Cover Crops

(The 14 plant mix of cover crops in front of the Pine Ridge Farm)

This fall, we did something a little different after harvesting our wheat acres, which was putting in a cover crop.  What is a cover crop?  It is a second crop put in towards the end of the growing season to provide ground cover, hold nutrients in the soil, increase organic matter, and reduce compaction.  All of these things should help our primary crop production in the coming years. 

(Look closely and you will see a be on the sunflower)

These all sound like really great things, so implementing a cover crop program seems like it would be easy, obvious, and immediately cost effective, but that isn't the case.  One obstacle is figuring out how to get the crop into the field, and to come up for a good cover before everything freezes up.  Wheat is harvested at the end of June, so we have plenty of time to haul manure and plant the crop before the ground freezes. It is a good place for us to start and see if it works before we start incorporating it into our other crop programs.  We are not quite done harvesting corn for this year, so to put a cover crop into the corn field we would have to fly it on  sometime in August/September.   

(14 plant mix cover crop in September at the Brigham Farm)

Of course we also have to know what to plant.  There are limitless possibilities of what to put in a cover crop mix based on the desired outcomes, climate, etc.  This year we are trying two mixes.  The first is a mix of 14 different varieties, some each of legumes, grasses, brassicas (root vegetables), and broadleaves.  Of course the stars of the show at least visually are the sunflowers, which are covered in bees and butterflies.  The other mix is 2 varieties- oats and tillage radishes- less expensive and less showy, but should get the job done.   

(It's hard to tell how tall the crops are until you are walking around in them)

All of these plants are supposed to winter kill (die off with the frost) but the grasses and roots will hold the nutrients in and keep the ground covered until they fully break down in the spring.  This should give us better nutrient availability from the manure we put on before planting, and better soil to plant into that will hold more moisture through the summer.  If everything goes as it is supposed to, we won't even have to till into the fields in the spring before planting, although right now that seems hard to believe with how tall and hardy our cover crop looks to be.  

 (View of the ground coverage... and a turnip!)

When we tried a cover crop in the past, we had just planted tillage radishes and they were giant (3 feet long and 4-6 inches in diameter), stunk as they decomposed, and we couldn't see any measurable benefit from having them in the field.  That being said, we may have had a yield boost that was subtle, so we aren't quite sure.  This year we worked with some people experienced with cover crops to choose our mixes and planting dates more carefully.  We also planted in a few different fields that aren't our top performers to see if we can make any improvements.  We won't know until next fall how the crops fair, but right now everyone is excited about the potential for improvement and learning new farming practices.

 (Brian displaying our tillage radishes- much smaller than last time!)

Golf Outing

(Seth & Ethan)

Tuesday was our annual farm golf outing.  Everyone from the farm goes out to our local golf course and meets for a lunch meeting.  After lunch, anyone who wants to goes out to the course and play 9 holes on 4 person teams.  We don't have many golfers on the farm, so we try to have each team with one person who owns clubs, and one woman (for the closer tee).  Even though this year was threatening rain, we still had a good turn out, and lots of fun.  

 (Part of our golfing party)

This outing is probably the favorite event that we have during the year.  Nearly everyone stays to golf, even though our lunch meeting is the only "mandatory" event.  Each team has good golfers and bad golfers, so it is pretty even between teams.  This year's winning team was under par for the 9 holes for the first time ever! 

(The Costume Contest)

Also new this year, a few of the guys decided to have a costume contest, putting on their wackiest golf attire.  We will have to see if it sticks around for next year, but either way it gave all the other golfers a pretty good laugh.

Listening: It goes both ways

It's been a busy week on the farm and off of it.  Over Memorial Day weekend the whole family packed up and went to a canoe race in Cooperstown, New York.  I am finally catching up from the trip.  A lot has gone on at the farm in the past few weeks, too.  We finished up planting, and the new building project is coming along.

(Corn has really shot up after the rain!)

While out in Cooperstown, I stayed in a hotel on the Otsego Lake, a place I have stayed many times before.  I went to the desk and handed the receptionist my credit card, she saw that it had the farm name on it.  She immediately asked me what we had on our farm.  I replied that we had pigs, and the receptionists then asked if they were all pasture-raised and grass-fed.  When I said that some where inside and some were outside, she then asked how we could stuff them in those little crates, how we could take the babies from the mothers at weaning.  I knew this wasn't going to be a productive conversation, but I told her that we follow the recommendations of our vet, as well as learning from our own experiences in order to decide how and when we wean and crate our hogs, if at all; that we were willing to change things as necessary in order to improve pig care and consumer confidence.  She then asked how many animals we had, and then commented that we had far too many to be good farmers.   I left the office feeling attacked and shaken.

This woman had no interest in my farm.  She had no interest in having a conversation with me about farming.  She just saw that I didn't fit into her picture of what a farm should look like, and decided that it must not be any good.  I am glad she has the choice to buy her meat, if she buys any at all, from someone else; someone who raises animals to the specifications that she desires.  I wish that she could have respect for the way I raise animals, even if she doesn't prefer that for herself.  I wish that she was open to having a conversation about farms.  She didn't understand that we were the same in our jobs: different hotels provide different amenities for different people; different farms raise animals differently to fill different markets.  It's a system that gives us the ability to choose.

I am torn on booking my reservations for next year.  I really like the place I have stayed, and it has the amenities I desire.  I want to be the bigger person, and judge the establishment on the service it provides, not on the opinions of one receptionist.  At the same time, I know that my dollars are going to support someone who would gladly take my family out of business, just because we have been successful at providing meat to supermarkets instead of at road-side stands.    It just hurts to be so vulnerable to attack.  I try to be open and listen when I have a conversation about the farm, but I need the other party to be willing to try, too.

