Lisa Ahrens Peterson and her husband, J.R., didn’t merely recite The Creed as FFA members. They’ve been living each day, for more than a decade, according these very words.

As a member of the Osage FFA Chapter, Lisa served her local chapter as reporter and president.  She also served as: District Vice President, 1995-96; North Central State Vice President, 1996-97; State President, 1997-98; and National FFA President from 1998-99.

“All of my job opportunities were as a result of my FFA experiences, and the network of individuals I met through the years. I also believe that I advanced in my career faster because of the skill set I gained through FFA including leadership, public speaking and teamwork.”

“FFA helped me in college, as well,” adds Lisa. “As a result of my FFA experiences, I was selected for Iowa State University’s President’s Leadership Class. Approximately 30 incoming freshman were chosen and met weekly with President Jischke at his house. I got to know President Jischke very well, and he eventually recommended me for the State Board of Regents. Governor Branstad knew me from my State FFA officer days and recommended me to the Iowa Senate for confirmation. I spent the next 5 years serving on the board. It all began with FFA!”

FFA is a tremendous vehicle to teach leadership, provide personal growth opportunities, and prepare young people for a career in one of over 300 ag-related careers. Lisa said she’s amazed at the number of people she’s met who credit FFA to their success. One such individual is ISU’s Dr. Neil Harl, a nationally recognized expert on taxation, estate planning, business planning and agricultural law. Dr. Harl credits FFA public speaking contests for helping him cure his stutter.

Another individual Lisa met through FFA became her husband. She and J.R. met when they were both candidates for national office. Lisa was elected national president, and the National FFA Organization hired J.R. to staff Made for Excellence and the Washington Leadership Conferences. A few years after they were married, J.R. went to work for the National FFA Foundation as Director of Corporate Contributions. Lisa worked for Dow AgroSciences for one year, and then joined the Agri Business Group (ABG) as a senior business analyst. ABG became part of Adayana, and Lisa worked there for nine years.

After her children were born, Lisa chose to work part-time for Adayana as special projects manager. Today Lisa is proud to have the title of “stay at home mom” for three: Ethan, 6; Anna, 4; and Elise, 18 months. She also feels blessed to return to the farm where she was raised.

“I am now the third generation to live on this farmstead and in this house!” says Lisa with excitement. “I love the freedom we have to let kids go outside and play. I also love the opportunity to teach them the value of hard working and working together as a family to get the job done. I also cherish the ability to foster their love of agriculture and provide them with an understanding of where their food comes from. “

In addition to agriculture, J.R. and Lisa share a passion for travel. Lisa’s hobbies also include reading, exercising and gardening. She enjoys the fruits of her labor all year-long through canning and freezing. Today Lisa is sharing with us one of her new favorite recipes because it’s quick, easy, and healthy!

The Olthoff’s, from Stanhope, Iowa, are busy from sun-up to son-down.  Caring for 60,000 turkeys and two little boys keep Bart and Katie busy.

The Olthoff’s have been raising turkeys for about 3½ years in their five new, tunnel ventilated turkey barns.  Bart grew up on a turkey farm, so he jumped at the opportunity to build his own farm.  He is able to raise 6 flocks of 20,000 birds annually, and has up to 3 flocks at a time.

Managing that much livestock is no easy task, but Bart has proven time and time again that he is up to the challenge.  “Bart always puts the turkeys first, even if it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable for him,” says wife, Katie.  “That might seem normal to those who grew up on a farm, but I’m new to the livestock world.  I’m constantly amazed by his dedication to our birds.”

While Bart works hard with the turkeys, Katie spends most of her time with their two sons,  Adam, 4½, and Isaac, who’s almost 2.  Because Bart’s schedule can be pretty demanding and doesn’t include vacation time or holidays off, Katie has made a conscious effort to make the holidays less stressful for their family.  Her holiday motto is, “Keep it Simple, Make it Meaningful.”

Katie has written the Squaw Creek Survival Guide for Christmas with Kids, and today she’s sharing a few of her favorite tips:

1. Bedtime books, the gift that keeps on giving.  Instead of taking part in the popular “Elf on the Shelf” routine, Katie wraps 25 Christmas books.  Every night, Adam opens one to read.  Click here for a list of great books for farm kids or to teach kids about the farm.

2. 

   Pack the Protein.  Katie has learned that family gatherings are more enjoyable for everyone if she brings foods that her kids are sure to like.  “If all they eat is sugared treats, my kids will get crabby,” says Katie, who’s been known to serve up peanut butter sandwiches on a platter at family gatherings.

3.  Keep the Yums Yums Simple.  Although Katie has a wonderful recipe for roll out cookies with sour cream, she relies on Betty Crocker to simplify holiday baking with her boys.  Click here for Katie’s beautifully photographed step-by-step process of baking with kids.

For more tips on Surviving Christmas with Kids. check out Katie’s blog at www.onthebanksofsquawcreek.com.  You’ll also find more information about Squaw Creek Farms, including several recipes for turkey.

“Slow Cooker Turkey Breast” is just a sample of the quick, easy and delicious recipes featured on Katie’s site.  Also be sure to check out Katie’s featured section, Ground Turkey Tuesday, for more delicious recipes.

On the day after Thanksgiving, the last thing on people’s minds is turkey.  Ask your family what they want for supper and – if they’re anything like mine – they’ll tell you pizza.  They might even say tacos, but they’re certainly not going to beg for another bite of turkey!  Little do they know…

My personal belief is that no food should be wasted.  I’m a freezer queen.  Freezer-ready meals make mealtime quicker and easier.  Browned beef, stored in freezer bags and stacked neatly in my freezer, cuts down prep time considerably.  I’ve been known to put whole chickens in the crock pot just to have cooked chicken freezer-ready for casseroles.

