You Are What You Eat

Melissa Sandfort

shreddedwheatAunt Jeanette writes this week …

You’ve heard that expression, haven’t you? Well, if it holds true, our three sons grew up to be hay bales, augers and tractor tires!

Ha! I bet you thought you were eating plain cereal, right? Wrong. Those were actually hay bales you were eating. And instead of the regular spaghetti noodles, we had augers to go with that yummy spaghetti sauce for lunch. The next morning’s breakfast may have consisted partly of tractor tires.

These are only some of the funnier and more creative foods our three young sons ate while they were growing up. You’d never guess they grew up on a farm, would you? Between the three of them, believe me, we never lacked for entertainment, humor or excitement! They are all grown up now with homes or families of their own. And, oh, how I miss those mealtimes that brought out their creativity. Now I can only imagine what our grandchildren are eating!

The next time you eat Shredded Wheat, rotini, French Twirl donuts, or any other food, let your ‘inner farmer’ out. You will see (and eat) things you never imagined!

I think I will make an auger salad for lunch – and be reminded of those happy mealtimes…

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Upcoming AgBiz of Kansas City Meeting

Talia Goes

the abckc logo (2)The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City will hold a July meeting on the 18th from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. The meeting will feature Brian Klippenstein, Protect the Harvest. Protect The Harvest was created to fight back and defend American families, farmers, hunters and animal owners from the growing threat posed by the radical animal rights movement. Brian will outline their mission to inform, protect, and respond regarding animal rights issues in agriculture.

The luncheon welcomes council members, guests, and those serving Kansas City’s agricultural industry this summer. Introducing Mr. Klippenstein will be Angie Stanland of the Cerner Corporation to discuss the advantages of choosing KC as a place to live and work.

To register click here.

Agribusiness, Events

Connecting Farmers, Advisors and Precision Data

Talia Goes

mycentralagFarmers looking to better leverage field data and expertise from their local advisor partners now have access to a new tool. Newly launched MyAgCentral is designed to bridge the gap between farmers and their trusted local advisors, allowing both to more easily exchange data and develop plans using a single online dashboard. The dashboard lets the farmer pull data from different sources so they can see their whole operation using one login and one tool.

The cloud-based system allows both the farmer and advisors to securely access and share field data, reports, recommendations, plans, maps, etc from any location using any web-enabled device. It is also the first independent system developed to specifically enhance the relationships between farmers, agri-retailers and local advisors.

MyAgCentral is a three-tiered system providing an increasing number of tools for ag retailers and their grower clients.
MyAgCentral ADVISE enhances and simplifies the delivery of precision ag services from the ag retailer to the farmer, providing information in a simple online dashboard.
MyAgCentral EXCHANGE connects ag retailers, farmers and precision farming technologies, allowing the farmer and his trusted partner to create a team of advisors, all with access to the information they need to help the grower make better decisions.
MyAgCentral PRODUCE provides enhanced monitoring and control of a farm operation, including irrigation, grain monitoring, telematics and GPS hardware. Growers have access to a virtual farm view with real time monitoring of equipment and fields as well as local markets, weather and news.

Agribusiness, Internet, Precision Agriculture

House Republican Talks Farm Bill & Budget

Cindy Zimmerman

hartzler-farmRep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) is a member of both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Committee on the Budget, plus she’s a farmer, so her perspective on what’s happening right now to try and get a farm bill passed is important to hear. You may recall that we spoke with her just about one month ago, before the bill was defeated by the full House.

By late Wednesday, Hartzler said different options were still being considered. “I don’t know all of the options, but one certainly would be to go back and leave (the bill) as it came out of committee” that is, without the final controversial food stamp amendment that was the final straw for many Democrats.

As a lifelong Missouri farmer, Hartzler remains frustrated by the inability of the House to pass a farm bill and is willing to try splitting the bill to get it done. “I think there probably is some merit in trying to split the bill to get the votes of the almost 70 Republicans that voted no,” she said. “So, let’s try it.” The House is now expected to do just that sometime today, according to news reports out this morning.

The House has been focused this week on completing the spending bill for energy and water programs, which is requiring some difficult cuts. “Our goal is to balance the federal budget within ten years,” she said. “That means we have to be smarter in how we spend our dollars.”

Vicky covers lots more in this interview: Interview with Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

Audio, Farm Bill

Senators Question Smithfield Deal

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday took a look at the proposed sale of Smithfield Foods to Shuanghui International, which would be the largest acquisition of an American company by a Chinese company in history.

smithfield-stabenowCommittee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says the sale raises many questions about issues such as food safety, protection of intellectual property, and increased foreign ownership of the U.S. food supply. “Despite the strength of America’s pork sector, Smithfield has been struggling to make a profit — and yet Shuanghui is offering to pay a 30 percent premium for the company,” said Stabenow in her opening remarks. “That, to me, raises questions about the economic motivations of the purchase.”

