A Good Talker

When I was in high school my math teacher told my mother I was a “social butterfly.” Since then I have often been diagnosed with, “the gift of gab.” This usually meant I simply talked too much, but my lack of fear to stand in front of a group and express my ideas has started to come in handy.

I had the chance to talk to the local Kiwanis Chapter a few weeks ago, they meet on Mondays at noon at the local bowling alley. They are a dedicated group of volunteers doing good work in our community. At each meeting they have a speaker talk about their occupation or some topic that has been in the news.

This visit to the Kiwanis, the topic was modern agriculture. Many of the Kiwanis had grown up on a farm, or had even farmed themselves. I did not have to explain to them that the labor saving changes we have made to our farms are a good thing. They agreed that farmers should be proud of this progress. Changes in agriculture are the reason milk and other healthy food is affordable. I told them about my own family and how I farm different than my grandfather did, but my values are the same as they have been for generations.

That was on a Monday, on Thursday night I went to the County Zoning and Planning meeting. They were proposing a few changes that might jeopardize the preservation of farmland in our agriculture based county. When they asked for public comment, I simply said that I had moved to this county because I wanted to farm, that I had left a place where they grow more houses than corn, and I hoped our county wouldn’t end up that way.

At the end of meeting and older fellow came up, shook my hand and said, “I heard you at the Kiwanis too, you’re a real good talker.” It was so kind of him to support me and to go out of his way to let me know he was impressed. But, as I left the meeting all I could think to myself was, “I just want to be a good farmer.”

Besides a healthy and happy family there is nothing I want more than to be a good farmer. I often feel that I am the wrong person to stand up and speak for farmers, my family and I have only owned our farm for four years, and while I grew up on a farm and have spent all of my 34 years involved in agriculture, I still have so much to learn. Shouldn’t the spokesperson be an accomplished seasoned farmer? I am not qualified.

But there are so few of us, less than 2% of our society has jobs directly associated with farming. Someone has to tell our story.

There are farmers who can stand up and give a speech or for that matter write a blog, but most of us would rather be in our barn taking care of our cows, or in the shop tinkering with the equipment to be sure it is in good working order. Not to stereotype, but most people who farm do it because they love the work, and the independence. Often they choose this as a living because they’d rather deal with animals or crops than people.

So, those of us who are “good talkers” need to help tell the story of the “good farmers,” who are quietly caring for their land and animals, and producing enough food to feed us all.

Thanksgiving: a Time For Reflection on Our Blessings
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 3:08 PM CST
Originaly written for the Agri-View

Thanksgiving seems like it really snuck up on us this year didn’t it?With the harvest so late and finally some mild dry weather, bringing in the crop is the central focus across the countryside. But, Thanksgiving is upon us, and with it comes reflection on our blessings. Like many of you, I am thankful above all for my family, faith and friends. I am also overwhelmed with thanks because I am living my dream every day, as a Wisconsin dairy farmer. We recently had a visitor to the farm who asked, “Do you hope that your son will take over the farm?” This is a logical question when people see how we love our life on the farm. However, my answer was a surprise, “I hope he will find his passion like we did.”

My husband and I own and operate Heartwood Farm near Cobb. We farm because we believe it is the best way for our children to learn our values. They see everyday how we treat our cattle, land and employees with gentleness in order to produce wholesome food. We are thankful too because we have just celebrated our fourth anniversary on the farm.

We have always believed that a strong business model, treating people right and a focus on what we do best would be our secrets to success. Central to our vision was a farm large enough to hire good people, allowing them a place to thrive, and allowing us the chance to have time off to spend with our family. The size of the farm was also important because it would allow us to automate some of the work; we wanted to start out with a milking parlor, headlocks and a freestall barn. We decided early on that we would specialize in dairy cows. We wouldn’t try to do all of the field work; we would hire other specialists in that area, allowing us to concentrate year round on caring for the cows. We decided that grazing would be a component of our operation, and we would also focus on high production, using the very latest that science has to offer (3x/5x milking, bST and GMO’s to name a few). So far the plan is working, of course the last 18 months have been a true test, but we will survive.

