Today I recieved an email regarding the pork industries efforts to tell our story, more importantly the correct story!

These three videos feature experts answering consumer questions on animal-care issues. The Pork Checkoff’s You Tube channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/PorkCheckoff.

Each of the videos can be found at:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6v49miz_Q
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEsGjjdHEsk
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y7LiKlDZXw

The Checkoff needs your help in spreading the message about these You Tube videos. Please take a few minutes and watch the videos. Each video is less than three minutes long. Then pass them along to your friends, colleagues and contacts. The more people who view these videos and rate them, the higher the videos will appear in the search results. This can be very helpful in telling our story effectively.

Saturday, May 10th is the date for the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Earlier this week I received a plastic bag in my mailbox describing the program and stating that I should put my non-perishable donations in a bag by my mailbox and my letter carrier would deliver it to a local food bank. America's Second Harvest is a partner in this food drive. As part of the Harvest for All program, Farm Bureau Young Farmers have partnered with America's Second Harvest over the past several years to help stop hunger in the United States. It is important to support our local food banks with our time, donations, and money throughout the year, but please take time to help your letter carrier Stamp Out Hunger tomorrow, May 10th.

As some of you know, my mother-in-law, Debi, and I have a retail meat business, The Pork Shoppe, where we sell pork products direct from the farm to consumers. We mostly market our meat via farmer's markets, farm pick-up, and delivery. We also have meat available at a retail location and a few restaurants feature our pork products. The Pork Shoppe was the brain child of my MBA program's final project. I studied the demand for locally raised livestock and products directly marketed from the farm. The Pork Shoppe was my way to contribute back to the farm since there isn't room for me to be solely employed by the farm at this point. The Pork Shoppe allows us to do some niche marketing with only a few of the hogs our family farm markets each year and more importantly it allows us the opportunity to educate our urban neighbors.

Debi and I have never hid the fact that our hogs are raised in confinement. When consumers ask questions about our pork, we are proud to tell them the truth which includes the facts that we take better care of our pigs than we probably do ourselves, that we only use antibiotics when neeeded, and that our pigs are raised in climate control buildings, which is a necessity in Indiana where it does get very cold during the winters and very hot and humid during the summers. Once we get the chance to explain our story and that we take care of the pigs ourselves, most people are completely ok with our hogs being raised in confinement. We are one of the unique vendors at the market as most of the other vendors are organic vendors or "all natural". This has never been a problem or an issue with the other vendors until this past weekend.

One of the beef vendors, who I would have referred to as a friend at the market, asked me if I had ever seen The Meatrix. Of course I had, but I just let him talk to see his angle. He was very excited about the Meatrix and had contacted them and told them about our farmers market and how it was full of family farms. Those behind The Meatrix, the GRACE factory farm project, sent him magnets of all of the Meatrix characters along with several different brochures about the "dangers" of factory farming and sustainable agriculture. My fellow vendor thought that I would be excited to share this information with my customers. He also thought that we should show the 3 different Meatrix spoofs at the market's visitor booth. Having seen the 3 spoofs, I knew for multiple reasons that I did not want these spoofs shown at the market. For no other reason, they are very graphic for the children that visit our market and do not depict the truth.

I took this as an opportunity to point out to my fellow vendor that those behind the Meatrix were opposed to how we raised our hogs on our family farm since our hogs were raised in confinement. He tried to say that they were only against factory farms, but I asked him what was a factory farm. He really couldn't answer. He was very nice and had never thought about the fact that the Meatrix would depict how we raise hogs in an untruthful way, but I was appalled. I never thought that I would have to defend my family farm to a fellow vendor or consumer. I understand if consumers don't want to buy my pork because it isn't what they want, but to have a fellow vendor promoting the Meatrix and how it defends sustainable agriculture was something I never thought I would do. I also never thought that I would have to defend agriculture at an agricultural event. Sustainable agriculture... interesting concept to me. Do people really think that we can feed this country let alone the world if we don't feed animals in confinement? I think what we do on our family farm is sustainable agriculture.

I realize like with everything that there are a few bad actors in the confined feeding world; however, there are many family farms just like ours that take the best possible care of their animals and the environment. Getting this message out to the masses is only going to get harder and harder which means we can't give up. Telling our story is the best thing we can do to promote agriculture and more specifically our family farms.