From the farmer side of the conversation, we need to realize that sometimes we can come off just as this lady did to me, like we know everything.  We aren't always open to concerns of consumers, because the answer seems so easy to find for us.  Those concerns are valid, even if it doesn't seem important.  We have to really listen and have a dialogue, not just shut people down because they don't see things our way.

Audits: The Farm Scorecard

When people think of farms, they usually think of just a few cows, chickens hogs, and goats munching on some grass in a pasture.  If they think of commercial farming, they oddly think about someone in a suit calling the shots for "cheaper at any cost" or "just get them on the truck, no matter how many shots you have to give them."  Rarely do they think of the farmer in overalls having to make business decisions, and follow defined quality standards.  

I received a letter in the mail this week, stating that the packer we sell our hogs to is switching its auditing program.  Along with the switch comes upwards of 200 pages of new paperwork to read through and implement in the coming months.  It isn't necessarily a bad change, but it is hard to make the adjustment from one system to another.

(Early Morning visiting the pigs.. 20 F outside 68 F inside.)

We have been conducting formal audits and checks on our farm for approximately 10 years.  This isn't to say we didn't do our own in house checks on a regular basis, but we never looked at those checks as a way to provide information to our customers.  Our current program has our managers do a weekly animal handling a care audit, and a yearly audit of each farm location done by myself.  I visit the farms much more often of course, but that  is my formal check of the facilities.  We then get 3rd party audits randomly from our packers, who come in to review our records, and make sure that we are doing what we claim to be doing.  Anytime we are out of line, we have 30 days to correct the problem with a written plan, and by implementation.  Sometimes this requires a re-audit.

On top of the audits, we do training for each person that works with pigs.  That includes all of the people working directly on the farm, plus our Amish contract barn owners and their families.  In all, 4 months out of my year is spent with a focus on training.  After the training is completed I visit locations weekly to make sure that things stay up to our standards.  Training focuses on recognition and treatment of illness, daily management practices, moving animals, how to identify and euthanize animals properly, and what animal abuse looks like.

It may not be perfect, but every training, every audit, and every farm visit gives us the opportunity to improve how we care for the animals.  Even though it makes me nervous to have an audit, it also shows that we are doing everything that we can to ensure the pigs are raised in a safe, and conscientious way.  

Meet our Pig Farming Experts

Happy National Ag week!  It's nice to see all of my farmer friends taking the time to talk about how much they love agriculture with their friends.  People really seem to be into it this year, and a lot of stories are being shared.

(Ag story: wait until it's a bit drier to get in the field.)

This week on our farm we had one of our consultant's visit.  His name is Al, and he has spent is whole working life in the pork industry.  He comes through our farm about once a month, often with our other consultant Dale, and they look at all of our pigs, making suggestions on everything from feeding to handling to maintenance.  Al works closely with our vet, and with the people that sell us breeding stock in order to help us make the best decisions for the farm.  Dale really takes interest in pig structure and genetics, and helps us select the right animals for our system.  These two consultants have practical experience and industry connections, helping us to solve any problems we may have.  They also give us valuable outside information.  Sometimes you can look at things every day, but not actually see the problem.  Dale and Al keep us in check.

In addition to our consultants, we work with two vets.  One vet is a local large animal vet, and he visits each of our farrowing farms (where the piglets and mamas are) once a month to do a general health check-up.  He works closely with our other vet, who is a swine vet.  The swine vet doesn't make it out to the farm as often, but he is only a phone call away for any help that we need.  Our local vet takes care of us in emergencies, and helps us with diagnostics on a regular basis.  We are lucky to have two vets that can work so closely together and help our farm.

Besides these visits, our management team meets once a month in order to discuss all of the information that the consultants and vets give us.  This helps hold the whole team accountable on the changes we have decided to make, as well as make sure that we are all on the same page.  We also chat on a daily basis to make sure we are accomplishing the things we intended.  There are still things we miss, but working together makes a difference.

Keeping the communication flowing from top to bottom is one of the harder jobs on the farm.  Even a small change has 10 people working on it, and easily 10 another people having to implement it.  No one person on the farm is an expert on everything, nor should they be.  Farmer's generally don't make changes to their farming practices without talking to an expert.  We don't want to do anything that will harm the animals, the land, or the farm family.  Not every decision is the right one; not every change is positive, but we move forward with the information we have and keep trying to improve.  That is a huge part of any farm story.

Farm Update: Sawdust Day

Winter is (hopefully) coming to a close, but last week we had some nice and cold weather for one of the more fun jobs on the farm.  Twice a year, a big semi trailer pull into the farm full to the brim with bagged wood shavings.  What do we do with the wood shavings on the farm?  We use them to bed our trucks after cleaning for each new group of pigs we transport.  This keeps them warm and dry, plus it makes them smell like a forest (only kidding!).

Anyone that can spare even a few moments come around to help unload the 1150 bags.   It usually takes 1-2 hours to have everything off of the truck and put away.  We unload by assembly line, with 3 people on the truck moving bags forward for 2 guys to stack them on pallets while 2 more guys transport them on carts to where they are stored and 1 more guy helps to stack as needed.  It's nice to do this on a cold day, since you warm up fast from all of the moving.

This may sound like a miserable job, and most of the time I don't look forward to it, but once we get moving it is pretty fun.  It's nice to work side-by-side with friends and family and actually be able to see that we are accomplishing something.  Everyone is happy and working together.  It definitely acts like a team building activity, since most of the people that show up don't actually work together everyday, and may not even know each other that well.

