We farm so you don't have to

"Everyone of us that is not a farmer is not a farmer because we have farmers" Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

Check out this video link below, this is an excellent speech from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack!

https://www.facebook.com/Sustainvc2016/videos/554520281403988/?pnref=story

This speech from Sec. Vilsack came across my newsfeed this week and it had me thinking about the small portion of people who are trained, experienced and qualified to raise food for the people of this country.  It's truly impressive the small number of people who rise food for so many and in places where food shouldn't grow we are using technology and conservation practices to make it grow.  It's astounding!  Going to the grocery store is something generations of people have taken for granted.  Consumers have the convenience of driving a few minutes to the nearest store to pick up anything they might want for supper as compared to having to raise, plan, store, and preserve food for their suppers.  By having their food that simple and cost effective, consumers are free to have more time to do their other jobs and taking care of their families. 

I attended an on-farm meeting this week where a banker in attendance had a young woman with him.  This young woman was the banker's intern for the summer and he was taking an opportunity to show her the inner workings of a dairy farm.  When we were leaving the meeting I approached the young woman and thanked her for her time as well as asked her what she had learned from attending this meeting.  Her words have stuck with me ever since we talked.  "I will never take for granted my next glasses of milk! Wow! These people are truly tirelessly selfless! They do things I could never do and get up at crazy times of the day just to do work that they obviously love!  I am truly floored!"  That right there is exactly why we need to tell/share our farming stories, because it is so important that the consumers of today have the ability to see how and where their food comes from.  If we just open our doors and minds, and listen to the concerns our consumers have we can make a priceless impression, just like this young woman. 

This reason is also why I decided to spread my wings a little and agree to do an interview with a local fitness blogger.  She wanted to interview a farmer who is using fitness in her life and as a result we had a good conversation about what I hope consumers learn from my work and the work of many other great farmers and ranchers.  We want you to know we CARE!  Feel free to check out the link below for Tough Muddette's blog, it's a good one!  And expect me to keep telling me dairy's story!

http://toughmuddette.com/awesome-interview-dairy-woman-strong/

Generations that came before Me



Doing calf chores on my family's farm.

I had the pleasure of milking cows with my dad last night.  I took advantage of the situation and asked him about his memories of his dad and grandfather.  He started sharing stories from the past. The stories that are so awesome that you hope you can remember them forever.  While dad was talking about his family, I asked him what his grandfather, my great grandfather, would think about the happenings at the farm (new parlor being constructed).  My dad smiled with a big grin, “I think he would be proud.  I think he would say to me, ‘That’a boy! Way to go!’” I smiled.  I know dad would be right but what I didn’t expect was the reason dad thought his grandfather would be proud.  My dad smiled again, “Your great grandfather would be proud because we are still working and milking cows, in fact almost 130 cows in the original barn that he built when he started farming here years ago.”  It was the idea that we were still using something that my great grandfather built and that through the generations has become a legacy of farming for my niece and nephew.  I couldn’t help but smile and be proud also.  It has been such a blessing to be the collection of the generations that came before me: the ideas and dreams that they had, the hard work that they did, and everything that they strived for.  If it wasn’t for certain decisions at a certain times by these ancestors, I might not be who I am today doing what I am doing.

A path was laid out for me before I was born, this I know and I have complete faith in.  A perfect example of this path is when my father was a graduate from high school.  My grandfather asked him what he wanted to do with this farming career, there was no doubt my dad was coming home to farm it was just a matter of what was he going to raise and grow.  My grandfather had a variety of crops: corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, alfalfa and he even grew peas for the local canning factory.  My grandfather also raised dairy cows, beef steers, hogs and in his younger years, horses.  When my dad was a senior in high school my grandfather was moving towards having only pigs and beef cattle.  He had built a hog barn and he was breeding his Holstein milking cows to Herefords, starting his beef herd and transitioning out of dairy.  When my dad was faced with the question of what he was going to raise, he couldn’t get himself to have a farm without dairy cows.  My dad and my grandfather went on a shopping trip for Holstein heifers which resulted in a replenishing of the dairy herd as well as breeding all of the dairy cows back to Holstein bulls.  If dad had not made the choice to have dairy cows on our farm, my siblings and I would not have had the opportunities that we had growing up.  Sure, we would have had beef cows and pigs, as well as crops, but there is something special about dairy cows, something special in all of our hearts.  Without dairy I would have never had the opportunity to show cows for 4-H or be a finalist for Princess Kay and have my head carved in butter at the Minnesota State Fair.  Perhaps I wouldn’t have gone to college for dairy production, had the opportunity to operate a family farm or work in a career where I am able to help other dairy farmers.  Based on that single choice that my dad made, because he wasn’t ready to have a farm without dairy cows, I am who I am.  I am the collections of all the generations that came before me and that is just cool!  It’s this very reason that I enjoying spending a little time asking my dad these questions and learning more about those who came before me.  I have so much to learn from them.