What A Day

Have you ever had one of those days where things just always seem to go wrong, even with good things happening? A type of day when no matter what you do you just can’t get ahead? Well, I had one of those days.

The day started out good enough, I woke up (one more day blessed), had my coffee and did my early morning computer time. A normal enough day so far. The weather looked decent and we were able to get stuff done around the farm like looking over the harrow to make sure it is ready for spring work. Also, no rain (although it was predicted tomorrow).

I have a chat with my brother who is working on the farm with me in the morning to discuss his progress and things that he is doing well and things that need improvement. Great conversation and work starts out fine. It was normal enough until late afternoon.

Logan was home from school and said we had a dead cow (third one in two weeks) and it wouldn't get up when he mooed at it from the barn. I told him it doesn’t always work making a sound at them, sometimes you have to walk out there. He walked, came back and said the cow was fine but we had a new calf. Great, the bull did his job last year and calving season is starting.

Now the fun begins. We get the needle, medicine, ear tag, and rubber bands (in case it is a male) and head out as a family to the pasture. Sure enough a beautiful little calf lying in the field. It gets up and starts moving…a nice healthy calf. Even better. But who is the momma?

Turns out momma is a first calf heifer whose bag is not dropping and doesn’t want the calf. Chris (little brother) gave the calf its shots, put the tag in, and banded it. Then we got him up and sent him off for momma to find. No go. We spent about 45 minutes trying to get momma to hook up with the calf to no avail.

As I get into the Kubota to go out of the pasture with Rhonda, Logan starts walking over and goes through the crust into really soft stinky manure…in his baseball cleats. He had to leave in less than ½ hour. We get out and I wash off his shoes and get them cleaned up. I leave the Kubota parked by the pump house in the middle of the farm.

After washing the shoes off I go in the office to get the colostrum (the first milk) out of the freezer to thaw. A newborn mammal needs the colostrums to kick start its immune system and we had milked a cow to keep some on hand, just in case.

As this goes on Rhonda is ready to take Dillon to drivers education and Logan to his game. We say goodbye (I am preoccupied with my thoughts) and she promptly gets into her car to go. However, when backing up she runs into the Kubota bending the tailgate that Logan sat on for the calf and dented the hatch on her Trailblazer, right rear quarter panel, and broke the backup lens.

After I rant and rave about the situation (not at her or anyone else) I get back to business of dealing with the calf. Momma still is not taking it after Chris and I feed it the colostrum. We carry the calf to the shop and make a nice pen for it to warm up and stay the night. And I miss a meeting.

I know this may sound trivial because there are other people in this country and world that have bigger problems than this. Keeping an even head and dealing with the problems head on gets the job done instead of dwelling on it.

As I was relaxing in the evening with my thoughts, the newspaper, and the NBA playoffs I started thinking about the bigger problems agriculture has…image. Movies like Food Inc., organizations like PETA, and magazines like Time all want to paint a picture that farmers, ranchers, and agriculture is bad. There is no compassion for anything we do.

Now is when I really get upset for the day. The minor things that happen on a farm or ranch are good things when looked back on. No one was hurt and material things can be replaced or fixed. The best part of the day wasn’t when it started, it was how it finished. It finished by having a new born animal being cared for, not because of money but because it is my place to do it.

It is my responsibility to make sure the people and animals that are in my care get the best possible chance. Sometimes things don’t always work out, but this time it did. It is moments like this on a farm, overcoming adversity, that’s what makes being a farmer awesome.

What we do every day on a farm or ranch is completely contrary to what is in movies, magazines and on the websites of organizations that have an agenda above any animal’s welfare.  It is not everyone who can save a life and make it prosper every day.

Momma still won’t take the calf, but Dillon and Logan will have a new project and a new responsibility on the farm. They will learn another farm lesson that can only be taught by experience. One of them might even have an FFA or 4-H project. However, the memory of their experience will last with them for the rest of their lives, regardless of people against agriculture.

The Power of Social Media

I find it kinda funny how people think that farmers don't  do anything after fall work is done and only  get busy when spring comes around. Hibernation is thought to be an inherited trait amongst us.

My schedule seems mundane at times by going to meetings at the local, state and national levels, being a husband and a father, the "C" squad basketball coach, and following the markets. I love to work in my shop and play with the toys in there, a necessary job to make sure the equipment works properly for limited breakdowns.

One other job that I have taken on is using the computer. I fondly remember a time when all communication was either by letter or a phone. Not many people had a fax machine and if you did it was considered a luxury.

I use my computer to watch the grain markets, budget, analyze data from my yield monitor, and of course...email. I was finishing college when the personal computer, the World Wide Web, and email were making their debut. Ebay was a great website with lots of neat toys to offer.

As for email, I thought it was stupid. Not many people other than students had email. The forms of communication that I liked in order of preference were face-to-face, telephone, and then a letter. I like the personal interaction and to see the person.