(Chris, myself, and Dylan after filling the barn with saw dust bags)

Sawdust day also brought us a new face on the farm, Dylan.  Dylan is the newest employee on the farm, and sawdust day was his first on farm experience.   He was able to some real on farm experiences within a few hours of filling out his paperwork, plus he met many of the people he could be working with in the future.

Part of the culture on our farm is that nobody is too good for any job.  Some days I make hiring decisions, and some days I power wash and unload sawdust.  We all try to do the best that we can for the pigs, the people, and the community.

5 Things I learned from the Michigan Young Farmer Leaders Conference

Visiting the Traverse City Coast Guard with Michigan Farm Bureau (Photo Credit: Michigan Farm Bureau)

Over the weekend I attended the Michigan Farm Bureau's Young Farmer Leaders Conference.  These types of conferences are pretty general when it comes to farming information; instead the focus is on leadership, business, marketing, and personal development for farmers age 18-35.   Roughly 300 farmers attend the event each year, for a weekend of learning and networking.  Coming away from the conference this year I have five "bits of wisdom" to share, along with one personal story.

5. Farming is a family affair.  I have been to a few professional conferences by now, and I have never been to any conference besides a farming one where husbands, wives, and children are all learning together.  Sitting at a random lunch table, Every person at the table asks about the spouse and children of the person next to them (if they aren't also at the table).  It's not just to be polite, it is genuine interest.  Each year attending the conference I make more connections, talk to more people, and I learn more about the different farm families.  Farms are family businesses, even if one or more people in the family don't work on the farm as their full time job.

4. We want acceptance.  A big topic of any farming conference now is how to talk to people about farming.  Farmers are trusted, but farming as an industry is not.  People are so far removed from what farming is, and they tend to be more than skeptical about many farming practices.  Speaker Michele Payn-Knoper pulled many people out of the audience and asked them if they think communicating directly with consumers is important; all of them answered yes.  When she then asked if they would go home and start talking to people, most of the farmers said they weren't sure.  This isn't something farmers want to do.  It is scary to start a conversation with someone you don't know about your business. It is awful to put yourself out there and have somebody tear you down because they don't like the decisions you have made on your farm, decisions that 100% were made with the best intentions regarding, health, safety, and yes, our personal farm profitability.  Keeping the farm going is what keeps our families going.  We want to share our stories with the world, but we want to find people accepting and willing to listen; the same things we need to be when people do come to us.

3. Size doesn't matter. Farms of all shapes and sizes are important to filling the food demands.  Large farms and small farms have benefits for consumers, and both are needed in order to give people the options they are looking for. Conventional, organic, and local all have a place at the table.  Almost every industry has businesses operating under all different types of models.  Those differences give consumers choices.  It isn't about who is "just in it for the money." I don't know a single farmer who is farming just for a paycheck.  I wouldn't wish it on anyone to have a career or a lifestyle where they can't fully exercise their passion.

2. People are the most important.  Food isn't really about just filling our bodies.  For many of us, the dinner table is a time for connection.  We get together and have large meals with our families.  We care about what we put in because we want to get the best out.  Even though the conversations about food can be uncomfortable, I need to listen and participate.  It isn't about raising corn, wheat, cows, chickens, vegetables, or fruits.  It's about providing for our families and bringing people together.  I feel that the pigs we raise on our farm are the best thing that I can give my own family, and I need consumers to feel the same way.  If it isn't good for both of us, then it's not going to be sustainable.

1. We need to define ourselves by what we can do and don't let what we can't do stop us.  This final point is where things start to get a bit personal, and maybe that is why it is resonating with me more than any other part of the conference.  The keynote speaker, Steve Gilliland, did his talk on how to move through life with purpose, passion, and pride.  He mentioned if we focus on what we can't do, there will be many things that stand in our way- including other people who will try to define who we are.  Steve instead directed us to put effort into developing what we can do, in order to find happiness and success.

Mathieu after finishing his first Au Sable River Canoe Marathon (Photo Credit: Caleb Casey)

Now for the personal part. I don't usually put much on here about what I do outside of farming, so for those of you that don't know, I spend quite a bit of my free time marathon canoe racing.  Like the farming community (although considerably smaller), the paddling community is small and tight knit.  On Friday, Mathieu- French Canadian paddler and a friend was involved in a terrible logging accident (he is a lumberjack).  By the time I was sitting in the conference on Sunday, he had learned that he would probably live the rest of his life unable to walk. This is devastating news for anyone, especially so for someone as young and active as Mathieu.  As I was sitting in the crowd listening to Steve speak, I could only think how Mathieu's life is going to change, and how he will need to focus on the positive things that he can do in order to find happiness.

The paddlers have really rallied around Mathieu and his family in the last few days, and have started a collection in order to help with his expenses on the road to recovery.  While maybe this won't matter to any of my readers, if you feel like helping him out on his journey, visit http://www.gofundme.com/mzf674 and make a donation.  Every little bit helps, and this is something that we all can do.

New Year, New Office, New Plan

Big and exciting things have happened on the farm this week.... our office addition is ready for move-in!!  In April of last year we decided to expand the office (there were more people than desks) and after all of the delays due to rain on foundation pouring days, harvest, illnesses, hunting season, and all the other things that can go wrong on a construction project, we are finally starting to get settled.  The window trim still needs to go up, and a few other odds and ends, but I now have my own desk to work at, so I am not complaining.

