My Kids, Agriculture and Ag Tourism

Did you know that cows can eat around 40 pounds of food each day?  Can you believe that as pigs grow, they can eat up to 9 pounds of feed per day?  Isn’t it amazing that horses drink 10-12 gallons of fresh water every day!  If I didn’t know any better I would think we were talking about my three boys, not three animals.  These facts are directly from the Illinois Ag in the Classroom 2011-2012 School Calendar.  When my two college age boys were home for a month this winter break, I felt as though I was feeding a farm full of growing animals.  My grocery bills suddenly tripled each week and my recycling was spilling over the top of the bins.  Yes, it seemed as though I was buying 40 pounds of food and 10 gallons of milk, juice and other refreshments each week.  The similarities struck me as fascinating so back to the calendar I went looking for other interesting facts I might relate to.

Horses have sharp ears, keen eyes and a good sense of smell (wow, my boys said the same thing about me during their time home), chickens make sounds with actual meaning (hmm, I’m sensing a pattern here) and pigs are very smart (no comment).  I could go on, but enough said.

During the many experiences we have with Ag Literacy Program in Cook County, both adults and children often find the time with the animals the most precious.  I guess the parallels continue in that I’d have to say the most precious time I spend has to be with my children.  Yes, the bills go up and the stress levels go up, but it is worth it in the end.  As you read the Ag Adventures page this month, think about taking your children to see some of the animals around Cook County.  They’ll love visiting the Children’s Farm in Palos Park and interacting with all of their animals or stepping back to the 1880’s by visiting Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg and learning how the animals were used back then.

They may fight in the car on the way there, beg for snacks upon arrival and whine to go home because they’re tired, but I guarantee they’ll remember it for a long time. There are many opportunities to introduce your children to the sounds, smells and sights of Ag right here in our county.  So next time you sit down for some pizza, remember this fun fact: Americans (not just growing boys) eat about 350 slices of pizza per second, or almost 3 billion pizzas per year.  Keep up the good work, dairy cows!

Tags: ag in the classroom, ag literacy, cook county, family, Illinois Ag, teachers

Downwind

John Gierach is an American author. He is not in the mega-block buster thriller, mystery writer or fiction novelist category. In fact, his genre has what can be considered a fairly small market…fly fishing. However, he is probably the best known fly-fishing writer of today’s era. You can gain a sense of his books simply by reading a few of the titles…Trout Bum; Sex, Death and Fly Fishing; Dances with Trout; and Standing in a River Waving a Stick.

The books consists of essays that focus on fishing experiences, locations, unique conditions, people, humor, and unusual thoughts of random or connected tangents. His audience, while a comparatively small target marketing group, is quite passionate about the craft and has helped Mr. Gierach make a living doing what he loves doing, fly-fishing. So many people wish they could make a living doing what they love instead of what they have to do.

I’ve been reading, essay by essay, Gierach’s book entitled “No Shortage of Good Days”. The book highlights the fact that the most important part of life is not catching the biggest or the most fish…it is the experience, the process, the moments spent fly-fishing.

I’ve had No Shortage of Good Days in my life, thanks very much to the world of farming. Growing up on a farm gave me a myriad of wonderful experiences everyday…

I saw incredible sunrises, sunsets, stars, moon and the Milky Way.

I experienced the feel of morning dew in waist high soybeans.

I saw birth, life, death and birth again.

I smelled hay, manure, cattle, ground feed, moldy corn, fresh onions, and warm breezes from the South.

I tasted red clover flowers, fresh honey, sweet grass, “real” vine-ripened tomatoes, milk fresh from the cow and piles of food that came from sweat my family hand-crafted with love from my mother.

I played…explored…experienced.

I sweat…learned values…earned/lost money.

I felt the warmth of a campfire, the vulnerability of a new kitten, with its eyes still closed and the soft wetness of a new puppy’s nose.

My spouse and kids apply to the No Shortage of Good Days experience as well. Wonderful challenges “dot” our everyday and I only wish I could remember all the Good Days, they are so plentiful.

