The Other Side of Agriculture

Women in agriculture aren't a new thing.

There are many wonderful, strong, farm women sharing their stories on social media and out in public through organizations such as CommonGround. These women are mothers, sisters, partners, owner/operators and they do a magnificent job sharing their lives with the general public-the good, the bad, and the ugly.

No life is perfect, and as much as we all want to envision farm life through rose-colored glasses, with a big red barn and babies running all over the yard, the rural life isn't always that pretty.

But what we don't hear an awful lot about are the women who don't farm on their own land but work for large agricultural companies. And there's a reason we don't hear a lot about them...and that's because there aren't very many of us out in the field of these large companies. There are oodles of women in administrative positions...for good reason, women absolutely rule in those spots. 99% of the workers in the main office for our company are women.

In fact, in all of Nebraska, there were only 2 women working for our company as Field Reps. And now it's down to one...Me.

Why is that?

Because when it comes down to brass tacks, main-stream agriculture will always be a good ol' boys club.

I can't help but be jealous of all the amazing women who run (or co-run) their own family farms. I want to be them. I wanted the experience that this job would give me first though. I just never dreamed the experience would be such a roller coaster ride.

I've learned a lot in the last 9 months. And I mean a lot. But what has impacted me the most are the problems that have arisen because of my gender.

My generation is full of empowered women. We are told the sky is the limit and that if we just stay strong, we can have and do anything we want to. But we aren't told how strong we might actually have to be just to get up each and every day and go to work.

I watched my mom fight the good ol' boys club my whole life. And I thank God for having her as a role model of how to survive in a man's world and for passing on her backbone because otherwise I wouldn't even be writing this right now.

What possible problems could have arisen from being a woman? I think the better question is what problems haven't arisen from being a woman? Especially a young woman.

And the problems haven't come from the contract growers (who are largely men...although it's always nice when we deal with the wives), but from co-workers and bosses. Apparently women care too much.

We care too much about our jobs, we worry too much, we try to do a great job. 

We get upset when the men we work with don't have to work as hard yet get rewarded when they don't have to work as hard...by being promoted, while we wait around and are given the impression we will never be worthy of promotion.

We tell it like we see it, but women exaggerate and lie. When men come in and see the exact same things though, it's as if the world will end if things don't change.

My co-worker left because she got tired of working her life away and being told that it was her own fault for working her life away. Except she was just doing her job. And trying to do it well, which as a woman means caring and worrying. She had to constantly ask for help because she was given too much for one person to manage, but help never came from anybody but me. As soon as her male replacement took over though, help came out of the woodwork.

Until this point, I had never truly understood the disadvantage that being a young woman would bring me in this job. Animal Science programs are overrun by females...women are the future of agriculture. I was expected to do the same work as everyone else in my last 2 farm jobs, even if it meant I needed to learn how to do them. There is an insane number of amazing women sharing their stories out there. Women are the backbone of agricultural communities...and every community, Never once was I was given anything but hope in my future.

There have been times in the last few months where I have almost wished I had been born a guy.

How tragic is that?

I'm not sure where my story will go from here. I'm not sure that it really matters where it goes from here (not in a depressed sort of way, just that I know God has a plan).

I do know that women are a force to be reckoned with in agriculture, but we still have a long way to go to smash that glass ceiling. Because even family-based, Christian, agricultural companies still don't truly encourage equal-opportunity.

Planting 2014

As usual, I've been hanging on to this post...but it's been a crazy couple of weeks! Finishing up grad school and getting ready to move to Nebraska has been one heck of an adventure. And it's not over yet! But this post is from planting almost a month ago...

Life with a farmer's son and an ag mechanic is never a dull one. 

I've stacked hay, driven through more equipment lots than one person should ever have to-preview of the rest of my life :), kept the boy company while he worked on one thing or another, helped haul grain to the elevator, and most recently, got to witness the first run with the new planter. 

So Cute Sunday-April 6, 2014

Spring is starting to show its face here in central Kentucky. The rains have started to come down in abundance and the grass has gone from a dirty brown to an almost vibrant shade of green. In honor of the foals dropping all throughout the local Thoroughbred country, I am going to share one of my absolute favorite photos taken by my baby sister :) Here's to Spring! 

National Ag Day 2014!

It's National Ag Day!