When we embarked on this “dairy adventure” there were challenges we expected: swinging markets, employee turnover, all-nighters with sick cows and broken equipment. But over the last six months there was a challenge I did not predict, Michael Pollan. It’s not that Pollan directly presented a challenge to our dairy because he didn’t. It just hit a little to close to home when his book “In Defense of Food” was chosen for the Go Big Read at UW-Madison. Pollan isn’t the only writer to suggest that modern farming practices are destroying the soil, and causing every major disease known to mankind today, but he was the one who would have the stage all to himself at my alma-mater, here in the dairy state. Eighty percent of the book is about how and what you should eat, based on his opinion -- much of which I have no issue with. I agree with Pollan’s suggestion that it would be good if more families ate meals together. Much of the book is focused on processed foods. I think most people know they would be healthier if they ate more carrots and fewer twinkies. It’s that pesky 20 percent where the problem lies.

Pollan’s somewhat angry references to industrialized food and monocultural farming—farming that is dependant on chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and industrial waste—is where he went too far. In his book Pollan only talks about two kinds of farms: the small labor intensive farm which he idealizes and the large specialized farms which he condemns. He holds up one particular farm as a model, that farm has a few cows, a few chickens, a few pigs, and they sell their meat to “city people” who drive a long way to pay a high price for this food. This is fine for those who can afford it, but is that system realistic to feed a growing population in the US and abroad? Pollan talks about this small farmer by name and allows the reader to get to know him, he never mentions another farmer anywhere else in the book by name, all the large farms are referred to as agribusiness, as if there were no real people involved with any of those operations. Many of us use some form of modern technology, are somewhat specialized, and have larger farms than our grandfathers did, all of these are traits highly undesirable to Pollan.

These concerns are what led us to organize a group called “In Defense of Farming.” It was truly a grassroots movement that started in a conversation between myself and two other passionate farmers. From the beginning, our intent was to simply have a respectful presence in the room as Pollan gave his speech at UW. At every step we took extreme effort to convey that what we were doing was not a protest, it was a way for real farmers to talk to people who eat. We spread the word through e-mail, Facebook, and the media. We told people that there would be farmers at the speech in green shirts willing to answer questions about how they produce food. Well, it worked. There were at least 250 farmers, veterinarians, students in agriculture and others involved in food production in green shirts, and they had conversations with many people that night. They did not try to counter what Pollan said in his book, or in his speech, they simply shared the stories of why they farm, and how modern farming practices help them do a better job. I was so proud of those farmers that night, and I was thankful that we could help make those conversations possible.

I won’t forget one conversation I had that night. My dad and I were leaving the Kohl Center when a middle age couple asked us if we were some of “the farmers,” we said ‘yes.’ They asked what kind of farm we had, this was about when Bob, who is not much for speaking to the public, turned it over to me. I proudly said this was my dad, Bob and that we both have dairy farms. They asked if we only had dairy and I said yes, they asked why we didn’t have a more integrated farm with a diversity of plants and animals, that their reading informed them that those farms are much better for the environment, and healthier for the people who run them.

I tried to explain that cows are my passion, that I just don’t like chickens that much. They seemed to think that it was odd for a person to care about cows and not chickens. They even asked why I couldn’t learn more about chickens, and suggested that if I would commit myself to learning, it could be achieved. I realized that there was no way to explain that I could spend a lifetime and not know all I wished to know about cows.

Then I looked at my dad who has spent his lifetime accumulating that knowledge. How could they know all that he has learned and experienced? In that moment the disconnect had never been more clear. Here were two very smart people asking genuine questions, here I have an opportunity to answer them, but Michal Pollan and his views were in the middle. These people believed that small integrated farms are the only responsible way to feed people. I went on to explain that the farm they are describing was just like my grandparents farm, there was a small dairy barn, a hog house and a chicken coop. That kind of farm resulted in knee and hip replacements for my Uncle Myron and Grandpa Everett.

I explained that because my farm is specialized, I can afford a milking parlor, and I won’t have to endure the same wear on my body that my grandfather did. I explained that if my only choice was to farm in that system, that I wouldn’t do it, others might, but not me. Thankfully I don’t have to. It was in that conversation that I realized part of why I’ll stand up and fight for the progress we have made in agriculture is because of my dad, my uncle and my grandpa. Their progress should not be turned back.

Since 1944 the dairy industry in the U.S. has quadrupled output, we have gone from 25.6 million cows producing 117 billion pounds of milk, to 9.2 million cows producing 186 billion pounds in 2007. This is incredible progress and everyone involved with dairy farming should be immensely proud of this. These efficiencies have allowed milk to remain an affordably priced wholesome food, nourishing families at every socio-economic level. This increase is the result of more comfortable barns, more effective cooling, excellent nutrition, amazing breakthroughs in genetics and the use of many other technologies. To me these are more than just numbers, it is a representation of progress made by grandpa Everett, uncle Myron and my dad Bob. These numbers are personal, and I take seriously the charge to pick up where they left off.

