It’s throwback Thursday! Technology has had tremendous impacts on the seed industry over the years from seed technology to shipping! Yesteryear would’ve included loading by hand or conveyor. Today we’re fortunate to have robotic technology, forklifts and state of the art tractor trailers to help move seed products quickly and safely to each customer’s farm.
Each load of soybeans that gets delivered to our plant is hand-inspected to ensure it meets our stringent quality standards.
During all the “windshield time” I had while combining #crop13, I found myself thinking about all the blessings in my life. Today, in the midst of this 30 Days of Thanks, I’ve decided to share my Top 10 list publicly.
10. Democracy. Those who read my “Musings of a Pig Farmer” blog regularly might find it ironic that the U.S. government makes the Top 10 List of Things for Which I’m thankful. I’ve certainly written my fair share of critiques about regulations and aired my concerns about the Farm Bill. While it’s far from perfect, I believe America has the world’s most fair political system.
9. Food Choice. I am thankful for the many, many choices of food we have in this country from gluten-free and organic to local foods. Americans are blessed with the world’s safest, least expensive, and most abundant food supply. We spend about 10% of our annual incomes on food, which is quite low when compared to other countries. For the most part, Americans are able to choose foods for enjoyment rather than necessity alone.
8. Freedom. I am thankful for the freedom we cherish in this country: free speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom of religion… and the list goes on. It’s important to protect these freedoms and to stand up for our convictions.
7. Technology and Innovation. I am so thankful to live during this time in history. Just think of all the technology and innovations we enjoy! People often reminisce about the “good ol’ days,” yet they forget how tough they really were. I remember doing farm work in the winter without a heated tractor cab! I remember when we didn’t have central heat, so we warmed our frozen hands and feet by the potbellied stove. I even remember the time before we had central plumbing… Enough said! While much of the Midwest enjoys a long legacy of agricultural success, but technology is redefining agriculture. We must continue to embrace technology to help grow enough food to meet global demand.
6. Pride in America. I’m so thankful for the good old US of A, the melting pot of the world. The exchange of ideas and blending of cultures is what has made this country great. Synergy was created. As an old farmer, “synergy” makes me think of corn hybrids and the strength that comes from breeding different corn plants together. I’m proud of those who pioneered – and continue to innovate – our food systems.
5. Clean Air and Water. I am thankful for our clean air and water. Yeah, I know some folks will not agree with me on this one. After all the reading I have done about the Dust Bowl – and reflecting upon how we farmed in the sixties and seventies – I know we have greatly improved our air and water quality. If you compare our environment to that in other developing countries, hands down, we are ahead!
4. Military Service. Yesterday was Veterans’ Day, a day to recognize past and present members of the military. Honestly, I believe they deserve our thanks each and every day. I also want to be sure and recognize their family members, who are often overlooked. A soldier’s family most certainly makes a sacrifice when they’re loved ones are serving. Those on the home front are filled with worry and anxiety, plus are left to take care of all the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities that the solider isn’t able to do while on active duty. Yes, military families deserve our thanks and praise!
3. Grandkids. I am very thankful for my grandkids! Everyone is different and unique. I enjoy watching them discover their passions. They give me direction and purpose, and sometimes they make me use of ALL my faith!
2. Kids. At one time in my life, I was very afraid I would not have a family. On my 30th birthday, I married Janice and had an instant family. What a blessing. I love you guys!
1. The Love of my Life. The number one thing for which I am thankful is the love of my wife, Janice! How she puts up with all my quirks and my farming habit, I do not understand. She is the one who has led me to my faith, and without her, there would be none of the other numbers on this list. Love ya, Babe!
I’m feeling so grateful and humble right now. There is so much more I could write about each item on my Top 10 List. There are also many things for which I’m grateful that I didn’t even list. What are you most thankful for? (more…)
I have fond memories of growing up on the farm near West Bend, Iowa (Palo Alto County). Strangely, perhaps, most are work related: walking beans, picking up rocks, detasseling, sorting hogs for market and spending warm (make that “hot”) summer afternoons baling hay and straw.
OK, it’s true. Memories – just like wine – often improve with age.
Truth be told, the work was indeed hard. But it wasn’t unbearable. Keeping busy generates results and few things are more satisfying than accomplishment.
That lesson, forged with sweat and accompanied by dirt under the nails, has clung.
So, too, has my appetite for local food.
Like the Casey’s pizza our family enjoys every Saturday night. Or the Hellmann’s mayonnaise that tops our sandwiches. Or the steak from Fareway, pork loin purchased at the West Des Moines Costco or Cold Cut Combo served by Subway®.
