ENOUGH Already

I've had it.

I'm fed up.

I am sick and tired.

And if you don't like it - find something else to eat. What am I talking about? The recent attacks on production agriculture. From Food, Inc., The Omnivore's Dilemma, and most recently the Time Magazine Article about "the high price of cheap food". After hearing Anne Burkholder's (a feedlot manager/owner from Cozad, NE) story I've reached my limit. I'm so tired of agriculture telling their story and then the mass media failing to not relay that same story. But twisting what they have been told into their version of the truth.

I love the fact that Bryan Walsh of Time Magazine spent hours interviewing people involved in production agriculture to only use one quote. And a quote that was misrepresented at that. I'd love for Bryan Walsh to come out to our farm. Let's talk. Let me take you on a tour of our facilities as well as my listeners farms. Talk to them. Sit down at their dinner table and have a real conversation about the farmer's struggles, their love of an industry, how technologies are improving to produce more with less, etc. (Should I continue to list how farmers are continuing to better the world?) But why don't you tell their real story? The story they love to tell. How about the story of how two percent of the worlds population feeds the remaining ninety-eight percent. Not to mention they do it on less ground, fighting things they have no control over - like weather. No one is perfect - nor do we expect them to be. People make mistakes - there is the occasional "bad seed". But, farmers are a master of their trade. Let them do their job to the best of their ability.

My favorite part of Walsh's article? He refers to Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser as investigative journalist who are "awakening a sleeping public to the uncomfortable realities of how we eat". I wouldn't call that awakening - I'd call that instilling fear into a society that is becoming further and further removed from the farm and has no grasp nor desire to learn the realities that go along with farming and how their food gets from the field to the fork.

I'll admit - I didn't want to see Food, Inc. I knew I'd get all out of sorts not only watching the movie but from the comments that would undoubtedly come from the peanut gallery. That's why I refused to drive to Chicago to see it. I figured if it came to Peoria - I'd go see it. It did. I kept up my end of the bargain. To my surprise I wasn't as "upset" as I thought I would be. I was more in shock of what I saw. I spent the majority of my time shaking my head in disbelief. I had to pry my eyes from the back of my head from several parts. I actually laughed out loud at a few things. It wasn't a heartless laugh... It was a more "wtf" kind of chuckle. Well, except when the chicken farmer pulled up to the farm and says "smells like money" when he gets a whiff of the stench of the manure. That statement brought back memories of my childhood - when I'd complain that we lived downwind from the farm "Meghan, That's the Smell of Money" my dad would say. (If only that was the case today).

My point of all of this? I love seeing Agriculture standing up for themselves. There is no rolling with the punches anymore. We're moving into a time where we have to be heard. Thank you to people like Anne Burkholder, Blake Hurst who wrote The Omnivore's Delusion, The National Cattleman's Beef Association, The American Farm Bureau Federation, all of those involved in all aspects of agriculture using tools like social media to educate the consumers.

Say what you have to say loudly.

Say it proudly.

Bayer, Day 2.

I'm sure you're thinking you're pretty blessed this morning... Two blogs from me in two days.. Yeah - you got that right. Today is Day to of the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum. Yesterday was a great day - we heard from Murray Wise (as we discussed yesterday), Aaron Hager and then a great Grower Panel which consisted of growers from all over - Kansas, Illinois, North Dakota, Iowa and Oklahoma. One thing that was consistent - no matter where growers are from... their concerns run solid throughout the nation.



That was the business at hand yesterday. Then there was the fun.... and OMG was it ever fun. Last year was awesome and I wasn't sure if they could top it.. This year was amazing. Great food, Great fellowship and an opportunity to socialize in a non professional setting. Now - I'm sure you're wondering how exactly that benefits those of us in the professional setting.. But I value it just as much as being able to attend these types of functions on the professional side. It allows all of us to be able to let our hair down.. To relax and get to know the people we work side by side with every day. People know I love my job - but I love learning and these are great ways to do that, too.



So let's talk about the Phil Vassar concert last night. It was amazing... Not over exaggerating either. He was a phenomenal piano player, amazing entertainer and he was down to earth, too. He sat on the edge of the stage, talked to all of us and I got to snuggle him during our time backstage. The picture below is of the three farm broadcasters lucky enough to end up backstage at the Phil Vassar concert....



I have to personally thank the folks at Rhea + Kaiser as well as Bayer for a phenomenal night. It hands down topped many of the events I've been too in recent years. Great speaker line-up, great entertainment and Day two has been just as interesting.


Our morning started off with Phil Needham - from Needham Ag Technologies, LLC. We saw photos of wheat fields that averaged yields of 200+bu/ acre. No.. SERIOUSLY. Pretty cool, eh? Needham highlighted the importance of Global Crop Management. Following Needham's session we broke out in the cereals and corn/soybean sessions. Dr. Bryan Young of Southern Illinois University talked about weed control and weed management (remember me telling you how much I've started to really enjoy learning about weeds and agronomy? oh yeah - I've become a dork.. I admit it). I love the fact that we're learning about the emerging technologies.. New Soybean traits, things that area already in the pipeline. We even got an insight of something really new.


Up next is Don Young of Ducks Unlimited... We're going to talk sustainability... We're trying to get him on the show today at Noon... So you'll have to tune in... It is definitely a project that we'll have to see if it's all it's "quacked" up to be. Sorry for the silly joke - but I couldn't help myself!




That's all for now...

After today - Commodities Classic starts in full gear and we'll let you know what exactly is going on in Grapevine, TX.