Advice from an old timer

Ever since I was a primary member with 4-H I have been walking my boots down the aisle ways of the California Mid-State Fair. Every year something changed; my boots, my hair, my braces, my pigs, my face. Each year I grew a little taller, a little smarter, and a little older. But the one thing that never changed was my reaction every time I walked into the grounds.
That smell. City folks may not get it, but the smell of shavings, greasy fair food, kettle corn, all of it. That smell took me back to the best times of my life-- sitting on tack boxes spraying eachother with water bottles and hoses, balancing a pig board on our knees playing speed or some spin off game of war. It was the best times of my childhood.

I always used to say I had two favorite holidays; Christmas and fair time. So year after year, even when I changed to FFA and showed cattle instead, I embraced fair, I lived at fair. And the rest of the world ceased to exist during fair.

So now that I am finished with my final year of showing, I have some words of advice for those just beginning, and even some advice for those who don't have  much time left:

Soak it up. Do not let the drama of the fair ruin it for you. So what you didn't get first place with your hog? Stop throwing your tack down and storming off after yelling at your parents. It isn't about getting first place. It's about you and that animal. It's about the early mornings, late nights, frustrating days of halter breaking, and it's about the little moments when your pig is so exhausted he lays his head on you, or the times during fair where you go to tie up your steer and find yourself laying your head on him for hours. It's about the reason you do it in the first place. And let me tell you, if it is about the big check at the end of the week, or that flimsy little banner that proves you're better than everyone else... you're doing it for the wrong reason. 
You can spend thousands of dollars on chasing banners to prove nothing in this world.. or you can spend months raising and loving an animal so they can feed the world. It can mean something more than an outside party telling you you're good enough. It can mean that you get a lifetime of memories and satisfaction.

 If you need to make a hard decision (whether it be about a boy, or a college acceptance letter) go blow out your steer. There is something about the sound of the blower that drowns out the rest of the world and leaves you with your thoughts. Trust me on this one.

Be the kind of person who won't lose patience with their steer after getting whipped by its tail over and over again. Be gentle.

Always start blowing on the left side. It is much harder if you do it last.

If you win, be proud but humble.

If you lose, be proud to be humbled.

Help out the new guys. Yeah they haven't been in the show world much but you have to start somewhere. And it wasn't so long ago that you too were the baby.

Don't be afraid to speak your mind. Do not let others hurt your animal and do not hurt others' animals.

If someone isn't taking care of their animal, rip them a new one by all means. If they can't be proud and passionate about our industry and what we do, they shouldn't be a part of it.

Remember the why.
Why you started. Why you kept going.
And if it isn't a good reason why, then change it.

Be thankful for this experience.

Don't be afraid to feel. These animals we put on this earth by God to nourish one another. What Mother Nature gives us she will soon take back one day. So make it the best life they can ever have. Give them the kisses. Cry when they leave. Feel it all. Even the bad parts. Because it will fill your soul in a way no one can understand.
And when you leave your animal for the final time, do not be afraid. They are going to serve the greatest purpose; to feed the world. And that is something you both should be proud of.

My Friday show reveal!

The butterflies are going crazy right now as we are counting down the hours until my first segment of my very own airs... heres the information for those who want to hear it live tomorrow morning:

I will air on Farm City Newsday, which starts at 5 AM California time.
This is on the station News Talk 920 with KVEC Radio. How to find it on the internet: Search for KVEC radio San Luis Obispo,
(go to the site)
Then when you're on the site, look at the very right hand side of the drop-down toolbar opitons, where it will say "Listen Live."
Click on that.
Right in the middle of the page it will say LISTEN LIVE WITH OUR ONLINE PLAYER...click on that. (it is in black writing for some reason so make sure you are looking for it)
It should start playing, make sure your volume is up.

My segment plays around 5:10... but listen at 5 AM just in case.
Thanks! love you all!
I know its early but that's when farmers listen to it.
Welcome to Farm Broadcasting.

An Open Letter to my FFA Steer

One of the hardest goodbyes happens when showing livestock. Let me tell you something. Out of all of my years of showing, I had a special steer named Buckley. He had made the most progression I have ever seen an animal make. He trusted me and I trusted him. He not only was an amazing production steer, but he was an amazing animal. 

Buckley was bred and born as a beef project. This was his main purpose throughout his life. He carried that purpose on his shoulders with pride, because he is making the ultimate sacrifice; giving his life to feed the world. And if I knew Buckley, he was more than happy to do that. 

But just because we knew our fate from the beginning, it didn't change a thing about how we fell dependant on each other. There is nothing I will miss more than washing him as he whines about being tied up, or tickling his tail as he wiggles his whole backside, or the hours of licking my jeans until they are soaked. 

