What is society's conception of agriculture? Apparently not what it used to be. This coming fall will be my second year teaching in an urban school with approximately 2200 students. When I started last year, many of my students told me that there were a lot farms in that area. As I was telling my husband this, he gave me a question to pose to the class for their daily question. The question was: What color cow does chocolate milk come from? Many, many of my students wrote down "brown" or "black and white" (mix black and white and get brown). I told my students that cows don't give chocolate milk. Many argued with me that they thought it was a trick question and that they really knew cows don't give chocolate milk. Really?

I'm sure some of my students know that chocolate milk doesn't come from cows. However, I think that many of my students do think that chocolate milk comes from cows or some of my students simply don't know. This lack of awareness/knowledge is becoming increasingly frustrating. Because of the testing that is now required of students in order to graduate from high school, many schools are only focusing on the "core" subjects: math, English, social studies, etc. and leaving, or dropping, programs that provide our students to be more rounded and knowledgeable, such as vo-ag, woods, and metals.

The cutting of these programs is largely due to the No Child Left Behind act. As a teacher, I do believe that this Act is beneficial to students; however, many "extra" material/content that teachers like to cover in the course of a year is being cut out because we have to cover the standards that are given to us by the state in order to prepare our students to pass the required test. Yes, we are basically teaching to the test. Anything else that we like to do but is not covered by a standard is simply cut out of our teaching.

As a farmer's wife and teacher, it is very frustrating for me to see that students have no idea about where their food comes from, how a farm actually works, or even what some farm animals look like. Because of this lack of knowledge, I have decided to incorporate a week of agriculture education into my teaching starting with this school year. Although I will be trying to find standards that fit with my teaching, foremost I want students to gain knowledge about the world they and I live in. They want to educate me about their world and where they live; I want to educate them about my world and where I live. If we want our consumers and society to understand farming, we need to start with our children.

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September 2007 the current farm bill expires. There have been many omnibus farm bills over the years. The first one was in 1933 to help the nation work through the "Great Depression." Over the years, each bill has tried to deal with past problems while trying to be proactive.

As a Young Farmer and rancher, I am worried about the decline in the number of family farms. We as farmers make up less than 2 percent of the population, yet we provide food and fiber used in the US and throughout the World. My concern is that the current and possibly upcoming farm bill does not do enough to protect vulnerable young farmers and ranchers. Getting started in farming and ranching without a leg up is almost impossible. I guess you could relate it to being a little fish in a big pond. If there are not enough little fish in the pond, the pond dies. Where is the next generation of farmers and ranchers going to come from? I hope my boys can farm, I hope I can continue to farm in a very hostile environment.

I am traveling home today from a meeting in New York, a PR conference. The focus was getting the story of agriculture told effectively. While waiting in the airport, I overheard two business professionals talk about how expensive milk is. They went on to discuss how the price of corn has nothing to do with the price of milk.

This is a perfect example of why we need to tell our story every chance we get. We take for granted that people know cows eat corn, or that cows produce milk.

As farmeers and ranchers, it is our responsibility to make sure our neighbors, rural and urban, understand what we do on our farms and ranches. We need to show them our farms and ranches touch their lives too, and what an important role we play in feeding America.

Together, we can change the image of agriculture, one story at a time. Never under estimate the power of one! Go tell your story and help our consumers remember the important role we play in our country. Afterall, Farmers and Ranchers are the backbone of America.

Micorsoft has launched a new initiative called i'm: http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/

According to the Microsoft website, every time you start a conversation in Microsoft Messenger using i’m, "Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes." The site goes on to say, "We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit. There's no charge, so join now and put our money where your mouth is."

Sounds great, right? I clicked on the "Choose the Organization" link and to my surprise, I discovered some of the organizations they are donating money to include the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Sierra Club. The HSUS targets animal agriculture but many people get confused by their name, they think their donations are going to save abused or neglected puppies and cats. However, their dollars are being used to target animal agriculture, which threatens American farmers and ranchers. The Sierra Club has been involved in similar causes that have been detrimental to agriculture.

What can we do? Contact Microsoft and urge them to remove these sites from their donation list. Everyone needs food to survive, and American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, most abundant food supply in the world. Let's tell Microsoft to support American farmers and ranchers.