This past week we vaccinated, tagged and sorted cattle and took them to pasture. Sounds like work doesn't it. Well, for me it was vacation, or at least that is what my full-time employer thinks since this past week was classified as vacation leave. Working cattle on the weekend, planting corn after work or feeding calves before work hardly seem relaxing but that is the reality most of us are facing.

I am one of the many young farmers or ranchers in Farm Bureau who have full-time off-farm jobs to finance their full-time on-farm dream. Some kids grow up wanting to be baseball players or astronauts but all I have ever wanted to do is ranch. However, the reality is that I need a full-time job to provide for my family, so I am forced to get my "ranching fix" after work hours.

I would guess I am not alone. In fact, I would bet that I am in the majority of young farmers and ranchers. Most of us have to have a town job to provide necessities such as medical and dental insurance. What does that mean for Farm Bureau?

We are a segment of the ag population that needs to be included and encouraged to participate in Farm Bureau. As the number of ag producers dwindles we need to be more inclusive to those who are involved in production ag on a part-time basis.

Around the first of April my sister-in-law called one evening to ask if I would be willing to come to her elementary school and be the Farmer for career day. I said when? She said April 28th and then paused because she knew that would be a very busy day on the farm if the sun was shining. I talked it over with Dad and we agreed sunshine or not, this would be a good opportunity to talk to kids about agriculture. Sure enough, April 28th came, and it was a beautiful spring day; the corn planter got to sit idle while I spent from 9:30 to 3:00 talking to 400 kindergarten through 2nd graders about corn, soybeans, wheat, cabbage and pigs. I showed them a picture show of what we do on the farm during the different seasons. Then they each got a handful of corn and soybeans to play with while we talked about some of the uses for the crops, and then they got to take some home (in their pockets :)!! to plant in the garden or flower pots to be like a farmer. Overall, I think it was a success. The kids had fun and asked some good questions. It was disappointing that I only met 3 farm kids the whole day in a Preble County school. I still got some corn planted that day because the day didn't end until sometime on the 29th.

We had our annual Farm Field Day in our area on Friday. We live in Central Utah, Juab County, and each year our county Farm Bureau invites the 4th grade students to come onto a farm and learn. We had about 150 students and they were able to go to a dairy, and then come to a farm where we had stations.

We had these stations: Equipment (a John Deere dealer came with different equipment), Sheep (we had a producer come with a couple of lambs), Fruit (we had a producer come with apples for them to learn and taste), Safety (our State Farm Bureau Safety guy came to talk about 4 wheeler safety), Grains and Seeds (our Extension Agent came and talked about different grains, and then we had whole wheat bread for them to eat), and a Wheat Craft (where they took and put wheat with wet cotton balls in a bag to watch germinate in a couple of days).

We have our local FFA chapter send some of the members to come help. Afterwards we eat lunch with the FFA kids and all the presenters.

It always goes over well. The 4th graders seem to enjoy the field trip. I hope that they learn something while they are there! It is one of my favorite things to do with Farm Bureau.

Taste what happens when fruits and vegetables mature to vine-ripened perfection. Taste what happens when they are picked within hours of being in the field. Fresh strawberries are delivered to my families roadside market several times daily straight from the field. Roadside markets provide fresh from the field produce and reinforce the direct link between farmers and community. The strawberries, the sweet corn, or the jam bought at the roadside market help renew the relationship between the consumer and the farmer.
So make it a habit to visit local farmer's markets often, and taste the freshness. Enjoy watching the seasons come and go. Savor the flavors of each season...

Seth and I had a great experience last weekend. Through a relative, we heard that there was a group of boys that were looking for a learning/service type activity for their church.

We invited them to help us brand and work some calves. The boys were excited, and had no idea what to expect. Even though they only live about 1 ½ hours away from us, only about 5 had ever touched a cow or a horse, and the rest hadn’t even seen any in real life! Utah has really changed; we are not the agricultural community that we used to be! It still amazes me that someone in Utah could go their whole life totally detached from agriculture.

Anyway, the group of them which consisted of 23 boys ages 12-17 and 5 adult leaders arrived that morning to help. We had them help us brand, and work 100 calves. We chose to have them “throw the calves” instead of using the chute, so they could experience everything first hand. Some were scared of the animals, some were curious and just wanted to touch the calves, and some dived right in with no fear! It was great to see them ease into the process, and most of them wanted to take a turn with each application and did so before we were done.

Before we got started, we had a discussion about livestock in general, and the process of what we were going to do, and why. A lot of the boys had several questions, and it was great to clear up some misconceptions that some of them had about the cattle industry.

