AgWired

I live in the Midwest, which means I’m accustomed to seeing corn and soybean fields that stretch for miles. About 10 years ago I went on a tour to Canada and when we were in the test plots, I was “ooing and awing” over canola while other attendees were thrilled to see field corn. Once you get outside your own state’s borders, it’s amazing what the world of agriculture has to offer.

Over the years, I’ve learned about grape harvesters, took a cotton tour in Mississippi (even flew in a crop duster!), seen a pecan grove, visited a strawberry farm (they should’ve weighed us before and after because I swear I ate 10 pounds of strawberries!) and even rode on a tomato harvester. Needless to say, when I got off that thing, I wished I hadn’t worn a light colored shirt.

But the way we grow and harvest our food in this country is a thing of beauty. The technology behind it all … like the optic “eye” that detects a tomato’s color and kicks the green ones back off into the field as quality control; or the GPS equipment that allows growers to vary the rate at which they apply pesticides and nitrogen to a corn field. It’s amazing.

My uncle just had the opportunity to travel to Florida with BASF as a Nebraska representative where he went to A. Duda Farms. The tour group saw celery, cabbage, sweet corn and sugarcane being harvested. For the celery, they cut it right in the field, trim it to the purchaser’s needs, rinse it, put it in the bag, box it, and it is on its way to stores across the country. As they were harvesting, another crew was replanting the crop to replace what was harvested.

I’ve never seen a celery or sugarcane field but would like to someday.

So do you know where your food comes from? Do you appreciate the farmers who have grown that food for you? Did you also know we have one of the most affordable food sources in the world, right here in our own back yards? Be nice to those farmers – they grow what keeps us going.

Until we walk again …

* Photo courtesy of Dan Shaw.

This week I read, “Demystifying Food from Farm to Fork,” by Maurice J. Hladik. Many of you may be familiar with Hladik, an agricultural expert who has spoken at events all around the world including Commodity Classic. The goal of the book is to take a look at food production from “farm to fork”.

As with many concepts, farm to fork can be defined in many ways. Hladik defines it as, “Pertaining to the human food chain from agricultural production to consumption. In other words, from our readers farm to my table.”

As Hladik takes the reader through the varying stages in between the planting, growing and harvesting of food through manufacturing and eventually to the table, he explained the pros and cons, addressed any surrounding controversies and presented both sides of each argument. For this I was very impressed, as many writers take the view of “it’s my way or no way”.

Hladik also points out certain areas that he says are portrayed in the media as myths. For example, he notes that the majority of farms in the U.S. are not corporate owned, but family owned. He also puts to rest the idea that our food is not safe – America has an extremely safe food supply.

While the book may be better suited to those of us who are not very familiar with agriculture, growing up on a farm himself, he dots the narrative with very poignant stories about his own experiences. It is these moments that make the book a joy to read (and educational) for even the most expert of farmers around the world.