We aren't that couple.

8/24/2016 74 Comments

We aren't that couple.

The "American Gothic" was painted in the 1930's and depicts a farmer and his wife (or daughter). This is often what people expect farm families to look like.

Dear America,　

It struck me this morning, as my husband and I were walking out the door - there is something I need to tell you. 　Something I need you to know. 　

We aren't that couple. In fact, I'm not even sure if we own a pitchfork. 　

A lot has changed since the 1930's. 　Our corn yields have increased six times over. 　We use computers, GPS, seed technology. We grow more, on less water and land. Our farms are bigger, our equipment is bigger, even our animals are bigger. 　We do all of this with fewer people than ever before in history.

We have college degrees, my husband actually has two. One of us works off the farm full time which is the new norm for farm families - just like non-farm families. We are professionals.

Some people are scared of our advancements. 　Some want us to farm like we did in the 1930's yet they don't realize that would require 20% of the population to give up their area of expertise and return to the farm. It would require thousands or more acres put into production. 　

Some people do not appreciate that only 2% of the population does this, so the rest of you can do what you love, what you are good at.

As we leave this morning, headed in different directions - Matt headed to represent the Missouri Corn Growers at an event, me headed to speak at a meeting for young farmers (the business side of what we do)- I'm asking a favor. 　

Will you trust us? 　

Will you trust the generations of expertise my husband's family brings? 　Will you trust our formal degrees and continuing education, plus our informal daily learning?　

Will you trust the fact that our family- and only our family- makes the decisions on how this farm is run. 　

Will you trust that we are feeding your family and OURS and trust that it 　matters to us.

Will you trust we love this dirt and these animals more than we could ever explain and we do everything in our power to pass it all down in better condition than it is now?

Will you trust that we are devoted to doing this, the right way, for the right reasons and that we know more about how to accomplish that than lawmakers and activists and food bloggers and fitness coaches?

I know we cover more acres and feed more animals than our grandparents did. I know our farm looks more like a business than you imagine it should. 　I know we carry smartphones instead of pitchforks. 　I know that you often don't understand what we do and why. 　

But I also know we are GOOD at this. And we CARE. So will you, can you, trust us to do this?　

-Matt & Kate　

　
　

Heading out, in different directions, to serve our industry. This is some of the "business" side of what we get to do!

74 Comments

Buzzard link

8/24/2016 10:26:50 am

Love this - great post and a unique way to look at it from another point of view!

Nancy link

8/24/2016 12:33:54 pm

Great article and facts. Thanks for writing and sharing. I wish more Agvocates like you would speak up as well. Sharing this on my Facebook page.

Debbie Brockman

8/24/2016 12:47:36 pm

You go girl - keep telling our agricultural way of life. As we become fewer & fewer we need more advocates like you.

Rae

8/24/2016 05:33:22 pm

A million times THIS! Yes, I trust you. I work with and for fathers every day and they're the hardest working, most ethical group of men and women EVER.

William

8/24/2016 08:56:41 pm

I trust you! But then again, I'm an agricultural scientist... :-)

Kate Murray

8/24/2016 09:25:15 pm

I love this. I grew up as a "city kid" in an agriculturally rich area. I was a 4-H kid who didn't show animals but my trust in farmers and my love for ag is strong. I want my kids to always know farmers are good. Great post.

Suzanne

8/24/2016 11:02:22 pm

Love your article! Thanks for sharing your heart. From one farmgirl to the next...who works a job in town too...i understand.

Dan

8/24/2016 11:26:38 pm

Awesome

Alan hewitt

8/25/2016 01:53:06 am

Love your comments, and so true. My son does things differently to me just as I did to my dads ways.big challenges ahead to feed a growing population of the world.
Will try to spread your words this side of the pond.. Alan Hewitt

Chuck

8/25/2016 05:06:52 am

Why would someone trust you? Because you have multiple college degrees? Because you carry a phone? Because your farm is bigger than grandpa's? So what?

What are you doing to preserve and improve the soil? What you doing to insure your chemicals and fertilizers and manure stay out of other people's water? How are you raising your animals? What are you feeding them? What you doing to nurture the microbial life in the soil and the bees and all the insects and other life that form our intricate food web and make growing crops and feeding livestock possible?

