Even though there is a lot going on with the election cycle and the huge push to find the final
candidates to run for the Presidency, we must stay vigilant to what is going on currently in our state legislatures.
The legislative process is a fascinating process, yet at one time, I couldn’t get far enough away from it! I was under the impression that I couldn’t make a difference – but I was wrong! In fact, I’ve been told that sometimes an experience shared by one constituent can affect a vote.
Elected officials need our input to know how we’ll be affected if certain bills are or are not signed into law. You can write e-mails to them. You can go to town hall meetings. You can even call them on the phone when they are in session. However, I have found that going to the Capitol and meeting with elected officials in person during the legislative session is the most effective way to express my ideas. Attending committee meetings allows one to see how elected officials operate and negotiate. I’ve been able to watch the action from the gallery, and I’ve been invited to sit on the floor right in the midst of all the action! Nothing can replace person contact.
Tomorrow is one of the days that there will be many Farm Bureau members at the statehouse. Actually, any Iowan can visit the statehouse to meet with elected officials on any day that the Legislature is in session. All you have to do is walk to the chamber door to either the House of Representatives or the Senate. You simply fill out a slip to request to talk with a specific official, and then hand that slip of paper to the doorkeeper, who will find out whether the representative or senator is available. If he or she is available, he or she will come to the door and talk with you.
There are many issues discussed daily: taxes, education and other topics that may affect you directly. It’s important that you make your voice heard. I can assure you, someone will be “twisting arms” on any given issue and he or she (or a particular special interest group) may not share your opinion!
Voting for a person who’s running for office is just the beginning of the political process. It’s important that you remain engaged! You might feel comfortable calling on elected officials by yourself, or perhaps you’d be more comfortable joining a group effort through an organization that shares your interests. Either way, grassroots efforts can lead to better representation. The time spent contacting legislators and regulators is an investment – and you just may enjoy the experience!
When I was a child, I remember walking into the kitchen and finding my mom reading church cookbooks for new recipes to try. Fast forward to 2016, and I find myself saving recipes from my Facebook feed or pinning them to board on Pinterest.
There are so many photographs of beautiful dishes in my newsfeed! I was intrigued by the thought of making Baked Potato Cupcakes or Krispy Eggs. I toyed with the idea of making the Iowa Girl Eats’Easiest Fruit Salad because it’s so colorful – and I could use a little color after this week’s winter storm. Egg Lasagna sounded like an interesting side dish to ham.
I’ll probably try my hand at some of these recipes in the future, but I won’t be making them for Easter. I’ve decided to stick with Asparagus Casserole. Any one of my family members could probably guess what’s inside my dish before the cover comes off, and that thought made me realize that my casserole has become a tradition. I honestly look forward to the Deviled Eggs that my brother makes. My daughter looks forward to the Corn and Macaroni hot dish that my cousin brings. Without intending to, we’ve created family holiday traditions by the foods we serve.
Family traditions provide a constant in our otherwise ever-changing world. “Tradition gives us an opportunity to live in the moment and enjoy something that we have created as a family. It gives us the chance to slow down, appreciate and express gratitude towards the things in our lives that are not run by technology and busy demands.”
The case for preserving family traditions was made in a HuffPost Homeblog article:
1. Traditions give us something to look forward to.
2. Traditions won’t preserve themselves.
3. Traditions keep us grounded.
The tradition I look forward to most each Easter is our annual egg hunt. My grandparents began hiding eggs more than 50 years ago. This weekend five generations will gather together to search for brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy a potluck meal. Like Pavlov’s dogs, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
What traditions do you look forward to this holiday season? Perhaps you can start a new one… Included below is a recipe for Cherry Red Raspberry Cheesecake, courtesy of Food and Swine. Photo credit to the Iowa Food and Family Project.
5 Things High School Students Should Consider When Choosing a College
By Kilah Hemesath, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Marketing Intern
Laundry, home cooked meals and roommates will all have different meanings after you move into the dorm of your new college town. I won’t forget the day I moved into Maple Hall at Iowa State University. A helpful move-in crew greeted my family and me, and then I was left with a new roommate in a tiny room that resembled the feeling of living in a box. Although the college experience was intimidating at times, it all contributed to finding my adventure at ISU.