Leaning In...& Terrified

As usual I am way behind the curve. Several months ago I read many glowing reviews of the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I added it to my list of books I wanted to read in the future (when I had more money) and promptly let it drift to the back of my mind. Until we went to Target a couple of weeks ago and it was on the sale shelf...we all know the vortex that Target represents. Buy one thing and it's all downhill from there. But I could not have read this book at a better time in my life and I'm sure that's the way it was supposed to be.

Six Things That Have Bothered Me

I've spent quite a bit of time keeping Mom company. Which until recently has meant spending a lot of time parked in front of the TV. Not all of that time has been spent watching quality programming, but most of it has been entertaining if not educational. This may not be a politically correct post so I apologize if anyone is offended in advance, but this blog serves as an online journal for me. Here are some of the things I have been concerned about:

Humans Are Animals Too...Remember?

After feeling pretty combative today (the machine I need to run my samples is broken...which means all of my samples will NOT be run before I head home to take care of my family), I remembered a video I took a couple of months ago when I moved my recent piglets from the farrowing room into the nursery but never did anything with. 

You see...there's a dark side to pigs. And I don't mean in that the farmer abuses them, being raised inside makes them mean and angry and unnatural and mutated way. The dark side is that pigs can be pretty darn aggressive. Not necessarily to humans...although I did have one massive Duroc boar that absolutely hated me for some reason. No, they can be very aggressive with each other. 

Surprised? If you think about it, you shouldn't be! 

All animal societies require pecking orders. Somebody has to be at the top which means somebody has to be on the bottom. If you have watched enough National Geographic or Animal Planet you can easily see that the animal kingdom likes to fight dominance out. And in case you forgot, humans are technically Primates. And we really aren't so different in fighting for dominance, it just doesn't always involve fist-fights these days. 

So why do I say there is a dark side to pigs?

Well because that fight for dominance can end up in death for one or both (sometimes more than 2 are involved) of the pigs involved in the main fight. If two pigs just won't give up they can die from injuries sustained during the fight or simply die from exhaustion and stress. 

When do pigs fight?

The main reason pig fights break out are when groups of pigs are trying to establish a pecking order. Somebody has to be the Boss, whether it's a Boss Sow or simply Boss of the Pen. This tends to happen when pigs are mixed.

Mixed? Here are some examples:

1. You have a pen of sows and you need to introduce some recently weaned sows into the pen as well. 

        Things to consider:

            -Are the sows you are introducing a similar size and age of the sows already in the pen?

            -Are any of the sows being introduced INTO the pen or already IN the pen particularly moody or                   combative?

            -Do you have enough space to make sure there are areas for the loser sows to go hang out and stay                  away from the grumpy sows?

            -Will there be enough feeding space to make sure the bottom of the pecking order gets enough to                    eat without the Boss Sow eating her share as well?

2. You recently weaned multiple litters of piglets and must move them into the nursery pens. Most often it is impossible to leave only litter mates with litter mates as pens are usually large enough to house several litters at once (remember the national average is about 10 pigs per litter). They must now establish a pecking order. 

             Things to consider:

                 -Size of pigs

                 -Size of pen

                 -Feed and Water access

3.  When boars (uncastrated males) get together. Boars are probably the strangest creatures in the world. It's like testosterone poisoning ruins their brains (sounds familiar...it's not surprising that humans and pigs are so very similar). If they are raised together and kept together forever then there are usually few problems. But if you take a boar out of his home pen to go breed sows and forget to put him back for a couple of days then you might as well forget putting him back ever. Because as soon as you put him back, it will be WAR. Big Angry (sometimes Tusk Wearing) Boars fighting each other? Definitely not something you want to ever witness or have to break up. The one time I had to do it (boar got out of his pen, then lifted the hinges on another boar's pen to fight) I thought I was going to get killed, but I couldn't let them kill each other. Even though they were bound and determined to do it. 

The most important thing to remember when mixing pigs? Never, ever, ever mix just 1 pig into a new pen (unless it's a 2 pig pen or there is absolutely no other choice). Mixing multiple new faces into a pen keeps the resident pigs from beating up on only one pig. 

When I am asked questions about pig behavior, I tend to compare pigs to the guy who wants to fight everybody after he drinks a little too much whiskey. Most of the time they are pretty calm, OK relatively calm, friendly, inquisitive (yum your boots and calves taste yummy) creatures, but everybody has bad days right?

Wanting to fight is the reason why there are guys running around with boards in the middle of pig show rings, because if two pigs want to get together and fight, a quick board between them and pushing them in separate directions is the best way to redirect their attention. 