By the time we were done, the boys were sunburned, DIRTY, and so tired, but every one of them thanked us before leaving. I loved to see their smiles – especially because their teeth were full of fine dust, and they didn’t even know how dirty they were!

It was great to have such a positive day and I hoped they learned something, and I hope they remember the day for a long time. I had a great time opening up our way of life to these boys. I may be prejudice, but I love this way of life!

Last Friday, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a "report" about CAFO's and the harm they cause society. This week, the PEW Commission will release the results of it's two year study on animal feeding operations.

Needless to say, the first report had nothing good to say about modern methods of livestock production and I would bet the north forty that the PEW Commission report will not either.

All of us in animal agriculture will probably be bombarded by statistics from these reports for the next several months, if not years. Bogus numbers about livestock production that were in a report released by the UN a couple of years ago are still used very frequently. When we see these being reported, it is imperative that we correct these media outlets with accurate information.

If you see a statistic that doesn't seem right, look into it. There is a wealth of information available through Farm Bureau that you can use to stop these innaccurate portrayals of livestock production.

When all of us work together, we can make a big difference.

Not to long ago when someone said “Go Green” we all would have all assumed they were promoting a certain brand of tractor. Today the green movement is everywhere! Anyone who is anyone wants to be a part of the green tide that’s sweeping the country. Maybe I should say, anyone who has anything to ‘market’ wants to be part of the green tide (in fact, don’t we now have green Tide?).

I am all about going green! All of us in agriculture know how important it is to be good stewards of the land and to take care of our environment. Haven’t farmers and ranchers been the original environmentalist ever since God gave Adam a loin cloth and a hoe?

My question is, are farmers and ranchers known from sea to shining sea as the original environmentalist?

Tragically, we are not. In fact, we are in the cross hairs of many of those who claim to be the greenest. All I really want to say to those people is, “You bring your carbon credits. I’ll bring mine.” What I will say is, we were green long before green was the pc thing to be. We are green because we live the green not because we’re trying to market it. We are green because it’s what we have built our entire lives, livelihood and tomorrows upon. We are the original green.

I read an editorial today by the Wisconsin State Journal which talked about who was to blame for global warming and world food shortages. Agriculture has become the main target of some organizations searching to place blame on someone. The article talks about how some organizations want to blame livestock for being contributors to global warming.

But this article didn't believe the American Farmer was to blame, to the contrary, they believed the American Farmer was part of the solution to global warming and world food shortages. And they had proof to back up their beliefs.

I commend the Wisconsin State Journal for standing up and telling some facts about agriculture. It's good to know there are still people in journalism who get ALL sides of a story before they report it.

Last year some “friends” of mine encouraged me to apply for the Partners in Agriculture Leadership program or PAL for short. It’s a program that AFBF sponsors where ten people are chosen, through an application process, and put through two years of extensive media, legislative, public speaking and general leadership training. The goal of the program is to create advocates for agriculture. If accepted, I was told that it would be the absolute hardest thing I’d ever volunteered for. My friends said that it would the boot camp of ag leadership training. They said there were several trips involved, a TON of homework in between classes and that overall it would be a PILE of work.

SO, what did I do? I filled out the application, jumped up and down with my hand in the air hollering, “OOOhhhhh, pick me! Pick me!”

I was picked.

Up to this point we have gone through two of our four classes, the media and the legislative modules. I can honestly say that being in the PAL program has been the hardest thing I’ve ever volunteered for. However, I can also say that it has been the absolute best personal development training that I have ever embarked upon. There is no doubt that I have grown as an individual, as a leader and as an “advocate for agriculture”.
Here is the fact of the matter; ALL of us in agriculture should be working to be better advocates. Who better to defend our industry than us? Who better to tell our story than us? Who better to reintroduce American Agriculture to the general public than us? It absolutely does not matter if you’re in a class or a combine. We all must become advocates for what we do! If you like being out in the field then sometimes you better get out of the field and tell our story. Our existence depends upon it because after all, we are all Partners in Agriculture.

Yesterday we finally had sunshine in Missouri! It was a warm day and my kids were excited to get outside and spend some time on the farm. We have had more rain than normal for this time of year, which has kept our kids inside more than they prefer.