Local food? Surprised?
Don’t be.
Sure, most people equate “local” with a trip to the farmers’ market or the apple plucked from the backyard tree. But “local” is so much more, especially if you live in Iowa, as much of the food and food ingredients we enjoy are sourced from farms next door or just down the road.
Take the jar of Hellmann’s. You’ll find one in nearly 40 million homes. The primary ingredient (by far) in this $1 billion brand for Unilever is soybean oil. Almost all of these soybeans are grown by farmers located within a 60-mile radius of Des Moines. In addition, most of the eggs used to make Hellmann’s (ingredient no. 3 on the label) are sourced from Iowa egg farms. Just two more reasons why Iowa is among the nation’s leader in the production of soybeans and eggs.
The Hawkeye State also ranks first in pork production. While consumers worldwide have become very fond of this lean, white meat, ample servings of chops, bacon and loins are baked, grilled, fried and savored close to home. In fact, the odds are in your favor that the pork you buy at Costco and Fareway or enjoyed at your neighborhood Applebees was sourced from an Iowa farm owned and managed by an Iowa farm family who shares your passion for wholesome food, a quality environment and community vitality.
Casey’s is “famous for pizza” and the numbers prove it. Casey’s Homemade Pizza to Go, introduced in 1985, bakes and serves nearly 15 million pizzas annually. It’s the nation’s 6th largest pizza chain and uses almost 12 million pounds of cheese annually. Casey’s also tops its pizzas with a whole lot of sausage, ham, beef and pepperoni – tasty meats prepared by a company in Ames.
The list goes on. My family is on the go and hardly a week goes by that Subway isn’t on the menu. It’s good, fast and yes, local. West Liberty Foods in West Liberty, Iowa, is the supplier of fresh turkey to Subway. Enjoy a Cold Cut Combo and you’re enjoying delicious turkey sourced from an Iowa farm.
And if you’re lovin’ local, add McDonald’s to the list of patrons. Each year, the restaurant purchases more than $500 million of quality ingredients sourced from Iowa’s farms including 1 billion eggs (Egg McMuffins are a favorite!), more than 16 million pounds of beef, 140 million pounds of pork, 2 million bushels of corn and more than 12 million bushels of soybeans.
Yes, local food is popular these days. In a survey of 500 Iowans conducted this fall on behalf of the Iowa Food & Family Project (www.iowafoodandfamily.com), participants overwhelmingly agreed that “local” food is “better” food.
As Iowans, we don’t have to go far to find it.
In celebration of November #TurkeyMonth, we’re sharing a few of our favorite recipes.
“Tell your story or someone else will – and you might not like it!” is a line often used by Larry Sailer, who writes “Musings of a Pig Farmer” each Tuesday for TheFieldPosition.com. When told by the wrong person, stories about production agriculture can be downright frightening! Misinformation and half-truths lead to fire storms.
“Social media fires” break out often when it comes to hot agricultural issues, said keynote speaker Katie Pinke, author of the Pinke Post during the Upper Midwest Regional AgChat Conference. Katie said that when it comes to ag issues, we all must work together to put these fires out with “social media water.” Simply put, the more voices there are telling the truth about agriculture, the better the chances of debunking the misconception.
Click here to read the full blog about how to understand and be understood while telling your agriculture story.
Crystal Cattle (aka Crystal Blin) blogs about her life as a farm girl and everything that comes with it. That means if the cattle must fed but she has a wedding to attend, she just might wear a dress and heels while doing chores. After all, a girl’s gotta do what has to be done!
“Cattle are my first love, and they still touch every part of my life,” says Crystal, who grew up raising purebred Simmental cattle in Breton, Alberta, Canada, with her parents and younger sister. A livestock judging scholarship took her to Butler Community College in El Dorago, Kansas. She later transferred to Kansas State University where she double-majored in Animal Science and Ag Communications. Upon graduation, Crystal became the assistant director of communications for the American Angus Association in St. Joseph, Missouri.
“I started blogging to help eliminate some of the distance between me and my family,” explains Crystal, who launched her Crystal Cattle blog in 2009. “I thought it would be a good way to stay in touch and give them a glimpse of my life here.”
What she learned is that a blog gave her a platform to promote her passions. The turning point came when Crystal posted a response on her blog to an article that the Kansas State campus newspaper had published, promoting vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights.
“If that was happening on a campus where there is such an ag focus, I couldn’t imagine what was happening in less ag-focused areas,” says Crystal. “I had to refute some of the claims being made. When I got so many responses to that particular blog posts, I realized the impact my blog could have on helping others understand agriculture and farming practices.”