We have many people to feed, 9 billion on the planet by the year 2050. In 2008 nearly 50 million people in our own country struggled to get enough to eat, this is the highest level since the government started keeping track. There is a place for modern, efficient food production in our country and across the world. We can not loose sight of this reality when we hear the ivory tower views of a journalist from Berkley. There is a strong demand for diversity of food choices because we have a diversity of eaters. There is a place for everyone.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the hard work and brilliant minds of all the farmers that have paved the way for me. I am thankful that my family has enough to eat, and I pray that when we set the table a year from now, there will be fewer children here and the world over who are hungry. I trust that this is possible because of the dedicated farmers who care for the land, and the animals. Give thanks if you are one of the blessed who have found your passion in agriculture.

The Dirt

I spent the morning trying to tie up some loose ends at our farm so I could run over to one of the farms that I consult for, we needed to change the ingredients in the recipe they feed their cows. As usual I was running about an hour behind schedule and still not out the door, I was going to quick feed some grain to a pen of heifers then run down to the house change clothes and hit the road. Just as I headed into the barn, I see my son bounding toward me, I said, “What the heck?” He said, “Half day today, I forgot to tell you!” with a big smile on his face. I said great why don’t you come with me to make a “farm call,” that’s what we call it when I go to see other farmers. He helped me feed the grain to the heifers, I am always impressed that even though he just turned nine, he can lift a 50 lb sack of grain. A tough little physique is one of the many benefits of growing up on a farm.

I love when he comes with me to visit other farms, he gets to meet new people and see the farms of my customers, they are all really good farmers. It is good for my son to see how every farm is so different, the barns, the parlors, the color of the tractors, even the color of the cows since all of my customers have big black and white Holsteins, we have smaller all brown Jerseys. As we walked through the office on the farm we visited today, he noticed the many old pictures on the wall, pictures dating back to the 40’s, the farm we visited has been in their family since before then. It is a true family farm with three generations working side by side. It is also a modern farm with 100’s of cows and a high-tech system to monitor the health of the cows every time they are milked. My son thinks he might want to be an engineer so he is always drawn to the shiny stainless steel and anything computerized. We finished the changes we needed to make, and helped set some equipment as they brought in the first load of corn from the field. There is no time more exciting (or stressful) than harvest, and this farm family has some very busy days ahead. We drove out their driveway glad we could help.

On the way home we started talking about what’s different since the days when my Grandpa Everett farmed, back in the 30’s and 40’s similar to those pictures we had just looked at on the wall of a new modern dairy farm. He said, “Oh mom, I think so many things are different, mostly farming is much more umm… high-tech these days. We have bigger tractors, milking parlors, the barns are different now, yeah I think a lot has changed.” I agreed and asked him how it might be different for a kid like him? He thought about it and said, “I think back then the kids really had to work hard.” I thought that was really interesting because I think he works pretty hard, but he’s right those kids had to work very hard. I asked him what he thought might be the same, he paused and said, “The dirt… Mom, I think the dirt is the same.”

This unexpectedly caused a flood of emotion for me. Many of us who farm using modern technology and science these days feel we have to defend our decisions. There are Journalists, Environmentalists and Food Activists who are trying to convince the public that we are not doing a good job protecting the piece of the earth we tend to. But, the truth is there is nothing more important to us that protecting what we love, our families, our animals, and our dirt. Even a nine year old can see that hasn’t changed.

Football Games and Funerals

We had the day off today, one of the luxuries we savor as a family. It was so nice to “sleep in” this morning waking up at about 7:30 instead of 4:30, and not to the sound of an alarm but to the sounds of our kids asking if they could cuddle with us. A little extra sleep was especially nice today since my son and I were out late watching “Where the Wild Things Are.” I hadn’t read any reviews and the movie surprised me with its dark tone and deep content. Not exactly a children’s movie, my son and I talked about the main themes of the movie on our way home, I asked him what he thought, and he said it was about imagination. I agreed and said I thought it was also about unconditional love. About five minutes later, after he had plenty of time to think about what that might mean he asked, “Mom, what does unconditional mean?” I said it means, “no mater what.”