I love pigs, I really do, but they are not always as cute and cuddly as people like to believe. Understanding they aren't as cute and cuddly as you believe can help you understand why pork producers handle pigs in the manners that they do. Because ultimately we want pigs and people to be as safe as possible.

NOW, the video I took is of the 2nd situation, when I had to wean pigs and ended up mixing pigs from a couple different litters together. Why didn't I make the fighting stop? I monitored the situation to make sure that it wasn't getting too out of hand (at which point I would have separated the combatants, i.e. moved EITHER the aggressor OR the aggressee into a different pen) but otherwise pigs have to develop a pecking order and too much interference from me would not do much good. By the next day, this pen was a little scratched up from the fighting but settled into months of happy cohabitation otherwise. 

Keep in mind this post has not been an entirely comprehensive explanation of behavior in pigs, but has merely been designed to show you a pig behavior that is not witnessed much outside of pork production (since most people are 3+ generations removed from farming) and to give you an idea of how complex taking care of livestock can actually be. It can often be a series of tough choices. Which pigs can I mix? Where can I move them if the sow at the bottom of a pecking order in a pen is in danger of malnutrition or has injuries from the Boss Sow beating her up/eating all of her food? What is best for the health and happiness of the animals? Do I have enough space to separate problem pigs or do I need to remove them from the barn altogether? The list of questions and balancing acts is endless. But at the end of the day, their health and happiness is the most important thing of all. 

If you have any questions/concerns, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss this further! 

Day 19: You're in Grad School For What?!

It's been a day here in Kentucky. Interesting, confusing, and poignant altogether. My mentor in the pig group defended for his PhD today and while he's not leaving just yet, it was still a poignant moment for me. As for the rest of the day...here we go.

I have some nasty patches on my arms that popped up as soon as I got this batch of pigs in and after dealing with the itchiness and the pain for weeks I finally went to the doctor. I was honestly terrified they were going to tell me that I had an allergy. To pigs. Which wouldn't exactly be a deal killer...I would just have to start taking more precautions and probably end up on allergy shots. But thankfully they said it looked like eczema.

So now if people ask why my arms look like someone with leprosy I can give them a good answer. And I can almost guarantee you that this flare up is from stress.

But just to be sure I also made an appointment with a local dermatologist. Her first question was what are you going to grad school for? My favorite question to ever be asked in the whole wide world. Why do I want people to know I am in grad school for Pig Nutrition? Not because I love nutrition (cuz I don't) but because it never ceases to get some fantastic responses from people.

                     Pig Nutrition?! I've never heard of such a thing! What do you do??

You can't exactly tell people that basically you collect pee and poop all day because they just wouldn't get it. I was unfortunate enough to end up in the hospital 3 days before Christmas last year for a severe kidney infection (thanks to kidney stone problems) and ended up needing a stint put in (which let me tell you is probably the most painful thing EVER...I think my left kidney remembers how much that hurt because every now and then it aches but I tell it to play nice and it stops. Of course).  But I was asked why the heck we needed Pig Nutritionists? My response: somebody has to feed the pigs.

It opens up a world of questions when people come into contact with something new. I feel bad for my family because they are always trying to explain to people what I am doing with my life...and most of the time those people walk away shaking their heads in confusion and awe. But maybe the fact that my degree exists will eventually assuage any fears those individuals have when it comes to food production. Maybe they will look me up with questions.

But back to the dermatologist! As soon as I explained what I do with my life, her next question was:
 "Is antibiotic use in pigs rampant like it is in cattle?" Whoa, whoa, whoa was basically what I was thinking. But after we had a quick discussion about antibiotic use in cattle and pigs, she asked "Well what about dairy cows? Do they overuse antibiotics to prevent mastitis?" Wow. If that isn't proof that consumers are concerned about food production, then I don't know what is.

I was just happy that I knew enough to give intelligent responses and hopefully they will think twice when they hear about antibiotic abuse taking over livestock operations. But that is why I love being asked what I do. Because people inevitably ask you the questions that they need to hear honest, truthful answers to...from somebody who actually has a clue.

I shudder to think what terrifying answers would have been given to these women from somebody that had a nefarious agenda (like getting rid of livestock production and antibiotics use in livestock or seeking to solely promote their product based on fear...like the Farm selling Drug-Free beef from the other day!)