Hello, from the Buckeye State, It is 10:30 PM, Father's Day and I finally have time to sit down and write for the FB blog. I chose TIME for my post tonight because none of us ever seem to have enough of it, which is especially true for today's young farmers. There are a number of reasons for this including (but not limited to): job(s), children, spouses, parents, church, community service, etc. What sets today's young farmers apart from other young people is the level at which we have to operate/perform in order to be successful. Before I go too far, this is in no way meant to lessen the busy lives/careers of young people who are not involved in farming.

Looking back to when my parents got started farming, they were very busy. In this area in the early 70's 200-400 acres of land with a small livestock operation could support buying the land, operating, and supporting a family. They worked hard and when the weather was helpful, they got ahead financially. Today that farm would have to be 1000 or more acres, and either the land would need to be nearly paid for or the equipment would have to be paid for in order to be financially comfortable. Back then in most cases, the husband and wife worked together on the farm. Today, in almost every young farm family I know the wife works in town for a paycheck and health insurance and many times the husband also works part or full-time for a paycheck in order to feel some kind of financial security.

Family time can always fill any gaps in a busy work week. Today's young farmers are at a disadvantage and they may not realize it. Growing up on the farm with Mom and Dad at home all the time, we never realized what it would be like to have to schedule time with your family or TRY to get home and see the kids. And our parents/grandparents/uncles or aunts (who in most cases we have to work with to get started) don't realize the effort we have to make, either, because they didn't have to. My personal rule of thumb for the busy season (April 1 through November 15) is that if I haven't seen my kids awake for 2 whole days then I wll be there before they go to bed on the third day. How many young parents don't see their kids for days at a time? I can list other young farmers.

Church is a good time to see the family and visit with neighbors and friends. It's also not a bad time for a nap if the preacher is too long winded :) Hmmmmm? Maybe that is why it hasn't rained here for a month? Church is also a place where leadership is needed from the next generation and is sometimes dumped on young people who show any interest at all.

Community service: Many young farmers in our area seem to want to give back to their community even though time is limited. What I have found here is if you are under the age of 60 and you show up at a community service meeting, you are automatically volunteered for every job because you're "young" and the group needs to keep you involved. Maybe the groups should help build volunteers instead of burying them. Maybe the young people would come back and bring friends.

By now you're wondering what is the point? Well the points are as follows: 1. Today's young farmers are pulled in more different directions than any previous farming generations. 2. They have to work harder at family relationships because they are never home. 3. They are the future of most church congregations and church leadership which adds pressure to keep things going. and 4. They are the future of any other organizations they are willing to be a part of, including Farm Bureau.

So, anytime you meet a young farmer, don't insult them by asking if they have been busy; take just a moment and thank them for stepping up to the challenge of farming in the USA in the 21st century.

We live in a rural area in northwest Oklahoma where there are plenty of farmers (not many of them young) so I didn’t realize how few farmers there are till I heard the statistic that only 2% of the population are farmers and ranchers. That 2% includes all farmers and ranchers, so I would venture to say probably 70% of them are 60 or older. This is scary! In the early 1800s, 90% of the population was involved in agriculture. Farmers and ranchers have the most important job in this world, feeding people. If there are fewer and fewer farmers as time goes on, what will become of future generations? Are we going to have to import all of our food and become totally dependent on foreign nations? They tell us when, how much, and set their price. Or will the corporate farms take over and we lose our heritage of the family farm? They form a monopoly with little diversity or uniqueness.

More and more generations are moving away from the farm. Many people today don’t know anything about farming and ranching and the processes involved in producing their food. Not only do they not know, but most of them probably never think about it. As long as the food is available, affordable and good, they don’t think twice about it. Not that I’m condemning the general consumer, why would they need to worry about it. American farmers have always provided ample amounts of nutritious food and at affordable prices, allowing people to spend their money on the latest technology, clothing, houses, vehicles, and vacations. In foreign countries they may not have that luxury. In some places they may spend 50% of their income just on feeding their family. That might dampen our spoiled American attitude. Why do you think so many people want to live here?

