Minnesota Farm Living

Connecting consumers with the farmers who grow their food


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5 Real Struggles From Marrying a Farmer that Your City Friends Don’t Know About

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Farm life is very different than my city friends lives. And it’s really hard to explain. Here are just a few struggles that I face that my city friends don’t know.

1. Meal time is non-structured.

Meal time can be a struggle. Since there is no such thing as a 8-5 job on the farm, your evening meal could be anywhere from 4 pm to 10 pm (or later?). Meals could range from “made from scratch” homemade meals to throwing a frozen processed bacon cheeseburger you just bought from Sam’s Club in the garage microwave. On the run meals–especially during the busy times. Oh wait, isn’t it almost always busy?? 

2. Dates take on a whole new meaning.

Farm life is hectic and dates can look different. It could mean a ride in the farm truck to pick up a tractor part located 90 miles away. Daytime dates are a real thing. Sometimes it’s just “let’s go to town for an ice cream cone” or “just a walk down your gravel road so you can catch up on the day.” You just make the best of it and take them when you can.  

3. You will know more about ‘farm things” than you ever wanted to know.

And some of it may even make sense–eventually. There is no shortage of farm discussion points. Some days, after a 20 minute one-side conversation, I give him the “dead stare” like really, you think I know what you are talking about? Or do I really need to know that? Like the time he tells me in great detail how he fixed the baffles on the hog barn. Or taking apart the tractor to fix the hydrolic hoses. He knows immediately when I give him that look that he probably has crossed the line and he is boring me to tears and have no idea what he is talking about. 

Farmer
Working on the farm

4. Farm husbands are not always in tune with pop culture.

Your kids love the fact that dad isn’t always up on the latest fad. Case in point. Years ago when our daughters were young, Hardees sold California Raisin posable figures. Being the cheap mom I was, I never bought into those fads. One day, my husband needed to pick up supper using the drive through (probably because he either smelled or was dirty) at Hardees. The order taker asked my husband if he wanted Raisins. He yelled back to the girls and asked them if they wanted Raisins. Here is where the “cluelessness” comes in. My husband,  thinking he is ordering cookies, thought he was asked if he wanted raisins in them. The girls, who are NOT  clueless, knew exactly what was being asked. I am sure they looked at each other and thought, yes, we have one over dad. Of course they wanted Raisins! So, yes, they came home with (California) Raisins and my husband had no idea why they were part of the order. To this day, it still makes us laugh.

California Raisins

5. The Sights, The Sounds, The Smell

When we have people visit from “the city” we know our environment is different than what they are used to. We have hog barns on the same place that we live. Maybe it’s because I am used to it, but there are only a few days of the year that I don’t open my windows because of the smell. To my city counterparts, I am sure the faintest smell is noticeable. But the sights and the sounds are undeniably the best. To see wildlife such as rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, coyotes (well maybe not coyotes), deer, oppossum, and the occassional skunk scurrying across the farm, enjoying nighttime campfires, and to hear the constant bird chirppings in the early morn, frogs croaking in the distance, the scuttling of squirrels scampering and the distress call of the killdeer when you come too close to her nest. It. just. doesn’t. get. better.

Killdeer Eggs
Killdeer Eggs that we have marked so we don’t accidentally run over them. You will know when you get tooo close!

Even though our life on the farm is different than my city friends and the struggles are real, we wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Life isn’t about the big things, it is the little things. And I have learned to appreciate and enjoy the little things in life. 

 

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Sick Pigs and Sick Trade Tariffs

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I have been asked to post an update on our pigs. If you recall, a few weeks ago I talked about how very sick our pigs were. In fact, the worst we have seen in many years. And I am also going to give my two-cents worth on the tariff issue.

Sick Pig Update

The sickness all started about the middle of February. We didn’t know what we were dealing with or how to treat it. After many visits and conversations with multiple veterinarians and a lot of diagnostic testing, we determined our pigs had a nasty strain of PRRS and flu. Yes, quite a few pigs died. We tried our best.

I am happy to report they are looking better. We left on vacation mid-March and came back about 10 days later and we could tell they were better when we returned than when we left. If history is any lesson, they probably will continue to give us health problems-just a lot of lingering health damage. The other concern we have is “will they be ready for market in time?” They lost a lot of growth time from being sick. Our next pigs are coming in July and this group needs to be sold and the barns need to be washed and sterilized before the next ones come.

Future Concerns

So, concerns going forward: keep them healthy and hopefully they grow fast and our last concern: we have a new group of pigs on another farm. We DO NOT want this group to come down with the same virus. So we have changed how we are taking care of them to reduce the amount of foot traffic between the home farm and the offsite farm. We have also heard (just this past weekend) that other farms near us are possibly dealing with this same PRRS strain. We think the virus is moving by air and it was windy over the weekend. So here we are – on pins and needles “hoping” this new group does not become infected.

One more thing we are doing on our home farm is putting in wire fence netting underneath the hog barn eaves. This will prevent birds from coming in the air outlets. I am hoping to have a video of exactly how we are doing this. Again, another step to prevent a way to transmit viruses.

