Why is it I can never remember my password when I attempt to log in and actually blog? Oh - that's right - it's because I rarely (even though I say I'm going to be better at it) sit down to write.
It's been one of those weeks. I love a plan. I love a man with the plan. I love to be the (wo)man with the plan. I have learned to roll with the punches, be flexible, relax (not really - but I try hard) ... I have learned to do all those things because I have to - not everything always goes the way I like it. This week has been a true testament to my patience. The weather has manipulated my plan. Today was the Woodford County Farm Bureau's Ag Extravaganza. It is one of the great things the Ag In The Classroom Program does for schools. All the fourth grade students from Woodford County converge on the Farm Bureau Park in Eureka to learn about the agriculture industry. They see animals, they learn about using GPS, they see equipment. All the things talked about by the Ag Literacy Coordinators are put in the visual form. It's a great event. It was started when I was in fourth grade (that was a really, really long time ago). We've attended and broadcast from there since I took this job three years ago. We missed today's. I was a little sad. There's always next year!
See - we were scheduled to kick off our BASF Planting Tour tomorrow in Mattoon for the Operation SAFE Fly-In. Because of the lingering and uncertain weather we decided to move it up a day to make sure we could kick off the Planting Tour in style. And that, we did. Today we were in a hanger - of the Coles County Airport learning about how agriculture aviators (crop dusters) test and calibrate their equipment. A string - some dye - and papers. I know I have probably over simplified it and made it sound antiquated - but it really isn't. After they collect the samples from the string and the pieces of paper - they run it through a lot of very technologically advanced equipment. If there are adjustments that need to be made to provide fore more efficient and effective release of product - they make the needed adjustments to the equipment and retest until they have it where they want it. Pretty cool? Crop dusters have been around since the 1920's and like everything else - technology has evolved to make them the most productive the possibly can.
It's all part of the growing process. Mike loved the planes. I loved the fact that we were able to do a remote outside and it wasn't raining and the weather was gorgeous. I know I'm not the only person hoping that this looming weather system misses us and our fields can continue to dry out. Surely - if it does - we'll start to see planters rolling in Central Illinois.
We're excited to team up with BASF this Spring for our 2009 Planting Tour. They're great people to work with and we're all waiting with anticipation to start our travels across Central Illinois.
Some other big news for the Ag Department (oh, that's me)... As of Monday we've expanded our commitment to the agriculture industry in Central Illinois. We launched our Early Mornings in Central Illinois Agriculture Program. Catch us 5:30 to 6:00 on Classic Country 1290 WIRL. It's been an adventure already this week... But it is well worth it.
To find out where we're headed next - visit http://ag.1290wirl.com or http://ag.1470wmbd.com There's a link to the BASF Planting Tour.
As always - you can follow us on Twitter, too...
We'll get it updated as weather permits ;-)....
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