It’s show season and that means this Northwest Iowa farm girl has places to go and people to see. Josie Wickman of Wicky’s Rockin’ Boer Goats in Curlew hits the road most weekends from March to October, traveling to American Boer Goat Association (ABGA) events in Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Josie discovered her passion for livestock production as 4-H member. She showed sheep from fourth through eighth grades. Her mom, Lori, was serving as the sheep superintendent at the Palo Alto County Fair and decided to start a goat show because meat goats were the fastest growing 4-H project at the time.

“That year we borrowed a doe from our neighbor, and I fell in love with showing goats,” says Josie. “Boer goats have so much personality. They act like dogs, and they’re so smart. I also enjoy kidding season. It’s so much fun to see all the babies run around.”

Josie started a goat herd during her freshman year of high school with two commercial does named Sweetie and Dot. One year later, her grandma bought her an ABGA registered doe. Her mom helped her name Wicky’s Rockin’ Boer Goats, which combines Josie’s love for both music and Boer goats. Josie names her registered goats after song titles.

Since 2011, Josie’s goat herd has expanded to 75 head and she’s gotten involved with embryo transfers. Thirty does are recipients and several others are donor does.

“Trans-Ova has recently started offering reproductive technologies for goats, so I think you’ll see a lot more of it around here,” says Josie. “It’s a great way to improve your herd genetics without having to buy and house a buck. When it comes to selecting my donor does for flushes, I choose the ones that have the most desirable traits according to the breed standards.”

Raising animals that portray the best breed standards is important when your goal is to raise show-quality meat goats that can be sold to 4-H and FFA members. Josie’s efforts have been rewarded with numerous trophies from top shows across the Midwest, plus in high school she earned her FFA chapter’s Star Placement award.

Josie’s goals for her goat herd remain raising competitive show animals. Her long-term goal is to pursue a career that will allow her to continue raising Boer goats. She’s heading down the path for success by enrolling at Iowa State University. This spring she earned her associate’s degree from Iowa Lakes Community College, and this fall she’ll move to Ames where she’ll major in English.

Before she hits the books again, this girl has places to go.

“My favorite show to attend has always been the Iowa State Fair,” says Josie. “I love all the questions I get from people walking by asking about my goats and what we do with them.  It reminds me that not everyone is lucky enough to grow up around animals.”

As a tribute to the Iowa State Fair, today Josie is sharing with us a recipe for Choco Moco cupcakes. She made these cupcakes as a 14-year-old 4-H member, and they were selected for the Iowa State Fair.

“When I was practicing baking these cupcakes for the fair, my dad kept coming in the kitchen and sneaking the rejects,” says Josie. “I always took a bunch of projects to the fair, but I always made sure that every year I took cupcakes of some kind.”

As a former 4-H member who enjoyed exhibiting baking projects, I know that “consistent and uniform” gets engrained in your brain. To this day, I look for consistency when plating baked goods. Here’s to all those 4-H and FFA members who are honing their baking skills for the summer fair season!

Leave it to Disney to make the tea making process magical!

The English Tea Garden is one of three featured tours during the 24^th Annual Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot in Orlando. Other featured tours include the EPCOT® Gardens of the World and the Behind the Seeds Tour. (Yes, I’ve taken all three tours!)

Honestly, I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland as I took in the beauty of the English gardens and was awed by all the interesting information. It was made more interesting because our tour guide was lovely young lady from England who is seven months into her year-long work study with Disney. Until she started working at Epcot, she had never tried herbal tea or pumpkin spice. Who knew those were so uniquely American?

I had no idea how interesting tea can be! Below are four of the most fascinating facts that I learned while walking through the English tea garden plus a fifth fact that I gleaned online:

1. Herbal teas are not “real teas.” To be considered a true “tea,” leaves must come from the tea plant known as camellia sinensis. Oolong, white, green and black are considered true teas, but rooibos and herbal teas do not contain leaves from the tea plant.
2. Pumpkin Spice Chai is unique to the United States. Twinings only produces Pumpkin Spice Chai for the U.S. market. Interestingly enough, herbal teas caught here before traditional green tea or traditional black tea.
3. Tea can burn. Water temperature is critical to bring out the best qualities of green and herbal teas. If the water is too hot, the tea will be too bitter