The Ugly China Pig Tariff

The next thing I want to talk about is the 25% tariffs put on pork by China. I talked to a Wall Street Journal reporter today about how this will affect us on the farm. Here is my take:

I am EXTREMELY nervous about what will happen to our markets. Because we sell on a market system, we don’t dictate our selling price. If we can’t sell as much pork through exports (because of the tariffs) means we will have an over supply of pork, which will result in lower market prices, which will result in a smaller check for us, which will more than likely mean we will lose money.
Farming is a volatile business. There are many factors that affect us and the markets. Things we are not in control of such as weather conditions (for crops), viruses and diseases (think of PEDv), costs of inputs, regulations, etc. It’s just plain crazy at times. But, we DON’T need the government to put additional pressures on our markets. I am truly worried for our future.

And it’s not just tariffs, it’s also about NAFTA

And it seems to change daily. It’s exhausting. One day, it looks like NAFTA will be a go and the next day we hear it’s not. We are the BEST farm producers in the world. We export about 26-27% of our pork and 60% of our soybeans. We NEED exports. If our export markets go away, we cannot consume the additional pork we produce.

Can’t just shut the barns down

So why don’t we just shut our barns down for a while to reduce the supply? We really can’t. We have farm and barn payments to make–bills to pay. We have sows that are bred and ones that are ready to give birth. There is a long pipeline of pigs that can’t just be shutdown. Farming is a very complex business. Where will our animals go? And if you shut a pig farm down, the expense to start it up again will be significant and for many, completely out of reach. There just is not enough cash to startup again. In addition, you can’t just hang on to pigs and sell them “later.” It doesn’t work that way.

And all of this at not fault of our own. I mean, honestly, how do you plan for something like this?
So with that, the pig markets were down significantly today. I can only hope that our lawmakers and government personnel understand how detrimental these tariffs are. We are not just individual farmers, but also individual businesses.

Fix it!

Let’s hope those in power can figure things out. It’s just not fair to throw U.S. farmers under the bus to help out another economic segment such as the steel industry. Period.

Other Articles:

What I Wish People Knew About Pig Farming

12 Frequently Asked Questions About Pigs

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Let Your Voice Be Heard – “Day on the Hill”

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Do you belong to any commodity groups? Groups such as Corn Growers, Soybean Growers, Pork Producers, Dairy, Beef or farm organizations such as Farm Bureau or Famers Union? If so, you may have noticed that many of these groups participate in “Day on the Hill” events. I attended one recently with the Minnesota Pork Producers Association. 

What is “Day on the Hill?”

A Day on the Hill allows farmer members of commodity or farm organization groups to meet with their respective representatives/senators. We talk about issues that affect us personally, agriculture in general or our farms. These meetings allow our representatives to hear concerns directly from us and not just from lobbyists. Don’t get me wrong, lobbyists have a purpose but they truly love to hear specifically from their constituents.

What does a “Day on the Hill” look like?

Typically the commodity/farm groups meet ahead of time somewhere at the capitol or near the capitol. The commodity/farm organization leader speaks to bills that are before the legislature. Background information is given to the group so we can speak to how these bills affect us personally. These “background” sessions are very helpful because as farmers, it’s difficult for us to keep abreast of what is happening at the capitol. In fact, you may even receive a cheat sheet to assist you during your visit. You may also be given some current farm facts that you can leave with your representative. Just like farmers who may not know everything going on at the capitol, our representatives don’t know everything that affects our farms.

MN Senate Building
The new Minnesota Senate Building

Time for the Visit

You will probably be split into groups based on who your representative is. For our first visit, we had five people. Please be dressed in business attire. Appointments are typically lined ahead of time.  Don’t be late, but also be prepared to wait. Our representatives are very busy. When it’s time to meet with your representative, introduce yourself and shake their hand.

Now it’s time to visit. 

Depending on who your representative is will dictate which topics you will want to address. Through Minnesota Pork, here are just a few topic areas we talked about:

Truck Wash Exemption – Seeking to exempt on farm truck washing from the open-air swine basins. Truck wash basins are regulated by MPCA and are not comparable to open-air lagoon systems. Extra regulations are not needed. 

RFA Funding – Continued funding of the Rural Finance Authority which helps the Beginning Farmer program. We know it’s very difficult for beginning farmers to start farming. This funding program will help.

Rural Mental Health – We support increased mental health counseling by hiring an additional counselor. The farming economy is tough right now, which leads to mental health issues. This is probably one of the top priorities for the ag sector currently.

MPCA Fee Increases – We don’t support an increase in fees. MPCA is seeking an additional $6.5 million in funding. What was truly eye-opening is how much Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency charges farmers (through fees) compared to neighboring states. Minnesota is SIGNIFICANTLY higher. I would like to see them do a more efficient job with the fees they already receive. Maybe just like we do on the farm?

Veterinary Diagnostic Lab Funding – This diagnostic lab is managed by the University of Minnesota and they are experiencing a $500,000 shortfall. The diagnostic lab funding is very close (not physically, but rather to the services they provide) to our farm as we have been having some health problems with our pigs. We have sent numerous pig tissue samples to the lab for diagnosis. Only with a diagnosis can we treat the animals effectively. 

We didn’t discuss all the areas but we did talk about issues that affected us personally. It’s those issues they want to hear. But perhaps just as important as the discussions is the fact that we took time out of our schedule to visit with them. Buidling relationships. They could also ask us questions about issues (which they did). And it’s also good for them to know we are “watching” them. What they do matters. And lastly, it’s a time for us to tell them thank you. They really do work hard for their constituents. 

Meeting with Senator Julie Rosen

The Outcome

I know I don’t attend enough of these “day on the hill” visits but I always learn something and I do believe our representatives learn something too. It’s important that we be involved in our government because just sometimes (and we know from experience), government passes bills that will affect us in a negative way. And maybe not intentional. Sometimes people just don’t know what they don’t know. That’s why we need to be involved. And we become a contact person for them if they have any questions.

I must admit that not all visits were as amicable as ours. We are very fortunate to live in an area where our representatives are very farm friendly. With gratitude, I say thank you to Representative Bob Gunther and Senator Julie Rosen. We also stopped to say “hi” to Representative Rod Hamilton. He was not our representative and we did not have an appointment, but he was thrilled to see us and as with the other two–very farm friendly. We simply said . . . Thank you. I get that is a challenge as the rural area is outnumbered by urban Minnesota. That’s we need strong farm voices in Minnesota.

I would love to hear about your experiences visiting with the people who represent you. Did you have a similar experience? Did you or they learn something with the visit?

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Are The Russians Behind Some of the Anti-GMO Rhetoric?

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Sometimes, people (or countries) just need to mind their own business. Unfortunately, the Russians have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar and it’s time we slap their hands by waking up and being smart about who and what they are.

We all know from recent news reports the Russians meddled in our recent presidential elections. It was unusual because they meddled on both sides of the political equation. Not only were they pro-Trump, but they were also anti-Trump. Strange, yes. On the same day, the Russians were behind an anti-Trump rally and a pro-Trump rally. Why?

Russian Ulterior Motive

They are trying to mess with us. They want to cause division. 

Putin and his Russian cronies know how strong the American democracy is and are willing to do what they can to cause division and controversy. They also want to discredit American agriculture in much of the same manner as attempted during the last election. So it shouldn’t surprise us that they have had their fingers in the anti-GMO on-line conversations. 

How do we know the Russians are pushing the anti-GMO rhetoric?

Researchers from Iowa State University (Shawn Dorius and Carolyn Lawrence-Dill) wanted to better understand the controversy around genetically engineered food. The issue is with the overwhelming belief in the science community is that GMOs are safe, consumers still question their safety. Dorius and Lawrence-Dill wanted to find out why. 

What they found was surprising.

Research Results

The ISU researchers looked at not only how U.S. publications portrayed GMOs but also looked at the American versions of RT and Sputknik, two Russian publications. They counted how many times the term “GMO” was used in different publications. Here is what they found:

RT – 34%

Sputnik – 19%

Huffington Post – 18%

Fox News – 15%

CNN – 8%

They went a step further and analyzed the tone of each article. What they found is the Russian publications were overwhelming anti-GMO. The articles talked negatively about environmental risks, nutrition concerns, and health risks of GMOs.

So why would the Russians want to interfere?

Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1) To continue causing division in the U.S. as in the last election. 

2) It is illegal to grow GMOs in Russia and Russia wants to grow their organic food export market. They are trying to portray their organic crops as “ecologically cleaner” so pushing an anti-GMO argument aligns well with their objective. 

Hmmmm . . . that seems pretty obvious why they are interfering.

So now what?

Now that we are aware of what the Russians are up to, we can take some action. First, it is another reason to emphasize critical thinking. We all need to ask ourselves questions: Where and who is behind the anti-GMO research and coverage? Is the research peer-reviewed? Can the research be duplicated? Personally, the first thing I do when I read an article is look to see who wrote and published the article. I think about that continually as I read the article. To a certain extent, everyone has a bias. We just need to understand that bias. 

I also think that companies like Facebook and Google are taking action. As much as I complained about the new algorithm changes to Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg wanting to make the Facebook more about friends and family, I can’t help but think that he is trying to deal with the overwhelming amount of “fake news.” Along those lines, Google is looking to add thousands of jobs. I also think some of that expansion is for the same reasons–to deal with the “fake news.”  Again, this is just my opinion. And then if this is the plan, I am concerned that good, accurate information may come under the heading of fake news and be blocked. Hopefully, that is not what happens. 

Hopefully, that is not what happens. Times are a changin’.

In the meantime, I wonder what other parts of American’s lives the Russians are messing with? We can’t be complacent any longer. There just are evil people who want to cause us harm. We need to be smarter, sharpen our critical thinking skills and don’t let “them” succeed. America is a great nation–the best in the world..

I would love to know what you are thinking. Please feel free to comment!

Other articles on the Russian anti-GMO interference:

Ag Relations Council (there are about 3 links)

 

 

 

 

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