Answering those questions, and not whether you carry a pitchfork, will give America a basis for deciding to trust you or not

Kate

8/25/2016 06:07:33 am

Hey Chuck!! I am so glad you asked thanks questions! I hope you'll spend some time reading some other posts on my blog - about our no-till practices that help protect our soils and our waterways, about our cover crop practices that help build our soils and microbial health, protect from chemical run-off and soil erosion and help built organic matter. Check out some of the posts about how we use chemical in a responsible and minimal way, thanks in huge part to GMO technology! And make sure and read some of my posts about what our livestock production looks like now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Trisha

8/25/2016 06:37:13 am

Kate, thanks for your great response to 'Chuck' - it was the correct response, and not one that I had written in my head.... 😜. Glad you responded and not me!! This is my first introduction to your writing and blog and can't wait to read some archived articles as well future blogs! Stay Strong and Loving what you do! I'll live vicariously thru you👍🏽

Beth

8/25/2016 10:10:26 am

👍🏼

8/27/2016 06:01:52 pm

The Green Revolution has indeed increased the crop yield massively, but like all things, it does have its short comings, eg: The amount of energy (petro) required to run machinery and make the beloved fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides that have considerably attributed to this massive yield increase is far too high and is contributing to climate change, there are better technologies that traditional farming in development, which I am sure you know about. GE technology in an on itself has not been responsible for further increase in yields of food, or if it has, only marginally, but arguably has been used successfully to limit the amount of insecticides used. However, nature being nature, we are now seeing weeds that are glyphosate resistant and rootworms that are resistant to traditional Bt GMO crops as well... of course this challenge is already being considered and agrogiants are using genestacking to attenuate this resistance, while at the same time developing new GMO crops resistant to other herbicides such as 2,4-D which is now approved in Canada, and I assume you are likely using it, or will be using it in your trust worthy crops.

Sue

8/25/2016 09:34:34 pm

Hey Chuck, I was wondering what do YOU do for a living? And I was wondering if you were doing anything to preserve life and the world, do you live in the city? The reason I ask is because you sound a little critical and judgmental of a life you are mostly likely far removed from and don't have a clue.

Krys

8/26/2016 02:26:30 pm

So Chuck, do you only eat what you grow? Kate was very diplomatic. I don't have to be that nice. Can't you see, they are trying to negate the negativity surrounding agriculture today. They are giving their all and trying to hold up an age old occupation that is still necessary today. What do you want from them? More labels? Knock it off. If everyone is so perinoid we are all doomed. Good for you Kate and Matt. Thanks for bringing us back down from our pillars. I bet your corn is awesome!

@FarmGirlJen

8/25/2016 05:18:46 am

Awesome blog. It makes me wonder why peoplease would "trust" an antiquated agrarian system that resulted in vast losses of top soil through aggressive and excessive plowing, resulting in more sediment and nutrient loss into waterways. Too few People appreciate that those full groceries stores with fruits, veggies, grains, meats, eggs, and milk was produced by 2% of the population yet 97% family owned farms. It really speaks to the level of privilege we have in the US.

Simon Filiatrault link

8/25/2016 06:38:05 am

Very well said... YES I trust you, 100%. Have a nice day ;-)

Debbie

8/25/2016 06:59:53 am

This was great information! FYI, we went to the Boone County fair (northern IL) last week and one dairy farm had posters with facts about raising a cow. Very interesting, but I am sure very few people read these posters! That's the norm nowadays and food just magically appears in the grocery store!

Ron

8/25/2016 08:10:48 am

I trust most of you. But there are some around me that I'm not so sure don't need a little control.

Heather

8/25/2016 11:54:53 am

Do you use Monsanto seeds? I'm assuming you do since you specially called out corn yields. If so, then no, I don't trust you.

Kate

8/25/2016 11:57:55 am

Hi Heather!

We do not actually use any Monsanto seed. We plant mostly seed from a company called Pfister as of right now. We also sell seed for a few different companies and we reevaluate what companies and what varieties and hybrids we will use each year.

I'm not sure I follow your correlation between yields and Monsanto? Mondanto is simply one of several companies that research and develop seed technology.

Heather

8/25/2016 12:05:28 pm

Pfister is owned by Dow Chemical Company.

Kate

8/25/2016 12:23:54 pm

Yes that's correct....

Chaser

8/25/2016 11:56:16 am

No offense, but farmers are not dietitians.

Kate

8/25/2016 12:00:14 pm

Hi Chaser!!

You're right! We are not! (On a side note thought my mother-in-law, also a farmer's wife, is actually a registered dietician.)

But you've hit a great point - we can only ensure that we growing a safe and healthy raw product. We cannot control what happens once it leaves the farm, how it's processed, sold, or consumed. Sometimes I wish we had more control there though!

Thanks for stopping by!

