Category: Agvocacy

Meeting Season

As farmers we work in seasons…and I don’t usually mean the traditional seasons that we all work around.  I mean, harvest season, fertilizer season, rainy season, the all too familiar “it’s way too hot/cold season”…and then there is “meeting season.”

I tell people often that as farmers we rarely slow down.  Yes while harvest might be over, and the 14 hr days seven days a week aren’t our hours for the whole year, our work never seems to end it just changes.  This week for me is no different, this week traditionally marks the start of my meeting season.  Which means that I go to meetings of all kinds…so here is just a taste of the week I have coming up, not much tractor time for me!

  • Yesterday I got to sit in front of a computer for an online meeting to satisfy my pesticide licensing requirements. image1
  • Today I am a speaker talking to those who aren’t in the farming business.  I’ll be speaking at the Oregon Leadership Summit about the future of farming.
  • Tonight is my EMT meeting for our volunteer fire department.
  • Tomorrow I get to learn at a leadership conference of how to be a better farmer and employer.  untitled
  • Wednesday and Thursday I get to participate in the House of Delegates to set policy for our state farm bureau.
  • Not to mention an evening meeting for the Clover Commission Wednesday evening.
  • Friday I get to do some of the fun stuff like be on TV to help people  ear about our great grass seed industry that we have here in Oregon.  Tune in to AM Northwest on Friday December 9th to see me and Jesse Rue!
  • Then next week comes Oregon Seed Growers League Monday and Tuesday….I’m not kidding here folks, it never ends!

So sometimes…I look like this as a farmer, and sometimes I look not too farmer-ish.

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I have to say though that these are great opportunities for us to all learn more about our industry.  Whether it be a presentation on the weather, new crop protection tools, or markets around the world, it all plays into what a farmer plans for and works towards in the year to come.  It’s also very fun to get to see those folks who you don’t run into very often out in a field.  In the end I’m just a farmer, but the hats I wear may vary greatly from season to season, but it’s all for our farm for our land and our legacy!

Thank You All Again!

Receiving to AgLink award Friday evening was truly incredible!  Thank you again for all those who supported me, and continue to cheer me on!  It’s appreciated more than you will ever know.

Here is the video that was presented along with the award on Friday night.  It turned out great thanks to some big efforts from a lot of folks!  Enjoy!

Also for those of you who could not attend, here is my thank you speech…I know that it goes without saying for many people, but it truly takes a village to accomplish what we have in our industry, and the work isn’t over yet!

I started my blog nuttygrass.com 5 years ago. It was never meant to go far, it was truly meant to share good farming stories that I told all my friends.  Mostly funny things like what I broke around the farm that day, or about how I regularly dunk my head in hydraulic oil, because if you don’t know me, I’m a huge klutz! 

But those stories have transformed into a glimpse into my life as a farmer, one story at a time, and that’s vitally important for our industry in an environment where people don’t understand what we do or why we do it.

My stories put a face on farming and provide an opportunity for consumers to feel like they know me and can ask the hard questions. The stories on my blog have evolved into conversations and moments of true honesty with urban neighbors about the very real demands of being a farmer and how we are at times unsuccessful. It presents an honest dialogue where people get to hear that sometimes we spray pesticides, and here’s why.

It’s transparency at a level that I believe in many ways is demanded by anyone who happens to have a computer, a laptop or smartphone because that transparency leads to trust. It is our responsibility to educate the consumer, because no one else will do it for us – no one else can tell our story but us. If we don’t tell our story, those who try to do it for us, they’ll get it wrong.

We are under a microscope in many ways and usually the burden of proof is on us. Not just to tell them why, but to beat them to the punch and get our voice out there. While we all sit here tonight supporting a cause such as adopt a farmer, I know I’m preaching to most of the choir here. But I also believe that our ability and willingness to engage is always changing.

They are hungry for our stories, and we as farmers, as only 2% of the population, should answer back. Which may mean something as small as sharing a blog post on Facebook, or something more challenging like having a real conversation at the grocery store about the safe food that we grow, or speaking up to your representative about policy issues that impact our way of life.  Join a commission, participate in your industry!

However you do it, have your voice heard.

Truly thank you to everyone in this room for your involvement in promoting our industry, including tonight’s other honoree Sharon Livingston. 

Thank you to my husband Matt, my parents, my whole family, my great friends, all who have supported me and will continue to work as a team with me to connect agriculture across the rural and urban divide, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for this recognition!

Ag Connection Award 2016

Tonight I have the great honor of being presented the Oregon AgLink Ag Connection Award for 2016!  
I will be presented the award at a fundraiser dinner auction called Demin & Diamonds. Oregon AgLink is an organization that supports amazing programs including Adopt a Farmer, Farmer Safety Programs, and crop ID signs that you see all over the state. 

I can’t even begin to tell you how much this award means to me. If you look at the list of past recipients of this award and the Agrigulturalist of the Year award, names show up on the list like Dale Buck, Paulette Pyle, Marie Bowers Stagg, Doug Hoffman, Barb Iverson, Barry Bushue…I could go on and on! These people have created a fabric of hard work and determination that has set the stage for all of us farmers to start to bridge the gap between rural and urban folks.  And they did it not because they had to, but because they showed up to answer a call to stand up for agriculture. It’s one of the reasons this event is so exciting, it brings together people who want to work hard not just on their own farm and ranch, but dedicate their time to fighting for our industry. 

So humbly I thank you all for allowing me to be a voice of agriculture on this blog. Thank you for the support and patience!  I hope to see many of you this evening to support these amazing efforts by so many!!