Our kids started out their afternoon by going with their Grandpa. They worked on cleaning out fence rows and picking up broken limbs and sticks. Next, they helped their dad change the oil in the tractors. Then they helped get the baler ready for the first cutting of hay, which appears to be a long time away according to my six year old. After they finished this job, they took some time off to inspect the deer and turkey tracks that were around the farm. They finished their day in the hog barns with their dad, which also involved playing with their 4-H pigs.

As I tucked my kids into bed last night, they were both very tired but they each commented on how much fun they had on the farm with their dad. Our kids are what keep us going during the hard times, these two kids are why we keep moving forward! It's no secret the hog industry is facing tough times, worse than we did in 1998, but my kids give me the motivation I need to get out of bed each morning and keep providing safe food for this country.

Recently a local TV station, KOMU, did a two part story on Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This story was different from most stories about CAFO's, it talked about the facts, not emotions.

I had the opportunity to be interviewed for the story, as did a Commercial Ag Specialist from the University of Missouri, and a representative from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The story talked about how CAFO's were regulated, how farmers cared for their animals, and how all this benefits the local economy and consumers.

After the second part of the story aired, the reporter told about the many calls and letters they had received for the story. Many of these calls were positive. This is a perfect example of GRASSROOTS at it's best. We have always been told we need to make contact with the media, this is a perfect example of farmers contacting the media.

So the next time you like or don't like what you see on TV about agriculture, pick up the phone or send a letter to your local station and let them hear your opinions! And when you have finished with your call or letter, call a friend and ask them to do the same.

The importance of getting involved in agriculture and staying involved in agriculture is on my mind daily.

This last weekend I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of Alpha Zeta, Agricultural Honors Fraternity Members at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo! Boy was I impressed! I couldn't help but think that our industry REALLY needs to continue to reach out and encourage participation in agriculture!

Programs like FFA, 4-H and even Alpha Zeta will be what ultimately BUILDS OUR FUTURE with leaders ready to take charge.

I can say this much - the folks coming up through the ranks offer me all the encouragement in the world that American Agriculture will continue to lead the world in innovation!

Here is a letter to the editor that was published in the West Yellowstone News. This is a perfect example of the lack of knowledge about agriculture that some of our consumers have. He shares a host of misconceptions in this letter that all of us need to try eliminating. Livestock production will always be a key component to feeding the world. There are a few of us writing rebuttals to this letter. Please join us in doing so by going to the following website: http://westyellowstonenews.com.

To the Editor:

Cows, cowboys and cattle ranchers are obsolete. Only they don't know it. A kilogram of grain fed beef takes 100,000 liters of water to produce; thirty times as much as a kilo of chicken meat. Feed prices are now sky high because America is burning grain in its cars. The same kilo of beef takes fourteen times the fossil energy input as chicken. What's the price of gas?

Our supply of hamburger often arrives contaminated. Beef itself is not a healthy food for those prone to heart and vascular disease. Feedlots generate enormous ground water, river and estuary pollution from animal waste, hormones and antibiotics. Cows are susceptible to brucellosis, for which there is no effective vaccine. Many cattle ranchers say they can't operate profitably without subsidies in the form of cheap grazing rights on our public lands. Then, because they can't protect their cows and calves out on the range, they want to wipe out whole species of carnivores.

If I were in the cow business, I would stop corrupting our political system, stop asking the government to stifle the competition, stop lobbying the DOL to kill more bison, stop stonewalling the life cycle tracking of individual cows, stop raising artificially fattened animals, stop shooting wolves and start looking around for a new occupation. Sell the ranch and retire. Open the range to free roaming bison. Set up a wind farm. Lease land to the Hutterites. Or, take a look at a land trust.

If I were in the cow business, I would do some strategic planning, for the sake of my family, before I miss the boat completely. When the market can no longer hide the true price of beef, the only option will be to turn toward Washington and pray for a taxpayer bailout. By then, the investment banks will have beat me to it.

Jay Moor

Bozeman

This week the President of the American Farm Bureau, Bob Stallman, requested the Department of Agriculture to increase the amount of pork purchased under Section 32. Section 32 is a permanent approriation USDA uses to support non-farm program commodities while enhancing nutrition programs. This would help provide some stability for the pork industry but more importantly would supply a healthy protein source for users of nutrition programs. These users include children who eat school breakfast and lunch.

This request comes at a critical time for family farmers who raise pork. Today's pork producers are faced with feed costs which have more than doubled in the last year, while prices for liveweight hogs are at the lowest they have been in over 4 years. Right now a family farmer can raise one hog which averages 250 pounds for about $150, but the market is only paying these farmers $110 for the hog. Farmers can not continue to absorb these losses. Pork prodcuers do not receive government assistance and rely entirely on the markets.