On that note, I will leave you with the following shocking fact:
I was told about a 22 pound organic turkey (on a farm near where my family lives) that costs $400. I wouldn't pay $5 for turkey (I do not like turkey), much less $400! Yikes. I definitely need to look into this craziness.

Wednesday, here we come!

Day 13: Farm Of The Future

Nobody really knows what the future holds, but the guys at Farm Journal Media are sure compiling enough information to give us an idea of where farming might be by 2025. I try not to think too far ahead, especially since things change so rapidly in this modern world of ours, but some of the things they have come up with are mind-boggling.

Agricultural Drone

For the most part the future involves a lot of technology. No surprise there, especially since we have seen technology increase exponentially in the last couple of years.

Some of the things we are already seeing: tractors that can work the fields unmanned (well mostly unmanned), operating the farm business from your cell phone, using waste by-products as energy sources to run the farm (aka we will see more on-farm anaerobic digesters).

Ones that are less surprising is the use of drones to check crops and fields and being more aware of and in control of the health and well-being of livestock.

The ones that really surprised me were things like:

o   Web cameras in grain elevators

o   Precision planters that plant seed using real time weather data. Precision planters that plant seed in straight rows using GPS and plant the seed in the right spot are already out there…but using real time weather data? Wow.

o   Robots that fight weeds and pests

o   “Smart Dust”-wireless sensors sprinkled in the fields to keep track of everything that is happening

And the King of surprises: 3D printers.

OK, so 3D printers are a revolutionary technology in medicine because being able to print organs can literally save lives. I just never thought about 3D printers being used in other ways, but apparently I’m way behind. It seems they have been used for years by companies like Ford and Michelin. Using 3D printing in an agricultural setting would be mind-blowing. Being able to print tractor parts or tools…seriously?!

There’s even talk that 3D printers are going to be a household item soon…can you imagine just printing something up? We are all going to have to learn to be CAD operators in order to make the products we want.

OK, Warm Bodies isn't Apocalypse enough but too bad! :)

I am seriously fascinated by the potential future. But at the same time I’m not sure I want to see things change all that much. I think using technology as a tool is important. Making it a deity? Not such a good idea.

Maybe I am a little old fashioned, but in case there is a zombie apocalypse and I survive, I want to be able to farm without technology. Cause heaven knows it probably won’t survive the zombie apocalypse. Not that I will either, but hey, just in case there need to be people in the world who remember the way things were done way back when.

As long as we don’t lose our history, and our knowledge of history, the techno-future may not be so bad. I know Cody will still be out in the tractor though. And I will probably have my team of horses to pull a sleigh in the snow.

Changing with the times is good as long as we don’t forget where we’ve been.

If you want to see more of Farm of The Future, check it out here! 

Day 11: The West Virginia Warriors and Veterans to Agriculture Project

When I came home from work today, I still had no idea what I would be writing about today. I didn’t want to write about my day because trust me, while it was busy, it was pretty monotonous. I had a snarky commentary playing in my head that I was tempted to publish and then I saw this story.

I mostly read it out of curiosity. You see, I grew up in Virginia and as far as most Virginians are concerned, WV is the knock-kneed cousin that gets made fun of for everything. I can’t tell you how many WV jokes I heard growing up…and still find myself making on occasion (old habits die hard!). But what I found was a story that was truly surprising…in a good way!

West Virginia has started a new initiative: The West Virginia Warriors and Veterans to Agriculture Project.

Essentially they are trying to partner farmers with military veterans in order for the veterans to learn how to grow crops and raise animals. The hope is that by performing these tasks it will help the soldiers cope with their PTSD and help them find a purpose again. And be able to feed their families or sell their products to the community. Which is a win-win for everybody- the new farmers learn the many skills that a farmer needs in his repertoire which helps them regain their confidence in themselves and it also will hopefully invigorate West Virginia’s agricultural sector. WV is a poverty stricken state whose claim to fame for many years has been the coal mines. As the coal veins play out and communities die, it is more important than ever that programs like this help bring a sense of pride back and keep those small communities going.

I was at a meeting once where the Director of the Wyoming Wool Growers’ make a comment about pairing students up with old ranchers to teach them the new technologies. It would have allowed the students to learn from the ranchers and the ranchers to learn from the students. Now nothing ever came of that comment, but I hope to see more ideas like this coming up across the country.

I am so proud to be part of a huge community of people who will go well out of their way to help those in need, whether it’s to harvest the crops of a family that has suffered a tragedy, feed and clothe a family that has fallen on hard times, or simply drop an unmarked basket on the porch as a pick-me-up.