American farmers and ranchers should be encouraged and admired. It is hard dirty work with long hours and little pay. They pick this profession because they love it, not to get rich quick. They love tilling the soil, sowing the seeds to watch them sprout and grow, and bringing in the harvest. They enjoy seeing the new baby calf stand up for the first time and drink milk, and watching that calf grow up to maturity. They love the outdoors, nature and all of God’s many miracles that happen daily. They take pride in what they do because it is not just food for some unknown consumer, it’s for their friends, it’s for their family, and it’s for themselves. They do their best to provide the best for this country. So let’s preserve the heritage from which most all of us originated if we traced our family trees back enough generations. Most of the time we don’t appreciate something until it is gone. Let’s not let that happen. Life without American farmers and ranchers would be too devastating. I’ll close with what my grandpa used to say, “Don’t cuss the farmer with your belly full.”

A week ago we began our wheat harvest, so that will consume all of our time for at least the next two weeks. This is the wheat farmer’s payday for a whole year of work. Many of you may be wondering how it is going so I will give you an update. So far the wheat has not been very good. But even so, we are calling it the miracle crop because it could be worse considering what it has been through.

It started out last summer and fall during tilling and planting seasons in a drought. A local farmer kept track of the rain totals in our area. His records show we received five inches of rain when we normally average thirty. In March, we had unusually warm weather and a lot of the wheat headed out (began to form grain in the heads). Then in April it turned cold and it got well below freezing for about three nights. It even snowed.

It was quite a sight to see snow on the ground with green grass peeking through. On top of that, this spring we began to receive some of the rain we had missed last fall, which started a fungus called rust in some of the wheat. But the rain perked the wheat up making it look thick with long heads giving the farmers some hope until they realized the full extent of the freeze damage. The heads never completely filled and the freeze also weakened the stalks where some of the wheat is laying down. This makes it take longer to cut because the combines have to put their headers very low to the ground to pick it up.

So far I probably sound depressing, but I’ve been farming long enough to know you have good years and bad years. My parents raised me to believe compulsive gambling is a sin, but farming is a constant gamble where we depend on the weather and the markets. But God always finds a way to meet our needs. Looking back at the past two years only makes me more optimistic for the future. I know a good year is that much closer.

Chad enjoys harvest even on the bad years and our two oldest sons can’t get enough of riding on the combine. I’m sure there aren’t many children their age getting up at 6:00a.m. and getting home at 11:00p.m. But I think they are catching some naps while riding on the combine. They insist they have to be out in the field with their dad every minute. But don’t think it is all fun for them, they have responsibilities like fueling and greasing the combines.

A highlight I might add is that wheat jumped up .30 cents on Monday. This is the maximum amount it can go up in one day. Then on Tuesday it went up another .10 cents. I guess they realize there isn’t going to be much wheat. Some of the farmers in our area that had crop insurance had their fields adjusted because they didn’t think there was enough wheat out there to pay for the cost of cutting it. I heard estimates as low as .7 bushel to the acre (yes that is point 7). On a normal year, the average in this area would be about 40 bushel to the acre.

I thought you might enjoy some facts about wheat. Wheat is measured in bushels and a bushel weights 60 pounds. Approximately 73 loaves of bread can be made out of 1 bushel of wheat. The farmer receives approximately 5 cents from a loaf of bread. In 1917, a farmer could sell a bushel for $3.17 and in May 2002 the average price was $2.61. My dad bought a new Case four-wheel drive tractor in 1971 for $18,000. Today a new STX Case tractor or a John Deere 9220 tractor is about $170,000. That may help people to understand why government payments are so necessary. If only we could multiply the price of wheat by the same number they used to raise the price of fuel, fertilizer, land and equipment.

Although the Senate didn't take action last week on the immigration bill, AFBF is not sitting idly by watching time pass. Today, AFBF posted a comment on The Hill's blog http://blog.thehill.com regarding this issue. AFBF points out farmers contribute 9 BILLION DOLLARS worth of business to the U.S. economy yearly, and without a viable immigration bill this money will likely leave our country. If this money leaves the U.S. it will go to foreign economies and foreign farmers. Check out AFBF's response at The Hill Blog, then contact your Senator and urge them to support this important piece of legislation!

