If you go to the PETA website you will find a link where you can vote for the "World's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity": http://www.goveg.com/feat/sexiestveg2007/. Among the names of celebrities vying for the title are: Carrie Underwood, Chelsea Clinton, Christie Brinkley, Kim Basinger, Lauren Bush, Alec Baldwin, Bob Barker, Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, and Tony La Russa to name a few.

According to the PETA website, "these stars’ reasons for keeping animals off their plates are as diverse and inspiring as their talents—from avoiding the inexcusable cruelty to animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses to improving their own health and helping the environment."

This article made me wonder how popular being a "vegetarian" would be if someone common, who wasn't famous or well known, stood up and bragged about their vegetarian lifestyle. I doubt anyone would give it a second thought, let alone promote it. We see this everyday in rural America. While the media would like to portray a farmer as someone who is old, and only wears overalls and hats, (even on Sunday's), rural Americans know farmers don't always look like this. But how many people are listening to rural America, or even paying attention to rural America? While we are busy working to help feed our country, the media is portraying a false image of agriculture to our consumers, who believe what they hear. After all, if someone famous says it, it must be true, right?

As farmers, we can help educate our consumers by telling our story every chance we get. And many farmers are doing just that. But imagine if agriculture had over 200 celebrities promoting our story, spreading the truth about agriculture. How many people would listen? What if a celebrity stood up and said, "I was raised on a farm, and I know first hand a farmer's first priority is the well being of their animals. A farmer knows their family and farm's success depends on their animals being healthy and well cared for. A farmer is not going to do anything that would harm their animals because their livelihood depends on it." Or what if a celebrity said, "Farmers are good stewards of the land, I should know, my parents are farmers. They live and breathe the same air, and drink the same water as their neighbors, and they take extra precautions to protect our environment by managing their nutrients, and testing the soil and water."

Our consumers trust the media to educate them accurately about their food and fiber and it appears many of our consumers are comfortable trusting celebrity opinions, even if the facts contradict what they say. It’s time agriculture finds our CELEBRITY VOICES!

Memorial Day is just around the corner and many Americans are gearing up for the holiday weekend with plans of picnics, ballgames, fishing, and relaxing. With gas prices still on the rise, more people will be celebrating the beginning of summer close to home.

For many of us, "home" is on the farm. When I was younger, we always went to my grandparents farm for Memorial Day. Even though there was work to be done, we always made time for a picnic with family and friends. The day would include fishing, croquet, horseshoes, kids running through a sprinkler, laughter, good conversation and GREAT food.

A recent survey conducted by the Minnestoa Farm Bureau (MFBF) revealed how affordable a picnic is this summer. The survey found the average cost of a picnic for 10 this summer is $30.38. The MFBF survey shopping list included hot dogs and hot dog buns, cheeseburgers and buns, potato salad, baby carrots, broccoli florets, baked beans, corn chips, watermelon, lemonade, single-serving milk and condiments, all in quantities sufficient to serve a picnic for 10.

A gallon of gas costs $3.30 right now in Missouri. For $30.00 you can buy 9 gallons of gas, or you can buy a picnic for 10. (And people still complain about high food prices?)

This year, my family and children will enjoy Memorial Day on our farm, just as we have done for years. And just like every year, there will be plenty of fishing and laughter, lots of fun, great conversation, and most importantly, affordable food! Thanks to American Farmers, we are able to enjoy the safest, and most affordable food supply in the world.

Welcome to the Young Farmer and Rancher Blog. We welcome your comments and ideas.

I recently had the opportunity to chaperone 4 area FFA students to Jefferson City, Missouri, for the Farm Bureau Youth Leadership Days. This was my 5th year taking FFA students on this trip and one thing has never changed, each year the kids tell me "my mom and dad say there is not a future for me in agriculture so I'm not going to come home to the farm after college" or I hear, "there is no money in farming and I don't want to be poor." Every year I explain to these FFA kids who are Juniors in high school, what a bright future there is in agriculture and how many new programs there are available for beginning farmers in the way of low interest loans, guaranteed loans, etc. I explain to these kids that farming today has evolved and changed with technology and the demands of consumers, and these changes have created many new opportunities for farmers.

This year, one of the kids told me she planned on having a career in agriculture. She wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish this goal, but she knew she would find a way to stay involved with agriculture. It's people with optimism like this young lady who are finding new ways to stay involved in agriculture. We've all heard the saying, "Anything worth having in life is worth fighting for." In my opinion, this is true when you look at a career in agriculture. Sure there will be tough times, and many days when you work longer and harder than you would at an 8 to 5 job, but when times get tough, FARMER UP and work that much harder.

When times were tough for our parents and grandparents, they didn't run away, they stood their ground and worked that much harder to provide for their families and our country. I know from talking with my grandparents that farming 30 years ago was no walk in the park like the movies want viewers to believe. They had just as many worries and struggles as we do today in farming but they never gave up. So when times get tough, or you hear a young person say there is no future in an agriculture career, FARMER UP and help spread the TRUTH, help tell the story of Agriculture!