So, the point on local leadership and involvement holds true to regulation as well. Out west we have experienced a new exotic pest by the name of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM).

The Light Brown Apple moth is believe to threaten dozens of commercial crops and aggresive measures are being taken to control it.

The greatest challenge I see is the fact that control without sufficient study could negatively impact agriculture. Being in the nursery business, we have already gone through a volunteer quarantine and engage in sweeps for this new pest daily.

My saving grace has been the Farm Bureau. By tying myself into the electronic network of regulators at the State level, information and updates are delivered as they evolve. Agressive study and control may just save millions or even billons long term.

To find out more on this pesky moth - go to: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/lbam_main.html

Here's to succeeding yet another invasive species!

Ok. Soooooooo....as I look over the last number of months that this blog has come together, I cannot help but think that we REALLY need to step up as the next generation of farmers.

You see, much of this boils down to who is involved and who is at the table. My experience in Young Farmers and Ranchers motivated me to run for local school (college) board in 2003. It was my first try at local elected office and it taught me an awful lot.

Years later, my enthusiasm for motivating the next generation led me to encourage other Young Farmers and Ranchers to run for office. In fact, one of our own local leaders ran for school board and WON !!! Currently, there is another one running.

Heck. I am running for re-election myself. Not an easy process. See http://mcshane.yfrcc.org for more info.

All politics are local. The time to prepare the next generation of leaders is now and I am proud to say I am doing my part. If not us, who? You know? Land use, water, taxes. Each of these issues face producers EVERY DAY.

Now, more than ever we need to next generation of leaders to be prepared!!!!

The Des Moines Register ran an artilce over the weekend by President Bob Stallman regarding the House version of the Farm Bill. President Stallman's article did an excellent job of explaining the House version of the bill, pointing out direct changes and how they will impact the budget. Stallman explains to readers, "The House legislation is fiscally responsible and is projected to cost $20 billion less than the last farm bill."

President Stallman relates to readers that farmers work a full year not knowing what their salary is going to be. He explains how the farm program helps even out the uncertainty, allowing farmers and ranchers to continue to provide Americans with a safe, affordable food supply. "And for about 3 percent of the total national budget, that's a pretty good deal for ALL Americans."

PETA is advertising a new video game called Super Chick Sisters on their webpage. The object of the game is to save Pamela Anderson from Colonel Sanders because he has kidnapped her for telling the world how cruelly KFC treats chickens.

This game is meant to capture the minds of young children and adults and brainwash them into believing all animals are treated cruelly. This is only one of the methods PETA uses to attack agriculture with their $30 million budget.

On PETA's blog, the game's inventor invites people to play the game and rate it. Farmers and ranchers supply our country with an abundant supply of safe and healthy food. Please go to this blog and let them know agriculture will not tolerate these lies any longer! It is in our best interest to care for our animals, we need to let people know the measures we take to care for our animals.

Thousands of people are homeless in this country; PETA should use their $30 million budget to help those who really need it. If PETA members really wanted to help improve our country, they would put their money to a better use.

Yesterday marked the record-setting 10th straight day that temperatures soared passed 100 degrees in most parts of Alabama. When my wife got in her car, the thermometer read 121 degrees.

It’s all anyone is talking about – you hear it at the grocery store, you hear it at the bank, you hear it at church, you hear it everywhere – people talking about the heat wave. It’s so bad that communities are putting up “cooling shelters” for the elderly & those less fortunate who do not have air conditioning.

Some are so taken by the hot weather that they’ve even forgotten about the drought that we’ve had this summer. But, I can grant you that no fellow farmer has forgotten it! In addition to record temperatures, our area has also been dealing with a record drought.

These extremely hot dry conditions have taken a toll on Alabama’s farmers. According to a release by the Associated Press, the latest Drought Monitor Survey shows almost 52 percent of Alabama is now in the worst stages of a drought. Experts have called this the worst drought in a century and predict it could last through the winter.

So, what’s the big deal to anyone who does not live in our area? Well, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks summed it up as he was quoted in a recent press release. Commissioner Sparks said consumers soon could start feeling the effects of the drought at the retail level. He said farmers are dumping their livestock on the market early and watching crops die in the fields. Consumers could pay higher prices when commodities become more scarce.

Since August has been designated as National Catfish Month, I thought this would be an opportune time to post some facts & promote something near & dear to my heart -U.S. Farm Raised Catfish. The catfish industry, like many other industries in America, has faced several battles over the past few years with foreign imports. First it was the Basa (Vietnam) and now it’s the Chinese catfish.

According to the Catfish Institute, ninety-four percent of all U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is raised in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In 1985, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry in these four states employed approximately 6,000 people and contributed roughly $2.1 billion to each states economy. Today, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry employs more than 13,000 people and contributes more than $4 billion to each states economy.

In knowing how much the farm raised catfish industry means to these states, especially, 2 of the 4 poorest regions in the nation being the Black Belt & Delta, I find it amazing that our retailers & wholesalers continue to push an inferior product to pad their pockets & actually hurt our country. They’re not only doing it with imported catfish, but other imported commodities as well. If we continue to allow foreign foods to take over our markets, we will continue to give our country’s most powerful asset- our freedom- away. We in America need to come together & support our own farmers before our food supply is dictated by other countries.