I often wonder where the true spirit of community has gone but I know that it is alive and well in Agriculture. Where would we be without Agriculture? Where would we be without all those wonderful Agriculturalists?

And what better story to read on Veteran’s Day than such a powerful one like this?

Agriculture truly is the greatest profession way of life.

Now I just have to get settled somewhere and get these initiatives started elsewhere. In the meantime, I hope this story has touched you…and maybe even moved you to start something similar in your community!

I hope you had a wonderful Veteran’s Day and God Bless to all those who have fought so hard to protect our way of life. 

Day 3: A Different Perspective

It’s funny how much you can learn simply by trying something new. Like how not to cut your finger open while playing amateur plumber (oops) ;)

As most of you know I grew up in Northern Virginia. I was always surrounded by plenty of grass, plenty of hay, and plenty of pasture space for horses and cattle. Foolishly I just figured that was the way it was everywhere.

I always expected pastures to be shoulder-high and the cattle to be fat and happy. 

Moving to Wyoming definitely cut that foolishness right out of me. I was introduced to irrigation (unheard of in my lushly green, often rainy and humid home…except when the grass turns brown cuz of those scorching summers of course), the concerns of how to feed cattle through the winter when enough hay wasn’t put up due to drought, how many animals one area could possibly support due to limited grass and water, and so many other concerns.

Drought? I’m not sure in my first 18 years I had ever heard that nasty word uttered except in passing. It was never discussed daily or in a voice made weary by constant tough choices in a brutal land.

Not enough hay? Psssh, surely there is always enough hay right? I mean it’s common to see miles of pasture that hasn’t been grazed down at all throughout the spring, summer and fall. Everybody else must be the same right?

WRONG.

When I would go home I would find myself upset by the seemingly lackadaisical manner that farmers treated their pasture and hay with.

Dave visited me in Virginia one summer and while driving the back roads I thought he was going to cry at one point. The sight of huge pastures that were shoulder-high in grass and weeds and not a steer or cow in sight seemed like such a huge waste of good land and a terrible shame to boot.

Sorry for the terrible picture but you get the idea!

Have you ever seen fields with hay bales in them? They look so wonderful don’t they? But when the bales are not gathered promptly and stored correctly, the sight becomes depressing. Hay is always in high demand in the West, especially in places like Texas where a significant amount of rain hasn’t fallen in years and the drought there looks like it may never end. Once you have witnessed the scramble to find hay in a 500 mile + radius because otherwise you won’t make it through the extra-long winter, the sight of rotting hay bales in the field will break your heart.

One of my best friends from Wyoming came to visit me in July of this year and similar to Dave I thought she would self-implode when confronted with bales left to rot in fields. I pass this field 2x a day every day and these bales have not moved since July…what a shame.

Unless you have experienced the hardship of not having enough grass or hay to feed your animals then the tragedy of the choice to leave bales rotting in a field may not sink in. I hope someday to see hay sent West (that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg) instead of being left to rot in fields.

But I wouldn’t have thought about that if I hadn’t witnessed it firsthand…so the moral of this story is that a different perspective can never hurt.

What are some misconceptions you have had and later realized were completely wrong?

30 Days Of Randomness With A Pig Nutrition Grad Student

When I read this post talking about taking a 30 day challenge in November that requires blogging each day with an agricultural theme, I was intrigued. And curious to see if I could actually do it. 

Now I just started blogging a couple of weeks ago. But as I was ruminating over what my 30 day theme would be I found myself wondering how on Earth I thought I was qualified to join the ranks of the amazing community of Ag bloggers out there. 

I don’t have a farm of my own right now. I don’t even have a very exciting life because it is completely ruled by my unpredictable grad school experience. 

But it was exactly those thoughts that made me realize that every story is different and that is why I started blogging. Am I an expert on anything? Definitely not. Do I love Ag and am I striving to ensure a bright future? Definitely yes. 

I may not have any of the things that make a traditional Ag blogger but I do have passion and a genuine desire to learn as much as possible about as much as possible. And I cannot even describe the number of things I have already learned in the short time I have been blogging. So if my blog never reaches beyond my long-suffering family and friends, it won’t matter. Because I, alone, am learning so much that it makes the experience worthwhile. 