And I’m “afraid” I have to add my job with the Cook County Farm Bureau to the list of No Shortage of Good Days. Everyday here at your FB office, I am provided with new experiences, smiles, laughs, challenges, and opportunities…members ask the darnest things! I have the chance everyday to work with wonderful, funny, intelligent, dedicated farmers, members, staff, and affiliated company personnel. I am surrounded daily with enthusiasm, creativity, innovation, and positivity. I get to “see” the extra phone call, the extra minute, the extra effort people are making to ensure that agriculture remains a part of America.

No, I do not have a shortage of good days when I’m fishing or in daily life and I hope you are the same.

***

I collect an assortment of items that I find interesting, thought provoking, or humorous which I want to share with the world …

PETA has requested from IDOT memorial signs marking the deaths of cattle killed in Illinois vehicle accidents.

A Federal rule took effect January 3rd prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held devices while driving. This applies to farmers with a DOT number or if you should have a number.

Nutrition fact panels under new Federal rules are required now for packages of single ingredient meat cuts, ground meat and poultry.

Food Trends in 2012. Here are some food trends in the coming year, according to Time magazine. 1.) Bahn mi – a Vietnamese sandwich with meat, veggies and hot sauce. 2.) Naples-style pizza, Dominos’s Pizza is testing “artisanal” pizzas nationally. 3.) Yuzu – a Japanese citrus fruit that’s used like lemon. 4.) Non-instant ramen noodles – a healthier alternative. And 5.) Dim Sum restaurants – it’s kind of like a Brazilian restaurant except with lots of Chinese food served instead.

Tags: animal care, fishing, Food, posititive mental attitude, self help, vehicles

Manifolds, Manolos and Manure

As the New Year is slowly losing its charm and our New Year’s resolve is beginning to or has faded I want to take a minute to look at the more amusing New Year’s resolutions.

This year, I will … Stop licking frozen flag poles (that really should go without saying). Spend less than two thousand bucks on coffee at (you finish the sentence). Claim all my pets as dependents on my taxes (Dear tax preparer …). Avoid texting while simultaneously eating junk food, applying makeup and driving with a frosted windshield. Not tell potential employers that I have a problem with their authority while still in the interview (save that one for the post-interview thank you note). And last but certainly not to be forgotten stop eating meat.

What? Wait a minute. How’d that last one get in there? As a former co-worker of mine likes to say, “No meat, no meal.”

In perennial fashion, Terry Mason now the chief medical officer for the Cook County Health and Hospital System has kicked off January with a plea for county residents to go meatless for 30-days. Please do not sign me up.

Mason contends that by avoiding meat people can lose weight, reduce their cholesterol and improve their overall health. However, I feel that I can still manage to eat an unhealthy, meat-free diet. Last time I checked the Twix bar hidden in my desk drawer and the Twinkees stole away in my glove box don’t contain any pesky meat nor does my Ho-Ho’s, Cheetos, Kit Kats or triple shot, extra-large, extra foam with whip espresso.

Unlike Mason I’m not advocating either way. Food is a personal and individual choice. I happen to love meat and potatoes but I’m also fortunate enough to have great friends who prefer a lighter, more veggie fare.

What I am advocating for is that we stop demonizing animal agriculture. Each year, according to the Illinois Livestock Development Group the Illinois livestock industry generates $3.4 billion in economic activity; $334 million in state tax revenue; and 45,000 good paying jobs. And despite a slightly improved economic outlook, Illinois is still in desperate need of business and job growth.

A strong livestock industry is the strongest domestic market for corn. Each year, Illinois livestock eat 118 million bushels of corn and 31 million bushels of soybean meal. Despite that amount there is still more than enough corn left over for ethanol, exports and domestic consumption.

In all seriousness, I resolve to remember the contributions of the Illinois livestock industry, to eat a balanced diet and to complete each meal with dessert (times two). Oh yah, and lay of the coffee …

Tags: Animals, Fast Food, Food, Health, Meat, Public Health, Vegetarian

Ag Literacy

“Thank you for teaching us about AGRICULTURE!”
byDiane Merrion

As we move into a new year, we continue to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of our Ag in the Classroom Program.  It’s hard to believe that it all started back in 1986 and is still growing strong after all these years.  Certainly the world was a different place back then with gas priced at .89/gallon, the average price of a new car being $9,255.00, the Dow closing the year at 1895 and a Tandy 600 portable computer costing $1,599.00.  We were watching(not  TiVo’g) Cheers, Family Ties and Hill Street Blues on television(without HD) and listening to Whitney’s “The Greatest Love of All” or Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” on the radio (not our IPods).