Greg

8/25/2016 12:05:33 pm

You seem like fine, accomplished people, like many of my neighbors here in rural Kansas. And I'm sure you're trustworthy, but there are real reasons I and many others don't really trust the agricultural system you operate within.
Just to take one thing from your post about the need to farm more acres and increase the number of farmers by 20% of the population under any other production system, I have to question that. Don't know where those numbers come from, but when I look at fields here I see corn, soybeans, wheat and hay, same as your farm in MO. From those fields, the only thing that feeds me directly is wheat. Everything else is to feed animals, largely in confinement operations, which are inhumane and cause serious pollution of air and water. Until these confinement systems are abolished and our animal production methods reformed, a huge amount of our agricultural acreage is dedicated to supplying completely untenable "factory" farming operations that will continue to make headlines and turn people off of our food system. And they are rightly turned off by this aspect of our food production, because it is awful.
So, to bring this around, if we stop feeding confined animals so much and focus on feeding people, the acreage under tillage drops dramatically. Grass and forage acres go up, but that's a good thing if done well.
Yes, this requires some very radical changes in what we eat and the price we pay for it, but those changes are happening already to some extent. So, of course I trust good farm people, but I have to question the system you operate in. But, please keep fighting the good fight to improve it.

Kate

8/25/2016 12:54:10 pm

Hi Greg!

You bring up a lot of points, I will address a few and encourage you to look around the blog for some more information on our modern industry.

First - my numbers of 20% was a simple reference to farming in the 1930's. At that point it took roughly 22% of the population involved in production Ag. Today it's less than 2%. Therefore (in theory) if we returned to farming practices from that era, it would mean 20% more of the population would need to go back to farming.

Your comments regarding confined animal operations lead me to believe you have not actually been on these farms or visited with the families raising animals in confinement.

Animals were put into buildings (where they are protected from the elements, disease, and have plenty of room) for their own protection. These are actually very safe and effective ways to finish animals.

It's very easy for some of us to say we don't mind changing the way we eat or saying we don't mind paying more for our food.

Greg that is not so easy for millions of people who live paycheck to paycheck and the millions who are food insecure.

Finally, we grow corn and soybeans because that is what our soils, climate and markets allow us to grow and be profitable. It's a good thing when we can find lots of uses for the crops we are naturally good at growing.

It would be very ineffecient and costly to try to force the growing of crops that don't respond well to our conditions and location.

Thank you for visiting!

Karen

8/25/2016 03:53:59 pm

Hi Kate! You are correct when you say it would be inefficient and costly to grow other crops that don't respond to your conditions and location. My husband and I grew (we just retired) apples for the fresh market in New York State. Our orchard is planted on a hillside to provide "air drainage" which potentially protects the apple blossoms from a damaging frost (think about opening your top freezer and seeing the cold air rush down to the floor). Apple trees also need a certain number of hours of chilling (2000 hours of temperatures below 40 degrees) to allow the New Years growth to commence. Driving a combine on our farm would be hazardous to your health! We even need specialized equipment (narrow tractors) for getting between the rows of apple trees.

Jen

8/27/2016 01:07:41 am

It doesn't appear that Greg is referring to the family-farm livestock productions. He's referring to the factory farms that are in existence that keep their livestock in inhumane environments. If you've seen one or been near one, you'll remember it... cause you'll smell it from many miles away and you'll never want to smell it again in your life (I couldn't stand it and I'm a farm kid).

And, truly, that's the issue. It's not the family-operated farms but the capitalistic farming that's going on. It's not sustainable... for health or environmental reasons or the industry itself. And the family-farm operations get screwed in the process because of it. Fewer and fewer are able to continue farming full-time. So, in a way, we need to go back to how it was in the 30s so more people can be farming as they've wanted to rather than take on other careers or feel forced to do certain things in their operations in order to make a greater profit cause that's what the industry wants.

Greg

8/27/2016 02:03:37 pm

Thanks for replying, Kate.
Wanted to respond to a few points you made. I think the 20% is an overstatement given technological changes, but who knows? But I would say that I don't see it as a bad thing if more people were needed in agriculture. That only 2% or less of the population grows all our food is too low in my opinion.
Using confinement is a way to better control animals and increase profit in a smaller footprint. I'm sure it keeps them safer in ways, but animal welfare isnt the reason for most confinement systems, and they do create issues of high waste concentration, disease pressure and inhumane treatment. I don't want to get all woolly lambs and green pastures on you, but removing an animal from sunlight and grass and free movement is inhumane treatment in itself.
And I may be talking about different systems than what you have on your farm. What I am pretty familiar with mostly are feedlots and chicken houses, both broilers and layers. Confinement swine and dairy I know of a bit, but have not been in them. I hope your system is better, but the examples I know, and which are very common, are just awful and should not be a part of our food system.
Regarding the cost of changing the way we eat, yes, Whole Foods has earned its nickname of Whole Paycheck. But their approach to food has been VERY successful and is spreading rapidly in other lower cost markets, including WalMart. There is a message there to farmers willing to hear it. Other point I would make is that what is really expensive is not cooking. Processed foods cost us in $ and quality. If you cook, even on a budget you can eat very high quality food.
Sorry for all this, but lastly, I'd say you grow corn and soy because that's what there's a market for. There are many things we could grow here, but don't because of lacking markets. That's the other message from the food revolution happening in the US is that there are new markets and opportunities to be developed to those open to them and not too caught up in defending the status quo.

