The moon says Hello!

It is 4:07am and my cold & flu ridden body has announced that it’s time to get up because it feels better. Geez, I’m a morning person, but this is a tad extreme (I’m sure the dairy farmers are up long before this so I’ll quit whining) …. And so on this cold dark February morning let me catch you up on what has been going on at the Anderson Farm. 2 days after getting back from the Hawaiian field trip, Farmer Joe had wheat industry meetings to attend, both in Boise and then a few days later in our national’s capitol. This year he is the president of the Idaho Grain Producer’s Association (IGPA) and his volunteer duties include lots of winter meetings as the farm fields lie in wait for the warmth of spring to come.

Yup, the farmer cleans up pretty good! =)

This year's trip to Washington DC was uneventful and Farmer Joe along with his IGPA officers and staff met with some of our congressmen and the EPA on farm issues.  The group began talking about the next Farm Bill ( of which I'll give some insights on that in a moment).  When I say this year's trip to DC was uneventful, let me explain that last year's meeting as the national wheat industry farm leaders conference ended up in the same hotel as a  "leather fetish" convention was being held.  So if you can imagine conservative farmers, who talk about what kinds of seed we will plant this year - coming face with to face with slightly wilder versions of the "village people" running amok... well you can say, the farm boys knew they were a long way away from the farm!   This year the farmers chose a different week to conduct their meetings and I must say, the nightly phone calls from Farmer Joe weren't as "colorful" as last year. =)

Anyway, back to the Farm Facts, many people think the farm bill is designated only to aid farmers, but did you know that:
~ Only 11% of funding in the farm bill goes to farm policies.

~ More than 84% of farm bill-related spending goes to food and nutrition programs like food stamps, not to farmers.
~ Farm policy funding has fallen sharply in the last decade. It was slashed in the 2008 farm bill by $7.4 billion, and again in 2010 by $6 billion.

~ U.S. farm policy costs Americans just 2.3 cents per meal of 6.9 cents a day.

More facts can be found on the link supplied above or again, click here. 
 
Have you ever noticed that major events and holidays are always associated with food? Super Bowl is tomorrow and one of the biggest days on record for our consumption of pizza, beer and other traditional football fare.   And so, on behalf of the barley, wheat, dairy and animal agriculture farmers,  we are glad you like what we produce. =) And with that my friends, I hope you will click on the link and read about the farm facts, because as the political season kicks off I'm sure there will be lots of talk about cutting agriculture support along with  many other funding issues, so at least you can go to a site to get the straight facts on funds spent on behalf of agriculture.  
 
As always, thanks for stopping by.  I am still trying to get my other farm field trips lined up (didn't realize it would take so long for approval to go on their sites).  For more on Life on the Farm, click here and hope your week-end is a good one. Just like the Lowe's store slogan, you have questions.... we have answers, so please email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com  and ask away! All my best, Gayle