The Farmer, An American Icon

“He has never planted seeds or brought in a harvest.  He doesn’t even own overalls” was the first line in last week’s Ag section of the newspaper.  Excuse me? Overalls?? My first thought was, I think the Associated Press reporter has been watching too many “Green Acres” reruns on TV & he thinks we are bumpkins.  The article was talking about wealthy investors buying farm land at huge prices for investment purposes.  While that is problematic in and of itself because it drives up land prices and makes it hard for the farmer compete with the ultra rich in order to buy more land to farm, the article seemed to insinuate that we are uneducated people who wear overalls and who don’t seem to know what our land is worth.  Yes, it was insulting to those of us who raise the food that reporter eats, but then I thought, America loves the icon of the American Farmer and that we represent, the wholesomeness & goodness of our trade. 

This tractor used in our parent's generation is now a beloved
"yard ornament" in my flower bed

 So however America views us, let me share some facts about the farmers in our area.
• Most of the farmers have college degrees.

• Farming in today’s world is not what our parent’s generation did as the average farmer grows twice as much food as his parents did – using less land, energy, water and fewer emissions.

• Today, the average U.S. farmer feeds 155 people. In 1960, a farmer fed just 26 people.

• We love our technology and are very “techie”, we have GPS units in our tractors to help us apply fertilizer and other applications only where it’s needed, as much as needed, and no more. See the 2nd video as Farmer Joe explains more on that.

• We care about our land and are good stewards, after all this is how we make our living

o We go to “combine school” to learn how to run our combines better

o We have continuing education on best practices to apply the products that help our crops &have to pass the certification standards in order to have a license to use these products

• We care about raising the safest, best and most economical food, not only for us but for you, the consumer

o We live on our land, we raise our families here, we eat the foods we grow and those are the same one that you eat too

o We are not the bad “corporate farms” that media tries to imply, if we are incorporated, it is simply for tax purposes. 97% of farms are run by farm families

o Weather and markets as well as anti Ag groups can be unkind to us, but we take it in stride and continue to get up every day to do our best, after all you depend on us

• We love what we do and want to continue living this life style, as well as pass it onto future generations to grow the food the world eats



A future farmerette, she loves combines and tractors

We understand that not everyone is a farmer, but everyone eats –and if some view us as a bumpkin, well so be it, but we feel we are living the life that dreams are made of. So I’ll get off my soapbox and hope this blog leaves you will a smile and a better understanding from our perspective.
As always, if you have comments or questions, please feel free to email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com or leave a comment. Starting next week, we will be harvesting our winter wheat, so I’ll be blogging on what the Anderson Farm is up to, with pictures and videos. As always, thanks for stopping by and come back soon. All my best, Gayle

If you could see what I see on the farm

Sometimes writing a blog is like marinating a tough cut of meat.... the proper elements and time are needed to create a good end product.... so while my thoughts are sitting and stewing over an article I read in this week's Ag section of the paper & trying to formulate what I'm wanting to blog - I thought I'd at least share with you what I saw on my bike ride from a few days ago.  These scenes are just a short distance from my farmhouse.....
We are fortunate enough to be close to two land grant universities whose research is instrumental in the development of better crops for our area.  Better crops are good for us (and you,the consumer).


Here is the U of I research farm, their research helps farmers and ranchers



Here are "test plots" of various kinds of wheat

From an earlier blog about my tour at WSU's wheat research facility, often times the wheat breeders like to grow the wheat in real time conditions as shown above in the many "test plots".  

The UI facility also has cattle too

Here is a test plot of blooming peas - which I think looks like a field of "popcorn"

After leaving the UI Research Center, I continued down the highway and saw the yellow field & thought you might like to see it too.  This crop is probably mustard (yes, the seed is used for the mustard you buy in the store) or it is a canola plant and that crop is used for the canola oil. It is so pretty when blooming, as pictured below.

Whether this is a mustard plant or a canola plant, the yellow is eye catching

Loading up hay bales from a field

Next I passed a hay field that had recently been cut & baled.  Note the round bales in the field just above this one.  Depending on the kind of hay baler the farmer owns determines what kind of size and shape of the hay bale. 

Here is a garbanzo plant with a pod. This is from our field along the highway

A view of the garbanzo field, very green and lush at this stage

Our garb field in the forefront, and a different color of green crop is our
spring wheat.

So now you got to see what I see on almost on a daily basis and hope you enjoyed it.  As always, please feel free to email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com if you have questions or comments or leave me a comment ( I love those too).  All my best, Gayle

A View of Farming from the Backseat of a Cycle & Tales from the Road

Joe posing besides a "wheat" sculpture

No matter where our travels lead us, our interest in Agriculture is always present. Whether traveling within the USA or abroad, our attention is always drawn to how other people farm. The Farmer and I just crossed off one item on our shared “bucket list” by celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary (a year late) on a motorcycle tour through Germany and Austria.

Angela, our guide, in the orange helmet along
with Joe when we encountered a dairy cow along our travels

In viewing the crops from the rural roads of Germany, we saw fields of wheat and barley in about in the same growing stage as on our farm as both Idaho and Germany are pretty close to the 45th parallel with similar climates. Plus we also saw fields of potato plants and corn and the fields as well as tractors are much smaller in size than in the States. It was interesting to see wheat fields and corn fields next to each other as this does not occur in Northern Idaho, where our rain fall usually cannot support the moisture level needed for corn (that is a Southern Idaho crop that utilizes irrigation). We also saw many small dairy operations in these beautiful and picturesque countries. Quite often we could smell and see the manure spread on the fields, and many times dairies were next to towns or sometimes within the town itself. It seemed very commonplace to have the aroma of manure in the air and while we didn’t mind the smell, I wondered how urban Americans would embrace this ordinary fact of farming if it was in their backyard. (Just this topic alone could & will probably be another blog later on)