Wanda link

8/25/2016 02:46:46 pm

Hi Greg, I guess I am wondering why you think barns are inhumane and cause serious water and air pollution? I happen to live on the same place as our hogs live and I am just seeing what you are seeing. Our hogs are in a much better place than if they were living outside. Our barns have 8' cement pits so the manure is not seeping into the water supply from the pits. Yes, manure is applied on the cropland once a year, right after harvest. We apply it very carefully in the recommended amounts. Too much and we are wasting a valuable resource and too little provides not enough nutrients for next year's crops. Personally, I am glad we have animal agriculture. I love all types of meat and it gives me a good source of protein. I think Kate did a wonderful job on her blog post and I would suggest you follow more farmers. I have a blog at www.mnfarmliving.com which talks about my farm in southern Minnesota. Would love to have a conversation with you!

Greg

8/26/2016 03:37:22 pm

Take a drive through southwest Kansas or the Texas panhandle, or follow some backroads anywhere in Kansas until you find the local feedlot. Take some deep breaths. Look at the bare soil and erosion. Look at the cattle knee deep in mud after a rain. Or the dust cloud over it when it's dry. That's what I'm talking about, and it's commonplace. No excuse for it. I'm glad you manage your animals better than this, but there are many, many who don't and there is genuine industrial ag that is polluting and inhumane. I have lived and worked among the giant feedlots, so I'm talking from some experience. I sure don't have all the answers, but I really can't see the upside of most CAFO's.

Rudy Yutzy

8/27/2016 09:42:54 am

Greg,
There are hundreds of food products with corn and soybeans in them! I'm surprised you would leave a comment such as yours with little to zero knowledge about where different crops are used for human consumption.

Greg

8/27/2016 02:24:11 pm

Thanks, Rudy, but I've worked 25 years in grain milling and processing. Plenty I don't know, but I will stand by my statement that none of the corn or soy I see between my house and town makes it onto anyone's dinner plate directly. Maybe as byproduct soybean oil, but those beans aren't grown for the oil, they're grown for protein feed. And nearly all the corn goes to feed or ethanol production.

Tanya

8/25/2016 12:36:09 pm

Excellent article! I am an agronomist, a fourth generation farmer, a wife, and a mother. I work a 'day job' for a crop inputs company, to help support our family while my husband works insane hours, running our custom spraying business. We love agriculture and we proudly do our best to help our customers produce top quality food for humans and livestock, alike.

Jean Santjer

8/25/2016 12:39:44 pm

Greg I'm also a farm wife with several college degrees and so is my husband, who is also a former banker (retired from that after 32 years to focus on just the farm). In my area (MN) there are a large variety of crops raised by family farmers just like us - corn, soybeans, sugar beets and edible beans (navy, red, black, pinto, etc.) are the main crops. Along with that are red beets, peas, sweet corn, apples, strawberries, grapes, pumpkins, cucumbers and small grains (wheat, oats, barley, etc.), and I probably missed some. Yes, a large percentage of the corn and soybean crop is for livestock feed, but it also is used for ethanol, biodiesel, plastics, waxes, solvents, cooking oils, styrofoam (Ford Motor Company only uses soy-based foam in their seat cushions), food ingredients and thousands of other industrial uses. If all you see is animal feed when you drive through farm country you need to learn more about the incredible versatility of those major crops.

Greg

8/26/2016 11:04:57 am

Thanks, Jean. Yes, the upper midwest has a much wider range of crops than we do further south. I was very surprised about that when I worked in that region. Wish we had more of that diversity here.

Jennifer

8/26/2016 09:02:13 pm

Greg, We haul livestock and horses for a living all over the US. I grew up in MN on a dairy crop farm, I went to school for Ag Business and Beef Management and was a custom applicator. In KS, OK, TX, and east there are feed lots yes, yes they smell but that is a fact of life when an animal is outside and the wind blows just right. There are a number of crops that are grown in those regions that are not and would not do well in the upper regions. For example, cotton, peanuts, sorghum, spring wheat and many more. Most of those feed lots also maintain a strict manure policy and either spread the manure on their fields or sell it to other farmers to use as fertilizer. KS, OK, AR, and over to GA are huge chicken and turkey growers, they also have extremely high levels of bio security, manure clean out, very low medication if any in the feed rules etc. There are many places here in MO that are only really good for beef cattle or CRP land as it is just to hilly for crops and the run off would be to great, there for the farmers do not chance it. No one wants run off in water, the farmers family and animals have to also drink that water as your family would. Farmers are perceived poorly because of all the animal rights activists and or city folks that honestly never research for the truth, do not want to hear the truth and are way to good at screaming lies. Stop and talk to a farmer as your driving past a farm you perceive as a mess or smelly, listen to what they tell you and show you. You will learn a great deal by learning to listen to them instead of all the junk in the news that has no truth and the people behind them have no clue.