   

   and much of its delicate aroma will be lost; if the water temperature is too cool, the full flavor contained in the leaves will not be extracted. For best results, let boiling water stand in a cup for 2-3 minutes before adding the green or herbal tea. Then let it steep for another 2-3 minutes, according to your taste. Many flavor nuances can be discovered by adjusting steeping time, so sip every 30 seconds or so to perfect your brew. NOTE: Black teas should be steeped for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Tea is a natural deodorizer. Tea absorbs fragrances and odors around it. If your tea tastes like coffee, chances are that you’re storing it too close to the coffee beans or grounds. This same property makes tea a natural deodorizer. (After learning this nugget of information, I should stuff my son’s basketball shoes with mint tea bags!)
5. Tea bags were invented by accident. American Thomas Sullivan he sent tea samples in small silk pouches to customers in 1904. They did not know to empty the contents into the pot and added everything including the silk container. Click here

   

   for more fun tea facts.

NOTE: There was no cost to this tour and we were treated to a complimentary glass of Iced Mint Tea at the conclusion. The English Tea Garden Tour at Epcot was perfect for someone like me who’s interested in food and beverages, gardening and history.

Steeped in History Nations have defined themselves by the tea trade and culturally by their tea ceremonies. The first cup of comfort was sipped approximately 5,000 years ago in Ancient China, and by the end of the third century tea had become China’s national drink.

Early explorers traded tea in ports across the world. The Arabs had dominated the tea trade in China and the West until the Dutch set up their first trading port in Java and began shipping tea to Amsterdam. English merchants were quick to set up a company to rival the Dutch once Queen Catherine championed tea in her home country.

At that time, Thomas Twining (pronounced Twine-ing) was learning the tea trade by working for a wealthy merchant and handling some of the early tea shipments. He learned quickly and by 1706, at the age of 26, Twining purchased Tom’s Coffee House in London. Coffee houses are where men (never women) gathered to drink, gossip and conduct business. Twining differentiated his establishment by offering tea, as well as coffee.

Because of shipping involved and an 118 percent tax rate, only the elite could afford tea. It took another 100 years before tea parties became fashionable, and the 7^th Dutchess of Bedford was credited for creating “afternoon tea.” Three hundred years after its origins, more than 200 Twinings Teas are sold in 100 countries.

Our guide for the Twinings Tea Tour encouraged us to try to iced berry tea for a refreshing summertime brew. (Get recipe ideas here like Blueberry Vanilla Float Iced Tea). A recipe for Twinings Green Tea Berry Mint Julep was available from the Berry Basket, one of the new outdoor kitchens featured during the 24^th Annual Flower & Garden Festival underway until May 31 at Epcot. With the Run for the Roses coming up this Saturday, this recipe is most fitting.

Seed innovations will take center stage this spring during the 24th Annual EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, March 1- May 29, at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. More than 7 million guests from around the world will visit during this 90-day festival.

The 2017 festival will feature an American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) garden outside the popular Living with the Land Pavilion to tell the story of seeds and the importance of plant breeding. The display will feature kale from 100 years ago plus varieties available today. It also will show how plant breeding has led to the evolution of Dianthus flowers.

Signage by the garden, including story boards closely based on ASTA’s “Better Seed, Better Life” communications initiative, will bring to life the story of plant breeding in a very public way by the experienced storytellers of Disney’s Horticulture team. Language is still being finalized, but it will likely read something like:

“Throughout time, the tiny seed has played a pivotal role in feeding the world. Protecting a new plant inside its strong coat, a seed waits patiently for growing conditions. Early farmers chose their most successful plants and collected the best seed for future crops. Later, they learned to mix pollen between plants to select desirable traits. Modern breeders use technology at molecular levels to produce new and improved varieties. The food we eat, clothes we wear and fuel that powers our car all began with a seed planted in the ground. Today’s plant breeders create higher yield and variations in color, size, hardiness, taste, nutrition and disease resistance. Better seed = better life.”

Also as part of the Disney-ASTA partnership that was announced last Monday during the ASTA Vegetable & Flower Conference in Orlando, seed industry speakers will deliver a series of presentations during the festival’s opening week. Festival attendees will receive Tomatosphere seed packets with Better Seed, Better Life branding.

