’s part of a farmer’s job though. You care about the quality of life of your animals and that extends to caring about others as well. When a neighboring farmer is going through a hard time and needs help getting the crops in, we helped. You don’t stand by and watch others struggle, you do what you can to lift them up.

- Respect – You taught me to respect my elders, the land and the animals we raised. Without them, we wouldn’t have anything.

- Be Independent and Work Hard– You can’t rely on others for everything. You taught me that if I wanted something I had to work for it and do it myself. There wasn’t going to be any magical Fairy Godmother to wave her wand and pay for my first car or my college tuition. You taught me how to change a tire so I wouldn’t have to be stuck on the side of the road waiting for help.

This is just a short list of the things you taught me, but what I’m really trying to say is, thank you Dad, from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate all the lessons learned and quality time spent together. Without you and Mom showing me the ropes of farm life, I don’t think I would be the person I am today. And to all the other farm parents who have created such an amazing environment in which to raise their families, you are appreciated.

Wordless Wednesday: Slow Down

Harvest for a Cure

A friend of mine made this video of some farmers in her hometown, doing what they call “Harvest for a Cure”. Glenn Bolander was having a hard time getting his crops out of the field because he was spending most of his time in the hospital with his wife, Carol, who has been battling breast cancer.

Nearly 100 volunteers came together to help the Bolander’s clear their crops. It brought a tear to my eye to see people pull together to help a friend going through a hard time. With 11 combines, 26 trucks, and 18 tractors and grain carts it took only 5 hours and twenty-one minutes to harvest 350 acres of corn! Simply amazing. But that’s what farming is all about.

You can read more about this story here. 
 

Come 'Er Boy!

Monkey loves to call the horses in at Papa Jim and GramC's house.  It's the cutest thing when she yells, "Come 'er boy" and wiggles her little fingers back and forth.  Makes this momma's heart melt. 

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Chicago Moms Taking a Field Trip

Today is the day that ten Chicago-area moms who have questions about food, farmers and farming are going on their first farm tour. These ten “Field Moms”, as they’ve been named by the Illinois Farm Families will get the chance to see firsthand how their food is grown and raised, as they meet Illinois farmers and tour their farms.

As a farm girl myself, I think this effort to give suburban moms a glimpse into the farm life and how their food gets to their table is great. There are far too many people that have no idea where their food comes from, or what goes into getting it on the shelves of the supermarket.

Like one of the Field Moms, Julie Barreda, says, “Just like money doesn’t come out of an ATM, food doesn’t just arrive at your table each day. There’s much more real story behind it – that’s what I want my family to know and appreciate. As city people, we often forget that Illinois is an agricultural state, and a lot happens outside of the city. The Field Mom program can really help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.”

After the Field Moms return to the city, they will share their experiences through blogs, videos, and photos. I’m definitely going to be following up on what they think about their day on the farm. I encourage you to do so as well.  Who knows, maybe we'll all learn a little something!

Women in Agriculture

I have a friend who is in her senior year at Illinois State University.  Rosie is majoring in Agriculture Animal Industry Management and plans on pursuing a career in Ag Literacy or Ag Communications.  As you well know, I myself work in the field of Ag Communications and have a special place in my heart for all things ag related, not to mention I think Rosie is a pretty swell gal, so I wanted to pass along some videos that she has been working on.

This latest one is about women in ag.  There's no doubt that women have always been a part of agriculture, but many people don't realize it.  Check it out and take a look at Rosie's YouTube channel for her other videos as well!

Wordless Wednesday: Bean Field

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click here or here.

You're a "Real Farmer?!"

I wrote a blog post yesterday for my job and have had some really nice comments on it.  Since it's been a while since I've posted on here (I'm really sorry, just been so busy!) I thought I'd share it here as well.  Hope you enjoy and I promise to be back with more soon!

A mutual friend recently introduced me to someone I’ll call Jane. Jane is college-educated, holds a good job and seemed to be an all around intellectual individual. In the course of our conversation and in getting to know each other it came up that I was from a farm. She literally said to me, “Oh my gosh, YOU are an ACTUAL farmer?” I explained that no, I have a full-time job, but my Dad IS a farmer and yes, I do still help on the farm when he needs it and my time allows. His operation isn’t large enough to hire full-time farmhands… that’s why he had four kids of course, built in help!

Jane was so excited to meet an actual ‘farmer’, she had a lot of questions that I was happy to answer. Some of them seemed so silly to me that I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. But then I remembered: if we as individuals who KNOW the answers to the silly questions don’t take them seriously, then who will? The people who have an anti-ag agenda, that’s who. And trust me, they are out there scattering their false statements around like a manure spreader.