Agriculture is a diversified industry that allows uniqueness and creativity to exist and succeed. In agriculture, there are many different types of farms ranging from livestock to row crop, to organic or non-organic, even agri-tourism, the list can go on and on. But all of these farms have one thing in common; they help feed our great nation.

Many times you will hear people try to persuade an audience that one type of farming is better than the other. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is we need all types of farms to keep agriculture successful. Diversity creates competition, and competition is good for our markets. If every vegetable farmer grew organic vegetables, what would happen to the organic vegetable market for the farmer? It would lose its competitive edge and organic farmers would earn less for their vegetables. And then the question would rise if there would be enough acres available to provide the United States with organic vegetables? Would previously planted crops be replaced with vegetables? If so, who would produce the crop that was replaced? A foreign farmer? And what if some consumers insisted on having non-organic vegetables, where would they find them? A foreign farmer?

It’s true, thirty years ago there were more people engaged in farming. These farmers were farming more acres than today’s farmers, but we produce more per acre today than we did thirty years ago, thanks to improved technology. Why do we have fewer acres in agriculture? It’s called progress, and as progress occurred in our country, it will occur in other countries as well.

If American Farmers decide to join in the fight to destroy each other, we are giving the activist groups exactly what they want. Not only will we be allowing these groups to divide and conquer US Agriculture, we are giving foreign farmers a competitive edge to provide our consumers with their food and fiber. If our food comes from a foreign country, how safe will it be?

“Just Say No” to attacking diversity in agriculture. Allow our farmers to have the freedom to choose their style of farming. Let’s keep American Agriculture unique and creative, let’s keep our freedom.

Not only do American agricultural producers work to provide a safe and reliable food and fiber product to the American economy, they are also working to help those that are less fortunate. One in every ten American’s face hunger – yes, even in this prosperous country we live in. Farm Bureau and other organizations, such as America’s Second Harvest and ConAgra Foods, are working to end hunger. Farm Bureau families continue to fulfill their pledge to stop hunger by donating food items and farm-raised produce through the Harvest for All project headed by the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee.

In honor of Hunger Awareness Day, ConAgra Foods, in partnership with America’s Second Harvest, is doing its part to help feed the hungry by the simple click of a mouse. For each click ConAgra Foods will donate $1, the equivalent to four bags of groceries, to America’s hungry.

So please take a moment to be thankful for the safe and reliable food and fiber product grown by our American producers and take this easy step to click to aid in eliminating America’s hungry.

Visit: America’s Second Harvest.

As a “young” (35 does not feel young once you get there) agricultural professional, it is very important that we take a very active role in helping develop our future outside our individual operations. It is easy to stay on the farm, and then complain when something happens in Washington that affects us, but we must remember, the winner only comes from the group of people that show up.

Our state legislature just wrapped up its biannual session, and some of the most ridiculous legislation was passed by people that took the time and believed in their cause enough to come to Austin and lobby for their positions. In case you did not know, Athens, TX is now officially the birthplace of the hamburger. The bolo tie is the official tie of Texas. If your house is seized by the government because you did not pay your taxes, you are now allowed to keep your bible, I guess while you are living at the hotel, you can not just steal the free one there. If you are legally blind, you are now allowed to go hunting, as long as you wear corrective lenses. The only ridiculous legislation that was vetoed by the Governor was that Texas needed an official state amphibian, oh well, guess that will give them something to work for next session. I know these are not all the silly and time consuming pieces of legislation passed, but was the focus of a recent news clip.

While I consider some of this, ok all of it, senseless legislation, the point of the news story that I took away was the fact that someone came up with these ideas, showed up in Austin, received support and got the bills passed. It is irrelevant that we did not get our teachers pay raises passed until the last minute; we have an official tie now. Why is it that farmers and ranchers can not get off their farms and have the overalls adopted as the official jeans of Texas (that is not a bad idea for me to work on to prove my point for the next legislature)?

Farm Bureau can develop the skills that take to become a leader in your community, profession and life. YFR is a program of FB designed for that specific purpose. YFR, both in your state and at the national level, has numerous opportunities for you as a young producer to gain the skills and confidence to make you as successful off the farm as you are in your comfort zone.

Lets get out, participate, tell our story and make sure the the most admired profession in America remains “the farmer” and does not become the Dominoes Pizza delivery man as my three year old daughter thinks.