This is Your “Off” Season…right?

I hear this a lot when talking to people who aren’t farmers.  “Why are you so busy right now, it’s not harvest.”  or “I bet it is nice to not be so busy, it’s not like the crops are growing right now.”  And while yes, both of those things are true.  I more often talk to farmers this time of year about how truly busy we are right now.  While the crops might not be springing out of the ground with the colder winter weather, we take this time of year to learn more, walk fields and see what’s going on, catch up on industry news, and sometimes take time to play too.

This week alone I have a meeting or sometimes two almost everyday.  Today is my day off from meetings, so I’m getting payroll done, paying bills, checking on fields, getting a crew started working in one of our fields, organizing chemicals, picking up more for our next dry day, and looking through the endless pile of paperwork on my desk.

IMG_2732One of our fields that we are going to have to kill off because the slug damage is too severe.  We are working on trying to find a new crop to plant this spring so that this land isn’t a total loss this season.

It might not sound like much but trust me, it’s enough.  The rest of the week is filled with a GMO speaker, county farm bureau meeting, hazelnut grower meeting, state farm bureau committee meeting, local farmer meeting, ryegrass grower meeting, all with a week ending in a little more play at a chamber of commerce dinner for farmers.  I am not complaining though, I really do enjoy getting together with people from our industry.  There is always something that you can learn and take away that will be a benefit to your farm.  So while we aren’t out in the fields for 14 hours and working 7 days a week, this time of year can be just as busy; just a different kind of busy.

 

The Adventures of Hoot! LA & Disneyland

I’ve loved to travel my whole life.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that my parents always took us with them on adventures.  Whether it was loading up the camper to head to South Dakota, or jumping on a long flight to Australia to visit friends; I was so lucky to have the excitement of new places play a big role in my life growing up.  And while the travel bug has continued strongly into my adult self, including a trip around the world on a ship and living in Germany for a time, the opportunities to just “take off” have slowed a bit with the addition of our newest adventure, Hoot.

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So I was excited to say the least when my parents told us, “We’re going to Disneyland!!”  It would be his first experience flying, new state, new people, great weather, beautiful beaches, characters galore…this was going to be awesome!  And it truly was such a great trip.  My whole family got to go and it was such a fun time hanging out with everyone.

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We took a few days to check out some of my old stomping grounds…

IMG_2563Including where I may or may not have spent a good chunk of my college time…at the library (and obviously by library I mean the beach)!

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Our adventures included all the best stuff….birthday dinner for my dad, live music to dance to, meeting all the princesses (a highlight for my nieces!), six late night rides on Splash Mountain, happy hours, tons of laughs, cousin time, and overall good times with great family.

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They say you can’t choose your family, but I’m fairly certain I would have chosen these goofballs anyway!  Either way I think we are starting this little guys life off with some great adventures, ones he may not remember, but I know are only the beginning.

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IMG_2708IMG_2709IMG_2711**Please notice Kyle’s hat falling off in this photo, that was the second time it happened and by some miracle it just hit the back of the log and stayed in…wild!

So I have to give a lot of credit to my parents, who always packed us up to head down the road to see new places and meet new folks.  It’s not easy traveling with kiddos, but wow, what great memories you come home with!  Thanks mom & dad…what great things I know our family has in store!  Hoot can’t wait for the next adventure with Mimi & Papa!  Happy Friday everyone!

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!