You will forever be a part of me Buckley. You were always there to hear me complain about anything and everything, while passing people became confused; looking at a girl have a conversation with her steer. 

Buckley, thank you. Thank you so much for opening my heart wider, stretching a patience longer, and making my love for this industry greater. Thank you for wiggling during baths, for licking me when I'm crying. Thank you for giving me a lick of confidence while walking into the ring. Thank you for listening to me and trusting me. Thank you for feeling what I was feeling, and thank you for giving you life for us. 

I'll make you a deal. You don't cry, and I won't cry. I'll see you on the other side. 

Baaaack to Blogging, this time with sheep!

Hello my lovely readers!! Yes I took a break, (Utah State to thank for that, hello Christmas goodies and sledding in the snow) but now I'm back blogging, and boy do I have some information to share with you.

At some point, I know most of you have come across a video made by PETA, called "Why Uggs are Ugly." This video takes footage from a random country at a random farm, and puts pieces of random footage together to lie to you about how Uggs are made. I apologize to you for having to watch such a false video, it makes me sad that people get lied to each and every day about the agriculture industry.
But good news, Supergirl is here to save the day!! Here is the REAL way sheep are sheared, and also the process of what happens to the wool.
And just to make sure you are given absolutely correct information, I dug out my boots and walked into a barn to see for myself. I also got to extend my knowledge too!!

As you can see, this is me standing in a very large burlap sack. This sack was currently half way full of fresh sheep wool that I was stomping down to pack it in. Large scale operations normally use modern and efficient machinery for this, but nothing a little boot stomping can't do! As you notice behind me, there is a corral of sheep waiting to get a haircut. They are relaxed, healthy and calm. 

This is an overhead picture of what the wool looks like on the inside of the sack. Notice no blood, feces, or outside objects inside the inner layer of the wool. This is because when a sheep appears to be dirty, it is only the outside layer of the wool, ensuring that animal has a healthy lanoline filled coat by their skin. Lanoline is the natural-occurring oil produced by the sheep to keep their coat hydrated, and also it serves as a water resistant. 

I apologize for how far away this picture is taken from; I was currently still standing in the burlap sack of wool. Notice this animal is on its side, not throwing its legs up, remaining quite calm, Also notice no blood or dead animals around, because this operation (as well as every other wool operation ) does not kill the sheep for the wool. The only time an animal's life is ended is when their meat is being harvested to feed the world.

The sheep are run into a small alleyway one by one, and walked out by the worker through a gate.

As you notice above, the animal's wool is sheared off in one piece. This is to help the graders and people who are spinning the wool to keep it all together. This animal is currently sitting on its butt, like a dog would. 

 

On the left I got a close up of the animal's face to capture what they are feeling. As you can see the worker is supporting the animal's head. This animal is quite calm. Its eyes are not searching for escape, its mouth is not open, bleeting for help, and it is not trying to get away.  On the right, I pictured what the lamb would look like if it WAS scared, or in fear of its life. You can easily see the difference.

Pictured above is me, stomping down wool. It was getting pretty full at this point!

Finally, the bag is dropped from the tower and sewed shut for transportation.

Below is footage explaining how a sheep is sheered normally. This is not my footage! But they did such a great job getting it that I wanted to share with you!

I am an Agriculturist and I am human

I am a person. I am human. And I have great advice. 
My graduation ceremony of highschool was the 4th of June, and unbearingly cold. It was windy. It was long for 190 students to graduate. And little did I know, it was the last time I would ever see a lot of those people. My principal made a speech before resigning from public education for good. It was a goodbye for all of us. 

This is not his words, and they are not mine either. But they are great. 

The Speech

The Working Man, My Father

Every day I thank God for the things he has given us. I am thankful for he gave me my father. 

I have never met such a hard working, understanding, loving man that compares to my father. 

My father is my hero. 

I have never met such a loyal, passionate, respectable man like my father. 

My father is strong.

I have never met such a down to earth, humble, sacraficing man anywhere close to my father.

My father is my friend. 

I have never met such a knowledgable, inventive, determined man that is anything like my father.

My father is incredible. 

I have never met such an ambitious, reverent, faithful man that will ever be similar to my father

My father is unyielding.

And out of all of the wonderful things in this world God made for me, God made a farmer. 

Annual Walnut Harvest at Lang Farms

A holiday favorite: the walnut. Find out how the hard working farmers of California bring them to your table.
I interviewed several farmers across the Salinas Valley of California. But one in particular, located in the San Joaquin Valley, caught my attention. Listen to what he has to say.

Use of Antibiotics Interview

NAFB Interview with Nikki Putman

My interview with Nikki Putnam, registered dietition with Alltech, has been posted on the AgNet West website, I have included the link below.

It's my first interview to air, so go check it out!