The other interesting practice that we saw was how every available section of ground was harvested for hay. Seeing men cutting grass on steep hillsides down to ditches next to the road, it seemed no blade of grass was left uncut. The grass was either cut by hand or someone would be walking behind a piece of equipment that looked like an overgrown lawn mower. Then the family would hand rake the grass into rows, followed by it either being loaded into carts loosely or if the ground was somewhat level, then baled up. It was almost like stepping back into time and you could imagine their ancestors doing it the same way. (sorry no pictures tho)

Riding through the charming villages

From the neatly mowed countryside to the red tiled roofs of the houses that all seemed to sport window planter-boxes with cascading flowers, it was like driving through a movie set of a Bavarian village - only real. Truly a once in a lifetime adventure for this farm-wife! Click here (or visit the "At Home" page) to read more about “Tales From The Road” and to see more pictures as well as hear about the crazy characters that we rode with.

Our house amidst the sea of green rolling hills
that are planted with winter wheat

As for what is happening on the Anderson farm, it is still a sea of green rolling hills here in North Idaho and the crops are growing nicely. The wheat was sprayed again for rust disease and aphids, the garbanzo plants are starting to flower, so all is well.

Here you can see the rust stripe

Checking the winter wheat heads, which are filling out

As always, please feel free to email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com if you have questions. I love comments on the blog too. =) Thanks for stopping by and come back soon. All my best, Gayle

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

Spraying Winter Wheat

This spring has been an exercise in both patience and hope. Our farm is one of the fortunate ones wherein, we have gotten in about 95% of our spring crops planted.  As of a few days ago, many farms to the North of us had not been able to get their crops in the ground due to the fields being too wet.  At the bottom of this blog is a picture of standing water in one of our fields to show what I mean.   This has not been a typical year for us with so much rain and it came every few days with very little drying time in between.  

A video of spraying the wheat

Also another view of spraying from the back of the tractor cab.  As of today (Monday 5/23/11) Farmer Joe will be back in the seat of the tractor cab spraying pre-emerigent on the newly seeded garbanzo beans as once they are out of the ground, we can't spray anything more on them, so we know the weeds are coming and will try to get them under control.

  

A view from the window of tractor cab

Standing water in the field

The field above with the standing water was slated for the last 160 acres of garbanzo beans to be seeded, but the field was too wet to do so.   So we will not plant anything on it this spring and when that happens, the farming term is  called  "fallowing", which is simply no crop in the ground for this growing season, the only thing we will do to it is spray it for weeds to keep it weed free and then and most likely seed it back into winter wheat this fall.  The crop rotation on our farm is 1/3 winter wheat, 1/3 spring wheat and 1/3 garbanzo beans.  

Wet spots in the field leave tracks

With all the rain we have had, the fields will have wet spots in them and above is a rut from the tractor as shown above. 

 We are thankful for what we did get in the ground and this is all part of the farming game, we play the best hand we can with the cards we are given at the time.

As always, email me if you have any questions at idahofarmwife@gmail.com.  As a side note, it was interesting to get an email and request for pictures from a farmer/agronomist in Australia, as he wanted to use some of my pictures for a presentation he was giving.  Amazing to think of the world wide reach we now have access to via the Internet.  =) 

Speaking of weeds, the home place has sprouted lots, so I am off to spend quality time with my backpack sprayer too!  As always, hope you enjoy the blog and come back often.  Remember to check out the rest of the pages on the blog for family life on the farm and the recipe section.  Best Regards,  Gayle

My Little Red Tractor

What does a farmer do when it rains? Well, the good guy that I married over 26 years ago finally gave in and brought over my belated Mother's Day gift, as pictured below.  I have loved this tractor ever since I saw it in one of the sheds a few years ago and have begged him to please bring it home.  It will grace our yard as my newest yard art. 

My Mother's Day present

Joe prides himself in finding me unusual gifts and this was one of the best ones, except for my work bench that he got me one Christmas.  So I'm thinking it is really good to be me!

Spring Seeding - A View From The Seat of a Tractor

Garbanzo & wheat planting down at the Tammany Farm last week-  Come take a peek at what the farmers are up to.  Below is a video clip  narrated by Farmer Joe from the inside of his tractor cab.  Long hours are spent inside the tractor during spring and fall work.



 

Seeding garbanzo beans into a "no till" field

Being "no till" farmers we will seed directly into last year's wheat stubble, as shown in the picture above.

A view of the garb seed being planted into the ground


++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wheat Seeding Views

The ammonia truck is filling the tanks on the tractor while the  nurse truck
as seen in the back of the picture is filling the air cart with wheat seed & fertilizer

 The nurse truck has two compartments in the truck which holds both wheat seed and dry fertilizer.

Farmer Jay overseeing the filling of the air cart with seed



A view as wheat seed is being filled into the air cart



The view is of the dry fertilizer that was also filled into the air cart

Even though we were not completely done seeding down at the Tammany Farm, (the ground was still too wet in some areas of the field) the decision was made to move the 37 miles up to the Genesee Farm to begin seeding wheat and garbs

Getting ready to move to Genesee

This is what moving equipment from one area to another looks like when we have to move it via the highway and  it isn't too bad if it is a 4 lane road.  But often times it is a 2 lane road so if you are reading this, remember farm equipment is not built for speed, and to please be patient when you encounter a farm vehicle on the road. :)

As always, hope you enjoyed the blog. Also remember to take a peek at the rest of the pages on the blog. Please email me if you have questions at idahofarmwife@gmail.com.  Also remember to check out http://www.farmnerinc.net/ for other farm blogs and good Ag info. =)

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, whether we live on the farm or urban areas, we all have so much to give and contribute in our own unique ways.