Today there are many options for communication with email being at the top of the list for me now. It is quick and you don't have to listen to elevator music while waiting for a reply (unless that genre of music is you.) It is relatively free and covers the globe at light speed.

I enjoy Facebook and the ability to see what friends are doing all over Idaho, the U.S., and the world. I can see their face and make a comment on their post if I want to. I have learned about achievements and heartache that sometimes I would not hear for months.

This weekend I started doing more work on finding people to visit while in Brazil and Argentina for my Eisenhower Fellowship. I had received a LinkedIn update from the Precision Ag group I belong to. I decided to bite the bullet and log in.

After posting in my group "I need help. I will be in Argentina and Brazil and need on the ground contacts" I received a reply from the administrator of the group who lives in Argentina. He put the word out to some of his friends and as of this writing I have at least six contacts in those countries, all of whom said they would be happy to meet.

Also on LinkedIn, I saw a picture of a friend from Monsanto. She ran the WILOT (Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow) program that I went through in 2002. I sent her a note regarding my Fellowship and the need for contacts and five minutes later I was talking to her on the phone. She gave me some names and sent an email out through her Monsanto network to people that have been to both countries.

A couple of week ago I met with a good friend, Jake Putnam, who works in the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation media relations group. I was needing his advice on how best to document my Eisenhower Fellowship journey. I was almost overwhelmed.

"The trick of maximizing your exposure on the web is to have as many links back to your name as possible" said Jake. For instance, he said one of the best things is to be in Wikipedia. This is the ultimate in exposure because your name goes to the "head of the class" in a search engine.

He also said "You will want to have pictures and video to document what you are doing and for others to gain a visual understanding of what you are experiencing." "You need to get a Flickr and YouTube account set up." Flickr is for pictures and YouTube is for video.

Jake also showed me the proper way of doing a "camera edit" for video with my point-and-shoot camera. The reason, to save time later on for posting it to the web. These little tips and pointers are great.

Right now I am "blogging" about my experiences and have put my thoughts on subjects out there. Paul Schrimpf, group editor for Meister Media and Precision Ag, gave me the advice to start blogging as a way to document my journey.

Going through the process of finding what type of social media is right for you is like being a connoisseur of wine, it has to be what you like. I prefer Facebook over LinkedIn because of its simplicity and who uses it. LinkedIn is business based and has many advantages over Facebook because of that.

Like finding contacts in Brazil and Argentina, deciding which social media outlet to use is important. I asked myself "What is it I want to do?" The answer is "I want a quick way of showing pictures and what I am doing, a way to make an album for pictures, a place for videos, and an outlet for experiences that I believe need more coverage." Hence Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and my blog.

On my journey I will have a computer, camera (for stills and video), and my Blackberry. These are the tools of the trade for anyone who plans on doing social media. I have included a quick YouTube video explaining the technology that you might enjoy. It gets somewhat technical in terminology, but I believe it is worth it.

Technology and the evolution of computers has made the world a smaller place. We can reach almost anybody almost anywhere at almost any time. I got to thinking on how daunting the task would be to find contacts in a country I have never been in and how much time it would take, even 20 years ago. In my life, the technology has had a positive effect.

Granted, doing this is time consuming and a person can get caught up in the fine details. However, I believe that the best thing that we can give to the world and those around us is our knowledge and experiences. Using social media will give those back home a way to follow me and to share in some of my experiences. However, I have yet to "tweet", but I am sure that is around the corner.

The Next Generation

Agriculture is a tough and demanding profession with limited financial rewards. Long hours and short pay is usually the norm. We are in the process of losing a generation of people who grew up on farms, have expertise in farming operations, and love to work.

That generation has been the backbone of agriculture for the last 40 to 50 years. Their work ethic will probably never be matched again. Along with that, they grew up on a farm (that was probably absorbed by those of us still going) and brought knowledge that is hard to replace.

I fear for the up and coming generation of farmers that won't have the same base of people to fill the gaps on their operation. It seems like today's society is filled with entitlement without wanting to work. Society "owes" them.

This morning my wife, Rhonda, was on the computer and came across a website http://www.ilovefarmers.org/ . She was so excited about an organization about farming created by young people that I became infected.

Those involved are mainly based in California, the most productive ag land in the world. I applauded these young agriculturists for their enthusiasm and determination to not only take on the challenges of being in agriculture, but to do it in a state that has a history of cruelty towards this crucial industry.

I know that there is 4-H and FFA, but these young folks took it upon themselves to create something new. Their message is great and I believe that their direction and vision is what is needed for tomorrow.

I challenge everyone out there to join them through their social media links and to support them in any way possible. Besides, young minds that can take "WTF" and turn it into something meaningful like "Where's the Food...Without the Farmer" need your support. Keep up the good work.