As a pork producer, I believe President Stallman's request comes at a very crucial time for my industry. This year resembles the 1998 pork crisis, where many family farmers exited the pork industry due to extremely high losses. I appreciate Farm Bureau standing up for pork producers and being our voice!

Farming has never been said to be "easy." In todays day and age, the key is diversification and the ability to direct market.

This is what growers in my end of the world have found. The latest rage has been blueberries along the Central Coast of California.

Southern High Bush varieties thrive in low chill and drier climate conditions. Local farmers are getting top dollar for great local product. We all know the "rage" that local is driving in our businesses. That is for sure! Buy local is getting more attention than sustainability in some places.

We just need to think "outside" the box when it comes to what we grow. If it is different and can be marketed locally, we'll never be second to any other farmers out there.

Pennsylvania land owners are facing a problem that I feel will have negative a impact on Agriculture and Family activities. Over the past few weeks, the chair of the Pennsylvania's House Game and Fisheries committee is trying to pass legislation; that would allow Sunday hunting. The legislation would give the Game Commission the authority to allow and regulate Sunday hunting. I personally have a problem with this. As a farmer, Sundays is the one day I take time to relax and spend time with my family. Most of the time this includes being outdoors at are local state forests or on my own property. It would truly no longer be safe to continue these activities if Sunday would be open to Hunting.

I do want to make it clear that I am not against hunting. Hunting is very important to me as a sport but also as a source of protection for my crops. The groups that are pushing this fill that it will increase the number of people hunting. I do fill it will increase the numbers. The only change I see is a shift in days when people hunt.

This week I had the opportunity to meet with a group of leaders from Ohio. Ohio pasted Sunday hunting a few years ago. At the time this group was all for allowing Sunday hunting. It was interesting to find out now that they are regretting their decision. I am trying to look at this issue from both sides and hope to receive some good feed back on how others feel about this issue.

I recently received an e-mail from a friend who had stumbled across an article in a religious publication regarding agriculture. Unfortunately, this wasn't a positive article about agriculture. It was attacking modern agriculture practices and expressed views on animal welfare. The article appeared in “The Banner,” a monthly magazine that the Christian Reformed Church puts out for its members.

As a farmer, I know from first hand experience that every aspect of my farm revolves around animal welfare and protecting our environment. We have modernized our farm so our animals are safe and comfortable but also to ensure a safe food supply for our consumers.

I sent a letter to the editor of "The Banner" and expressed my concern about the article, I explained what a modern livestock farm is like, and why we use technology to provide safe shelter for our animals. I encourage everyone to write to the editor of "The Banner" and explain to them why agriculture looks different today. I don't know many industries which still operate like they did in the 1950's, agriculture is no different.

With more people paying attention to agriculture, it is even more important for farmers and ranchers to stand up and protect our industry.

Being part of the Young Farmer and Rancher program is more then an experience it is an adventure. For the next two years, I have the opportunity to be part of the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer and Rancher committee. Two weeks ago, all of the new committee members got together at the AFBF office in Washington D.C. for orientation. This was a time for the new members to build friendships and to learn about the opportunities we will have over the next two years.

During this three day orientation (or adventure), we had the chance to participate in media training. For me, this was the high light of the three days. The training we received was top notch. I fill that I am better prepared to tell my story about agriculture. A personal goal I have for the next two years is to reach out and make myself available to schools and other organizations that want to or need to know the story of agriculture.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the increase in the cost of food. From the last quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, prices increased 8% according to Farm Bureau's informal marketbasket survey. However, the producers of this food have not been getting any of that increase. Read an excerpt from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues The Rural Blog, which references Farm Bureau's survey.

Several days ago I had the chance to judge the some Arizona FFA Proficiency Awards. One of those awards was in the area of agricultural education. I was impressed to see some of the applicants volunteering their time to teach young children, as well as their peers, about agriculture through programs such as Ag in the Classroom.

Today there are many books in our schools that contain misleading information relating to agriculture. Consequently, telling agriculture’s story to the public has become increasingly important. Additionally, developing tomorrow’s agricultural advocates and leaders is critical.

The FFA program provides numerous opportunities to rural and urban youth in our nation, from public speaking to technical training in animal and plant science. My spirit is renewed each time I interact with FFA members, in seeing their enthusiasm for agriculture and the positive manner in which they conduct themselves. Go blue and gold!