(My new desk, complete with a kitty house... not quite put away yet)

The other big project I personally have been working on is the siting plan for our new inside gestation barn we are hoping to put up this spring.  Friday I was able to send the plan into the state, and it was so relieving to have that project off of my shoulders.  For anyone unfamiliar with the siting requirements in Michigan, livestock farmers have a set of guidelines for building a new livestock facility, or expanding an old one.  We are actually reducing the number of animals on the farm, but the siting plan process is a really thorough way to check for potential problems.  The plan must include all items off of a 4 page checklist (and it's really tiny print!) in order for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to review the request and approve the site.

(Siting plan complete!)

When making the plan, I have to figure out what the impact of the building will be on the land as far as erosion, soil types, nutrient analysis, and possible crop farming uses.  I then review the impact on the watershed, wetlands, rivers, streams, drains, storm waters, and well records and maps.  Odor and manure management make up about half of the plan requirements, with a wind odor print taken to make sure the barn won't create too much stink for the neighbors ("too much"  is odor that can be smelled more than 5% of the time, or 18 days a year).  In the manure management portion, I look at the amount of farmland we have to utilize the manure as fertilizer, and see if the new facility can work into our system,  This is one of the most important parts of the plan for the farm to use.  I also submit an engineer's blueprint and a outline of current utilities on the property, so MDARD can analyze construction plans and placement decisions.  I work with the local zoning officials in the township to figure out further permitting that I will need.

This isn't just something for hog farms, but any livestock farms.  It isn't optional.  It is a lot of work, but it gives farmers protection and shows that we are following the rules.  It gives us guidelines for working with neighbors. We are doing our homework, checking our lists, and having conversations about conservation and our environment.

6 takeaways from the Great Lakes Crop Summit

(Sign Welcoming Farmers to the Great Lakes Crop Summit in Mt. Pleasant, MI)

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the Great Lakes Crop Summit.  It is nice to have such a well run cropping event so close to home.  After listening to a dozen or so speakers over the two days of sessions, I gathered up a few key points.

1. Export markets are there, and they are important.  If grain marketing at most farms in anything like it is on my farm, we just work with our local elevator.  That isn't the worst thing to do, but being aware of the international trade climate, and of the other ways you market grain (at a premium), can really help crop farmers manage their risk.

2. We have to be business smart to farm smart.   Farmers are always proud of the fact that we farm out of love for the land.  We also tend to be slow to change or adapt.  By treating downturn years the same way as high profit years, we are really shooting ourselves in the foot.

3. Soybeans have a lot of unrealized potential.  In Michigan, soybeans are more of a rotational crop, not the main money maker.  The Great Lakes Crop Summit made me realize that we are giving up potential on soybeans just because we don't make them a priority.  Some of the things we can do with soybeans don't even take more time or money, it's just applying effort at the right time instead of whenever its convenient around corn.

4. New to cover crops? Get Help! After listening to multiple sessions on cover crops and vertical tillage, my biggest takeaway is don't go it alone.  Many things in crop farming are trial and error, but investing $25-45/ acre, or thousands in new equipment isn't something you should do without working with someone who has experience.  This will save a lot of trouble down the road.

5. Customer connection is key.  This is true in all parts of business, and not always something we think of first in agriculture.  Traceability is something that is gaining importance everyday with consumers.  Delivering a product tailored to our clients will result in better relationships, and a healthy pocketbook.

6. Manage your risk.  What happens when you have an accident on the farm?   How prepared are you to handle it?  This isn't just about insurance, but also about knowing what you should be doing before the accidents happen to protect yourself.  Working with your lawyer, your accountant, and your insurance agent to best guard yourself against potential harms will leave you feeling confident and prepared to handle any situation.

The Farming Tradition

A couple of months ago, I was contacted to speak out my local township watch meeting.  Our township has a local business owner, resident, or expert give a presentation each month about something going on in our community.  The township decided to have me come to speak about my family farm.  I was not really looking forward to the presentation, but I knew it is an important opportunity to be in the community, and create a dialogue with my neighbors.  I am not necessarily afraid of public speaking, but I am always nervous that I won't be as prepared as I should be.

My grandparents are part of the township watch, and were very excited to have my speak to the group.  Grandpa used to be the master of the slideshow, always eager to show off the accomplishments he has made on the farm.  Now he has passed the task on to me, and while I have changed the show a little bit, I still like to use many of his old slides.

The farm just after Grandpa and Grandpa fixed it up in 1975.  

I think it is a little different now than it used to be when Grandpa did his presentations.  He always boasted about the new technology, the mechanization, and the expansion of the farm.  He is proud that our business was able to grow from one barn in his backyard, into one of the more successful farms in the state.  I am always a little bit apprehensive showing off our business acumen, since most people would rather believe that everything was still in the backyard.  I put more emphasis on community, and public works, and not quite so much on the hogs.  The audience has changed, from neighborhood farmers, to just neighbors.  They still have to put up with the big machinery, the funny smells, and occasional pig escapes, but they don't always see it as an economic or community benefit that our neighbors used to see. 

My presentation went fine, and I was able to meet some more faces in my community, answer a few questions, and even invite some people out for a farm tour.  Our door is always open to our neighbors, they just have to ask. People seemed pretty engaged, and were definitely excited about things we are doing to manage our environmental impact, as well as improve our animal care. We are proud of the farm, just as Grandpa and Grandma are, and we want to show people that we can be a big farm and a good neighbor.  

The most surprising thing of the whole evening,  was when the neighbor smack-dab in the middle of our farmland raised his hand and commented to the whole group, that he had never known a more caring family or business in the community, than our farm family.  He couldn't imagine having better neighbors, or a business that chose to do more for the people that supported it.  He was pleased with our animal care, and our manure management, as well as our scholarships, school trip funding, and Christmas hams.  He was glad to see that our family tradition was continuing on to the next generation, and  I think Grandpa and Grandma were most proud of that.  