The food supply in the United States truly is a luxury. Many of eat out several times a week and there is so much to choose from on the menu it often takes the waiter two or three trips to your table before your ready to order. When shopping at the grocery store, the shelves are always stocked and I have heard that you should not shop on a hungry stomach, otherwise you buy more than you really need. In addition, there is food available for gluten free diets, lactose intolerant diets, vegetarians, vegans, and of course those of who will eat just about anything. We are truly blessed to live in a country where we have so many food choices, and this is due to the abundant and safe food supply provided by America’s farmers and ranchers and a relatively high standard of living in the U.S. compared to other countries. As consumers in the U.S., we spend just 10% of our disposable income on food. To put this in perspective, it takes 40 days for most Americans to earn enough disposable income to pay for their food consumed at home and away from home for the entire year (it takes over 100 days to earn enough money to pay for federal, state and local taxes each year).

The fact that we have so many choices at relatively low costs should not be taken for granted. An intricate system takes the goods produced on farms and ranches and transforms them into many of the different foods that we see in the grocery store (i.e. canned goods, boxed cereal, etc.). Even those items not processed, like fresh fruits and vegetables, must travel through a marketing chain before they arrive at a grocery store or restaurant. Anytime there is a malfunction in this chain of events, there can be consequences. I still remember they day the entire dairy case at my local grocery was empty and there were signs apologizing for the inconvenience. We are lucky that this type of event does not happen frequently. Next time you visit your local grocery store or favorite restaurant remember how fortunate we are to have so many choices.

New York's 11th Congressional District Representative, Major Owens, has decided to bash the American Farmer while misrepresenting the facts about the current Farm Bill.

In his comments, he attacks the Blue Dogs of Congress for supporting the American Farmer. Owens claims the Blue Dogs "combine a steady drumbeat against higher taxes and government waste with their loud bugle call to rich farmers to come to get the green gravy. Their clients who enjoy the mega-buck free lunches constitute less than two per cent of the population. To make the treasury safer for the farmers, the favorite sacrificing victims of the Blue Dogs are the welfare mothers who have no claws and no fangs and can't fight back."

Rep. Owens obviously doesn't realize over 66% of the Farm Bill goes to Social Programs like food stamps, WIC, and school lunches. He obviously doesn't understand why Congress has provisions to help the nation’s farmers when crop prices unexpectedly drop to severe levels due to factors beyond the control of farmers. He also doesn't know Americans spend 9% of their disposable income on food, while foreign countries spend over 20% of their disposable income on food. He forgets the 2% he is criticizing feeds this country!

Including government payments, the average return on assets seldom exceeds 4 percent, and return on equity invested typically averages 6-7 percent -- levels that don’t attract a rush of investors anxious to invest in agriculture. If farm program payments were making people rich, there would likely be more people waiting in line to farm. PLEASE visit the link above and let Rep. Owens hear how important the Farm Bill is not only to farmers, but all of the country. Without American Farmers, who will feed our country?

The anti-meat agenda is everywhere these days. Unfortunately, I am more frequently coming across major companies or organizations who are advocating “animal welfare” and decrying large farms. Last week I was browsing Encyclopedia Britannica's online website and saw they had an advocacy link: Advocacy For Animals. A more accurate description for this link should be Advocacy for a Vegan Lifestyle. Needless to say, I was disappointed that an organization such as Encyclopedia Britannica had succumbed to spreading misinformation about modern animal agriculture.

There are hundreds of millions of Americans who choose to include meat as part of a healthy diet. As consumers, they certainly should care about how farm animals are raised. However, the average American is not always aware of the hidden anti-meat agenda promoted through the guise of “animal welfare.” Having grown up on a family farm where raising animals was (and is) our full time job, the welfare of our animals is a job we take seriously 365 days a year day and night. Farmers and ranchers have an emotional side too and that is what drives them to care for their animals.

Back to Encyclopedia Britannica, what does that mean for you and me? It means that I get to write another letter to help clarify the truth about animal welfare.

Everyone wants to blame large farmers for the declining number of farms today. I found some interesting information recently that indicates large farmers are not to blame, but tractors.

As tractors replaced human and horse labor, the size of farms increased, resulting in fewer farms. After 1940 (the year the tractor took over) there was a RAPID decrease in the number of farms. In 1910 there were slightly more than a million farms smaller than 20 acres and 20,000 that were larger than 500 acres. In the 40's, at the start of the war, 6.8 million families and 30 million people lived on farms and there were 1.2 million tractors. By 1950, the number of tractors had climbed to almost 4 million. The number of people on farms had fallen to just over 23 million. This number has declined steadily since then.

This proves that large farmers are not the reason for the declining number of farmers. It also shows that even in 1910, there were numerous farms that were 25 times larger than the average farm size.

I have yet to see anyone protest the use of tractors, have you? But people are quick to jump on the bandwagon to eliminate the farmers they feel are "too big" or who use modern animal facilities to raise their livestock. I see plenty of new vehicles driving around cities with GPS; everyone wants the newest technology in their vehicle, and this is fine. But if farmers want to enjoy the latest technology on their farms, they are attacked by activist groups who target the use of modern agriculture practices.

In a recent Harris Poll, farming ranked 12th on the “Most Prestigious Career” list. Leading the list of Most Prestigious Careers were firefighters, scientists, teachers, doctors, military officers, and nurses. At the bottom of the list were real estate brokers, actors, bankers, entertainers, union leaders, and athletes.

Farming has risen five points in the last year on this poll. According to this poll, “Actors and entertainers occupy two of the bottom five positions in the list of prestigious occupations showing that while people may enjoy reading about them, they do not regard these occupations as prestigious.”

Although people regard farming as prestigious, farmers do not farm with a hope of being noticed. Farmers take pride in producing food and fiber for our country. With the recent attacks on agriculture it is critical farmers speak out about what we do on our farms to protect the environment, feed our country, and care for our animals. Farming is ranked as the 12th Most Prestigious Career in the United States, it's time we put this prestige to work for us and tell our story to the world!