The other day I recieved an email from a person that was telling me the dangers of using antibiotics to treat livestock. He said that we have overused anitbiotics to the point that they won't work on viruses. Now, did everyone catch that? Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, not viruses. I am sure that he had read or heard this somewhere and didn't really know what he was talking about, but just trying to repeat it to me to sound informed.

This is a great example of how important is for us to educate consumers and take opportunities to tell our story.

This past weekend was Maine Maple Sunday for the State of Maine. It was a chance for sugarmakers across the state to open up their sugarhouses and for people to sample some of the sweetest syrup in Maine.

Since it was Easter this year the board of directors at the sugarhouse (my wife and grandmother) decided it would be a good idea to be open on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we started off with an pancake and egg breakfast and a bbq for lunch. My father, Steven, made our famous homemade vanilla ice cream and maple syrup and each person could get a sample when they visited.

Sunday we had a bbq sponsored by the North Baldwin Fire Auxilary and they also sponsored a maple cooking contest. The Low Tide String Band played a few tunes and got people dancing a jig to keep warm on the windy March day. The Easter Bunny stopped by and left off some eggs for the kids to find.

Overall people had a great time. Luckily when I was giving tours of the evaporator room (when I gave my grandfather a break) not many people asked where we put the sugar in. We never add any sugar to the sap. Its all natural from the maple trees. Here is a link to our feature story on the show "207."

Here is the link: http://www.wcsh6.com/life/lifestyle/207/video/default.aspx. Go to the second one down under Maine Maple Sunday and you can see a pic of my daughter Emma Joy (she was the one yawning).

If you go to this site, it will have a list of all of the open sugarhouses: http://www.getrealmaine.com/visit/maine_maple_sunday.html.

Here is a link to the sugarmakers association that I helped establish in 2002, The Southern Maine Maple Sugarmakers Association.

I THINK THAT IT IS REALLY GREAT TO SEE YOUNG FARMERS SHARING THEIR VIEWS ON THE WEB SITE. THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT DID AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH THE POSTING OF OUR THOUGHTS. HATS OFF TO ALL THAT WAS INVOLVED. I THINK IT IS ALSO GREAT THAT OUR ORGINIZATION ALLOWS YOUNG FARMERS TO SHARE THEIR OPINIONS ON PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE FACING IN TODAYS WORLD.

This evening I was invited by the Truman University Collegiate Farm Bureau to sit on a panel regarding animal welfare issues and the impact on the environment from CAFO's. I had the honor of sitting on this panel with a life long farmer from Marion County, Ralph Grisbaum. Ralph and I listened intently while we heard comments from an environmental professor from Truman and a retired economics professor as they shared their views on agriculture and how farmers should produce food to feed this country.

It was interesting to hear them talk about the many things they felt farmers were doing to harm the environment, like spraying manure in the air. Ralph and I quickly informed the audience that farmers INJECT their nutrients into the soil after we have tested the soil and nutrient. We explained to the crowd how farmers are the original environmentalist and how we take great pride in caring for our environment and animals.

Another misconception shared by our co-panelist was that farmers use antibiotics on a daily basis to promote growth. Our animals don’t carry health insurance and antibiotics are VERY expensive. We only use antibiotics when necessary to improve the quality of life for our animals.

Ralph and I spent three hours countering misconceptions about our industry. The one thing we, the panelist, all had in common was our desire to never have our food imported, our differences fell on how to achieve this goal. These professors were well intentioned but having never lived on a farm, they have fallen victim to the misconceptions being spread about our industry. While Ralph and I know we didn’t change everyone’s mind tonight, we know we made some of the attendees question the information they have been exposed to previously.

Today watching the news, I have been seeing a lot of horrible images from the flooding going on across Missouri, Ohio and several other states. We have a lot of Farm Bureau friends in all of these states, and we hope that you are all safe and doing well. Those of us in agriculture know how Mother Nature likes to show us who's in charge. While Mother Nature can destroy our property, she can never break the spirit of the America's farmers and ranchers.

We all probably know pasta is one of America’s favorite foods, but did you know last year, 1.3 million pounds of pasta were sold in American grocery stores. If you lined up 1.3 million pounds of 16 oz. spaghetti packages, it could circle the Earth’s equator almost nine times!

If you would like to learn more fun food facts and about National Ag Day visit the links below!

