Prairie Californian…Queen of Toxic Wheat?

I wanted to write today about a gal that lives in North Dakota, Jenny Dewey.  I’ve linked to her blog, Prairie Californian, a few times before but she wrote a post last week that really hit home for me.  She is a wonderful writer with one of those unique stories of how she ended up marrying a farmer and becoming connected to the land in a way that she never thought was possible.  Check out her love story on her blog, you won’t believe it!

I relate to her story because as someone who started on a farm, couldn’t wait to get away, and then eventually ended up not being able to get back fast enough, I see similarities in our story.  I also see a passion for agriculture that when you read her writing seems to come from a very sincere and heartfelt place.

Lately she has been coined the “Queen of Toxic Wheat” for her stance on the safety and use of round up.  A topic that I wrote about recently as well in response to the Toxic wheat article going around.  While the name may not seem fair, she has taken it in stride and with humor.  The post that she wrote most recently was entitled, “If you Chose to believe Bad Science, then you are the one with the disadvantage.”  This was written in response to just another article to add to the list of using bad science to claim that roundup and other pesticides are the reason for autism and other diseases.  This might sound like a harsh title, and I have to admit that I was a little taken a back at first, but then I started to read and the sincerity and common sense of her post came through crystal clear.

So today I just urge you to read her post, take a step back and a deep breath and realize that so many times we read stories that are scary, overwhelming with science and mumbo jumbo it’s almost hard to not believe them.  But take a moment to realize that as farmers I think many times we are more like our urban neighbors than they give us credit for.  Our offices may be out on the prairies and in the soil, but we are still trying to do what is right and good for the people we feed and the land that we cultivate.

Wishing you all a good Monday to start off your 2015!

Photo Friday

Goodbye 2014! It’s been a great year at the farm, but it’s always nice to start the year fresh and new.

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Wishing you and your families all the best this 2015! Cheers!

Hate Mail & Thank Yous

There was an article last week in the Statesman Journal entitled, “Farmers get hate mail, harassment for opposing GMO labels.”  There has been a lot of talk about this since.  I’ve gotten questions, people have apologized, I’ve even heard rumors that we got death threats.  So I wanted to clear up a few things.

First of all it is true that my husband and I both received hate mail.  I got blog comments and emails that were less than friendly in nature, really awful in some respects.  I was told that I was poisoning children, they hoped my farm failed, etc., etc.  So yes, the article was true in that fact.  But what I think the article should have been about, more than hate mail from people who don’t agree, was about the recognition that we all received from Oregon Farm Bureau for standing up even though we knew that getting called “sell-outs” was a possibility.

I honestly can say that I said yes to working with this campaign knowing that food is an emotional issue.  It’s one that people talk about everyday, they are enthralled with, frustrated with, trusting of, and at the same time skeptical of what our food system is today.  So I knew what I was walking in to and I half expected to get some type of backlash.

Here is what I didn’t expect.  I didn’t expect to get so many thank you’s from people I have never met.  I didn’t expect that every time I walked into a meeting with people whom I respect to have them shake my hand in appreciation for standing up.  I didn’t expect to have so many people come to talk to me, just to hear more about this issue.  I knew that it would open up conversations, but I never knew how far that would go.  And I truly didn’t expect to be recognized by Oregon Farm Bureau in receiving their annual Service to Agriculture for my courage during this campaign.  I am truly honored by that.

So while the article didn’t get any comments from us hate mail receivers (wish they would have at least tried to contact me) I wanted to give you my view from the inside looking out.  It isn’t always the whole story when you receive hateful messages, as one of my friends put it, “If nobody is angry with you, you likely haven’t accomplished anything.” (Thanks Josh!)