Once I overcame my concerns, finding a topic was an interesting journey. It’s no secret that November is my favorite month of the year. I will admit it is largely because it’s my birthday month, but November is also just a beautiful crisp, sometimes snowy month that manages to showcase the best of Fall and Winter all rolled together. Plus the end of the month has always held Thanksgiving…and my birthday :) So of course what else makes for a better month? My topic was going to have to be something I would be challenged to do, something that was familiar enough to make me sound like less of an idiot but not so familiar as to be boring for me and my audience. 

The entire month of November I will be running 2 separate studies to round out my Master’s research. It’s gonna be a crazy time, that’s for sure. So the theme for my 30 days of blogging is simply going to be “30 Days of Randomness With A Pig Nutrition Grad Student”. This may seem no different than the usual but I will be sure and throw some information in on what’s going on with my projects, random Ag Facts (including piggies of course), and whatever else comes my way. 

So join me tomorrow, on the first day of November, and we will see what kind of trouble we can get into ;)

Check out the other awesome bloggers on Holly Spangler's My Generation Page!!

30 Days of Randomness With A Pig Nutrition Grad Student

Day 1: My Purpose 
Day 2: Time To Soak In The World
Day 3: A Different Perspective
Day 4: Is It A Swirf?
Day 5: Saying Goodbye
Day 6: Stories Make Everything Better
Day 7: We Are The Lucky Ones
Day 8: Hawaii Looks Nice!
Day 9: Saturday Thankfulness
Day 10: Harvest...As Translated From My Farmer To Me
Day 11: The West Virginia Warriors and Veterans To Agriculture Project
Day 12: Getting Loopy
Day 13: Farm Of The Future
Day 14: A Ghost Tour...In November
Day 15: I Am Not The Usual
Day 16: A Vision Of The Future
Day 17: Poor Marketing-How Do We Make It Stop?
Day 18: A Cause For Concern
Day 19: You're in Grad School For What?!
Day 20: Wordless Wednesday
Day 21: For Mom
Day 22: Pointing Fingers Never Pays
Day 23: Humor Needed, Sanity Optional
Day 24: Romance Is Overrated
Day 25-27: Does Anything Ever Go As Planned?
Day 28 & 29: Farewell My Favorite Month

A Nod to Peanut Butter

Yesterday I was enjoying my daily snack of Wheat Thins and Peanut Butter. Comment all you want to on my snacking choices but I do love Wheat Thins and Peanut Butter.

Beware, the following train of thought might scare you.

As I was enjoying my delicious peanut butter the following thought popped up in my head: As much peanut butter as I eat a year (and it’s a lot trust me!) I wonder if I support at least one peanut farmer.

That thought led me to wonder how many peanuts are in a jar of peanut butter.

And you guessed it…I looked it up!

As if they could hear my thoughts before they happened, the National Peanut Board was so kind as to put up a Fun Fact page! I will list some of their fun facts below:

• It takes 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
• There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

Of course my resulting question was well how many peanuts are there per acre? According to this article, yield per acre ranges from 2,900-4,200 pounds per acre. Not sure how many peanuts that actually is, but that’s a lot of peanuts considering a bushel of peanuts is about 22 pounds.

That doesn’t exactly answer my question but my conclusion is that that is a lot of peanuts. And I definitely don’t employ a peanut farmer on my own especially if you consider another that the average peanut farm is 100 acres (according to the Peanut Board). That’s 3 million peanut butter sandwiches. Yikes!

• The average American consumes more than 6 pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products each year. (I think you could probably at least double that in my case especially considering the amount of Reese’s I eat…seriously, I would die if I was allergic to peanuts.)
• Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter. And make more than 10 billion PB&J sandwiches a year. Wooooeeee that is a lot of PB&Js! YUM!
• Peanuts are high in protein, niacin and folate and are cholesterol-free. Eating peanuts can keep you heart-healthy and trim! Check out these articles if you don’t believe me: Harvard Health, The Peanut Institute, Purdue News. 

Of course we can’t forget that peanuts/peanut butter/peanut paste/peanut oil are in a number of foods, especially snacks and protein bars, as well.

I work in agriculture and I didn’t know all of these amazing things about peanuts (and peanut butter)! It just goes to show that we all have our specialties. Not to mention I have never lived in a place where peanuts are grown.

Someone told me I had too much time on my hands if I was looking up how many peanuts are in a jar of peanut butter. I don’t think I have too much time on my hands…I just want to know as much as I can once I come up with a question! And look at all the awesome things we have learned!