• National Ag Day Links

Join others in honoring agriculture for providing safe, abundant and affordable products, a strong economy, a source of renewable energy, and a world of job opportunities.

As I sit in my office at 2 a.m. and ponder the future of the agriculture industry and especially the future of our family’s farming operation, I can’t help but turn around and look down the hall and wonder the future holds for both of my young children. Am I making the right decisions for them? Will they even want to continue the same business that my family has been involved with for over 100 years? I do know that each generation must plan for the next generation with as much thought and detail as possible.

I can say that I am very proud of what my ancestors have accomplished, and what they have allowed me to accomplish. I can say that animal agriculture has been very good to our family, as I can count 15+ members of our extended family that are making a living from agriculture and the pig business.

Several million dollars worth of land and buildings have been acquired and built over the years by these families and several hundred thousand dollars of property taxes have been paid to support our ever growing county. Not to mention numerous employees and their families that are supported by these family farms.

The time comes every so often a family businesses must expand to allow for the current generation and those little ones safely snug in their beds tonight. Animal agriculture has always been an important part of our family and it appears it will be for some time to come. Unfortunately our business has come under fire in recent times, partly because there are a few “bad eggs”, but a bigger part is because I don’t think the public understands that agriculture has had to undergo the same type of changes as the local hardware store.

You may remember Pickett’s hardware or Smith’s hardware store’s. As the world changes the family owned stores have gone the way of Home Depot and Wal-mart. I will not deny that family farms have had to some degree grow and change similar to the way Wal-mart has. World wide influences have changed the way everyone does business today, I am sure you have witnessed many changes like this at your place of employment.

Farming has not been immune to change. An average size grain farm will grow about 2500 acres of crops and the average pig farm will market 20,000 pigs per year. With these changes have come many concerns. Since the family owners can’t perform all the work by themselves anymore we must have an extremely good workforce.

Instead of heading out in the morning to plow the “back 40” like my grandpa did, we now find ourselves making sure we have trained our employees how to best care for the animals, are we doing everything we possibly can do to make sure the animals are healthy, comfortable, have constant fresh air, a good supply of water and feed. And what about the crops, we are analyzing soil samples, GPS maps, tissue samples, working with spreadsheets trying to figure out how to grow enough food for the world while using just just the exact amount of fertilizer and herbicide, are we doing a good job controlling soil erosion?

You see no matter what people say, farmers are environmentalists and we’re getting pretty good at it. No-till crops and use of biotechnology have GREATLY reduced the amount of fertilizer and herbicide we now use. From our pigs we have learned the best way to use manure, which is an organic fertilizer, instead of relying so heavily on commercial fertilizer to grow the corn that feeds our pigs that in turn produce the manure that we use to grow another corn crop to feed our pigs with.

If that’s not the definition of the circle of life, I guess don’t know what it is. Pretty neat if you ask me.

Good morning. Today we are having new committee orientation in Washington, DC. It is exciting to see the new members in action. We as a farming organization enjoy building relationships and this is an excellent way to do this. We are each taking valuable time away from the two most important things to us, our families and our farms. The reason for this is very important, we are learning how others around the nation face many of the same challenges. In order to continue to clothe and feed the most powerful nation ourselves we all need to work together.

This is awesome! Having a great time in D.C.

My family and I had the pleasure of attending the New York Young Farmer & Rancher Leadership Conference this past weekend. What a great conference “Laugh, Learn, and Lead” we sure did that. It was nice to met new young farmers and here about there farming operations and what there challenges are. It was also great to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in years.

One of the speakers was Jolene Brown, a Certified Speaking Professional from West Branch, Iowa: www.JoleneBrown.com. Through humor, hope, and helpful ideas her messages provided us with ideas to put into action and something good to talk about once we returned home to our farming operations. “The Top 10 Stupid Things Families Do to Break up Their Business” What an eye-opening breakout session. We talked about in-laws and out-laws, off-site family and estates, daily communications and important meetings. From conversations to contracts, from assumptions to clarification, and how to save fighting’s on the way to the funeral home. She was sponsored by Farm Family Insurance with a grant from the Farm Credit Northeast Ag Enhancement program.

Another speaker I had the privilege to hear was Farm Bureaus own Matt Scramlin, Director of Leadership Development. “The United Front: Speaking With One Voice” A great choir sings the same song, at the same tempo, in the same key. How about Farm Bureau? Are we speaking the same message with the same voice or is someone off key? Speaking with a unified voice is essential to our progress. This workshop focused on how to be perceived as reasonable as well as knowledgeable, tips for staying on message, and what to do when faced with conflicts in personal interest.