Last week, I had an opportunity through the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to talk to middle school and high school students about everything from FFA to college and what to expect during transition times. From those conservations, I found a few items high school students should consider when choosing a college.
In addition to using your gut reaction, I highlighted five checkpoints to deliberate before clicking Accept Attendance:
What is the price you are willing to pay for your education?
There’s no doubt college is expensive. College tuition can range from $4,000/year to $40,000/year. In addition to paying tuition, you will need to pay living expenses whether you live in a dorm or an apartment. Secondly, you will need to buy food, either a meal bundle through campus dining services or groceries. In most cases, clubs require a small yearly fee to join and participate in the club trips offered.
What are your interests?
Recognizing your interests can assist tremendously when choosing a college. For example, if you have an interest in agriculture, then Iowa State University, Purdue, Kansas State and Oklahoma State have noteworthy agricultural programs. Even if you are uncertain on which major to choose, starting at a college that fits your interests will provide you with a solid foundation.
How many years will you be in college?
Your years in school will depend on the type of degree and major you plan on attaining. It’s important to know this before choosing a college, as the length of schooling can vary by each college. Laying out a few short-term and long-term goals can help outline your future, factoring in the number of years you will be in school for.
How much are you willing to travel?
It is important to consider the location of different colleges when making your decision. You should note how often you would like to go home and how feasible it is to travel the distance! In some cases, students may want to branch out and travel further away from home.
Does it feel like home?
The college you choose will become your second home for the next few years. You should feel comfortable and confident in the school, campus and the environment. I was greeted with smiling faces from the faculty and tour guides at Iowa State, and I knew it was the place for me!
Choose your college based upon your career goals and aspirations. The opportunity to further your education is irreplaceable, so take advantage of it!
Spring is here and Midwest farmers are eagerly awaiting another planting season. I’m sure you’ve done a great job of selecting seed and planning where to plant each Latham® hybrid. Remember, pre-planning is also required for your own on-farm research trials.
Farmers are always interested in continual improvement, so it’s only natural that many are interested in seeing how new releases or experimental products will yield on their own farms. As a farmer myself, I plant some newer genetics alongside some of my tried and true favorite hybrids to help determine which products I’ll plant next season. As a member of Latham’s Corn Product Team, I also understand how important it is to properly place products in these tests.
Here are a few suggestions for conducting a fair test in your own on farm trials:
Compare similar hybrids. Make sure you’re comparing hybrids with the same trait package and relative maturity. Harvest moistures must be fairly close, so the samples are fairly consistent. You may have an average moisture but there could be some long-term storage issues if you put grain in a bin that is too wet.Also make sure you’re comparing hybrids of similar height, or at least plant enough rows of each one so you don’t have a shading effect that can reduce the yield dramatically on a shorter hybrid. Try and plant a row sequence that fits the width or number of rows for your combine header. Combines run more efficiently and the yield monitor is more accurate if the harvest width is consistent across the trials.
Plant a large enough trial to get a fair test. While many research plots use shorter rows to test several varieties in a manageable amount of space, seed companies like Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds also use testing equipment that is very specialized for data recovery. Make sure you plant enough of the new hybrid to fit your combine header in a large enough area to get a good readout from your yield monitor. Accuracy is important because you will be making next year’s purchasing decisions based on your findings.
Keep the trial on even ground. Unless you split the planter and cover the entire field, there is no better way to compare hybrids than side-by-side on a piece of flat ground to take soil variability out of the equation.
Speaking of new product testing, I’m very excited about the production plan our Latham Product Team has assembled for the 2017 selling season! As an industry-leading independent seed company, we’re able to focus on traits from all sources including GT, VT2 Pro, Artesian, SmartStax and Powercore – pending approval. Information gained from Latham SuperStrip Trials plus our own research plots across our sales footprint enables us to strengthen our already strong corn lineup.