Moral of this story: I already loved peanut butter. But now I have some cool peanut facts to share. And if my Korean counterparts in the office hadn’t already commented to me on America’s obsession with peanut butter…well I can now safely say Americans really do love our peanut butter! And now I know to add more peanuts to my diet to increase heart-healthiness!

Too bad peanut butter pie doesn’t fall on the list as heart-healthy…but I think I’m going to go enjoy some anyway!

Have a great day!

Young Vs Old: Lack of Opportunity vs Commitment in Young People in Agriculture

I hear frequently that there is a lack of youth in agriculture and that the industry doesn't know what to do to increase the interest in the youth.

My response has always been that the interest on the youth side is there, but what do we have to work with?

If you are on a multi-generational farm then the problems are usually different than if you are starting from scratch. Mostly what I see is a lack on the part of the aging farmer to let the younger farmer get more of a leg up. I don’t want anything to be handed to us, I just want to see some hope at the end of the tunnel.

So when this article came through in a BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly email, I couldn't wait to read it. “Opinion: Is A Lack of Opportunity Or Commitment Keeping Young People Out of Ag?”

I totally agree that people romanticize farming and ranching and when it comes down to it, they don’t always want to put the effort forth that is required. But for those of us who live and breathe Agriculture and can see ourselves someday running our own spread, it can be difficult to read the following words:

“Why are so few of these would-be farm and ranch owners willing to settle for the next best thing: gainful employment or a professional, for-profit farm or ranch like mine? If they want real responsibility and real control over real assets, they can have that here.”

Now, I've only been a hired hand in a few places, but I can tell you that many times my opinion was not wanted, needed, or even remotely heard. So is it really fair to say that hired hands have any sort of responsibility? At the end of the day, no matter how fantastic they are, they will still have to have your permission to make many important decisions.

Level of Commitment is What Is Lacking

He charges the youth with not wanting to improve themselves once they get out of college, for not going to Extension meetings, trade shows, etc. Correct me if maybe I’m not the norm but isn’t that a load of bull?

I get at least 5 emails (many times more) a day from the major Ag outlets like BEEF, PorkNetwork, National Hog Farmer, AgWeb, Progessive Cattlemen, Agriculture.com, and the list goes on. Seriously. In the span of 4 months I hit the NCBA meetings, World Pork Expo, and a regional farm show in Wisconsin. I am immersed in Ag news and happenings day in and day out.

But all of that immersion has still not magically opened up the gate of buying my own farm. Yes I am still in grad school and I would like to gain more experience by seeing how other operations are run before I embark on my own journey, but I haven’t found the rainbow that leads to my farm yet.

But let’s face it, I am dead broke. I barely get by each month. I want to pay off my current debt before I fall headfirst into debt trying to start my own farming operation.

Does that mean I lack commitment? Does the fact that I don’t want to work for somebody else for the rest of my life make me a horrible person?

I’m going to put it this way. Farming and ranching can be really tough to get into. It’s expensive, it’s a huge initial capital drain, and sometimes it takes a lot of time at an off-farm job to pay for that dream. But the biggest obstacle I see is the condescension from some of the older generation. They complain about the youth being lazy and having no ambition…but ya know what? I bet the generation before them said the exact same thing about them!

Just because we don’t do things the same way they have been done forever does not make us less ambitious or less willing to sacrifice. It just shows that times have changed and we are trying to change with them.

What really frustrates me is that a lot of the old farmers are just not willing to step down and let the younger generations have a go at it. There is one old farmer near Cody who is so crippled and in such bad shape he should have let the youth take over a couple of years ago, but he just refuses to let go.

I can’t say I won’t be any different in my old age. But you can’t complain about the youth not wanting to do anything and then turn around and make sure they don’t have an opportunity because you are knowingly and bull-headedly blocking the way.

When I worked for Dave I was lucky because he let me throw my two cents in all the time and we would discuss decisions. But even then my two cents weren’t always appreciated and were frequently shot down. And at the end of the day I saw limited growth opportunities so I set out to experience other situations.

I really just have a hard time believing a lack of commitment is the problem. It is just not that simple.

I read a recent article in National Hog Farmer (I will update this tomorrow once I have the issue in hand to give you more details) about a hog farm that was owned by employees and they shared equipment, could buy manure from the farm for their crops and then turn around and sell the crops back to the corporation. After a couple of years of working for the farm, there was always the option to buy into being an owner of the farm. As far as I can see, this is the best option for all of us young people who are willing to work for others but eventually want to be more than just the hired hand (no matter how important or how cherished).