Sue

8/25/2016 12:50:11 pm

Actually, American Gothic depicts the painter's sister and his dentist. Technically speaking.

Kate

8/25/2016 12:57:16 pm

Hi Sue!

I'm certainly not an art major but I did read several articles that said he used those as models but it was still often debated if he intended to depict her as the wife or daughter! That's why my caption addresses both!!

Thanks for your insight. Common perception is that it's a couple, and that's what I was playing off of.

Stephany Jackson

8/25/2016 01:56:53 pm

Love this article!! I'm a daughter of 3rd generation farmer and wife of 3rd generation farmer who will raise the 4th! Growing up in a small, farm town I never knew the negativity that surrounds the agriculture industry (mainly by people who have never stepped foot on a farm) and it continues to sadden me the more I see it! Keep spreading the positive word!!

Kal

8/25/2016 04:10:10 pm

I appreciate your point of view and respect your obvious hard work. As a medical researcher cancer rates have increased drastically in the last ten years. Oxford released a study of the direct link between childhood leukemia and certain crop pesticides. So I will pay more every single time at the grocery for organic food. I will support my local organic farmers a million times over . Yes it's more expensive but that is why we also have two degrees each :)

Kate

8/25/2016 04:56:30 pm

Hi Kal!

Which pesticide was this study done on? Would you mind linking to the study, I cannot seem to find it. I'm curious if it's something we even use still?

I fully support your right to purchase organic- I just hope you don't do so thinking that organics are pesticide free. There are actually over 200 approved pesticides for organic production - most of which have not been studied at all for long term health and environmental impacts.

In fact, the reason many synthetic pesticides were developed in the first place was because the "natural" options we had were more toxic and less effective, not to mention often harmful to the farmers having to work with them.

Send me that study if you can!!

Ted Brewster

8/26/2016 09:13:18 am

If you're asking for links, you need to post some as well. "Trust me" isn't enough. Not by a long shot. You don't trust Kal - Kal doesn't trust you.

Greg

8/27/2016 02:57:09 pm

Kate, about those 200 approved pesticides for organic production, I believe 99% of those must be for produce because I am not aware of any that would be used for field crops other than B.t. and diatomaceous earth, both of which are truly harmless unless you're a bug.
And organic produce consistently tests much lower for residues than conventional produce, although I don't know if they actually test for "organic" pesticides like rotenone and pyrethrums. But for synthetic pesticides, anyway, organic is definitely lower.
The other important residue concern, in my opinion, is in meats and dairy. Residues in conventional wheat or corn or oats eaten directly by people are of little concern they're so minute. But when animals are fed large amounts of grain they act as bio-accumulators and store those residues in fatty tissues. I believe that is a real concern because they are fed so much grain in our current production system.

Ted Brewster

8/26/2016 09:17:19 am

I found this link to the alarming drop in bee population. Is Pfiser partially to blame? Are you? http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/06/05/wisconsin-beekeepers-battle-dramatic-honeybee-losses/85458790/

Kate

8/26/2016 09:31:26 am

Ted -

I link to sources often - please check out some of my other posts. This particular post didn't cite anything that really needed a link. This particular post was simply telling people "I know we look different than you envision 'family farms' should, but we are still family farmers". That doesn't actually need a source.

I asked for a source from Kal because I could not find the study he is referencing and would actually like to read the study. Specifically, I am curious to know what pesticide the study was done on.

Mel

9/10/2016 09:30:00 am

If Kal truly understood this cancer research he/she claims to do, then he/she would also know that cancer DETECTION abilities have risen vastly over the past few decades. When ability to diagnose and treat early expands, the correlation is more people with the condition. Same wth autism.
I have NEVER seen a study with a relevant p value (reproducibility) showing childhood cancer rates increasing due to a pesticide. See, we have these great organs called kidneys. We also have a liver. Any minuscule pesticide residue which ends up on crops is filtered out by these organs. Also of note, with the advances in transgenesis GMO processes, farmers need now only spray once before budding and depending on the crop and pesticide, as little as 0.75/lbs per acre. Organic farms may need to go as high as 10-20lbs/acre of their chemicals, many of which are toxic to humans at LOWER doses than synthetic pesticides. But again- most all wash off between rains and simply washing your produce so even then you shouldn't have to worry- especially with functioning kidneys and liver.