Antibiotic Use- Interview with Nikki Putnam

National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention

National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention

Held in Kansas City, Missouri on November 11th-14th

Last week I was given the amazing opportunity to attend the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention in Kansas City Missouri. 

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but boy was it a treat. The first day I was there I attended 3 workshops, and one of them was about blogging. The speaker of this workshop was from AgNet West Network out of Sanger, California; her name is Sabrina Hill. While giving her speech she mentioned traveling back to the Valley from the coast in California. During her trip back she saw rolling hills of vineyards and tractors creating little dust clouds up on the hill. The photographer inside her head told her she must pull over to document this picture perfect scene. 

I immediately knew what area of California she was speaking of. It was my hometown. 

I absolutely had to go talk to her about her experience in San Luis Obispo, so I introduced myself. We got to talking and I walked away from that conversation with a shadowing and an interview scheduled and the opportunity to get interviewed myself. 

The next day was the Trade Talk show, where I shadowed Sabrina. It was at that time that I conducted my first interview with Luther Markwart, Vice President of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association. After I had done that first interview, I caught some "interview fever" where I not only passed my goal of interviewing 5 people, but where I impressed even myself with finishing with 9 interviews that day.

 I will be posting those interviews weekly on my blog, so watch out for them!

Pictured above is Allie, Sabrina's intern, Sabrina Hill herself, and then me.

This was while we were taking a break from the very busy Trade Talk. 

How to process Goats

Processing Goats

Form of Castration: Banding

What is it? 

Banding Goats is a form of castration that does not require an open wound. Castration by banding is placing the scrotum of the animal in a bander (pictured below) and placing a thick rubber band around the scrotum. 

 Photo Credit to Egypt Creek Ranch

This cuts off blood circulation to the organs and within hours to a day the animal stops feeling anything in the scrotum. 

Photo Credit to Egypt Creek Ranch

After a few days to a week the scrotum will begin to shrivel up and eventually it will drop off. 

Photo credit to A Family Cow blog

Attack on Harris Ranch

Arsen at Harris Ranch Feedlot

2012 fire proves that violent aggression towards Agriculture is their main goal; over the actual welfare of animals.

Animal rights activists are taking responsibility for setting 14 cattle trucks on fire in the San Joaquin Valley in California. This type of aggression is one of many examples of the hypocritical acts of animal rights activists. It is thought to be PETA behind this horrid tragedy.

Picture by ABC News

Officials say the fire started at about 3:45 am. An anonymous email was sent to the North American Liberation Press Office, with specific details about the fire.

While researching this incident, I found an article on the Harris Ranch incident . In this article it states that in the email it said "Containers of accelerant were placed beneath a row of 14 trucks with four digital timers used to light four of the containers and kerosene soaked rope carrying the fire to the other 10.

"We were extremely pleased to see all 14 trucks 'were a total loss,' " the message said.

"We're not delusional enough to believe that this action will shut down the Harris feeding company, let alone have any effect on factory farming as a whole," the e-mail said. "But we maintain that this type of action still has worth, if not solely for the participant's peace of mind, then to show that despite guards, a constant worker presence and razor wire fence, the enemy is still vulnerable."
The e-mail ended with, "Until next time."

 What do you think about this? Comment below!

The Bundy Ranch Standoff

The Bundy Ranch Standoff: April of 2014

Bureau of Land Management fueds with Bundy family over unpaid dues

 

In April of 2014 the Bundy Ranch in Mesquite, Nevada had a run in with the federal government. The Bureau of Land Management claimed Cliven Bundy owed taxpayers over $1 million dollars in grazing fees. Bundy paid these fees until 1993, where he claimed he didn’t owe the government anything because his family had been using the land since the 1800s. The BLM took action to enforce a court order and seize nearly 1,000 head of Bundy’s cattle. The officers were then met by a united group of family, friends and armed militia from all over the country, attempting to protect the land. That is when the BLM used helicopters and other means of force to “round up” the cattle, ending in a gruesome scene with several cattle dead, including bulls, cows, calves and aborted unborn calves. This incident raised eyebrows and concerns about whether the government overstepped its boundaries, and whether they were inhumane to the animals.

As a livestock producer and an individual who practices good animal husbandry, I  have a few concerns on the events of that day in April of 2014. 

Did the BLM know how to handle the cattle? Why were so many cattle killed? Why were some cattle buried in shallow graves? Was evidence of animal cruelty being hidden by the government officials? Many of my questions remain unanswered. 

When a bank forecloses on a house, they don’t destroy the property inside the house or the house itself. There is enough supporting evidence to conclude that the BLM did not know what they were doing, and should have had animal husbandry experts come in and remove the cattle safely and calmly. But instead they shot bulls down from helicopters, ran pregnant  cows in 90 degree heat until they collapsed and aborted, and left wet calves in corrals separated from their mothers while they were ran down. The events of the Bundy Ranch Standoff were inhumane, aggressive and too emotional. This story died out without the answers known to the public. That story has a lot more to it than just some dues owed to the government.