Sure, maybe in some cases it is a lack of commitment. But I don’t think it is fair to downplay all of the obstacles that stand in the way. The resources available for new farmers and ranchers are increasing (grants and programs through USDA, local Farm Bureaus, state Departments of Ag, etc) but it still won’t be easy.

I guess all we young hopefuls can do is keep dreaming, keep learning, and keep working hard. Someday it will pay off, right?

We Are Murderers.

“Tens of thousands of cattle killed in Friday’s blizzard, say ranchers. Murdered one way or another. If you’re a cow in the hands of animal agriculture-You’re gonna die.”

I was looking for good Ag infographics on Pinterest the other day and came across this comment on a pin. This isn’t the first comment like this I have seen nor will it be the last, but it always feels like I have been punched in the gut. Why are people spending time attacking an industry that is doing everything it can to be responsible and humane in all its working? Shouldn't we be spending more time helping children without families? Or ending human-to-human violence? Personally I'd rather be put down by a vet than shot by a gang member!

I hate to tell you but everything DIES. I’m going to throw some Temple Grandin quotes at you now. In case you don’t know who Temple Grandin is, she is THE queen of livestock handling-read here  if you want to know more!

“We raise them for us; that means we owe them some respect. Nature is cruel but we don’t have to be. I wouldn’t want to have my guts ripped out by a lion. I'd much rather die in a slaughter house if it were done right.” 

“Unfortunately, most people never observe the natural cycle of birth and death. They do not realize that for one living thing to survive, another living thing must die.” 

“I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we've got to do it right. We've got to give those animals a decent life and we've got to give them a painless death. We owe the animal respect.”  

To read that we “murder” our animals really upset me. Our whole lives revolve around the health and productivity of our animals. Watching them suffer is extremely painful. What makes it even worse is we have to guess what exactly is wrong because they can’t speak to us. They can tell us with body language, their eyes, and many other cues that we have to learn to look for, but there is always the worry that maybe we missed something or diagnosed incorrectly.  

Last Friday I lost a sow unexpectedly. She was fine one day, gone the next. Sometimes animals die unexpectedly. It is a fact of life that farmers and ranchers live with day in and day out. 

Does it still hurt? For sure. 

Do I want to know what happened to the poor old girl? Of course. That’s why she is at the Vet Lab for a necropsy. 

I looked at this person’s board and it became clear they were vegan. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to be vegan, that is entirely your choice. But true veganism doesn’t really exist in our current world. You may choose not to eat animal products, but what about wearing them? Or using pretty much any product we use in our daily lives? Chances are you aren’t looking for every single product that contains animal by-products. 

The vegan queen Carrie Underwood is largely despised by those in agriculture. Mainly because she’s a big fat liar. She claims to be a down home farm girl from Oklahoma but supports HSUS and PETA and is basically trying to destroy Oklahoma’s major industry (agriculture). Read this post I found-it’s pretty darn humorous.

But now to the educational portion of this post. Let’s see if you know just how many things animal by-products are in that we use every day…

This is an older infographic summarizing cattle by-products.

I really like how this one is laid out so I added it as well!

Check out AnimalSmart for more information

Many important medicines, such as insulin, are derived from pigs. Shampoo, adhesives, gum, toothpaste, vitamins, photo paper, leather goods, woolen clothes, down pillows, some hairbrushes, paintbrushes…the list is endless. The list would be even longer if I was including agricultural products in general but I will stick with animals for today.

There are still many cultures that use internal organs as bags and water containers. That may seem irrelevant to us here in the US but it just shows that those people appreciate the cycle of life and understand their place in nature. You can be against eating meat all you want to be, but would you really deny somebody a pig heart? Or insulin? Aren't we respecting animals more by not wasting the gifts they give us? 

The cycle of life includes birth. And death. Farmers and ranchers understand both. It doesn’t make us heartless. Or evil. It simply makes us human. And truly connected to Nature. 

If you truly question the emotion involved in animal agriculture, then read the following posts (this is only a small sample but I don't want to overwhelm you). And come join me the next time I, or any farmer or rancher, work with our animals. You might be surprised how attached to them we actually are. 

The Cattle Call-What Animals Really Mean To Ranchers

The South Dakota Cowgirl-The Life of a Ranch Cow

Just A Ranch Wife- Death (Story of Storm Atlas and the Destruction)

                               Just A Ranch Wife-Character