I’m looking forward to another exciting year of plot analysis! How about you? The Latham Product Team is here to provide additional background information and insights, so feel free to call upon us!
There are so many subjects that I’d like to talk about today but I must go back to my favorite topic… pigs!
Admittedly, action by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is forcing me to advocate today! This organization has purchased a full page insert scheduled to run tomorrow in USA Today, which is our nation’s largest newspaper by circulation. The objectives of the HSUS ad buy are:
To cause concern about the care of animals raised for food.
To question animal confinement by describing it as a shift from family farms to industrial agribusiness.
To insinuate that “factory farms” jeopardize the welfare of animals, damage public health and harm the environment.
HSUS is paying to spread lies about what I do, and I take that personally! The term “factory farms” is being used because of its negative connotation, and it’s certainly a term I dislike very much. Sure, the average farm size has increased over time due to economies of scale. Economies of scale is defined as the cost advantage that occurs when output is increased and variable costs are reduced from operational efficiencies and synergies.
Increased volume (or output) is simply a business concept exercised by a lot of other businesses and industries. Retail stores use size to be more efficient. Stores use technology to be better! Why is it so bad when farmers use proven business techniques?
As I have shared many times, I have raised pigs many different ways during the past 50 years. I have been a part of this fantastic transition! In the old days, I watched sows tear each other apart when they returned to a pen after nursing their pigs. I fought blizzards to feed and water my pigs, struggling to keep them from freezing to death. I have farrowed sows in that beautiful looking pasture only to find that the sow had her pigs in a mud hole, and baby pigs don’t have good odds of surviving in water and mud! Modern production practices have allowed us to remove many variables that led to injury and illness.
Recently I returned to a full-time job in the construction side of raising pigs. My job is to improve the buildings in which pigs are housed. Getting pigs raised inside has been a huge improvement, but we don’t stop there. One thing I’ve noticed by visiting hog barns across the Midwest is that the pigs’ welfare is always top of mind. There is zero tolerance for abuse, and signs are hung telling readers to call a listed number if they see ANY animal abuse. We have even gone to having our certification meetings for Pork Quality Assurance (PQA Plus Certification®) program every year instead of every three years!
There is a lot of research going on all the time to make these momma sows more comfortable and stress free. Animals grow better and have more babies when they are comfortable and less stressed! And, yes, more live pigs per liter can lead to increased profits for farmers. This is a win, win. That’s why it’s just unbelievable to me that we get attacked for doing what’s right!
Now keep in mind that HSUS is not actually thinking about animal welfare. After all, how do you think they can afford to run such ads? HSUS is very good at raising money. In fact, HSUS raises than $100 million annually but less than one half of one percent is spent to improve the life of animals. Most of the money raised goes toward the comfort and wealth of HSUS employees!
If you happen to see the big expensive HSUS ad, please remember that my fellow pig farmers and I are the ones with the welfare of our pigs in mind!
Lathams Participate in Seed Industry Legislative Fly-in
John and I were among the 55 seed industry representatives, who gathered last week in Washington, D.C., to “Storm the Hill.” Hosted by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), “Storm the Hill” provides a unique opportunity for seed-industry partners from every sector across the nation to join together as a unified voice on Capitol Hill.
Approximately 90 visits were made to U.S. senators and representatives about a number of issues that will impact the future of the seed industry, including the efficient movement of seed across state lines and country borders. We had the pleasure of attending a Spring Break Reception (#IAinDC) where we thanked Senators Grassley and Ernst for supporting a national solution for the labeling of foods made with GMO ingredients. We also visited each Iowa congressman’s office to thank them for supporting this issue, as well as other issues that impact the livelihood of Iowa farmers and small business owners.
Last week’s congressional visits couldn’t have been better timed as they were made the day before the Senate was scheduled to debate the GMO labeling bill. Seed industry representatives called upon elected officials to prevent a costly and confusing patchwork of state labeling laws by passing a uniform, voluntary labeling bill. We encouraged them to vote “yes” for science and “no” for anti-GMO standards.