Today Crystal continues to advocate from her home on a northeastern Iowa farm with her husband, Jon. They couple met in 2010 at the National Western Livestock Show in Denver. Now they’re building their own herd of purebred Herefords, which is the breed Jon grew up raising and showing. In addition to raising stock and heifers that become show prospects for junior members, Jon and Crystal sell freezer beef.
Marrying an Iowa farmer meant Crystal had to relocate once again. So how did this native Canadian feel about that? “The transition to Iowa was easier because I was involved in agriculture,” says Crystal, who feels fortunate to be able to office from home doing a job she loves. She’s responsible for the sales and marketing of a livestock vitamin and mineral supplement called VitaFerm, which keeps her on the road about one-third of the year.
“Agriculture is really one big family no matter where you are. The people you meet in ag always have their arms and homes open, so you never really feel like you’ve met a stranger. Even if you’re with a new group of farmers, you’ll find something in common.”
Crystal also seeks for common interests among non-farmers as a way to build relationships and bridge gaps. That’s why she blogs about more than agriculture.
“I love MAC makeup, clothes and interior design,” says Crystal. “I’ve formed a lot of great online relationships with other non-farmers who share these interests. As a result, these consumers have started to ask me questions about farming. I’d rather have them ask me instead of Google for an answer. Online engagement helps consumers understand that farmers are real people. I want to help them get an accurate portrayal of farm life.”
Turquoise Thursday and Watching Corn Grow are regular features on Crystla’s blog. She also covers “tough subjects” like why they give cows antibiotics when they’re sick. In addition, she promotes the livestock industry and beef production by sharing recipes on Hunk of Meat Mondays. A little “consumer education” occurs with the recipes Crystal posts like this one for Flat Iron Steak with Green Peppers: “Flat Iron steak is one of the 29 lean cuts of beef. It’s the second most tender cut of beef and is pretty reasonably priced. You could also use a flank steak or round steak for this recipe.”
Today Crystal is sharing another one of her go-to recipes with us. She shares my desire to make homemade, wholesome and delicious meals in a matter of minutes. I’m looking forward to giving this recipe for Baked Tacos a try! How about you?
Latham’s homegrown labor force worked to grow a family farm into a regional seed business
Soybeans are delivered straight from the growers’ fields to Latham headquarters where we then condition the soybeans and store the seed
“Musings of a Pig Farmer” by Larry Sailer
Since this is November and folks on social media platforms are sharing #thanks, I’d like to say how thankful I am to have a chance to share my thoughts weekly on TheFieldPosition.
This past week I posted a comment on Facebook for the purpose of seeing how closely it would be read. I wrote: “Spending so much time in the fields this fall, I have given this a lot of thought, and decided I should say, something profound…”
The placement of a comma can be overlooked so easily. I know many really were in suspense, waiting for what I had to say. Others caught it right away!
This brings up a point I often make about how we must listen first before determining what another person is trying to say. I made this statement in Michele Payn-Knoper’s book, No More Food Fight, “A conversation must include listening. I need to know the concerns of people and to learn how they view what I do. I don’t live on Old McDonald’s Farm anymore and my farm animals are not the same as the cartoon characters you see on TV.”
The difficult part for me is that too many conversations are one sided. For example, the anti-GMO crowd has what seems to be an unending list of talking point. Emotion rules with talk of Agent Orange and fears that mutinational corporations are taking over our food supply. The real clear and present Danger is opposing GMOs. There have been so many good points made about GMOs that the debate should be over, but emotion rules!
I learned a new word today, palaver, as in The Vatican Enters a GMO “Palaver.” I’ll admit that I had no idea what this word meant before I read this Agri-Pulse headline. I looked it up to find palaver means “a patient and thorough exploration of a major problem.” The word I key in on here is “patient,” and I take this to mean to listen!
Just think the progress that could be made if we had a palaver on the Farm Bill right now! An article by Brigitte McMinn explains how regulations are paved with good intentions, but it questions what good our government regulations really accomplish and at what cost. This article takes on the SNAP program and how it became connected to the Farm Bill. It also digs in to a part of the bill pushed by HSUS to more regulate animal welfare. There’s a really important call to action at the end, so please read it!
I know getting involved takes time and effort, but keep in mind my new word for the week – palaver! Tomorrow on #AgChat, there will be discussions on ag legislation and the Farm Bill. Hopefully, you can join the conversation between 8-10 p.m. EST. Remember, your voice can’t be heard if you don’t speak up for agriculture!