Yes, the world has certainly changed over the years, but students are still excited to learn about agriculture and can’t wait for the Ag Presenter to come to their classrooms.  We don’t bring anything high tech or fancy, just corn, wheat, oats and soybeans right from the field to see and touch.  They get to see that soybeans turn into food (that they probably ate that day), clothing, biodiesel fuel, medicines and crayons. They find out that there are way more types of corn other than sweet corn and see that paper, syrup, fuels and even fireworks are made from corn.   Here’s what some of the students had to say this year in letters they wrote to us following the visit from our presenters:

“I am so happy you visited our class. We learned so many new things that we didn’t know before. I learned that an acre was a space of land the size of a football field. I don’t think I will ever forget agriculture because it is so interesting.”

“I did not know we were #3 in soybean production. I also did not know soybeans and corn were used for so many things.”

“I had no idea that wheat, corn and soy played such a big part in our lives. I had no idea plastic utensils could be made from vegetables. How cool that the packing peanuts made from corn dissolved in the water.”

“Thank you for visiting our class and teaching us about agriculture and agribusiness. I didn’t know basically anything you told us.”

“I think that agriculture is very, very, very cool. In my mind you did wonderful.  I wish the program was longer because it was fun.”

“Thank you for all you taught me on Agriculture. I used to think farming was mostly done in rural areas, but now I see that agriculture and agribusiness is all around me.”

“Agriculture is so amazing and interesting! I can’t get over how many different things are related to agriculture.”

“It was very interesting to see what different crops could be made into like the soybeans into that soft shirt.”

“Now we know how to eat healthy.”

Much has changed in the last 25 years, but not the intellect, curiosity and honesty of children.  They are eager to learn new things and they find a program such as ours as interesting today as it was over two decades ago.  Just so we remember that these are 4^th grade students, I’ll end with one last quote, “Next time when you come, can you bring me that Hershey’s?” (At least he remembered that yes indeed, soybeans are a key ingredient in chocolate!)

Downwind

“Downwind”

 Spread across my desk are papers, files, sticky notes, pink “important messages” and other “tools” of this craft know as “being a manager”. My desk serves as a giant “to do” list…if I hide these materials by filing them, they may never see light again, I’m afraid. I “hear” that laptops, pda’s notebooks, and other electronics will lead to a paperless system…riiiggghhhttt. As I allow my eyes to drift across my “to do” list that some people call a desk, it strikes me that the biggest piles of stuff seem to related to what government is doing or going to do to our members.

 There is a word used by bureaucrats to describe this “doing” to people…the word is “Regulation”. Bureaucrats like that word. Bureaucrats enjoy that word. Bureaucrats need that word…Regualtion is the backbone of government growth and involvement.

 Here are 3 quick examples I see from my vantage point from this old, black chair that I am parked in…

• There is a note from a member who runs a Day Care saying, in part… “By government rule, I can no longer give my children whole milk over a certain age. What a foolish way to try to prevent obesity. Who thinks up this stupidity?” The CCFB Board of Directors is concerned about the connecting of goodness of milk with childhood obesity and is communicating these concerns to the FDA.
• There is a stack of 35 papers (yes, I just counted) of material regarding the United States Government of Labor’s published notice to change the regulations that address agricultural labor for individuals under age 18 makes it much more difficult for nonfamily members to work on a farm.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Cook County Farm Bureau sent a letter to the Department expressing our concern that their rule will:

Reduce opportunities for young people to work when we have already seen massive unemployment and lack of job access in recent years.

Dismiss the opportunities for youth to learn the work values that farm labor can teach.

Harm farms who depend on these employees.

What is safe for their kids place government, instead of parents, in the role of deciding.

• There is a letter (and two inches worth of related file materials) from a member concerning the Cook     County Department of Revenue’s General Business License and the layers of regulations that connect that little $40.00 fee…the letter reads in part, “When governmental bodies continue to pass ordinances that increase fees, mandate that one needs a license for a business that was already in existence for over 20 years, before the law passed, and will not take responsibility for its mistakes, some thing must be done!” We have worked with Cook County Department of Revenue and Department of Planning and Zoning to clarify that need for the General Business License and are seeking meetings with the Dept. of Revenue and Dept. of Planning and Zoning regarding applicability to agriculture.

