AgWired

It is often overlooked that the female in a farming operation plays a crucial role in the success of that business. This ranch partner wears many hats including: hired hand, meals-on-wheels service, chauffer, maid, errands-runner, fix-it gal and chore help. She can be found in the kitchen, in the feedyard, on a tractor or in a repair shop. She keeps the books, takes care of paperwork and makes sure the kids get to band practice and basketball games. She maintains several full-time jobs: housewife, farmer, career woman, mom and wife. She is a super hero; She is a ranch wife.

For these everyday agriculture super heroes, the Women In Blue Jeans (WIBJ) Conference was developed. Seven years ago, WIBJ started as a club for fifteen local farm gals. These women met in the conference room of a crop insurance building, and they discussed everything from farm prices to maintaining good health. The need for fellowship in women in agriculture was strong, and soon, the word spread about WIBJ. This year’s event boasted an all-time attendance rate, with over 200 female participants. The 2009 WIBJ Conference was held in Mitchell, S.D. at the Dakota Wesleyan University Campus on January 15-17.

I had the great opportunity to speak at the 2009 WIBJ Conference. My forum topic was, “What happened to the next generation of agriculture?” It identified the issues facing young people after graduation. This is a time when they have to choose between a high profile career in the cities and the rural lifestyle they have always known. It was a great presentation, and if you are interested in hearing more about it, let me know.

Anyway, another WIBJ Conference has come and gone, and with that, women in agriculture have renewed their passions for their lives on the farm. You might see her at the grocery store. She might be picking up feed at the elevator. She could be getting parts for the tractor. Maybe she is picking up the kids from practice. Wherever you see her, take the time to thank these agriculture superheroes for their efforts.

For more information on the conference, check out Women in Blue Jeans today!

This past June, I traveled with the SDSU Spanish Department to Buenos Aires, Argentina. For an entire month, we attended classes, lived with host families, explored the big city, traveled to vineyards, the Andes Mountains, the rainforest and Iguazu Falls, and learned a lot of Spanish along the way. The month was truly an experience of a lifetime, and I had the opportunity to share that experience at the Kingsbury Co. Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Meeting in Lake Preston, S.D. this past Saturday.

Although most of my time in Argentina wasn’t directly related to agriculture, I was submerged in a country that is crazy about beef and wine production. With Argentina’s FMD free status, mandatory animal identification program and grass-fed beef, Argentina can access Japanese and South Korean markets, with ease. Also worth noting: Argentina is number one in the world’s soybean production and number two in world corn production. This global agricultural powerhouse is definitely worth watching in the future, and while I have tons of stories to share from my time spent in South America, this blog post will highlight the most interesting points about this amazing country.

-Argentines eat three times more meat in a given year than Americans, nearly 150 lbs./year.

-Due to an extreme economic recession, the government taxes farmers’ products entering the export market by 50% in order to keep domestic prices low.

-Of the millions of cattle that roam La Pampa (the plains of Argentina), only 10% enter the export market

-The world weather pattern La Nina, has killed 300,000 head of cattle in a terrible drought in Argentina this year.

-During my time spent in Argentina, the farmers were on a 4 month strike against the government.

-Feedyards are a new concept in Argentina, and grass-fed beef is the norm.

Stay tuned for more tales of my Argentine adventures. They range from protests, road blocks, theft, drug lords, wine tasting, rock propelling and more… Don’t miss a beat!