Greg

9/10/2016 11:36:53 am

While I tend to agree with you, Mel, that there's probably not much connection between cancer rates and residues, that's mostly my hunch, and there does seem to still be a fair amount of suspicion in the scientific community about the effects of residues. Also, it's not just cancer, but Parkinson's and other degenerative diseases that residues sometimes get linked with. So, I think it's fair to say we really don't have all the answers, so some folks are reasonably going to opt for organic foods, which really do test consistently lower for residues than conventional.
Also, while the residues on soybeans or corn may be infinitesimal, when we feed our cattle or swine the large amounts of soy and corn that we do, those residues do accumulate in the fatty tissues of those animals, which we then ingest. I do think that is a real issue of concern, and is why I get pasture-raised animals whenever I can.

Jerry

8/25/2016 04:54:56 pm

As I read down through these many comments I am disturbed by " the farmers think". I am also a farmer as well as a soil consultant and make recommendations for nutritional needs. I have no specific degree, however tons of great education within the field,(hands on). I operate somewhat opposite to the educational community do in large part to the fact that they are in it for the money. No-till farming is not the answer to improved soil health nor is it healthy for the enivironment. Can it be done in a way to improve it yes, but it takes a long time. If increased production on less acres was the answer farmers would be making a killing. Truth is it takes more acres per farm just to make a little money to live on. If 20% went back to farming there would be less people out of work and more competitive pricing. There would also be less debt on some of these farms and less control by the government or insurance companies on these farms. You don't however have to organic to produce a high quality product but you do need to use less unnatural chemicals and more basic soil chemistry and biology to accomplish this goal. Degrees mean nothing to me because education without common sence is nonsence and that's what I see out in our agriculture community today. If your not balancing your soils using total exchange capacity and balancing both cat ions and anions than you are seriously missing the boat. For those organically minded folks that think chicken manure is the answer to organic fertilizer then think again, because all the things that you complain about gmo's and round up, there are heavy doses of that in all chicken manure and I have never seen it raise any nutrients in any soil ever. Yes large cattle feeding lot being fed high levels of nitrates will be polluting to our environment as well as any product that is fed to them that enhances growth or kills flys. This will make anaerobic manure that will destroy all soil life.

Carey

8/25/2016 09:31:46 pm

I'm interested in your free soil evaluation service. Thanks!

Chris

8/28/2016 11:30:10 pm

Jerry, just have to say...Albrecht rocks! Thankful we have some people carrying on his work. I agree, it's more than no-till. And more than just cover crops. Great post!

Melanee ball

8/25/2016 05:43:30 pm

Thank you. Yes I trust you👍

Barbara

8/25/2016 05:49:43 pm

You are doing a great service in educating the uninformed. Unfortunately some people believe the media and all the rumors they hear. Thank you and your hus and for doing a difficult job that necessitates a second one nonfat job in order to support a family. When My father fared the small 500 acres he farmed supported 2 families without a
supplImental income. God bless you. We need you.

Ted Brewster

8/26/2016 09:10:22 am

Not sure why you made this blog post. It sounds like something is wrong - are laws about to be passed that will make your farm less profitable? Is it the profitability of the farming community at large that concerns you, and as a result, the profits you reap from being in the lending industry? I trust you about as much as I trust the rest of the world - which is not much. I'm sure you care. I'm sure you're being as careful as you are required by law. I'm sure it is important to feed as many people as possible using as little land & water as possible. However, if there is even the possibility that a chemical being used will harm people, usage needs to be halted. If any company has made a genetic version of food legally their own and only allowed to be grown for a price, that needs to be stopped. If anything we as a people are doing will cause bees to be wiped off the face of the earth, that needs to be stopped. I do not have any solid facts to link to. I have also not seen any from you. Just the request to "Trust us." Whenever people come out of the blue asking for trust, that means they have something to hide.
The post starts out as if you want people to know you are not hayseeds but in fact educated, modern people. That's fine. I believe you. The 1930's farmer would stop an activity if it poisoned his water supply or killed all the bees. In 2016, farming is big business and the bottom line is always more important. How much money do you make? How big is your house? For some reason you bring up the need to feed the poor… again, how much money do you make? You would do fine with a 4-bedroom, 2-bath with a truck and a used minivan. Any more than that and your profiteering, which is your right. Just don't get high & mighty about how you earn your wealth.

Kate

8/26/2016 09:41:15 am

Ted,

I am really, really sorry that you are this angry with farmers. I would really encourage you to visit some farms and speak (in real life is possible) with actual farmers because you have a very, very misinformed view of our industry.