After a lengthy conversation, I think Jane has a better understanding of agriculture and what farming actually is all about. She had no clue that 94% of all farms are family owned. Instead, she thought that the majority were owned by corporate entities and they just hired people to work on the farms. I asked her why she thought that and she said one of the reasons was the signs in fields. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Those seed corn signs that are all over the countryside this time of year? Yeah, to those outside of the ag world, they think that displays ownership of the field.

I must admit there were a few of her questions that I couldn’t give a precise answer to. Like what exactly are in pesticides and how they are applied. I’m not a chemist, nor do I have an applicators license, so while I can give broad answers, I can’t give specific details. However, since I do also work in the ag industry, I told her that it would be easy for me to find the answers and would gladly do so for her if she would like me to.

I present this only as an example and a reminder of what the ag community needs to do. If urban folks that literally live in our own backyards are excited, impressed and shocked to meet an actual ‘farmer’ then we aren’t doing our jobs! For so long, farmers have belonged to an association thinking that the association would promote their industry for them. That worked for a while, but no more.

Non-farmers want to connect with farmers. They want to understand who you are, what you do and why you do it. If you don’t tell them, who will?

Garden Answers

In case you were up all night wondering what the answers were to yesterday's garden pictures, here they are....

Strawberry Bush

 

Tomato Plant

 

and Turnips!

Wordless Wednesday: Garden

Our garden is actually starting to LOOK like a garden!  Can you guess what these plants are?

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click here.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Life Lessons

Our dog Hank found himself a few fun toys to play with the other night.  He dug up a rabbit's nest.  We were able to save three of the babies from his overly joyful grips. 

We didn't really have a plan for the rabbits, just thought they would be cute to show to Monkey and didn't want Hank to unnecessarily torture them all.  Once we brought them insde though, Monkey was in love.

So then we were faced with the dilemma of what to do.  We could try to put them back in the nest, but we didn't know if the momma was still around and if she was, would she take them back after we had handled them?  Hank knows where the nest is now, so odds are good he'd just get them again.  Two of the babies were not so carefully played with by Hank, they could have internal injuries.  Would they even survive?  Do we try to raise them ourselves?  The thought of bottle feeding baby rabbits every 3 hours isn't something I relish.  I'd honestly rather have another baby if I'm going to be up during the night anyway.  

I then started thinking, what would be easier: the rabbits disappearing now and Monkey never seeing them again?  Or trying to raise them, getting attached and having them die later?  Disappearing now seems like the much easier solution.  

But, isn't that one of the great parts of growing up a farm kid?  I cherish the memories I have of bottle feeding calves, raccoons, goats, and whatever other random animals we raised throughout the years.  I want Monkey to have those experiences too. 

Yes, there was sometimes pain.  Animals died.  Some we coudn't nurse back to health, others disappeared, and some ended up on our dinner table.  We were sad, but at the same time, it taught us about life and death and we learned from these experiences.  

It seems that there is a disconnection from death in our present society.  People don't want to talk about it.  If the family's goldfish dies, the parents would rather flush it and get a new one with the child never knowing, than to deal with the possible tears.

While I don't ever want to cause Monkey pain or see tears run down her face from having her little heart break, I do want her to value the life cycle.  I want her to know where the food on her plate came from and how important it is to nurture the livestock that ends up there.  I want her to know that no matter what happens on the farm or in life, life continues.  

That was a lot of thinking inspired by three tiny creatures, but it got my wheels spinning.  And I think we might just keep the rabbits.        

Down on the Farm

I took Monkey over to the farm the other day to check out the calves.  There were two new ones born that very day. 

She was one excited girl, but didn't quite understand why she couldn't get out and go love on them like she does with Hank.

When she saw this guy, she yelled out "Doonnnkey... Shrek!"  Can't tell what her favorite movie right now is, can you?

After checking out the cows, we took a spin over to one of the fields were Dad was working.  He just happened to be broken down so was pretty excited to see us roll up.  After getting things in working order, he gave Monkey a few pointers on how to drive the tractor.... 

And off she went!  She was a natural of course.

HSUS Revealed!

A little truth about who the HSUS really is....

Spring has Sprouted!

Sunday marked the official first day of spring. 

HALLELUJAH!

I'm so done with winter.  To be fair, I never really was a part of it.  Winter and I don't see eye-to-eye.  While I like playing in the snow, I don't like the cold.  I want it to be 70 and have snow on the ground.  Not real likely, I know.  Don't judge me and my fantasies. 

Back to spring.  I found sure signs of it over on Sunday, check out my rhubarb-a-sproutin!

After seeing this my tastebuds can't stop thinking about rhubarb crisp, rhubarb bars, rhubarb bread, rhubarb cake, rhubarb pie, rhubarb muffins.  It's the fruit of the sea, you can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it.... oops, sorry about that, a little Bubba took over there for a minute.  Can you name that movie? 

Rhubarb is a very versatile vegetable.  I even found a recipe for rhubarb pickles that I intend to try out this year!  If you have a favorite rhubarb recipe, please share it with me.