AgWired

This week Aunt Jeanette writes:

We played that game with our three sons whenever we were “on the road.” They became pretty good at it and many times could stump their dad and me.

When I drove in my driveway one evening after working at our elevator (another story, another time) and got out of my pickup, I looked down and quickly took this picture. It reminded me of that I Spy game we played in our car many years ago. Yes, there were disagreements and accusations of cheating, (“That’s not fair! We passed that 10 miles ago!”) but also much laughter, thinking and interaction.

When I meet cars on the road now, nine times out of ten, the kids and/or parents are hooked up to electronic devices and are in their own little world. (This is the point in the story that you can call me old-fashioned. That’s okay. I’m used to it. But nobody will ever convince me that any form of technology will take the place of good old face-to-face, heart-to-heart verbal conversation between people.) Don’t get me wrong – technology has its place. I type these stories on my laptop, email them to Melissa, take pictures with my phone, make books on my computer for our grandkids, etc. Plus we incorporate many forms of technology in our farming operation. However, there is also a lot to be learned by playing games and talking with your kids – yep, we even learned from the disagreements and arguments.

By the way, did you spy the small butterfly hiding on my flowers?

Now, I spy with my tired little eye, something on my living room wall telling me tomorrow morning will be here before I am ready for it!

Until we walk again …

A shutdown of the U.S. government has also meant a shutdown of some vital services provided by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Not the least of the USDA programs coming to a halt are the ones dealing with soybeans and conservation issues, and that is mostly due to the fact that when the government shut down on Oct. 1, the extension of the farm bill did as well.

The fact that the 2008 Farm Bill extension expired and the new farm bill still is to even make it to committee, resulting in the stopping of important conservation measures, worries farmers like American Soybean Association President Danny Murphy, a soybean, corn and wheat farmer from Canton, Miss.

“There’ll be no more CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) sign-up, no Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) money, no conservation payment or activities of any kind,” he cites as just some of the concerns of farmers. Plus, there will be the expiration of market development funds, something he says are particularly important to soybean farmers.

“Soybeans are the nation’s most valuable agricultural export. Our overseas market development arms, the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), work with foreign buyers and carry out trade servicing and demand building activities,” Murphy says.

He concludes saying that the shortsightedness of Congress in failing to pass a new farm bill is more than just a political embarrassment; it will cost the industry global market share almost immediately.

“It’s time for our elected officials to remember who they represent and get to work passing a farm bill that works for American farmers.”