Ag Day

Yesterday was the first day of spring & National Ag Day.

So what were we chasing around here.

Jeff: Was delivering & picking up bulls in Montana. Joined by a college buddy it was sure to be the best trip East in quite awhile. They stopped at Jeff's favorite restaurant (The Land of Magic) in Logan MT. What does it mean when your favorite steakhouse is 7 hours away? Not only do bulls need to go to & come home from studs in Montana but Jeff also takes an opportunity to view bulls. In a registered Angus operation every year Jeff gathers information about who to breed our cows to to create bulls that do what our customers need and improve our cow herd. Analyzing how a bull looks, what kind of daughters he'll leave in a herd as well as what a piece of paper says about him are all considered.

The farm crew: 
Fed Cows; while the grass is trying to grow there just isn't enough growth to turn cows out yet so the bales keep being fed. We monitor grass growth to make sure cows don't eat it too early and damage the grass.
Get ready for water. Irrigation water is coming. Making sure all the circles are ready to apply water to our crops. This year our spring work turned out to be crazy little (as a primarily hay grower most of our fields are in for years) so tractor work consists of harrowing hay fields and chasing down gophers. The shop may also be full of hay equipment that is still being gone through to be ready for haying. They all keep busy and no two days are the same.

The rest of us: Kids came home from school to have mom kick them outside! The weather was pretty nice. Planted our first seeds in the garden. The guys also moved the last of the spring calvers to our house today. Their 4H steers will likely come from this group of mommas so they might as well hang out here, right?

Why do we do all this and more on any given day? Well it is what and who we are. Raising animals and crops is not only what we do but our passion. Kids playing in the dirt and helping feed cows. Absolutely! What better way to let the next generation learn about the world around them?

So on this National Ag Day - thanks to farmers for doing what they do. And consumers for trusting us to put food on their tables. Best way to thank a farmer for the hours and efforts? When you have a question about what is happening on farms around the country ask someone who feeds cows, drives the tractor and keeps rolling when the work needs to be done!

Spring!

Looking out the window this morning, while there may not be snow, the green seems slow to come.

Besides daylight saving time (ugh!) spring here also means the return of irrigation water. Spring calving is about 1/2 over and Jeff has started delivering bulls.

Molly and a fair steer. 

 

 

 

One of my favorite parts about farming is that no two operations are the same. We are located in a fairly large irrigation project. Thanks to the mighty Columbia River a desert is transformed into an oasis.   Washington is second only to California in the variety of crops we grow. Our county fights for the top position in the state for total farm gate value. Yep, Ag is a big deal around here!

Over the years I've been blessed to meet and visit farmers from across the nation (& even a few around the world)! What sticks out the most? Everyone's passion for what they do. We feed the world! Each farm works with their set of conditions (climate, topography, soil, etc., etc., etc.) to make their farm work. Is a single operation perfect? Doubt it. Are we always striving to make it better? Absolutely! In our immediate area we are relatively small farmers. In other areas of this country we are huge. 

So? Well rather you milk 120 cows in the upper Midwest or 2000 in California we are all in this together! There aren't many of us left feeding the rest of America. Yes, it may look greener on the other side; the big guy or the little guy may not have the exact same concerns you do. But today we all need to take the time to tell our non-ag friends & family about what we do & why. Tell YOUR story, answer questions you are familiar with, introduce your non-farm circle to your (different) ag friends. 

Guess what? This coming week is National Ag Week! Commit to writing a quick story, posting a blog, sharing some pictures about what you do on your farm. See a fellow farmer's post/picture that is right on - share it! We are all in this together!