The Race Is On

Springtime. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the tractor is running. Wait! That's not how it normally goes, but it is for the farmer. With warm weather and beautiful days comes all the work involved in farming. In a month our to do list goes from five items to two pages and that's just because we got tired of writing. While many of you are dreaming of the beach, planning summer vacations, or getting ready to ramp up BBQ season the American Farmer is in full swing of their busiest season.

Many of you know exactly what I am talking about. Many of you are scratching your head going what all is there to do on a farm? Here is what most of us in the Middle Tennessee area are doing right now:

• Spreading Fertilizer- We spread fertilizer on our pastures and crop fields to feed and nourish the plants we depend so greatly upon. Fertilizer is the food and nutrients a plant needs to grow and thrive. For many of us it is one of our largest input costs for the year. Fertilizer sometimes gets a bad reputation for being harmful, but it is not. We spread it safely and responsibly, and the results can be seen in the beautiful green grass in our pastures.
• Sowing Seed-This is one of the two times every year that the No-Till Drills at the Soil Conservation District Office gets booked up. Seed is going in the ground. From grasses to clovers to corn to soybeans, in the next two months it will all go and grow in the ground. 
• Working Livestock- All forms of livestock will be worked this spring. From cattle to horses to goats and sheep they will all be run through a working facility. They will receive vaccines, de-wormers, and fly repellents. They will be tagged, cut, banded, and be healthy and ready to hit that green grass. For livestock, this is their yearly doctors visit. We do not overdo drugs. We do not "pump them full of hormones and antibiotics." We give them what they need to be and stay healthy.
• Fence Repair and Construction- Cattle that have been fed hay all winter are ready to hit that green grass, but in order to do so fences must be in place and in good repair to make it through the growing season.  This means long hours riding and patching fence. It also means long days of fence construction.
• Equipment Maintenance- Tractors will be maintained, balers will be greased, and planters will be calibrated. Nights will be spent in the farm shops working on equipment so it will all be ready to go for the growing season.

This is just a few of the major items farmers are doing right now. This is also on top of their required daily activities of feeding and maintenance. There will be breakdowns, repairs, plan changes, temperature swings, floods, droughts, and who knows what else to be dealt with.

Across the nation, farmers are doing different things. This list is just what we are doing on our cattle and grain farms in Middle Tennessee. The range of different types of farms here in America is simply phenomenal.

 Next time you set down to eat your meals or put on your nice clothes think about the farmer who worked from sunup to sundown not to destroy the land but to save it so you and I can grow and thrive from it.

2013-14 TN FFA State Officers

These young leaders have worked incredibly hard to achieve the position they are in now. They are faced with the challenge of leading the Tennessee State FFA. Good Luck To Them!

2013 State Convention

Amanda and I just returned back home from the 2013 Tennessee FFA State Convention.We had an awesome time. We got to see old friends and make new ones. We helped kids prepare for contests. We watched some great retiring addresses from the state officers. We got to see 4 inches of snow in Gatlinburg Tennessee, and most importantly we enjoyed some amazing food.

There are so many things we are proud of from this state convention. Congratulations to the newly elected 2013-2014 Tennessee FFA State Officers. We are looking forward to a great year! Congratulations to Clay County for winning state in Co-Op! Congratulations to Grant Towns from Macon County for winning state in the Creed Speaking Contest! Congratulations to the Gallatin FFA Chapter for everything they accomplished together!

My push to reach 1,000 people got swept to the side by going to state convention, and I unfortunately am still short of my goal. I will reach it soon though, and will happily set a new goal of probably 2,000 people. At State Convention, I saw over 2500 FFA members and countless advisers, teachers, and guests there learning, growing, and inspiring. This is an amazing accomplishment. These are tomorrows leaders.

FFA Convention 2013

What FFA Meant To Me

FFA has had more impact upon my life and my career than anything else I have ever experienced. This is a bold statement, but it is true. I can honestly say that without FFA I would not be where I am today, nor would I have accomplished what I have. This weekend my wife, who is an amazing Agriculture teacher, and I will be attending the 85th Annual Tennessee FFA Convention.