You also need to look a little deeper into your bee claims. I would suggest looking past the "Mother Jones" type "news articles" and looking for some of the actual data and science sources yourself. Here is a link from Genetic Literacy Project - a group of real life scientists - that gives you a very easy to follow graph of the actual population of bees over the last 20 years.

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/03/28/beepocalypse-us-honey-bee-population-fairing/

As far as my personal finances - I think you've sparked an idea for a new post or a series of posts. It always intrigues me how many folks think we are "getting rich" farming and so our are neighbors.

Our family farm is fully run by three men - My husband, is father and is grandfather. (No hired hands). It might be interesting for you to know that all three of their spouses - myself, my mother in law and grandmother in law, work off the farm.

And we actually do not even have 4 bedrooms in our house nor does anyone drive new vehicles.

We don't do this to get rich - we do it because we love this lifestyle. We don't need to get rich - we do however have to pay the farm payment, the equipment payment, the cattle payment, keep the lights on, have insurance and send our kids to school.

Oh, and yea our family did take a luxury vacation to Wisconsin for three days this year....

But you are the first to accuse of us (as if it's a crime) of being "rich". So I think I need to find a way to address this somehow!

Thanks for the idea!!

Anita

9/2/2016 09:15:19 pm

How much money do you make? How big is your house? What kind of car do you drive? What year is your car? What do you work for, if not the almighty dollar?

Mel

9/10/2016 09:37:07 am

How about you answer all those, Anita? If you think farmers are anywhere close to even middle of the road in terms of wealth you're deluded. Many can barely get by- even with a spouse working off the farm.

Carolyn

8/26/2016 10:55:04 am

Very much enjoyed your comments and replies, Kate. Very good information!

Kristyn

8/26/2016 01:06:56 pm

I think there is some misunderstanding regarding this post - it was not written "out of the blue" - is a one post out of many in a blog that spans years. Before you question, criticize or argue with the author - you should educate yourself to this author by reading the rest of her blog. Once your have done that, I will take your comments to her post much more seriously. Until then, your are just another troll.

Kate

8/26/2016 02:36:02 pm

Thanks Kristyn!

Howard

8/26/2016 04:24:49 pm

Do you accept any payments from the Federal government? Does any one tell you that you have to have your crops in by a certain day or there is no insurance? Is there anyone telling you that you can only plant this many acres of that crop or loose your federal money? Does a banker come to your farm and ask you what you have planted and/or count your livestock? Did some college professor tell you that if you changed your breed of animals it would yield more even if the quality decreased a little you could make more money? Did a roundup salesman tell you that if you got rid of the weeds with their corn the would be more profit in it, so you followed suit with no idea what would happen to the bees in the neighbors fields? Has the government ever offered to pay you for your milk cows to decrease the production nation wide to maintain prices? There are a hundred other questions that can be asked and you know what they are, you know that you farm to make a profit, not to exist. If you can honestly answer all these questions with a no then I can trust you, otherwise you like a wall street stock trader are just trying to make a little more money, and there can be no trust in someone who does something, even if it's what they love, for a dollar.

Kate

8/26/2016 08:14:34 pm

Hi Howard!!

I'm not sure if your comments are made tongue in cheek or if you are genuinely asking me to address all of these common misconceptions around the profitability of farming and what drives our decisions.

I always tell my husband I fell for the same myth - it wasn't until after we were married I realized he was broke! ? (That is just a joke by the way, I married him strictly for his looks and new he was broke the first time I saw his tractor).

Either way, I'm glad you brought up all of the above because as farm families we often forget that our financial positions are a public matter because it's been proven there is an inverse relationship between our financial strength and our ability to care for the land and raise safe products.

All joking aside, I do think I'll carry your concerns on over to an entire blog post of their own. I've been thinking about making a few posts addressing the most uninformed and ridiculous comments left on my blog, and this will be a great place to start!

Thanks for swinging by, I hope you can come back when we finally decide to release our tax returns!

Phil

9/10/2016 12:53:58 pm

Hey Howard, how did you make money for the computer you're using to spew all of those lies? Do you go to work every day to make money? Do you work 365 days a year at your "job" as a dairy farmer does? You've got a whole lot wrong sir...

Mary Anne

8/26/2016 10:03:00 pm

I am an Agriculture Teacher at a public school. This is what I tell my students, please take it with a grain of salt.

If you want to know the absolute truth, test it for yourself. If you want to get the best insight, talk to those directly involved. If you want to form your best opinion, search Google.

Anyone can watch TV, check Facebook, and search the Internet to experts; an intelligent citizen actively participate in all aspects of their life (from food to finances) and understands the reasoning behind what happens and why. It is essential to know what goes into producing food and why it is necessary to pay taxes.