An Anomaly: the Agriculture Optimist

Happy New Year!  It's finally getting cold around the farm and while we don't have snow right now, we are running into the typical winter problems with housing the sows outside.  Putting straw in the sow huts outside is a weekly activity, and frozen water bowls are something to look out for.  Friday we had a breaker that kept blowing and shutting off the water bowl heater, so Dad and I went over to thaw one it out (Dad did most of the fixing, I was emotional support).  The sows were sure happy to see us!

(The orange juice container had hot water to thaw the frozen heaters. The mud is from the Michigan freeze/thaw winter.)

While we were out fixing heaters, I was really enjoying my day.  I love going around the farm and looking at things.  I love seeing the people and the animals.  I love actually being able to see the difference we make every day.  Most of my friends don't have jobs where they get to see the whole supply chain of their industry.  I get to see the pigs from birth to market (and even into bacon or ham), I see the crops go from seeds to feed, and I get to see how our part time help grows from young high school kids with no plans to responsible adults with a passion for their prospective careers, even if it's not on the farm.  Farms are just a good place for things to grow.  

What I never see on the farm, but always deal with when talking about it is the politics of farming.  Maybe farms have done it to themselves, but I don't see how my life can be such a big political issue.  Some people think I am "brainwashed" by "Big Ag", not able to learn the "real" methods of agriculture.  Others feel that I am "oppressed" by the way things are in the industry, that I don't have choices or channels to make my farm the best it can be.  I like that people are talking about farming.  I love that we have research on what we grow.  I know these things can help us improve, that new methods and technology will develop from these conversations.  I only want the cynicism to subside on both sides, trust to flourish, and real listening to occur.  On both sides.  Farmers need to be open, honest and vulnerable.  Consumers need to be the same.  We aren't going to agree all of the time, but the mutual respect needs to be there.  It's the way we can move forward for the betterment of all.  I am tired of seeing people fighting back an forth about the "right" way.  We aren't listening, just throwing around the ideology that sounds best at the moment.

While I want to talk about the hard questions of agriculture, I want to stay an optimist.  I love what I do, I love the animals, and I see any challenges as an opportunity to do something great.  I have found through my own experiences, that most people are good people. I have faith that we can make ag better, we only have to try.

Ditch the Rule, but not the Reward

If you follow any type of farming publication, or ag social media you can see the #DitchtheRule campaign out in full swing.  If you haven't been following, #DitchtheRule is the push by the agricultural community to stop the EPA's change to the definition of the Waters of the United States.  The proposed changes  would make man-made ditches (even those that do not flow most of the year), wetlands, any pond area (even private half acre ponds, or small field ponds), drains and tiling all navigable, thus putting them in the EPA's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.  By having this federal control of the water, farmers applying fertilizers and pesticides to adjacent lands may have to seek additional permits, or may not be able to use these products at all.  It also could make problems for farmers wishing to plant additional acreage that is not currently used for agriculture.  Overall, this seems to be an overreach of the EPA's control in commerce and of privately held property.

I am very wary of any federal agency taking claim to property owned privately.  I don't agree that more regulation will help the process of commerce, nor that it is the best way to keep the waterways clean.   I do think it gives us a chance to review what we are doing privately to protect the water, and what programs are out there for us to educate, promote, and support water and agriculture.

As a farmer, I can take a look at my nutrient management plan.  I can see what I am applying to the fields, use the proper amounts, and see if I am having my desired effect.  When looking at these things, I need to realize that anything flowing into the "little ditch by the road" will eventually make it into bigger water.  Using buffer strips, cover crops, crop rotation, and other soil conservation practices are things that I can do to reduce the chances of run-off.  Applying manure and fertilizers at the right time in relation to rain, plant maturity, and incorporation will make them more effective and less likely to end up in our waters.  I also need to respect the wetlands as nature's filter for our waters.  That 2 acre wetland may have me itching to farm it, but it really does a lot of the dirty work for my farm.  These techniques are being used by farmers, but there is always room to improve.

In Michigan, our water is a big deal, and we have many organizations to help us keep the water clean.  We have a great relationship with NRCS(Natural Resource Conservation Service), an active Michigan Department of Argriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and farmer-fair Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). On a more local level, we have watershed organizations that seek to educate farmers, and the general public on how to clean or better maintain our waterways. We also have a great voluntary environmental farm certification, titled MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program).  In this program, farms undergo audits in different areas of crop, livestock, and farmstead management and receive recommendations to reduce our environmental impact.  After making the updates, farms are visited again, and if it meet the standards of environmental stewardship, it will become a MAEAP verified location for the next few years.  Thousands of farms in Michigan have undergone this process.

As we move forward in the discussion about our waters, we need to realize that while this rule may not pass, the call for water conservation will not.  Farmers are stewards of the land, and due to our
use of the land we will have to take responsibility for our waters as well.  This isn't something to be taken lightly, but it does give us a chance to show our role as front-line environmentalists.  By showing additional care to our water, we will reap the rewards of good stewardship, keeping our farms and our communities running clean and strong.

What's in a Crop Farmer's Toolbox?

I read a lot of articles about how farmers misuse GM technology, and how we are not really paying attention to how this affects the land, air and water. That as farmers, we are just using the cheapest, and easiest method, and not paying attention to other opportunities that are out there for better our crops and farmland.  Taking one step into the Farm Journal's Corn College last week, I quickly realized that people don't see the other farming practices we implement to raise a better crop.  GM technology is one of many tools in our toolbox, but what else is out there?