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on March 16 released a statement regarding the Senate’s failure to invoke cloture on the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Bill:
“For more than a year, I have called on my colleagues across the aisle to come to the negotiating table to address the problems facing the nation’s marketplace should states continue to mandate confusing and differing biotechnology labeling standards… “My approach to labeling acknowledges what many American consumers forget: our food is abundant, affordable and safe. We must continue our reliance on science and technology to ensure our continued prosperity.”
The Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill with a vote of 48-49. However, there is still hope that negotiations will continue after the Easter break. You can bet that we’ll be following this issue, as well as several others that impact the seed industry’s shared commitment to producing better seed for a better quality of life.
A diverse array of genetic resources are the building blocks of better seed. Sophisticated breeding programs allow the seed industry to help meet the need for a wide variety of nutritious and high quality products, while supporting sustainable agriculture practices that preserve our environment’s natural resource and biodiversity. To ensure full access to the plant materials needed for continued innovation, ASTA members last week called on Congress to pass the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and increase funding for the National Plant Germplasm System and Germplasm Enhancement Maize (GEM) Project.
Seed plays an important role in preserving, rehabilitating and reclaiming fragile lands, as well as maintaining habitat for wild species. As chair of ASTA’s Legislative & Legal Affairs Committee, John also advocated for a number of priority issues related to conservation and the environment including: Congressional oversight in the implementation of the National Seed Strategy; the importance of close collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Interior and the seed industry on pollinator strategies; continued investment in USDA Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Programs; and full funding for the USDA-NRCS Plant Material Centers.
Click here for more information on national seed industry legislative priorities.
It’s Crawfish Season, Y’all… Give “Fresh Catch Friday” New Meaning Tonight!
Just how hot are fresh crawfish in the Bayou State? The demand is so high that it’s hard to find a parking place, and even then, the evening’s Crawfish Boil might be sold out.
Crawfish harvest begins around March 1, says third generation Louisiana farmer Caleb Frey of Morganza, Louisiana. Traps are checked once daily at the beginning of the season and more frequently as the season progresses. Crawfishing runs through the second or third week of May, and then a late crop of rice will be planted in those fields where the crawfish were grown.
Sugar cane, soybeans and corn also are grown at Four Oaks Farm. The Frey family raises cattle on the levees that protect their farmland from the Mighty Mississippi. This diversified farming operation lends itself to year-round production.
“What I enjoy most about farming is the change,” says Caleb. “You might have a week or so of the same activity, like planting corn, and then it’s time to move onto the next activity.”
Corn planting was about to get underway around Natchez, Mississippi, when Franklin County Iowa farmer April Hemmes and I arrived. (April and Caleb traveled to China together as part of the United Soybean Board’s See For Yourself program. Applications are being accepted through April 1, so sign up online today to see how checkoff dollars help build markets worldwide for U.S. farm products.)
It had rained just enough the day of our visit that fieldwork came to a halt. So instead of touring the area’s beautiful pre-Civil war antebellum mansions, April and I went on a customized farm tour. Talk about luck! Here’s what we learned during our “short course” in Deep South Farming:
March:
Crawfishing starts around the first of the month. Temperatures need to be in the 70s before the crawfish really start moving, so sometimes the season starts a little later.
Corn planting ideally starts the first or second week of March and will be complete by the month’s end. Last year, the Frey family didn’t start until March 19 and finished on the 30th.
The majority of rice acres are planted from mid-March to early April. Like corn, rice is very sensitive to high temperatures during pollination and needs adequate rainfall. The earlier it gets planted, the better the crop usually is.
April:
Early soybeans, typically early Group 4s, go in the fallow sugarcane ground around April 1.
May:
Most soybean acres are planted in May. Maturities generally range from 4.6 to 5.3.
June:
The Frey family stays busy with irrigating corn, soybeans and sugarcane, as well as spraying.