In addition, ASTA’s Communications Committee is planning promotions around the 2017 Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT. Committee members will tour the gardens with festival director Eric Darden. Admittedly, I’m looking forward to “embarking a mouthwatering mission” while enjoying a wholesome smorgasbord provided by the World Showcase. Outdoor Kitchens, each offering a specialty menu of farm-to-table inspired foods, are exclusive to this festival. Two outdoor kitchens will debut in 2017. One of the most popular Outdoor Kitchen gardens, Urban Farm Eats, will return to inspire growing numbers of guests interested in learning how to raise their own edibles.

Join the fun! Even if you aren’t able to travel to Orlando, you can take your taste buds spring break with Disney-inspired recipes. Today we’re sharing a recipe for candied strawberries that were inspired by the Flower & Garden Festival. Also be sure to check out the new board “Disney Dishes” on Latham Seeds’ Pinterest Page where you’ll find recipes for everything from Queso Fundido – which looks fitting for any Super Bowl party – to comfort foods like Chicken Pot Pie Soup.

The foundation of any family is built on the values instilled by parents and others from previous generations. Greg Mair of Wisconsin found his passion thanks to the butterfly effect. Simply described, the butterfly effect is the final product stemming from small occurrences leading to a new set of experiences. His story begins with his great-grandparent’s decision to farm in 1914.

Greg’s roots run deep in Janesville. After obtaining a business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, he returned to Janesville where he spent seven years in Maize Research and Development and developed a strong agronomic background.

When he was young, Greg didn’t have his sights set on “the perfect career.” He knew he enjoyed working outside and learning about agriculture. It wasn’t until his parents took over the operation in August 2004 that he realized the broad opportunities in the agricultural field. He worked part time at a greenhouse in Janesville while he attended high school, which also helped lead him down an agricultural path. After realizing his passion for agriculture, Greg focused on his passion and pursued a career around what he loves.

Greg’s parents, Brad and Linda, have been invested in the family farming operation since 2000. They grow corn, soybeans and wheat while raising beef cattle and pigs. Known for finding the positive in all situations, Brad turned bad news with his job into an opportunity. After the closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville, Brad knew this was his chance to do what he had always loved.

Brad’s love for his family and farming transitioned down to Greg. Greg is married to Holly, whom he met during his freshman year of college in a math class.  They got married in a barn in 2012, surrounded by a small group of family and friends. Greg and Holly have a two-year-old daughter, Finley, and are expecting another daughter in March. Holly is a 7^th grade language arts teacher at the middle school in DeForest.

As a family, they enjoy taking getaways to Door County, which always include a stop to see the beloved home of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. They like to try new restaurants, spend time outside playing with Finley, and going to flea markets for Holly to find inspiration for craft ideas!

Greg joined the Latham sales team as Regional Sales Manager in Wisconsin. With his love of family and agriculture, we believe he’s a great addition. One reason Greg joined Latham is because it’s an independent, family-owned company

“As a family owned company, Latham has the farmers’ best interests at heart and genuinely cares about delivering customer value,” says Greg. “I’m really excited about working with dealers and customers here and look forward to help plan for the 2017 crop year.”

Greg and Holly want to raise their family on a farm of their own where they can have their own beef cattle and pigs. Greg reminisces the best times growing up were helping his great uncle, Fred, on the farm.

The Mair family is always cooking up a good meal in the kitchen. No family dinner is complete without dessert.  Give their tried and true Banana Bar recipe a shot!

You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. Eighteen years and six states later, Dale Hemann of Osage, Iowa found himself back in the town he grew up in and began farming.

In addition to wanting a lifestyle change from Memphis, Tennessee, Dale and his wife knew the Midwest was an ideal place to raise their family. He and Cindy packed up in 2001 and moved north to Wisconsin. A few moves later they moved to Iowa. In 2005 they moved to the farm on the same acreage where Dale was raised and where Dale’s dad, Larry, farmed until he retired in 1996. Larry continued selling seed until 2014, serving as a Latham® dealer for 31 years. 