Let's start with hybrids.  These aren't necessarily GMOs, in that they are bred in the field to make certain traits.  There are those which are drought resistant, heat resistant, flood resistant, short growing season, long growing season, and everything in between.  As farmers, we don't just pick one variety to plant in all of our fields, we diversify our crop based on soil type, drainage, micro-nutrient levels, presence of irrigation, equipment, tillage style, and a host of other factors.  We try to balance our cropping portfolio so that no matter what the growing conditions, we can have a good crop.

Now we can talk tillage practices.  Farmers have a huge variety of field implements to use when tilling their fields.  Some farmers are strictly no-till, which is planting into ground that hasn't been cultivated in any way.  This is good for soil erosion because the ground is always covered with some type of cover.  Some farmers use plows or rippers to break hard pans in the soil and to inject manure for a natural fertilizer. Vertical tillage is somewhere in between, helping to create soil uniformity, thus better space for roots to grow.  We try to minimize our passes over the field by doing multiple things at once, making us more efficient on fuel, and less likely to cause compaction.

We use soil testing to figure out our nutrient levels to make sure that we put the right fertilizers in the right places.  We balance our soil and water pH levels to make the growing conditions suitable for the plants.  We use crop rotation and cover crops to improve the soil content, minimize weeds in the off seasons, and increase the organic matter.

Farm equipment now allows us to collect data and use GPS to practice precision farming.  We can map a field based on yield, and soil type to plant different varieties in places that respond differently within the same field.  We can manage our fertilizers that way too, so we are using less and growing more. Even the number of seeds we plant per acre is adjusted based on this mapping, giving each seed a better chance to thrive, and only planting as many seeds as the ground can adequately provide for throughout the growing season. 

Even more basic farming tools are being honed every time we go out in the field.  Did you know that the soil temperature at the time of planting greatly effects the ability for the seed to take up nutrients?  By monitoring our soil temperatures, we can give the plants the best start that we can, and utilize the fertilizer that is already in the ground.  In addition, we can adjust our planting equipment to make sure our planting depths are consistent, so one plant doesn't dominate another.

GMOs are part of the farmer's toolbox, but they don't make up for cutting corners in crop production.  Not every farm is using each tool, but each farm is trying to put together the best mix of tools to utilize the land at the highest potential.  

Are you talking to a Farmer?

There are a lot of people talking about food, generating conversation, and taking interest in how we get from the farm to the table.  We talk about what it means for health, for the environment, for the economy.  We spend some time preaching, some defending, and some pointing the finger.  Often times I hear that "real farmers" like myself are good at what they do, but "cooperate farmers," a category I also fall under,  are the bad guys.  For most farmers throughout the country, we can easily fall into both categories.  People have a hard time identifying a farmer at times, and there are some dead giveaways to let you know that you have a farmer in your midst.  

1.  Plaid/checkered shirt.  It's a must.  The farmer's uniform.  Daily wear with jeans, all other occasions with a nice pair of khakis.  If you went to a farm show, 95% of the farmers would be in some form of this outfit.

2. Work boots.  We wear them everywhere.  Yes, there is a farm pair, a day pair, and a "dress-up" pair.  This designation is given by how long the boots have been out of the box.

3. Preoccupation with weather.  All farmers, be it crops, livestock, indoor or outside facilities, we are all worried about the weather.  Rain, wind, cold, or heat effect the growing cycle not only of the crops, but also of the animals.

4.  Family.  If you meet a farmer, you don't just see him or her.  You will also meet, the spouse, the children and/or parents.  We work together, we live together, we travel together.  We are close, and we are a team.

5.  Community Involvement.  For all the talk of farmers keeping their heads in the sand when it comes to issues, we spend a lot of time and money in our communities.  We vote.  We fund schools, post-prom trips, libraries, roads, and community activities.  We want to not only produce for our tables, but give back to those who put up with our manure hauling, road-blocking ways.  Community is something most farmers take pride in.

6. University Involvement.  Farmers are educated, probably more so than would be expected.  We have Alma Maters, which we will show unwavering support.  We value the resources they provide, working closely with extension agents to implement better management practices and technologies.  And we love to support the football, basketball, and livestock judging teams, among others at the university level.

Once you have identified your farmer, ask him a little about the land, or the livestock.  One who may have seemed quite or reserved just a minute ago will open up to share his life's work.  You will soon be able to tell that his pride is what's on your plate.

Full-Time Job

As many farmers know, leaving the barn or the field really doesn't meant that the work on the farm is done for the day.  We don't work full-time, we work all the time.  Even when you are away from the farm, you are thinking about it, making decisions, planning, and sometimes implementing your transition to the new generation, or training your management.  For me coming into my time on the farm, the off-time work takes a more physical nature.

I am sure many of us are in the same situation with the weather being unseasonably cold right now, which around here also means unseasonably muddy.  The frost going out of the driveways is something only a 4WD vehicle can handle, and even then the potholes are a whole other beast.  Along with this cold weather, we are having to bed (fill the outside hog houses with straw) the pigs much later in the season, and much more often than usual.  Unfortunately for us, this means we have to unload straw after usual farm hours, at least once a week.  It makes for a long evening, but if we get 6 or so people to come and help it turns into the evening social activity.

Last weekend on a day finally sunny and about 40 degrees, my husband and I decided to take my father-in-law out to see my newly renovated farm house.  While driving down our road, we see ten sows (pregnant mother pigs) walking down the road.  Upon pulling into the yard we see a few more, and a line of fence with pig friendly exit holes. They had a good time rutting up the backyard, sunning on the porch, perusing the remnants of the garden and generally taking a field trip around the block.  Fortunately, the pigs went pretty easily back into their pen and observed us fixing the fence rather stoically.  Talk about a firsthand farm experience for my father-in-law!