July:
Irrigating and spraying continues during the month of July as temperatures average 92 degrees Fahrenheit and the monthly rainfall is approximately 6 inches. Early rice and early corn are harvested toward the end of the month.
August:
Corn harvest is in full swing by the first or second week of August. Most of the rice is harvested mid-month, depending on the weather. If there is a hurricane threat, corn harvest is stopped so all hands can get the rice harvested before the weather hits. “Harvesting downed rice is one of the most painstaking things you could ever do in a combine,” explains Caleb. “Add mud to the mix following a big storm and it really gets interesting.”
Early soybeans also are harvested at this time, and the sugarcane planting crews typically follow right behind the combine.
September:
Sugarcane planting and soybean harvest wrap up. Sugarcane needs to grow about one year before it is harvested, so the Freys include this crop as in rotation with soybeans. Harvest begins around the last week of the month on the mature cane crop.
NOTE: The sugar cane gets a little growth on it during the fall, but it typically doesn’t get much more than a foot or two tall before frost causes it to go dormant. In the spring, the entire cane crop basically starts from the same point. It’s cultivated, fertilized, sprayed and irrigated.
Come October the “plant cane,” which is the crop that was planted the previous summer, is harvested along with the rest of the crop. Then it becomes “first year stubble,” which means it has been harvest once. Cane is typically stubbled, or harvested, three to four years before a field returns to soybeans.
October:
Sugarcane harvest cranks up and grain harvest comes to an end in October. Fall field prep is in full swing behind the combines. At this time, a maintenance shot of fertilizer is applied on all of the corn, soybean and rice acres.
November;
Typically all field work is finished by Thanksgiving, weather permitting. Sugarcane harvest is in full swing.
December:
Cane harvest is typically finished between Christmas and the first of the year, but the finish date is completely dependent upon the sugar mill. The mill determines the producers’ daily quota. Your quota is proportional to your cane acres and harvest is typically figured on a 90- to 100-day timeframe.
Additional information: During that 100-day window, each farmer gets one day off every other week. Moisture has no effect on the milling or harvest process, so harvest continues.
During harvest or “grinding” as it’s called here, cane is being harvested 24/7 from September through January. All farmers who haul a particular mill generally finish harvest on the same day, but finish dates vary across the state by a few weeks.
There are 11 sugar mills in Louisiana, and each mills sets its own schedule to a certain degree. Some have split shifts, which means half of their farmers harvest from 12 AM to 12 PM and the other half the opposite. Four Oaks Farms hauls to Cora Texas in Whitecastle, LA. This mill has all of its farmers harvest from 5 AM to whenever the quota is reach. Cane is stockpiled during the day, so cane is available to feed the mills all night long.
January;
The Frey family spends most of this month in the office, finalizing input orders and crop plans for the coming year.
February:
Planter preparation is underway in February plus corn and rice ground is burned down. If it’s dry, the Freys will till old sugarcane stubble so soybeans can be planted on that ground in April.
Caleb is responsible for purchasing and applying the inputs. He also helps wherever he’s needed from planting through harvest on every crop. Caleb’s dad, Marty, the youngest of four brothers for which Four Oaks Farms is named. Marty is transitioning into the role of president and also oversees the rice and soybeans in Morganza. Caleb’s uncle, Matt, primarily oversees cane production, crawfish harvest and the cattle. Mitch, the oldest of the four, takes care of all maintenance and equipment repairs. He also takes care of all the grain storage facilities plus the rice drying and storage during harvest. Caleb’s uncle, Mark, is the second oldest. Mark manages the northern farm in Vidalia where rice, corn and soybeans are grown. He also markets the farm’s whole crop. In addition, Mark helps his son sell and install irrigation pipes, wells, center pivots and moisture probes.
“I’ve had a chance to learn from the best,” says Caleb as he talks with me about his family’s farming operation. Instead of studying agriculture in college, he earned two associate degrees in Construction Management and Business Management from Baton Rouge Community College. He then enjoyed working four years as a welder and mechanic for Bengal Transportation/Crane & Rigging in Gonzales.