So why not “bag some bird” this holiday?  Simply cut up your leftover turkey; measure out 1½- to 2-cup servings; and freeze it for a while.  Thanks to the folks at the National Turkey Federation, you’ll have plenty of ideas on how to use that turkey.  Check out the NTF’s Top Ten Ways to Use Turkey Leftovers.

Before freezing all of your cooked turkey, you might want set aside just enough to make the dip or soup since they’re perfect “Game Day Foods.”  Perhaps you’ll want to make ahead a casserole or let soup simmer in the crock pot while you hang Christmas decorations over the weekend.  (That’s my plan, but the tough part is choosing which recipe to make!)

I’ve assembled my own Top 10 List, which includes many recipes we’ve featured on TheFieldPosition.com.  In some cases, like “Buffalo Chicken Dip,” I’m suggesting you substitute chicken for turkey.  In other cases, I’m linking to some of my favorite turkey recipes from TheFieldPosition.  I hope these recipes will make you thankful for the extra turkey in your freezer during such a busy season!

TOP TURKEY RECIPES FROM THEFIELDPOSITION.COM

1. “Buffalo Chicken” Dip
2. Turkey Tortilla Hot Dish
3. Turkey Pot Pie
4. Easy Turkey Salad with a side of French Onion Soup
5. Turkey Reuben
6. Southwestern Turkey Soup
7. Garden “Turkey” Casserole
8. Wild Turkey Casserole (a.k.a. “Wild & Cheesy Chicken Casserole”)
9. White Turkey Chili
10. Fiesta Turkey Chowder
11. Turkey Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

P.S.  Say you’re “cooking once and eating twice.”  Call them “do-overs.”  Whatever you do, don’t call them leftovers!  That’s like calling DDGs byproducts when everyone knows they’re coproducts, right? 😉

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13, and treating mom to a special breakfast tops the list for how Americans will celebrate.  Another all-time American favorite is hosting a tea party, and that’s exactly what my troop of 10, fourth grade Junior Girl Scouts did last Saturday.

Hosting our “Green Things” Tea Party for 40 special ladies was a great lesson in menu planning, meal preparation, table setting and floral decorating with a lot of giggles along the way.  Each girl took a turn helping me mix up a simple chicken and rice casserole, so we’re sharing this recipe today on TheFieldPosition.  (It’s seriously simple but totally delicious!)  They also made their moms a corsage from yellow roses, Girl Scouts’ signature flower.  (Thank, Mom, for leading this session!)  They also learned how to fold paper napkins and how to properly set a table.  (Thanks to Kaleah’s mom for leading this session!)

At the end of our meal, we sang songs and then played BINGO the traditional way.  Given more time, I would have been all over Tea Party Bingo.  You make your own cards, filling them in with tea-related phrases.  You also use tea bag tags as the markers.  Another game idea is Tea Text, where you set a timer for two minutes.  Everyone writes down as many words as she can think of that begins with the letter T.  Extra points are given to those who have all three letters of t-e-a like team and steak.

However you choose to honor your wife, mother and/or grandmother on Sunday, I hope you’ll enjoy a relaxing and fun day with your family. I’d also enjoy hearing from you.  What are your favorite party and/or family games?

It’s Girl Scout cookie time!  As Cookie Manager for our daughter’s troop, I’m having a hard time keeping certain varieties in stock.  Truly, these little boxes of sinful goodness sell out as soon as I get a new supply.

“If only seed were as to easy to sell as Girl Scout cookies!” I’ve said to myself on more than one occasion.  “These little cookies practically sell themselves.”

It made me wonder what we could learn from the Girl Scouts’ cookie sales program.  Here are the top five reasons I believe the Girl Scout Cookies NOW! program is so successful:

1. Limited time offer
2. Unique products
3. Instant gratification
4. Return/repeat customers
5. A great sales pitch with practice overcoming objections

Girl Scout cookies are only available for a limited amount of time (January 13 – March 4, 2012) and only from troop members, who either call customers on the phone or make door-to-door sales.  Each of the eight varieties is unique, and you certainly can’t whip up a batch at home.  (There’s a good reason the recipe is called “Mock Thin Mints”.)

Speaking of Thin Mints… The only cookie that outsells Thin Mints is Oreo®, which are available 365 days a year from nearly every grocer and big box store nationwide.

New to our area this year, cookies are delivered at the time of sale.  There’s instant gratification because you can treat yourself to a cookie as soon as the Scout walks out your front door.  Plus, customers can order early and reorder often!  You no longer need to ration your intake or freeze surplus quantities until March since there is nearly a two-month sales period this year.

If you dare say “no” to the friendly Scout who rings your door bell and asks you to buy cookies, be prepared. (Remember, that’s the Girl Scout motto, after all!)  These girls have been trained to overcome objections, and they’ve had plenty of practice – about 80 years’ worth.

The first recorded Girl Scouts cookie sale was 1917, and the organization itself is celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2012.  Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia, to nearly 4 million members throughout the United States in more than 90 countries.

In honor of the Girl Scouts’ birthplace in Savannah, today I’m featuring a recipe from another Savannah resident.  A meal at Paula Deen’s restaurant was a highlight when several members of the West Fork Girl Scouts traveled to Savannah last summer.

Treat your family to a home-cooked chicken dinner this weekend, and open a box of Girl Scout cookies for dessert.  You can eat the whole box and still have time to reorder yet this sales season.  🙂

What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie?  Cast your vote on our Facebook poll today.