 Most farmers are an independent type of animal. They are not big on being told what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to do it and the “who” saying it better know what he/she is talking about. They enjoy the farm life for that reason. Their success or failure is in their hands…how hard they work, what marketing strategy they choose, which livestock/crops/techniques they choose to follow, and who they decide to do business with can make or break them. Farming is and remains an independent business in which the farmer drives the ship.

 I’ve been doing this job for nearly 25 years…working with and for farmers as we cooperate in efforts to make agriculture the greatest industry in the world. Throughout my time, farmers have confided in me that regulations are the biggest obstacles in life. You can imagine that someone with the interest in individual management does not fully appreciate constant intrusion and handcuffing of productivity no mater how benevolent the government.

 The most frustrating part of this is that the ‘regulators’ are usually faceless people from afar who devise new rules, guidelines, or fees. Many times, they do not have the practical background or experience in farming but make decisions affecting people’s livelihood based on a study, a news report, or a concept hatched at a desk 1,000 miles away.

 Obviously, all regulation is not bad. However:

 Regulation made to “skip” the process of lawmaking is not American.

 Regulation made to “increase fees (taxes)” without representation is not American.

 Regulation to “squash” business success in favor to bureaucratic growth is not American.

 We can do better.

Tags: agriculture, child labor, cook county general business license, Farm, farm labor law, Food, government regulation

Manifolds, Manolos and Manure

Several years ago I adopted a massive mean looking Maine Coon cat from my local animal control.  Ignoring his apparent hatred for life insurance salesmen, carpenters and painters he’s actually quite a peach complete with buck-teeth.

Since the quiet arrival of my blue-eyed daughter he’s gone from king of the castle and surveyor of his kitty underlings to the occasional pillow, tea partner and “pony-ride” provider.  Like her kitty ‘Monday’ he will tolerate just about anything a two-and-a-half year old can dole out.

Each morning before her perpetually late parents manage to creep from bed, my blue-eyed daughter opens her door and calls for her kitty.  While we don’t know exactly what goes on, we’ve founded them curled up asleep, ‘dining’ on muffins prepared in her kitchen and scavenging through her sock drawer.  At the end of last year, my little blue-eyed girl overslept and ‘Xanadau’ sat outside her door just willing it to open.

To say that my family and I are animal lovers might be an understatement.  But I’m also married to a dairy farmer.  And as animal extremists would like us to believe, this seems like an oxymoron- a dairy farmer and animal lover together, in the same house.  While I would never consider my husband an “animal lover” per say, he’s the first one to laugh as my black cat vaults across the living room and into the sliding glass door because a lightening bug happens to be dancing just outside out of his reach.  Even though he’s not an animal lover, he is committed to providing the best possible care for his animals.

Neither of us tolerate animal care that is less than professional and appropriate.  And neither of us tolerate groups and organizations claiming that they’re committed to needy animals when in reality less than half of one percent of their $126 million budget actually goes to shelters.  Yes, I said, less than half of one percent of their $126 million budget.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a mis-named D.C.-based lobbyist organization dedicated to ending animal agriculture.  As the leaders on California’s Proposition 2, HSUS has successfully moved egg production on the West Coast into Mexico, a county with less than lax animal care and food safety laws.

Despite the words “humane society” in its name, HSUS isn’t affiliated with any community-based humane society or pet shelters.  HSUS does not provide hands-on animal care despite their flashy television ads asking you to give just $19 a month to save a pet in need.  If you want to help pets in need, donate to your local animal shelter.  To find local pet shelters in your area visit www.humaneforpets.com, which features a database of local pet shelters.

The Humane Shelter Pets group and website was launched in November to raise awareness of the need for donations to local pet shelters.  Like many organizations and families, pet shelters face financial hardship.  Their hardship has been magnified given the number of people who mistakenly give to HSUS thinking it’s affiliated with animal shelters.

While we’ve proven that animal lovers and dairy farmers can co-exist and that blue-eyed girls can melt the meanest of cat hearts, it’s important to remember that for every well-loved pet there’s many more who are in need of a home- visit www.humaneforpets.com to find an animal shelter near you.

Tags: Animals, Farm, Food, Local Food, Public Policy

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