Caleb found himself longing for the wide open spaces and the call of the wild, so he returned to the family farm in 2014. He’s had his pilot license for 2½ years and flies whenever he can. In his free time, Caleb enjoys hunting squirrel, deer and rabbit. He also enjoys getting together with friends. On any given night, one of his buddies is hosting a cookout or a crawfish boil. Today Caleb has agreed to share one of his family’s favorite recipes on TheFieldPosition.
By the way, you can most likely purchase fresh Louisiana crawfish at the supermarket in your regional trade center. April Hemmes says she found them at the Hy-Vee in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Who knew? Give “Fresh Catch Friday” new meaning this Lenten season and celebrate with Crawfish Étouffée tonight!
GMO food labeling will impact every single American. Our family-owned seed company will feel the effects, and U.S. farmers will have fewer seed options in every product guide. Mandatory food labels will impact American consumers, as well. Grocery bills are expected to increase by $1,050 annually for a family of four!
People who buy Wal-Mart brand products will be hit with even higher prices than they’re accustomed to paying since they’ll be forced to buy name brand, rather than the store brand, products. Executives from major supermarkets and Wal-Mart have already said they won’t carry their own private label foods in Vermont if that state’s GMO labeling law takes effect on July 1.
In an attempt to pre-empt the Vermont law – and to prevent additional states from enacting similar laws – yesterday my husband and I were among 55 seed industry representatives who made approximately 90 visits to congressional offices in Washington, D.C.
Our message to elected officials was clear: We support a uniform, national food labeling standard. Vote “no” for the alternative bill that was introduced last week to protect state-level GMO laws. This alternative bill is backed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Vote “yes” to Senator Roberts’ bill, which would create a voluntary USDA labeling standard for GMO foods and prevent states from creating their own labeling standards.
Can you believe that day some elected officials yesterday actually said they don’t care if people are starving because they’re being denied GMO foods? They’d rather people starve than be “subjected to GMO foods.” (This sounds like American lawmakers are taking notes from Zimbabwe government officials who would rather see people starve than eat genetically modified foods.) Say what?! Not one person has died from eating GMO foods but about 2 million deaths could be prevented annually if Golden Rice were available to those living in poverty stricken countries!
If there are no known hazards —after 20+ years of study—and a host of benefits including lower food prices for Americans, why is there so much controversy around GMO food labels? I believe America’s food fights stem from “fear of the unknown.” Here’s what I’d like Americans to know:
Foods derived from GMO crops pose no threat to human health, and they’ve been studied by virtually every scientific and regulatory agency.
GMO crops also have a positive impact on the environment, allowing farmers to fight soil erosion by planting high-yield crops that grow more food on less land while using less water.
As I write this blog on National Ag Day, I’m thinking about more than my farm. Agriculture is more than one small farm. Agriculture’s importance in providing food, fiber and fuel is being greatly overlooked in this country. Farmers here are doing such a great job of producing food and keeping grocery prices cheap that most people just take it for granted!
Traveling across the U.S. and even to other countries really opens one’s eyes to the challenges of feeding a growing world population. It also opens one’s eyes to the diversity of agriculture. I’ve witnessed farming in Eastern Europe. I spend a lot of time traveling the Midwest for my job, and over the weekend, I drove to Oklahoma. What strikes me most is the diversity in agriculture! In Ukraine, I saw everything from backyard farms to a farm that covered one million acres! The political climate was the most limiting factor for Ukrainian farmers because one-size-fits-all rules and regulations did not fit such diverse farms.
The amount of regulation coming down on U.S. farms from the federal government is also staggering. I have farming friends in all 50 states, and no two farms are the same. Farming operations are even diverse within our own county. My farm, for example, is surrounded by other farms that raise corn and soybeans. Some of my neighbors also raise hogs and cattle. Others have chickens. Pumpkins, apples, sheep and goats are also raised in this county.