Dale and Cindy operate the family farm together. Dale manages the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for crops and livestock while Cindy takes care of the farm’s business operations, including finances. She also helps in the field and with livestock whenever needed. In an effort to diversify, they built a cattle barn and started finishing feeder cattle in 2014. Knowing corn prices would not stay high, they decided to incorporate livestock into their operation.

Their Mitchell County farm is 565 miles away from the airport in southern Missouri, where Dale and Cindy met, yet their journey has come full circle. It was his love of airplanes that drew Dale to college and his love for family that brought him back to the farm.

When Dale was younger, he found find himself fascinated by planes that flew over their farm. He wondered where they were headed, what altitude they were flying at and what type of plane was being flown. Now, with the help of the internet, he can answer those same questions by looking up planes on Flight Tracker. This interest took flight in Dale’s life and led him to earn a master’s degree in Aviation. After graduation, he traveled around the world for various job positions, working for American Airlines, Kestrel, and FedEx.

Now Dale is working toward getting his CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) rating, so he can teach his children how to fly. With three children in high school, the Hemann’s know this is a crucial time for their children. Dale and Cindy want to provide them with all the opportunities they can to help them decide how to further their education.

“I want the give them the tools to decide,” says Dale. “I don’t want them to second guess what they could have learned. I also want them to set their own goals because without goals, a person doesn’t get very far.”

Today, Dale and Cindy are sharing a family favorite – their very own pumpkin bars! Find their recipe below.

It’s a tradition for many American families to say what they’re thankful for as they gather around the dining room table to feast on turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie. It’s also a tradition for families of Slovakian decent to enjoy kolaches (koh-la-chees) when gathering for the holidays.

The famous Czech kolache is a sweet dough pastry with a sweet filling. If you’ve never tasted one before, you don’t know what you’re missing! And if you’ve never before visited the small Northeast Iowa town of Spillville, you’re in for a real treat.

Plan a fall road trip to coincide with the annual fall church bake sale or another one of the local kolache baking festivals, which take place at Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church during September, October and November. You can distinguish kolaches from the Spillville area by their unique bow tie on top.

Be sure to place your order early as only 350 dozen  – yes, 350 dozen – will be handmade by parishioners inside the United States’ oldest continuously operated Catholic Bohemian church. Every dozen is pre-sold.

Kolache baking is a community affair. Dough preparation begins at 3 AM, and the first shift of volunteers comes to work at 5 AM. Assembly lines form to roll out the dough, cut it into squares, fill the pastry, fold the dough over the filling and then bake the kolaches until they’re perfectly golden brown.

Earlier this fall I had an opportunity to road trip to Spillville for a behind-the-scenes baking experience that I’ll never forget. Easton Kuboushek, whom I’ve gotten to know through my involvement with the Iowa Soybean Association, told me about the kolache tradition in his hometown.

My schedule didn’t allow me to attend the fall craft and bake sale, so the Kuboushek family graciously hosted me for a baking day. You know you’re meeting a serious baker when a KitchenAid® mixer isn’t big enough for the job!

“There’s a few ladies around here who have mixers that big,” chuckled Easton’s grandpa, Leonard, as he watched our baking crew. “You should ask her how much that darn thing costs!”

Easton’s grandma, Betty, thoughtfully measured each ingredient with the efficiency of any celebrity baker on Food Network while patiently answering my questions. Once the dough was mixed and left to rise, I got a VIP tour of the town from Easton and his mom, Kristi.

I just loved how the beautiful St. Wenceslaus church remains the center of the town. Completed in 1860 by hardworking Czech settlers, this church has been beautifully preserved. The original pipe organ, which was installed in 1876, remains. It’s the same that organ was played by Antonin Dvorak, during his three-month stay in Spillville, shortly after he had written “New World Symphony.”

Dvorak wrote Opus 96: “Quartet in F Major” and Opus 97: “Quintet in E Flat Major” inside the St. Wenceslaus Old School, which his the oldest Czech parochial school in America. A fixture in Spillville for more than 135 years, the Old School was used for over 75 years as home for teaching nuns that served in the parish.  It also has been used as a boarding house for rural students and as a community hall.

Another point of interest in downtown Spillville is the Bily Clock Museum. The master craftsmanship of the Bily brothers is phenomenal. Honestly, words alone can’t do justice to these works of art! (Click here for a news video that gives you a virtual tour of the 20 wooden clocks. The largest clock, called the Apostle’s parade, stands nine feet, 10 inches tall. It’s carved from walnut, hard maple, cherry and rosewood.) I also learned many interesting facts on the docent-led tour, including the fact that Easton’s parents are raising their children on what used to be the Bily brothers’ farm. How cool is that?

After touring Spillville, it was time to return to Betty Kubouskeh’s kitchen and to the task at hand. Betty and Kristi rolled the dough. After it was cut into squares, Easton and I helped fold the dough over the filling. Kolaches come in a variety of sweet and savory fillings. Favorites in the Kuboushek household are raspberry, apricot, prune and poppy seed. (I’ll admit that I couldn’t pick a favorite between apricot and raspberry. They’re both equally delicious IMO.)

“I never used to like the poppy seed, but after baking these for 57 years, I love them!” laughed Betty.

Special thanks to Betty Kuboushek for opening her home to me and for treating me to the most delicious home-cooked meal including pumpkin pie for dessert! It’s the people like Betty, Kristi and Easton who make my job a true privilege.

Thanks also to the Kuboushek family for sharing a recipe from the church cookbook for kolaches. Perhaps baking kolaches can become a new holiday tradition for your family, too!

Nestled among the rolling hills along the James River near Frankfort, South Dakota, lies a picturesque farmstead and the cutest little pumpkin patch you can imagine. Black Angus cows graze in the pasture behind the house as corn is being harvested across the road. This is where Alan Johnson’s family has farmed since 1906, and it’s where his wife recently hosted her 31^st annual pumpkin party.

“I started hosting these parties when my children were young,” says Mickie. “Now Al and I enjoy seeing our children’s friends return with their own children. It’s fun seeing three generations of families enjoy the afternoon together as many of our friends attend now with their grandchildren.”

Although the pumpkin party is held during fall harvest, it’s well attended on a Sunday afternoon. As many as 100 children have attended in past years; this year about 50 kids participated. The Johnsons invite friends, family and fellow congregational members. No party is complete without games and good food, so Mickie bakes several batches of cookies and bars.

“My kids are fortunate they get to make so many great memories with my parents on this farm,” says the Johnson’s son, Brian, who graduated in 2004 from South Dakota State University with a degree in Ag Business. He and his wife, Jamie, met while interning at the South Dakota Legislature and were married in 2005. Today they’re raising their family just a few miles away. “My kids love seeing the cows and the playing with the cats. During the harvest season, they’ll ride in the equipment with us for hours. It’s fun being able to share this with them.”

Farming is a family affair. In the fall, Jamie and Mickie take turns driving the combine and operating the grain cart. In the summer, Jamie and the two oldest girls help with the cattle. Ten-year-old Ella earned a purple ribbon 2016 Spink County Fair with her commercial heifer. Lila, who will turn 8 in December, is looking forward to joining 4-H this summer. Their infant daughter, Evelyn, was born on August 31. Leo, who will turn 5 next month, already is a farmer at heart. He’s excited about the four laying hens that his mom purchased during a trip to the farm store. He named them two of them Auto and Steer.

“There’s nothing like living on a farm,” says Brian. “You see how things grow and mature. I enjoy watching crops progress through the summer. Our kids learn the importance of doing a job correctly, and they feel a sense of purpose by helping.”

This fall many farmers in Northeast South Dakota harvested record crops for the second year in a row. Brian says no-till has been a real game changer because it builds soil health and helps retain water. He also credits the use of cover crops to providing nutrients in the soil and for breaking up soil compaction. Plus, the Johnson manage their fields by zone and apply variable rates of fertilizer and seed.

“One thing I admire about Dad is that he’s always looking for ways to improve,” says Brian. “Thirty years ago, he planted corn at 18,000 plants per acre. Now we’re averaging 37,000 in 20-inch rows, and it’s taken our yields to the next level. With improved plant genetics and soil fertility, I don’t think we’ve hit the top yields yet!”

In honor of all the farmers bringing in this year’s harvest and in celebration of Halloween, today we’re sharing a recipe from Mickie Johnson for M&M Bars.