Listen to Stabenow here: Senator Debbie Stabenow, opening remarks

smithfield-popeSmithfield Foods President and CEO C. Larry Pope was first to testify at the hearing, attempting to ease senators’ concerns about the pending purchase by noting that reaction from the agriculture industry has been very positive. “The Michigan, Indiana and North Carolina pork producers associations, the North American Meat Association, industry leaders, and numerous individual producers have expressed support for this transaction,” said Pope in his testimony. “Growth is also very good news for Smithfield’s employees and communities. We have a saying: “It will be the same old Smithfield, only better.””

Smithfield CEO Larry Pope testimony
Agribusiness, Audio, Meat, Pork

Max Armstrong is Tractor Boy

Cindy Zimmerman

Veteran farm broadcaster and vintage tractor lover Max Armstrong has come out with a new music video. Yeah – you read that right. It’s called “Tractor Boy” and Max is ready to show those Peterson Boys just how it’s done.

Our friend Marilyn Cummins with Martinez Creative Group sent us the link just now. Max produced the video with MCG (aka Tractor Girl Records) which is about to help him launch a new smartphone/iPad app – Max Armstrong’s Tractor App, featuring vintage tractors. We’ll let you know when it’s available for download – meanwhile, check out Tractor Boy and share with your friends!

Media, Tractor, Video

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with NFU President

Cindy Zimmerman

New on Agri-Pulse this week:

open-micRoger Johnson is president of the National Farmers Union. and a past Commissioner of Agriculture in North Dakota. NFU, as an organization, has shown an affinity toward small farmers and democratic party views, however In this year’s farm and immigration debates, they are in step with a broad coalition of farm and labor organizations who want passage of bills that can be put into law. Johnson is frustrated with the U.S. House of Representatives and their inability to compromise on issues like the farm bill and discusses why passage is stalled in the House.

Listen to the Agri-Pulse Open Mic interview with Roger Johnson here.

Agri-Pulse

Interested in Online Ag News Programs?

Talia Goes

Before we get to our new ZimmPoll let’s look at the results of our latest one which asked the question, “What is the greatest threat to our freedom to farm”. Our poll results suggest that environmental and anti-agriculture groups are the greatest threat to our freedom to farm at this time.

Our poll results: Twenty percent say All of the Above, eighteen percent say Groups Like HSUS as well as Environmental Wackos, fifteen percent say Climate Change, eleven percent said EPA as well as Congress, and two percent said Labor Force, Supreme Court, No Threats and Other. Results show that there is more than one major threat to our freedom to farm. Now the question is: which one will be the first to take that freedom away?

Untitled

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you watch or want to watch live or recorded ag news television programs online?” Many things are being done via online resources due to technological advances and improvements. Daily lives are becoming so busy that there doesn’t leave much time to sit down to watch television or read the newspaper. People resort to going “online” for news resources and TV episodes using smart phones and tablets while they are on the “run”. Does this sound like you? Let us know.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

ZimmPoll

Farm Bill Split Could Happen

Cindy Zimmerman

capitolMomentum seems to be building for a vote in the House on a farm only farm bill – but only if the votes are there. During a town hall meeting in Oklahoma over the July 4th recess, House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas indicated that he expected leadership to split the bill but he would rather not see that happen.

“If we split it, I gotta have 218 Republicans vote for it,” said Lucas. “I’m going to vote for it … I don’t know whether they’ll come with me or not.”

Lucas is concerned about what will happen in conference even if they do manage to get a farm-only bill passed in the House. “The Senate has passed a combination bill,” he said. “What will happen is they will agree to go to conference with me on the farm side and they’ll refuse to ever go to conference on food stamps.” That, he explains, would mean no savings in the food assistance programs at all.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa thinks the House is desperate. “They may want to do anything to get this out of their bailiwick and into conference so they can’t be accused of ineptness,” he said. “I see is from a standpoint of panic on the House leadership.”

While there seems to be at least some support in Congress for splitting the farm bill, there is virtually no support among groups that represent farmers and ranchers in the country. “We’re adamantly opposed to that approach,” says Mary Kay Thatcher with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “In fact, we spearheaded a letter with the Farmers’ Union last week where 532 agriculture, crop insurance, conservation, research groups said, ‘Very bad idea.'”

I edited a piece of audio out of Lucas’ town hall meeting here: Rep. Frank Lucas 7-1-13

AFBF, Audio, Farm Bill

Farmers Need Conservation & Research

Chuck Zimmerman

John HardinHow important is conservation to farmers? John Hardin, Indiana grain and hog farmer, says that it is the last thing to cut in the farm bill and that coupled with research, they are the most government functions to help farmers! That’s saying a lot. Here’s a farmer who has real bottom line experience in how important being a good steward of the land is.

John made some opening remarks at a pre-CTIC Conservation in Action Tour seminar titled, “New Land Management Strategies to Meet 21st Century Challenges.” This session was conducted by Solutions From the Land and I’ll have more about this initiative soon. When it comes to results from the Indian Creek Watershed Project, which was the main focus of the session, John says it appears that the project has been very successful and he’s really glad that this information is being shared. He says, “I thought I heard an awful lot of wisdom today about how to be effective and bringing farmers together in ways that not only benefit them on their farms but benefit those that are downstream from them as well.” I think you’ll enjoy his perspective on the ROI to farmers

You can listen to my interview with John here: Interview with John Hardin

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming