It’s kind of like a holiday…

Oh, man. Let me tell you, I get pretty excited about holidays.

I seriously LOVE Christmas (no kidding, I will watch White Christmas and Holiday Inn every other day for a month leading up to Christmas) and New Years because it means some extra time to relax and be around friends and family.

And, I love Valentine’s Day, too, because it gives my husband and I an excuse to spend a little extra money and go out on a date.

But, I really love February for another ”holiday” – National FFA Week!

I have so many wonderful memories of my time in FFA, beginning with my very first Career Development Event (CDE) to my time as an Illinois State FFA Officer – which is pretty impressive for a kid that had no plans of taking an ag class or joining FFA.

You see, when the National FFA Organization allowed women to join the organization in 1969, my mom was about two years away from being a freshman in high school, making her one of the first women to join the Clinton FFA Chapter. Her dad and uncles had been members, too, so when it was time for me to walk the freshman halls of CHS, she wanted to extend the family tradition.

The only problem was, I didn’t. When I was signing up for my first semester of classes freshman year, mom sat at the kitchen table with me and pointed to Introduction to Agriculture and said, “Take that one.”

I politely (or, maybe not so politely – I was a teenager after all) responded with “Um, no way. That is definitely not a cool thing to do.”

But, because my mom was, well, my mom, she won that war and I found myself all signed up for Intro to Ag. However, when I got to school the following fall, I found out that Intro to Ag had been replaced with another elective of my choice because there weren’t enough kids to fill the class.

Whew. Dodged a bullet there.

Only, I didn’t actually dodge a bullet. Because my mom was savvy enough to know that I could still do my record books for partial class credit and that would allow me also to become a member of the FFA chapter, I was still going to become a card-carrying member.

So, I began working on my record books and practicing for CDEs with Mr. Prather (only the coolest retired ag teacher EVER – and any Clinton FFA member will back me up on that one). It wasn’t long before I found out that my mom had been right and I, as usual, had  been wrong.

FFA was cool.

I quickly found out that my favorite CDEs were public speaking and dairy products (not to toot my own horn, but I won the contest two or three years straight. When my sister got to high school, she carried on the tradition and picked up where I left off, winning it herself several times). I also enjoyed horse judging, dairy judging, the soils contest and meats judging. And, I took tremendous pride in my Supervised Agriculture Experience – or record books – competing at the section, district and state proficiency contests.  

But, more than anything, I really enjoyed the people I met. To this day, I’ve met some of my very best friends in FFA.

I spent a whole lot of time getting to know the kids in my chapter (and still hang out with them in many cases) at 8th grade orientation day, or setting up for the FFA Petting Zoo and working during our teacher appreciation breakfast during FFA week.

My good friend, Kirk Builta, ended up being my teammate on section and state officer teams and later became my roommate in college and an usher at my wedding. In fact, another section president, Kristina Grebner, lived in the same sorority I did and read at my wedding. And, my good friend, DeAnna Thomas, was an Illinois FFA member who timidly introduced herself to me while I was state officer. Coincidentally, she overcame any shyness she had to become a farm broadcaster at WMBD in Peoria.

Another friend from Section 16, Amanda Hayes, helped me survive my senior year (in a way only she and I will ever be able to understand), and I found 25 of my very best friends while serving on the State FFA Officer team as a Section President. I also found out that they do, in fact, have a southern accent and say, on a regular basis, ”Bless Your Heart!” in deep southern Illinois - don’t they, Melissa Bramlet?

If that wasn’t enough, I finally found the four big brothers I never had growing up when I was elected a major state officer. To this day, the boys and I still try to get together once a year, just to have fun.

2003-2004 Illinois Association FFA State Officers. Amazingly, I survived my year as the only girl on the team.

 The point is, FFA is more than just a class elective. It’s an important part of school’s curriculum, teaching kids the importance of hard work, committment, persistence and leadership. In my case, FFA helped to direct me to my future career path.

So, I guess, you could say I’m indebted to FFA. It shaped me into the person I am today. It made me stronger. It made me a leader. And, it helped to bring out my passion for agriculture. I wouldn’t be who I am today without FFA.

There are more than 540,300 FFA members celebrating National FFA Week this week who would probably say the very same thing. In fact, to see what today’s FFA members are saying about FFA and what it’s done for them, stop by http://www.youtube.com/ilfarmbureauyouthed to check out IFB’s Youth Education in Agriculture Ag Career Video Contest viewers’ choice picks. They’re pretty cool, too.

In a nutshell, FFA is pretty cool for shaping today’s youth into tomorrow’s leaders. So, thanks FFA, for being, well, cool!

Leave the doctoring to the doctors.

 By Jim Fraley, Livestock Program Director, Illinois Farm Bureau

Jim Fraley, Livestock Program Director, Illinois Farm Bureau

I grew up on a farm where my Dad fed cattle.  After high school, I raised hogs with my brothers. Each one of my four kids raised cattle as a way to help them earn money for college, obtain some credit history, and most importantly — experience the immense responsibility you accept by being a stockman.

My parents used to have a saying around our house:  “You don’t eat, until the chores are done.” Virtually every dairyman I know, every pork and beef producer, and shepherd all have that same sense of responsibility. It’s a commitment that really is taken very seriously, and is hard to describe to someone who has never had the privilege of pulling a piglet at 2:00 a.m., or baled hay when  it’s 95 degrees in the shade, or taken in the satisfaction of seeing cattle jumping around in a newly-bedded barn.

I do find it quite frustrating to find that the Humane Society of the United States has developed an agenda that purports to improve the well-being of livestock. In this latest case of misguided intents, they have entered into an agreement with a major, national poultry organization to increase the size of compartments for laying hens.  This is a legislative initiative, which really opens up Pandora’s Box. If a producer can fill a niche market for beef that was raised on feather pillows and daily massages, more power to him. But legislating production practices is going down the wrong path. This is something the livestock industry needs to address head on, and fight with all of their might.

That’s it. It’s really simple. Livestock farmers are the most appropriate persons to determine what is best for the livestock placed in their care. They’ve earned it.

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

A Facebook friend of mine posted a link to a Chicago Tribune commentary this morning.

Written by a pork producer, the commentary focuses on the most recent ploy by animal rights activists to do away with animal agriculture.

I clicked on the link and read it. Then, I read it again. And, I decided I just couldn’t have said it better myself.

Kudos to Doug Wolf, president of the National Pork Producers Council, for an excellent commentary – and for speaking for the agriculture community!

Useless is in the eye of the beholder…

I love lists. I don’t know what it is, but anytime CMT has a “Top 40″ of anything, I’m watching it.

Top 40 best county love songs? I’m there. Top 100 best one hit wonders? Yes, please. Fashion hits and misses at the Golden Globes? Sure, and oh, by the way — did you see Jessica Biel’s dress? Ewwww.

In other words, if you can provide me a breakdown of almost anything, you can bet I’m going to read it.

So, when a friend of mine posted a link to Yahoo.com’s list of “College Majors That Are Useless” on Facebook, you know I clicked on it.

That’s when I found out that my degree — the one that has afforded me internships, freelance work,  job interviews, two jobs and a career that I very much enjoy — is actually useless.

That’s right. Agriculture degrees topped their list of useless degrees. And, just to make sure that they covered their bases, animal science held the no. 4 spot, with horticulture rounding out the top five.

So, wait a minute. Does that mean I wasted four years of my life in college studying agricultural communications? Actually — I’ve been a student of agriculture all my life. I grew up on a farm and spent a lot of time in 4-H and FFA. So, that must mean that I’ve wasted a whole lot more time than just four years.

Well, as it turns out, whether or not a degree is useless is really in the eye of the beholder — or, in this case, website.

The same day I found the Yahoo.com article, I also stumbled upon an article on AgWeb.com that cited the strong job outlook for agriculture (admittedly, the article was written in May 2011, but I think it still carries weight).    

In fact, AgWeb.com noted that while unemployment was well over 9 percent in 2010, agriculture was the bright spot in the job market, with 3,000 new jobs posted each month to AgCareers.com.

Talk about contradicting statistics.

It’s important to point out that the Yahoo.com article did note that it created its list based on industries where jobs were not growing as quickly or where jobs were diminishing (in the case of production agriculture, because of technological advances). In the case of agriculture, that may well be true. But that’s not what makes me and many fellow agriculture degree holders upset.

What really gets me fired up is the fact that the author characterized agriculture degrees as “useless.” I know my degree isn’t useless because it’s putting food on my table (which is quite a feat when you’re married to a bottomless pit like I am). What’s more, agriculture degrees are putting food on the tables of Americans across the country.

But, that’s not the only thing that gets to me. The Yahoo.com article describes an agriculture degree like this:

“Still, if your idea of a good day is getting up with the sun and working till it sets as an agricultural manager, a degree in agriculture might be your calling.”

From that line alone, it’s plain to see that the author of the article — Terrence Loose — doesn’t have a clear view of the bigger picture. To him, an agriculture degree can only be used for farm work and managing a farming operation. 

When discussing the impossibility of earning money with a horticulture degree, we get an even clearer picture:

“If you like the farm life, but aren’t all that keen on all the whining and clucking of an animal farm, perhaps a degree in horticulture is growing on you.”

Proof point that those of us holding agriculture degrees must have sifted through four years of undergraduate work — and maybe additional years of post-graduate work — to put on a pair of bibs, a straw hat and chase chickens around the barnyard.

What Mr. Loose clearly doesn’t know is that an agriculture-based degree is much more than an education on cows, sows and plows.

According to AgWeb.com, jobs posted to AgCareers.com ranged in industry type, including agronomy, biotechnology, and equipment and machinery. Those are all jobs that appeal to a large audience of job seekers and all jobs that are based in agriculture and can be obtained with some kind of agriculture degree.

What’s more, the jobs posted required a wide array of educational levels. A whopping 47 percent of jobs posted required at least a bachelor’s degree, while 24 percent required an associates diploma.

When it comes to agriculture, the choices are many and job opportunities broad. Sure, my career lies in communications, but I graduated from an agricultural college within a land grant university (GO ILLINI!) and the word ‘agricultural’ appears prominently before the word ‘communications’ on the degree hanging in my office. And, since I was offered a job before I graduated — all because of my agriculture knowledge and my ability to write — I’m pretty sure my four years earning an agriculture degree weren’t so useless after all.

And, I’m not the only one. How about a shout out to all of those agricultural business, technical systems management, crop science, agricultural economics and agricultural and biological engineering students and grads out there? Chances are, if you’re already in the workforce, you aren’t sitting on the front porch, chewing on a stalk of wheat.

*Note: I found out Thursday evening that I wasn’t the only ag grad who was fired up! If you’re a Facebook user, check out the page, “I Studied Agriculture & I Have A Job.” The page was started Thursday afternoon, just after the Yahoo.com article was published, and now has nearly 2,500 fans!

Backlash at its Best

Here’s the thing: It’s open season when it comes to production agriculture.

Every other day, it seems, another article is published condemning modern production agriculture, farmers and the food we produce.

I don’t know about you, but frankly, I’m getting pretty tired of it. Especially, when farmers work so hard to produce an abundant and, most importantly, safe food supply.

Despite that, open season continued with another recently published article - this time from The Atlantic - titled, “The Very Real Danger of Genetically Modified Food.”

Ugh. I didn’t even have to read author Ari LeVaux’s story to know we were in for it again. Just like Bryan Walsh’s TIME Magazine article – “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food” – agriculture was in for another inaccurate, but very damaging, bashing.

Still, as we have in the past, members of the agriculture – and this time, also the scientific – community worked to set the record straight. One of the best examples of this is Bill Horan’s commentary, ”An Antidote of Truth for The Atlantic’s Misinformation“ featured on www.truthabouttrade.org.

Of course, the article referenced the gross misinformation in author Ari LeVaux’s story, but, more than that, it included examples of the ensuing backlash from the scientific and agriculture communities.

As it turns out, websites, blogs and publications across the U.S. quickly took aim at LeVaux and his inaccuracies and, well, scare tactics of citing cancer and diabetes as possible “side effects” of GMOs.

And, this time, there was a happy ending – LeVaux was forced to eat his words and own up to the shoddy reporting. LeVaux apologized for “many unfortunate errors” in the article and published a revised and toned-down version of the original article.

Unfortunately, the article was still published, and more misinformation about agriculture was spread. But, at least we as an industry were able to own our message and provide with author with the correct information – and, as it seems – a wealth of it.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is backlash at its best.

Ripping the Band-Aid off quickly still hurts.

Any time you get thousands of farmers together in one room, you’re bound to hear one of three things dominating the conversation: farm policy, politics or the weather. At this year’s American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, farm policy was to be top-of-mind in nearly all conversations and speeches — especially because this year is a farm bill year.

The current Farm Bill will expire in September 2012. Will we have a new one by then? Or, just a series of extensions?

In fact, AFBF even dedicated one of their breakout sessions to discussing the farm bill and what farmers can expect now that the super committee tasked with cutting the federal deficit has failed.

AFBF Senior Director of Congressional Relations, Mary Kay Thatcher, provided farmers in attendance with some interesting information regarding the farm bill — and it certainly wasn’t all good news.

According to AFBF, now that the 2012 farm bill will be drafted in a more traditional fashion, it may not even be finished before the close of 2012 and may well stretch into 2013.

That also means that more cuts may be made because, according to Thatcher, many politicians consider agriculture to be the low-hanging fruit from which federal funding can be picked.

Now, before you say this is a traditional everyone-is-out-to-get-agriculture post, consider this: The agriculture community is more than happy to do its fair share when it comes to helping reduce the federal deficit, as evidenced by the proposal the House and Senate Agriculture Committees submitted to the super committee.

According to AFBF, agriculture’s fair share of decreasing the federal deficit would be about $6.7 billion. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees’ proposal to the super committee would have cut $23 billion over ten years out of agriculture-based programs like direct payments and conservation — significantly more than agriculture’s fair share.

To get that $23 billion, direct payments were eliminated and conservation programs were reorganized and reduced. The agriculture committees’ farm bill proposal did include crop insurance and allowed for new programs like ARC and STAX — both shallow loss programs aimed at supporting farmers when times aren’t so good. However, under a more traditional farm bill drafting process, these too could be greatly reduced or eliminated, which leads most people to question what that will mean for farmers.

But, the real question isn’t what will happen to farmers — because most farmers can already answer that question. Most consumers — or at least the talking heads on network and cable TV — believe that farm supports serve only to help wealthy farmers with large operations get richer. They say, when it comes to farm supports, we should rip the Band-Aid off quickly and get rid of all farm supports at the same time. After all, ripping the Band-Aid off quickly will mean it will hurt less, right?

Unfortunately, commodity prices won’t always be high, the weather won’t always be agreeable and operation costs will continue to go up. Those variables affect all farmers, not just the wealthy.

The real question is what will happen to the farming and rural communities in which those farmers live. Because, aside from supporting farmers, farm supports also aid rural and farming communities.

Like the old adage says, farmers are land-rich and cash-poor. Farmers receiving payments from crop insurance or the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) don’t just bury the money in the backyard, stash it under the mattress or stick it in a cash-bearing mutual fund.

Farmers receiving payments from farm support programs put that money back into the community. They use that money to buy tractors from local dealers or make equipment repairs at local businesses. They use that money to improve their operations or invest in the future. They buy seed form local dealers, fertilizer from local cooperatives and even pay off outstanding bills.

In most cases, the money farmers receive from farm supports really serves to stimulate the economy of rural America — a point proven when many rural and farming towns weathered the recession better than many other areas.  

In the end, ripping the Band-Aid off quickly still hurts and, in this case, it will hurt more than just farmers — it will hurt rural economies, too.

From the Horse’s Mouth

Jim Tobin, Illinois Association FFA Vice President

Production agriculture has always been a dangerous part of our industry. However, it is an absolutely crucial piece of modern agriculture as well. Although I understand the concerns about child safety, I would like to remind those unfamiliar with production agriculture about the importance of hands on experience for our youth.

I personally did not grow up on a farm, but being involved with the FFA and growing up in an agriculturally-driven area, I soon learned how production agriculture works and why it is so important not only for my community but for people all over the world.

With the proposed child labor laws, the way of life in rural America will be changed forever. Agricultural practices have been handed down from generation to generation and the youth of America often times develop a life-long passion for agriculture by working on a local farming operation.

A good friend of mine grew up in town with little exposure to the world of farming. Early on in his high school career, he was hired by a local farmer to do some odd jobs, but within a few months he was taking on more and more responsibilities and by the time he graduated he was working full-time, managing the farm and has hopes to own and operate his own beef cattle operation in the years to come.

This is a perfect example of how hands-on learning and experience can not only be beneficial to teaching youth about agriculture but is absolutely essential. Safety has and always will be a concern on the farm, but talk to anyone who has spent significant time with machinery, livestock, etc., and they will tell you that safety is always the number one concern and that the best way to stay safe is to learn smart practices from those with experience. Taking away the opportunity for youth to work on a farm not only robs them of their opportunity to learn how production agriculture operates in a safe and efficient manner, but it always has potential to deliver a fatal blow to an ever-growing population that will rely on an enthusiastic, experienced, and educated group of agriculturists to feed them in the generations to come.

Jim Tobin, Illinois Association FFA Vice President