By understanding the basic fundamentals of United States laws and regulations I am able to better communicate with my representative and senator about my concerns. By understanding what goes into food production I can discuss more confidently to producers, like Matt and Kate, about my concerns.

I care enough about the future for my children and my students to value civil, open communication between all people. Basing beliefs off of one side without learning all sides is the greatest fault humans can make. Being close minded does not allow for change and without change we'd still be part of England.

Thank you, Kate, for being an AGvocate and helping inform all people about why you guys farm the way you do!! I'm proud to count you amongst my friends!!

Kate

8/27/2016 09:45:19 am

Thank you Mary Anne for sharing that wisdom! That's good advice that I need to remember myself more often!!

Debbie

8/27/2016 02:16:19 am

Thank you.

Grady

8/27/2016 10:41:59 am

Well done! Thank you for not only working in Ag , but also serving Ag with leadership and volunteerism. You've got a great story you're telling. Keep up the good work!

David

8/27/2016 01:43:43 pm

I was enjoying your article and agreeing with some of your points. Trust is a problem. You use roundup ready corn, you must use pfisters chemicals exclusively on the corn. You spray RoundUp to kill your cover crop when planting corn. You can't seed save corn. I am sure you do many great and positive things but you also seem like a PR family for Pfister/Dow.

Kate

8/27/2016 02:03:19 pm

Hi David!

We do use glyphosate - RoundUp- on our Pfister corn (Pfister is owned by Dow, but it is it's own company). RoundUp is actually a Monsanto product. We use other crop protection products as well from several different companies. Pfister is just a seed company, they do not actually have a chemical line but parent company Dow does of course.

A common myth is that farmers didn't use chemical before RoundUp. Farmers used chemicals - most of which were much, much more toxic (and less effective) than roundup.

RoundUp is not quite as good as it used to be - like every chemical we've used in the past because weeds (like every living thing) adapt. That means we rely on "Big Ag" to help find new, safe and effective solutions for us.

We make the choice to purchase hybrid corn. It's where they actually take two different corn plants and cross pollinate to make an offspring (what we plant) that is much better than either parent. We call this hybrid vigor. There is really no one I know of who wants to or chooses to retain corn seed - it wouldn't have that hybrid vigor. Farmers have chosen to use hybrids for a long time (long, long before GM production).

What you may be thinking of is other crops like beans and wheat, where sometimes farmers like to keep, clean and replant their own seed. Farmers still actually have this choice. They have to use seed that is not traited.

But most of us make the decision to use seed with traits. Traits are developed through many different breeding techniques - one of which is the infamous GMO technology. But when we chose to purchase this seed we know up front we cannot retain our own seed and replant - the companies that paid millions and millions to develop, test and produce those seeds (that benefit us!) have the intellectual property rights to them. As they should.

In addition, if we keep our own seed back we have to store it all winter long. This is a big risk for us and takes up valuable room. The scariest part is we cannot control the quality. We could store seed all winter long, get it cleaned, plant it - only to find that it wasn't good and only 30% of our crop comes up.

Using our own seeds just doesn't make sense anymore with what we now know about hybrids, plant breeding and the availability of new traits almost every year!

And just to clarify - we actually sell seed for a few companies - Syngenta and Pfister (owned by Dow). We have been less happy with some of the Syngenta products in the last few years and as of now we plant mostly Pfister.

But we make those decisions each and every year and it's fully our decision to make.

Each time people suggest that we cannot be trusted because we use "Big Ag" products it leads me to believe they think we are dumb. We are dumber than all these non-farm folks who can see through the "marketing" of Big Ag.

Let me assure you - farmers are not dumb creatures. Believe it or not they understand the products they use (even better than people who don't farm!). That's hard to believe I know.

Thanks for stopping by!

David

8/27/2016 03:35:04 pm

I would never use the word dumb, but we all have different intentions. Walmart vs Whole Foods. They would both say "trust us". One if the biggest dead zones in all the worlds oceans is at the mouth of the Mississippi. Modern, smart, trust us, agriculture is to blame. You and your farm might gain my trust, but agriculture in America is not even close to "just trust us" status.

Chella Ross

8/30/2016 03:52:02 pm

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Uptown Girl

Kate Lambert grew up in northern Illinois, not on a farm but active in FFA and showing livestock.

She married the man of her dreams, who happened to be a farmer in Missouri. She gets through the tough times and celebrates the good times by writing.

Kate works for a cooperative agriculture lender in Missouri, being active in the industry as an ag professional.

She participates in the management of the family farm, where they raise corn, soybeans, cattle and sheep. She loves running and spending time with her two boys, who are ALL boy. Her and her husband Matt enjoy all things food and bourbon.

She is passionate about agriculture and finding ways to connect the story of modern farming to Americans who know very little about it.

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