Your Food- Made in America

What does the food you eat, the wise words your mom bestowed on you in your youth, and bathing suits made in China have to do with farming?  Sounds crazy but keep reading……

Here is a short video of a crop duster flying on a treatment

to help the wheat crop against the disease called Rust

If you were like me when growing up, your mom probably said this, “if _____ (fill in your own friend’s name) told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? No, well I thought so! So no you can’t go _____ (again, fill in your own answer) & don't believe everything you hear.” Tonight I was watching ABC news and it had segment from a lady in her bathing suit, saying she couldn’t find any clothes made in the USA, they all came from China, India or other foreign countries and she wanted America made clothes! So here is my rationale and it’s because I want you to know that hyped up media sells stories. Think about it. It’s because of the media hype on “corporate factory farms being evil, farmers hurting their animals, and farmers poisoning their land & you with bad chemicals” gets your attention and sells newspapers. It also lures people into going to the Food, Inc kind of movies (which made $71Million) and donating their hard earned money to organizations thinking they are helping poor animals (see Humanewatch.org). Basically it gets down to this, farmers are highly regulated by the FDA in what we use on our crops, no other country has these kinds of regulations, which is why I try not to buy food produced in other countries – who knows what is used in their food production and I want safe food just like you do. I am a mom and farmwife whose livelihood depends on growing the best and safest products for human consumption. I am the farmer who would not poison her kids, grand-kids, family, or you with bad chemicals or unsafe farming practices. I am the person who cares about what my family eats and what you eat.  Really, it is that simple.

A picture of the plane and our wheat fields

This is a marker the plane puts down as he makes a pass when flying on a treatment
so he knows where he has been 

Here is the deal, when you hear about new books or movies telling you that we can “repair our relationship with animals” or “buy organic if you don’t want to be poisoned” blah, blah, blah…. It’s because if  they scare you, it sells and they make money. Then the downside is the scare tactics are used to have new laws & regulations passed that hinder the farmer and make production costs go up. What does that mean for you? More of your hard earned money buying food and then if production costs are too high, then the farmer goes out of business. Currently, the USA enjoys the lowest cost of food than anywhere else in the world. 

*According to the FDA, no signicant differences
has been shown between milk deried from rbST
treated and non-rbST treated cows

The ending to this blog is…. just like your mom says, use your God given brain to sort fact from fiction and think about what you read, hear and see in the news - then ask the true source from those of us who produce your food (ask Farmer, Inc), as we are the experts who have science, logic and facts on our side. If the American public doesn’t want to buy their clothes from China, then do you really want your food coming from a foreign land because regulations and anti-Ag groups make it hard for farmers to put food on your table? No, well that’s what I thought.

As always, thanks for reading this, stop by again and email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com if you have questions.  Also be sure to check in to the combined farm blog site, http://www.farmerinc.net/ for more good blogs. As a side note, I will be working on a book that will showcase the farm blogs from all over the USA... so I'll keep you posted on that new project.  All my best, Gayle

Call to Action! Farm Bloggers Unite!

Our children are our future.
Even the littlest sleeping angel
loves her tractor and who knows,
may want to join the farm when she grows up. 
We need to protect our heritage
to pass on this legacy to our kids and grand-kids

I opened my book club packet today and saw, to my dismay, a new book out from the CEO of H$U$ on animal welfare. OMG, the blurb about it says “it is an important investigation into how we can repair our relationship with the animal kingdom.” I sat down for a moment and thought, the Ag community needs to do something!! But what??? Then I got an idea, if a blogger writing about her cooking from a Julia Child’s cookbook (i.e. Julie & Julia) could have it made into a movie, then what about the “Best Farm Blogs” all showcased into one book? A book that would capture a glimpse into the life of farm families all over the USA complete with stories and pictures. So now I’m off on yet another mission, and it is to contact all the farm bloggers on my Farmer Inc, The Real Story website and request they send me their best blog along with a picture or two. Call me crazy, but we in the Ag community need to do something and now! So to all you farm bloggers out there, please email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com with your best farm blog in Word format, along with a great picture or two, plus info on yourself. Let’s see where this journey takes us.

All my best, Gayle.

Seeing a Farm Makes it to Being on a "Bucket List"

"Farming  looks idyllic and seems easy, but there is real precision, logic
and science behind everything we do"

If you receive the Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper, you may have seen last week’s edition, wherein it contained a “bucket list of things to do before you die”…. And one of them was to visit a farm and meet the people who grow your food.  While that did amaze me, it did not surprise me as the public has sent a very clear message that they are interested in where their food comes from and want to know what farmers do.  Thus, the intense interest from the public in our farm blogs, Twitter and Facebook postings.   In case you haven’t seen my newest project, Farmer Inc, The Real Story (my labor of love) I have begun the task of compiling great farm blogs from all over the USA, so the consumer can get an up close and personal view  on the lives of producers, from animal production to grains.  They will get to read about our farms, our stories, and our families, and I invite you to check it out and tell everyone, please. 

To help educate the public, we post signs in our fields that border the divided highway and identifies what crop is being grown. 

Farmer Joe putting the sign into the field 

Now for what is going on the Anderson Farm... well from now until harvest, Farmers Joe and Jay along with our hired man, Cody will be busy keeping the crops weed and bug free.  With all the moisture that this area has received, we have had to give the wheat plants an extra dose of medicine to protect them from a disease called rust.  We also routinely check the crops for bugs as they can do a heck of a lot of damage to the plant and decrease the yields.  That is why I say we treat our crops like our kids; we oversee their well being and do what is necessary to keep them healthy and strong.  Lots of ongoing care and maintenance and about the only thing we don't do for the crops that we do for our kids is read them a bedtime story.....  but this farm-wife will sit on her deck in the evening  with a glass of wine and contently watch the crops & tell them to grow strong and big. =) 

As always, thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy this blog and please check out my other site too as there are so many more amazing farm blogs.  If you have ideas, questions, comments, please email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com.  All my best, Gayle 

Care & Maintenance of our Paycheck

Wheat maintenance?  In past blogs, I’ve told you that Farmers Joe & Jay care for their crops like their own kids. It is a continual maintenance as once  the crops go into the ground, no matter what is planted - weeds will sprout up. And  let's face it, America doesn't like weeds in their cereal, they expect quality products.... We don't like weeds in our "Wheaties" either, plus we  want the best end product because that is our paycheck out there – so you can be darn sure we are going to take good care of it. While we can do everything we can to ensure a good crop, there are two wild cards that can create havoc with our crops and they are the weather and the market.


Pictured here is Farmer Joe checking the Spring wheat crop for signs of weeds.

Weeds don't go on vacation, so this is an ongoing task



This is a picture of wheat at our Tammany Farm



Notice the straw residue? It helps keep weeds down & keeps
moisture in the soil to help the plant

Here is a weed, so now we will spray for them. It's a lot like
gardening only on a much larger scale

AS always, hope you enjoy the blog, email if you have questions at idahofarmwife@gmail.com and come back soon as there is always lots going on during our growing season.   Remember to take a peek at the other pages too.  Thanks for stopping by.  All my best, Gayle