FFA impacts its roughly 550,000 members in so many ways. It is fun, games, and contests, but it also teaches young adults life skills. It holds true to the tradition of passing knowledge and wisdom on from one generation to the next. It opens doors many kids could only have dreamed about walking through. It teaches us about life, and how to live it.

I, like everyone else, was an eager high school freshman. I was going to make my mark on the world. I tried football, but that just didn't cut it. Growing up, I enjoyed dabbling in farming with my gradpa, and kindly knew what FFA was, but once I discovered what it really was there was no turning back. I was fairly active my freshman and sophomore year, but Junior year I really found who I was. We got a new advisor, and I ended up competing in 13 contests, and who knows how many activities. I learned more that year than the previous two years put together.

On a side note I would just like to take a moment to put the spot light on our FFA Advisors. They put their life on hold to help their high school kids. They are a salaried position, but their hourly wage is next to nothing. Most people probably would not believe the amount of time my advisor and I spent together, nor the sacrifices he made so our FFA Chapter could do what it did. To all the Ag teachers out there, including my old high school advisors, my college advisor, and my wife who is an ag teacher, I commend you. You have earned my utmost respect.

One of the most important things FFA did for me was get me outside of Clay County. It let me see the world that was out there. I made contacts. I learned. I saw the opportunities the world held. FFA prepared me to step up to the challenges life would demand from me. I competed in numerous contests, toured colleges, met people, spoke in front of 200 people, and made the transition out of high school and into college.

I did job interview contest. I learned how to write a resume. I learned the soft skills required to succeed in todays business world. That lead to two internships and a full time position with our soil conservation district. I believe that if I did not have the practice in job interviews that FFA gave me I would not have obtained these jobs.

I learned more about all the different paths held within the title of agriculture. One of my favorite contests was meat judging because it was different. It was something I had never experienced before. I also got to visit the University of Tennessee in the process. I learned Parliamentary Procedure, which is a valuable skill fewer and fewer people are learning. I learned about the earth in land judging. I learned carpentry and how to cut a rafter in Ag mechanics. I learned public speaking. Our officer team held meetings. We learned how to accomplish things as a group. We held a banquet. The list goes on and on.

Last fall Amanda and I reached the summit of our FFA career. We received our American FFA Degree. For those of you who do not know, the American FFA Degree is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA and made significant accomplishments in their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs). That was an amazing achievement, but it was just a small part of what we were experiencing at that National FFA Convention. It was Amanda's first convention as an advisor. I had the opportunity to help a couple of National Officer Candidates in their bid for office. It seemed like we couldn't make it more that a hundred feet without meeting someone who had or will have a positive impact on our lives. One chapter of our FFA lives closed when we walked across that stage, but another was just beginning.

I could continue on and on with everything FFA means to me, but I think it suffices to say that the blue and gold holds a special place in my heart. That is the reason why there is a huge FFA emblem on the back on my truck, and if you walk into our house the first thing you see is an FFA emblem on our back door. To all the FFA members and advisors out there who impacted my life, I send you my deepest Thank You.

1000 Page Views Here We Come

This blog has lead to more success than I thought and hoped it would. I have a dedicated reader base established. I have had a few comments, both in person and on my blog page.I have generated an interest and people have asked me to keep writing, and I shall!

I need suggestions on what you want me to write about. I can write about nearly anything related to Ag. From Animal Welfare to Production Ag to the Food in your Refrigerator I can cover it. I want to write about what you want to know about though. If you see a story on the news ask me about it. If you wondered how a food product is made ask! You can remain anonymous! My goal in this blog is to write serious informative articles that concerns my readers as well as inform you of what is going on on my American Farm.

Agriculture is facing huge issues right now. We need the Farmer to tell their story and inform the consumers of what they actually do. We are not the cruel people that we are often portrayed as, nor do we produce garbage for people to eat. We produce good, healthy, sustainable food.