Excellent job New York Young Farmers and Ranchers! I encourage anyone who can to attend the 2009 conference: www.nyfb.org.

My 10 year old daughter is reading a book called "The Naked Mole-Rat Letters" by Mary Amato for school. I decided to read the book myself to see what my daughter was learining.

I was shocked when I read the following sentences on page 94:

"I certainly agree that kids, naked mole-rats, and all creatures should be treated with respect and dignity. I am a vegetarian because I don't like the way that animals are treated by large-scale agribusiness companies."

I was disappointed to see this author attacking agriculture and providing false information about modern agriculture practices to young children. Many kids who read this book will not have a connection to agriculture and will not know that the above lines are false. They will not know that farmers treat their animals with respect and dignity, and that modern technology enables farmers to protect our animals and keep them safe, comfortable and well cared for.

My daughter and I discussed this part of the book, and she understood this author had been misinformed about agriculture. I didn't realize one of my daughter's "Reading Counts" books, which are required reading points, would be spreading misconceptions about agriculture. We need more programs in our schools like Accurate Ag Books to provide the truth to our children about agriculture. Take a moment to ensure our children are learning the truth about agriculture and visit their schools, encourage their teachers to visit http://www.ageducate.org/ and use the information provided to help educate our kids about agriculture.

I had the opportunity to speak to a Kiwanis Club in Sioux Falls, SD, today. I spoke to them about how our farm uses technology to run our business.

I enjoyed seeing the expressions of awe on their faces as I told them how we use auto guidence, grid soil sampling, yield mapping, nutrient testing in manure samples, and flow meters in maure applicaiton when producing corn and soybeans. All these are things that most of us in production agriculture have taken for granted.

I also made a point to stress how we take care of our animals to ensure they remain healthy and productive, and how we take care of our land to ensure it is available for our children to farm in the future.

I think I truely made an impact on how these individuals view agriculture. I also more fully realize the importance of us as producers taking the time to tell people in urban areas how we conduct our businesses.

There has been a lot of talk lately about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) from the Presidential candidates. Many people do not realize the benefits of NAFTA or the many myths clouding the facts around NAFTA.

NAFTA has achieved its core goals of expanding trade and investment between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Since 1993, trade among the NAFTA nations has more than tripled, from $297 billion to $930 billion. Business investment in the U.S. has risen by 117% since 1993.

And, NAFTA has not cost the U.S. jobs. In fact, U.S. employment rose from 110.8 million people in 1993 to 137.6 million in 2007. This is a 24% increase. The average unemployment rate was 5.1% from 1994 – 2007, compared to 7.1 percent from 1980 – 1993.

U.S. manufacturing output rose by 58% between 1993 and 2006, as compared to 42% between 1980 and 1993. Manufacturing exports in 2007 reached an all time high with a value of $982 billion.

Canada and Mexico accounted for 37% of the total growth of U.S. agricultural exports since 1993. And the total U.S. agricultural exports destined for Canada and Mexico has grown from 22% in 1993 to 30% in 2007. NAFTA access is most crucial for agriculture.

So the next time you hear someone talk about NAFTA, make sure they realize the important role it plays not only in agriculture, but the entire U.S. economy.

A lady told me the other day that "most farmers don't have a clue what the average family is going through today with higher fuel prices." She believed with the high price of corn, soybeans, and wheat, most farmers were living on ‘cloud 9’ and had no clue what it was like to be on a fixed income and experience increased expenses.

I explained to this lady that while her fuel costs were increasing, so were the farmer’s, and the farmer has to use fuel to transport their commodities to market. I went on to tell her farmers and ranchers can not pass this expense on to the next guy because they don't price their own commodities. I also told her not only were increased fuel prices hurting farmers, but so were increased fertilizer costs, land rent, seed costs; and if you were a livestock farmer you were experiencing all time high feed costs mixed with low livestock prices. I also explained to her that while it was costing her more to heat her home, livestock farmers were feeling the same pressure as they paid to heat their livestock barns.

Farmers are definitely feeling the same pressures as the average family with increased input costs. I don't know if I changed this lady's mind, but hopefully I gave her some food for thought. This was another reminder to me that we in agriculture have to start telling our story because the average American is more than three generations removed from agriculture and they don't understand where their food comes from.