This type of extracurricular work activity is commonplace on the farm, but isn't always experienced in other jobs.  Taking care of these types of surprises, sometimes on daily basis shows that farmers tend to be a diligent group.  The farm is part of our family structure, it brings us together.  Farming isn't a full-time job, it is a way of life.

The Diet Push

I am lucky to spend my time away from the farm in a canoe.  It's my hobby, and it's my sport.  I have a mix of friends from the farm, and my paddling friends.  Needless to say, it's a pretty diverse group, and it's part of what I enjoy.  I love to be at the farm and I enjoy my friends here, but when I leave it's nice to be around a completely different group.

The hardest part of being a farmer in a group of endurance athletes, is that we tend to be on the opposite sides of the food spectrum. People who work out more than an hour a day, everyday, tend to see themselves as more health conscious than the average person.  They take pride in having discipline and self-control.  They see diet and exercise as being complimentary.  Paddlers don't work out to stay thin, they workout to be healthy.  For some, this means being either gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, vegetarian, or even vegan.  As you can imagine, sometimes things get uncomfortable.

Often with friends who are living what I consider to be extreme lifestyles, they love to tell you about it.  Why it is better, why it works for them, or apologetically, if they could get meat from our farm, from good people like us, then maybe they would change their ways.  It's usually someone you see as a friend, someone who is comfortable enough with you to tell you about their habits.  It usually isn't meant to be preachy, but most of the time it comes off as such, or at least leaves me feeling inferior.

At the same time, I recognize being part of this group allows me the opportunity to talk to people who have a lot of questions about food.  I have had some really good conversations about food production, and learned some different perspectives.  Hopefully, I have positively affected someone's attitude towards food as well.  What I don't want to be is overbearing, and make people feel the way I sometimes feel when I talk to people with different life views.  No one should have to feel inferior due to choices he or she willingly made. Most people don't try to make bad ones.

Probably the biggest take-away I have from these experiences is realizing that people honestly want to do the best they can, and that deserves respect.  Their are definitely people out there who actively want to hurt the farming community, but most people are either uninformed, misinformed, or are caught up in a type of peer pressure.  If you know any vegans, or least all the ones that I know, they tend to flaunt their diets, posting pictures of food, touting the benefits of their lifestyle, pointing out the flaws in every else's ways.  We shouldn't be that judgmental.  I have the choice to eat a certain way, and I need to give people their choice, even if I don't agree with it.  I care deeply about farming, and I support it vocally, but I have to understand that my opinion is just that; people have the right to choose.

Farm Life: Winter Edition

Happy New Year!  I hope things are going well for all of you; resolutions still intact, or at least were broken for a worthy cause.  Winter on the farm can be a good time to get things back into shape, especially after a long harvest season, but like with our personal resolutions, a lot of things can get in the way.  Last week we experienced 2-3 feet of snowfall in one afternoon, with temperatures dropping to -20 degrees.  That type of weather gets in the way of doing any maintenance and upkeep- putting the whole farm into survival mode.

So what were we doing out on the farm, when everyone else was snowbound?  First we had to plow; farm driveways, areas around the feed bins, and even the roads.  It took a solid three days for the county plows to hit all of the roads, and the pigs needed to eat before that, so the farm tractors joined in to help.  We also would become a towing service for neighbors in the ditch, and even plowed out some of their driveways.  

Another job is bedding.  Bedding is pretty simple on a usual winter day:  we go out to the outside pig pens, open the gate, drive the straw wagon into the pen, take some bales of straw and put them in the hog houses (little huts that hold about 20 pigs each, for sleeping and to escape from the elements), drive back out of the gate and shut it.  With 3-4 foot snow drifts, even opening the gate becomes a big challenge, but the pigs need the new straw bedding most when the temperatures are so frigid.  

Other winter tasks include running the generator, and fixing heaters.  Two years ago, we decided to buy one of those stand-alone generators that starts with the push of a button- no more trying to hook up the tractor to run the generator!  That's really nice for those of us who aren't very good with a tractor, but we still need to make sure this new one works in the worst of conditions, because honestly, the power never goes out when it's 65 degrees and the sun is shining.  This time the generator fired right up, but everyone held their breath until they heard it fall into a natural rhythm.  If it doesn't work in the cold we have to figure out a way to get it to start, because next time we might not be so lucky.  As far as fixing the heaters go, they always seem to work best when you don't need them, so a lot of time went into fixing those during the last cold spell.

After being on the farm a few years, you begin to realize that there isn't a "busy season" and an "off season."  Livestock still needs to be tended, maintenance is a constant battle, and there is always more work than can be accomplished in a day.  Each time of year is filled with it's own challenges and rewards, but all part of the same bigger picture:  we strive to care for our land and our animals better this year than in year's past.     

The Christmas Ham

Merry Christmas to all, it is such a nice time to spend with family and friends. On the farm we are perpetually busy with with plowing, bedding, and feeding this time of year, but it is always with an uplifted mood, as everyone can feel the holiday spirit.  At Christmas time we send in a custom hog for each employee that is processed by the local meat market, and have our annual Christmas party.

The Christmas party is probably one of the most popular events we have throughout the year, and the 2013 party was our largest ever.  We had about 150 people attend, employees and there families,contract barn owners, and other local business people we work with throughout the year.  Each guest takes home a piece of farm swag, be it a fleece blanket, a soft cooler, or a coffee mug; a full belly, and a happy heart.  We also have some type of entertainment, this year it was a stilt walker with a juggling act.  It might be a little bit cheesy, but the entertainment is always something that gets a laugh out of the crowd, while mesmerizing the kids.  It's a fun way to celebrate with our farm family, plus it puts the farm in the soft spot of the hearts of people in the community.