More information on the Bundy Ranch Standoff can be found at the links below: 

 RT Question More
St. George News
NPR

Processing Piglets

Earlier this month I posted about why piglets are ear notched and how it is done, so here is the rest of the procedures done for a piglet after being ear notched:

 

 

Iron shots are iron injections given to piglets in confinement that do not have access to the natural iron in the soil, thus those pigs are given supplemental iron to prevent or correct iron deficiency that creates anemia. They are born with very low levels of iron which makes them very weak and vulnerable to deadly sickness. Giving them this medication acts as a booster for great health and strength to fight off illness.

Needle-teeth clipping is a necessary part of processing because the needle teeth are actually the tusks that grow very quickly, which promotes brutal fighting. Clipping the teeth slows aggression and prevents damage to the body when the pig is alive and when it gets in a fight.

Tail docking is optional, but still part of processing. If the tails are too long, the dominant piglet will chew the end of the tails off the runts and non-dominant piglets. It also keeps the pig’s back end clean when defecating, urinating and breeding.

Castration is done only to the male piglets that will be used for non-breeding purposes. Castration is a permanent procedure that cannot be reversed. It is the complete removal of the male reproductive testicles. Castration is done in some countries to eliminate fighting in non-productive males. It also eliminates "Boar-taint", a foul tasting and smelling chemical in the meat that renders it un-consumable.

5 Reasons Why Halloween is a Healthy Holiday

5 Reasons Why Halloween is a Healthy Holiday

Halloween is well known for being unhealthy. Although those Twix, Snickers and 100 Grand bars are awfully good, they aren't healthy. That's why moms have come to fear Halloween and the sugar pumped monster that candy creates out of their child, as well as the several cavities to follow. Good news; Halloween falls in the month of October, which is a month packed full of great harvests!
Here are five reasons why Halloween is actually a healthy holiday:

1. Pumpkins

Pumpkins are great vegetables that can be used for more than carving a funny face out of! Here are some great recipes for all of the wonderful and healthy goodies that can be made from those orange gourds! 
 Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Pie

2. Carrots

Not only are carrots good for the tummy, they are also good for your eyes. So if you want to steer away from the deserts this spooky holiday, turn towards another orange vegetable called the Carrot.
Here I have attached a couple outlets to make for dinner and send in the lunch box this fall.
Hidden Valley Carrot Dinner
Carrot Soup

3. Apples

Apples are a long loved fruit that provides a quick and hearty snack. Bite into these great recipe ideas for a 2 pm snack.
 Apple Pie
Cinnamon Baked Apples

4. Walnuts 

Walnuts are fabulous for topping sweet snacks with a little healthy kick.  Walnuts are a good snack idea because of how easy is it to make these sweet snacks and throw them in a ziplock bag; popping them in your mouth between classes and meetings.
Attached below are recipes for some great walnut snacks.
 Banana Split Trail Mix
Walnut Bread with Blueberry and Lemon

5. Potatoes 

This is especially exciting for me, because who doesn't love a good ol' baked potato after a long rainy day, right at that cloudy sunset? As the wind blows those autumn leaves off the trees outside, you can sit down with a warm potato treat with your family or roommates with these recipes.
 Baked Potato
Baked Potato Casserole

Why do pigs have ear notches?

Many wonder why pigs have notches or triangular cut outs in their ears. It is not a form of abuse but rather a form of identification that actually saves pain later on in life. 

When ear notching pigs, the farmer doing it creates a permanent form of identification that won’t be ripped out like you can a tag placed in the ear. 

Ear notching is a form of Processing, a word used to describe the whole process of iron shots, ear notching, needle -teeth clipping, castration and tail docking done to a piglet at about two weeks old to ensure great health for the growing animal. 

Ear notching is simply stated above as a form of permanent identification for a pig. This operation is done with a very sharp notcher that simulates an ear piercing for humans, which ensure a very quick heal-time for the piglets. Put simply, if you are looking at the pig in the face, where you can see the snout in the middle of its face, the left ear is the number of litters that particular sow has had, nicknamed the “Litter number.” The right ear is the number order that particular piglet came out as. The first pig born out of the litter is marked as 1. The tenth pig to come out is marked as 10. To mark these larger numbers, I have provided a very artistic picture I created on Windows Paint to show you the placement of the ear notches represents a number. If the pig was the first, it would have one notch in the bottom corner in the “1” section. If it is pig two, it will have two notches in the bottom corner in the “1” section. If it is pig four, it will have a notch in the “1” section and a notch in the “3” section and so on.