My son and I had to leave the party a little early to make the movie, and since our daughter didn’t get to go, she’s only four, my husband took her for ice cream with my parents. Earlier in the day, my husband and I were discussing how everyone in the rural area where we live goes to the football games, not just home games but often they will travel to neighboring towns to watch the team. Our whole school k-12 had an early release yesterday because the football team was playing in a neighboring town where there are no lights at the field, so they have to play at 2:00 in the afternoon on Fridays. I said when I was a kid we never went to the high school football games. He brought that up in the discussion with my parents, and they confirmed that where I grew up, that wasn’t part of what people did unless they had a son or daughter involved. It just wasn’t a community event. It is a much more populated area, a school 4x the size of where my children will go to school and not as close knit of a community.

As we were talking more about that this morning he said “Yep, you can count on people around here to travel for football games and funerals.” We went on to talk about how true that is, when someone dies around here the line will be out the door every time. And even after I was divorced from my first husband, he and his parents traveled more than three hours to go to my grandfather’s funeral. It’s just a difference in the culture here. Reflecting on this made me very thankful that we have settled our family here in a community where people travel to football games and funerals, no matter what.

Foundations

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost: that is where they should be.

Now put the foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau

I really love this quote and I found it to be fitting for the day. It was a usual day on the farm, nothing broke today (I hope I am not speaking to soon!) and finally some sunshine. After a week of wet, windy cold, a day like this is refreshing for body and soul.

My son's birthday is on Sunday, he will be nine. We are having his party tonight so I had to go find a gift for him today. I went to my favorite spot for reading inspiration, the Prairie Bookshop in Mt. Horeb. Looking through all those books made me think about what kind of foundation we are helping our son put under the castles he is building in the sky. How these books we choose for him and the ones he will soon choose for himself will shape who he will become. Since my husband already bought him the newest "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," I went for something a little more abstract and imaginary, "The Magician's Elephant." Hopefully he loves both!

I also had the chance to catch up with a good friend while I was in Mt. Horeb, Ed is an historian and every time I meet with him I find myself looking at the past in a new way. He had his wonderful new assistant Julia with him, it was nice to meet her. She has a degree in Anthropology and so working with Ed gives her a great chance to put her education to work. Ed and Julia are working on the Wisconsin Dairy History Project, an effort to capture the stories of how the people of Wisconsin have been shaped by the cows of Wisconsin. If it weren't for Ed I wouldn't know half of what I do about the hard working families who built Wisconsin into the dairy hub of the world.

In today's conversation my Ah-ha moment came from Julia who described her vision of what the study of Anthropology can give us in the present, "the ability to understand each other today". It doesn't all have to be about digging up old civilizations, it can be about understanding why we make the decisions we do and ultimately bringing people closer together. Thanks Julia-very interesting! This made me think about how our past and present must come together if we are to learn from either. It also shows how important it is that we build that foundation based on the knowledge and appreciation for the past if we want to have our castles of the future become real. A great uplifting day, and it will only get better since we are going to see "Where the Wild Things Are" tonight!

A Week of Refelections

I have spent the better part of the last week organizing my stuff and our lives in order to greet winter, the hardest part of the year for this Wisconsin farmer. This time the organizing has involved a great deal of purging as well. We have been on our farm for four full years now and we have finally come to the point where we know what we need and what is really just clutter. This has been true for the shelves of spare parts in our farm shop, I figure if we haven't needed this stuff by now, or if we still don't know what is goes to, after four years it can go in the scrap pile.

The same is true for piles of mail, articles and documents that I finally feel I can part with. These piles of information until now gave me a sense of security, if I came to a problem on the farm that I could not think of an answer to I could dig into these stacks, they served as a source of someone else's wisdom while I worked on building my own. There have been fleeting moments in the last four years when I felt I had "arrived" as a farmer, but they were quickly followed by times of uncertainty and self-doubt. I finally don't feel those feelings anymore, I trust myself and the decisions I make each day on the farm. I now know that I will make good smart decisions in times of stress and emergency. I still don't have the feeling I have "arrived" but I no longer need that feeling.

I am in the process of writing a speech about setting your values and goals, so ironically at the same time I am reviewing the contents of our farm shelves I have also been taking stock in my development as a human being. Reviewing old journals and personal thoughts has caused me to be overwhelmed with love and gratitude for who I am today. I have been thinking about the many people who helped me become this person, and I hope I can inspire others to be proud of who they are today and build a path to live their best possible life in the future.

Well that's all I have time for today, need to be to the house for supper at 6:30. This was not nearly as painful as I thought it might be, actually may be a cathartic way to end the day.