Community outreach is important at any time of year, but the holiday season is a good time to get out and remind your neighbors that you appreciate them.  They put up with the manure hauling, semis driving by at 5 AM, and on occasion, a pig in their swimming pool (yes, that actually happened).  Plowing an elderly neighbor's driveway, or donating gifts to the toys-for-tots program are small acts of kindness that go a long way.  They do not take much time or money, but they leave a meaningful impact on a neighbor's day.

One of my grandfather's favorite Christmas traditions is the Christmas ham.  Just before Christmas we head out door-knocking to the neighboring houses to give them a ham for Christmas dinner.  It is so nice to express our thanks, although it hardly feel like we are doing the giving, usually walking away with some homemade confection, syrup, or preserve.  As a community we are sharing what we have, what makes us proud, and strengthening the camaraderie that exists between the folks of a small town.  

Action

It's been awhile, and while I don't like to make excuses, I had a valid reason for neglecting my blog- I got married about two weeks ago.  I will readily admit that my online presence was substantially diminished, but that it was not the only thing to suffer.   Now that I am back in the swing of real life I hopefully can become a more consistent writer.

Last weekend I was at Kettle bell class, (for those of you who don't know, a kettle bell is a weight that looks similar to a bowling ball with the handle on the top for swinging)  and I was reading the motivational quotes on the wall.  Most of the time I am not really into that sort of thing, but I needed something to keep my mind off the idea of doing a few hundred squats, so I chose the quote wall as a distraction.  The poster that really resonated with me stated "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

I see things that I don't like about farming, in practice, in portrayal, and in theory. Areas where improvements can be made and opportunity for success is real. Yet day-in and day-out, I don't really make many positive steps towards change.  I write on occasion, and I think about different things I would like to see, and the direction I want my business to grow, but they are just thoughts and dreams.  I could blame my lack of motivation on my support system, my comfort level, my fear of failure or my confusion in the duties of my own job, but really all of these problems stem from me not taking the needed initiative.   I  can see that at my current phase, I am not doing anything to make my farm better, I am just maintaining the same level.  It is difficult to get ourselves to make a change.  It takes weeks to make something a habit, and sometimes years to make it come naturally.

This isn't just a problem I can have on the farm, but also in other areas of life.  We all have probably gone through a "rut,"  where it seems like we are making no progress.  Either we need to change our focus, or figure out what our goals are and take action to attain them.  Over the next few weeks, I hope to make some posts about some of my goals, and what I am doing now to reach them. I want to be accountable.  I want to work through and have success because I provided for it, not because someone else is carrying me.  I think often on the farm, those of the younger generation do allow themselves to be carried, since they did not put in the legwork to get the farm up and running.  I don't want to be part of that trend.

Summer Recap: Busy Building

How the summer has flown by!  I have been running all over the farm, learning new skills, working on new projects, and generally being caught up in the excitement of summer.  Since my last blog post, I have been building my skill set:  I learned how to collect boars and run our AI (artificial insemination) lab.  Now this might not sound like the best job, or the most exciting job, but it actually was a lot of fun. I was able to work closely with the animals, learning their personalities and quirks, as well as with my aunt, who has been running our collection lab for the past 10 years.  On top of that, I have been doing the Tyson animal care training each night with one of our 41 contract growers- 36 of which are Amish.  It has been fun to go out to everyone's barns and connect with growers and their families, and a challenge to set up meetings without the use of phones and answering machines!

My work on the farm probably hasn't even been the most exciting compared to our newest project, building our first inside gestation barn.  It is a very big project for us, although not an expansion. It is a move to streamline our business, while also reducing our environmental impact.  Moving hogs inside a barn is a big step for us.  Many people don't initially see how this is "better"  for the pigs or the land, but do see that it is less expensive for the farmer.  That is true, and it makes smart business sense to do things that cost less money, while also improving the conditions of our farm.  It makes us more sustainable.

How are we improving conditions?  Well, lets start with the pigs.  Our pigs have been housed outside during gestation for the last 50 years.  They have endure hard winters, where their ears tend to get frostbitten and fall off.  They have endured rainy springs, where the mud in the pastures makes it thick and difficult to walk.  They have endured scorching summers, with some dying due to heat stroke.  In the fall they have fought diseases when treatments couldn't administered at the proper time, just because the multiple acres of pasture sometimes lead to a pig getting missed.  They always had food, water, and shelter, as well as 3 or 4 acres of space per 60 pigs. Upon coming inside, these problems no longer exist.  The temperature is a stable 68 degrees, similar to what we prefer in our offices.  There are warm, dry places to sleep, and protection from the elements.  Treatment is faster and more effective, being administered at the right time.  The pigs are still in pens and can roam around inside the building. I can't say that the pigs prefer it that way, but I can say they tend to thrive in it.

What about the land?  Currently, we house our pigs in 3-4 acre lots, about 60 pigs in each space.  They tend to poop in the same areas, eat in others, and sleep in others.  Most of the lots are pasture grass, where the pigs really don't seem to hang out.   This means that in the corner with manure, the nitrogen content in the soil is extremely high, and run off can be a problem, even though the lots are plenty large for the number of pigs in each pasture. Over time, the manure builds up all over the lot, even though we plant alfalfa in the lots, and cut them multiple times per summer.  We don't know how to make it sustainable for the environment.  By moving the pigs inside, we can manage the manure, and put the nitrogen where we need it most.

This summer has been full of trial-and-error, and we have a lot more to learn.  Maybe we will decide that after trying this inside gestation style we might need to do something different.   However, we are trying to improve, not only for our short-term profit, but also for longevity.