Each crop and livestock operation has its unique qualities, but the difference doesn’t stop there. There are thousands of different soil types. Different soil types create different challenges. I have deep black and clay soils, so I am challenged with “puddle farming.” The ground is fairly flat, so ponding is common. Without tile to drain away excess water, crop yields would be very poor. But with proper management, however, we can raise fantastic crops.
Ten miles away, there are very sandy soils. This means the soil particles are very large, while mine are very small. This type of soil cannot hold water in reserve as well as mine, but these farms can also grow terrific crops if managed properly. Farmers with sandy soils use different methods than I do, even though our farms are very close together.
Now imagine a farm a couple states away… They grow crops different than mine. They might grow wheat, rice, cotton or peanuts. In other areas of the country, agriculture is dominated by nut trees and vegetable crops like potatoes or onions. The climate is totally different across our nation, and some places are made just right to graze cattle. Their soils are very different. The landscape is very different. This again takes different management! As a result, conservation practices must be very different.
My point is that not one type of farming works across one county, the nation or even across the world. The same goes for regulations and farm programs! One size does not fit all.
During National Ag week, let’s celebrate the diversity that feeds our world. Let’s not regulate ourselves into starvation!
New Orleans Melds Cultures into Unique Regional Cuisine
More than 8,000 farmers gathered last week in New Orleans for America’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused trade show and convention. Open to all “friends of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum—from growers to member associations to agribusiness to farm media,” the 2016 Commodity Classic boasted an impressive schedule of presentations and events designed to get attendees jazzed about agriculture.
There was so much to get jazzed about from the seeing state-of-the-art planting and fertility equipment to presentations by yield guru Dr. Fred Below and UAV guru Chad Colby. I enjoyed walking around the tradeshow, catching up with old friends and meeting new acquaintances. I stopped by booths to learn more about what our industry partners are doing to advocate for the next generation. I talked with farm broadcaster Duane Murley of KWMT in Fort Dodge about exciting projects that Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds has underway with the Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Food & Family Project. (You can bet I’ll be blogging about those soon!)
There was simply more to see and do that I could squeeze into four very full days because I also needed to get outside the convention hall to enjoy the beautiful weather, see a few sights and eat a lot of great food. One highlight of my week in the South was a visit to the New Orleans School of Cooking. (Thanks to Carol Coleman for the invitation to join her and several other Iowans for this fun time!)
Our cooking instructor, a former kindergarten teacher and certified tour guide, was a walking encyclopedia of Louisiana history plus a colorful storyteller. We learned how Spanish explorers, French settlers, Canadian immigrants and African slaves influenced the Cajun and Creole dishes for which New Orleans is famous.
What’s not to love about a history lesson that takes place over a four-course meal? As our class began, we were served hot buttermilk biscuits with cane syrup. (Before I made this trip, I assumed everyone ate maple syrup. We know what we grow, right? It only makes sense that cane would be the syrup of choice in Louisiana.)
The Southern menu demonstrated during our cooking class included:
Corn & Crab Bisque – Oh. My. Yum. This is one dish Iwill make at home! (Even though it wasn’t on our menu, I’m linking to gumbo because it’s a signature dish in New Orleans.)
Shrimp Creole – This is another southern specialty that’s oh so good! Be sure to mix it all together before taking a bite. (Our instructor said she can always tell the northerners in the class because they leave the gravy on top of the rice. “Mix it up, y’all!”)
Bananas Foster and Pralines (pronounced here as praa-leens) – Talk about indulgent! We were treated to both desserts plus ice cream.
Did you know that New Orleans (#NOLA) is the birth of Bananas Foster? I found it fascinating to learn this dessert was born out necessity. Here’s why… New Orleans was the major port of entry in the 1950s for bananas shipped from Central and South America. Owen Brennan, owner of Brennan’s Restaurant, challenged Chef Paul Blange to find a use for surplus or ripe bananas. Decadent Bananas Foster was created and named for Owen’s friend, Richard Foster, a local civic and business leader. Each year, Brennan’s flames 35,000 pounds of bananas for the famous dessert.
Get a taste of the French Quarter at home by recreating these classic recipes at home!