As of writing this article I have 870 Page Views. My goal is to get 1000 by this weekend. That means that since my first article was published at the first of February I will have made an impact on 1000 people. 1000 people will have learned something about farming from me, as small producer located on the Tennessee side of Boles Kentucky!

National Agriculture Day

Today, March 19th, is National Agriculture Day. It is organized by the Agriculture Council of America. The ACA was organized in 1973 and they are dedicated to increasing the public's awareness of agriculture's vital role in our society. National Ag Day

All across the nation Agvocates are coming together to tell their story. We are striving to show the good impact that farming has for our country, as well as the ways we are striving to overcome the negatives. Agriculture is a huge part of the country. It always has been and always will be.

Today, we face more problems in agriculture than any other time in history. As a young farmer trying to start out it feels like I am looking at this huge mountain and at the top lies success. There are other climbers around me. We all know parts of this mountain. We are all skilled climbers in our own special area. There are many routes up this mountain. Some are treacherous, some are dead ends, some have the most beautiful views in the world, some have no views at all. The prize at the top is amazing. It is food. Real, healthy hearty productive food that will feed the world without killing it in the process. The question is will we band together and help each other on this climb? Will we show each other the skills we posses, and help the weaker through the tough spots? Or will we go our own separate way, keeping our knowledge and wisdom to ourselves, and watch the others fall? One also has to ask this question: What if none of us makes it to the top? Where will we be then?

Today, I am proud to be a Farmer! I am proud to be involved in Agriculture as a whole. I have had the opportunity to visit many places and see many things in this old world, and I am proud of what I see. It excites me for the future. I have met those younger that me going to college to learn more about agriculture,and are excited to do so. I met dairy farmers from Utah to Minnesota. I met grain farmers from Kansas, cattle farmers from Texas, and everything in between. My wife had the opportunity to visit Europe and see how their agriculture industry was. We have seen the future in this industry, and it lies in us, the Young Farmers. Everyone in agriculture has heard the number: By 2050 we will be responsible for feeding 50 Billion people in this world. We will burden this task, and we will be happy to do so. We will succeed.

Today, I am not the only person who is excited and proud to be an American Farmer. There are many more out there. Take a moment to look at a blog or better yet talk to farmer.

http://agricultureproud.com/2013/03/18/jenny-dewey-ag-day/

http://agricultureproud.com/2013/03/19/agriculture-proud-it-all-started-on-national-ag-day/

http://www.agday.org/

http://slowmoneyfarm.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/celebrating-national-agriculture-day/

http://agdayblog.blogspot.com/

http://agwired.com/2013/03/18/2013-national-ag-day-activities/

http://janiceperson.com/agriculture/national-ag-day/

http://www.fooddialogues.com/2013/03/13/the-u.s.-farmers-ranchers-alliance-celebrates-national-ag-day

Interesting Things 3/13/2013

Here are some things I found interesting and felt was worth sharing today.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/april/2-exploring-temple-grandins-brain#.UUEmYFeyHnc

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/cheap-eats-how-america-spends-money-on-food/273811/

http://dairycarrie.com/2013/03/05/is-there-pus-in-milk/

http://dairycarrie.com/2013/02/26/the-aspartame-in-milk-controversy/

http://www.pharocattle.com/Semen-Source-2012/hereford.htm

https://www.ffa.org/events/conferences/NewCenturyFarmer/Pages/default.aspx

Amanda's First Post!

Our greenhouse effort began this week!  On Sunday we planted 126 seeds (a variety of peppers, squash, and tomatoes).  When we checked the greenhouse Sunday night we realized the temperature was only going to hold steady at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, we knew we had a problem.  Today we worked a lot more on increasing the temperature to the necessary 65 degrees required for germination.  We added insulation and plywood to the bottom 4 feet of the greenhouse where very little sunlight is absorbed anyway.  The added insulation, new door locks, and heater will hopefully increase the temperature needed.  This puts my seeds two days behind on the germination process, but it is better than losing an entire set.

 I absolutely love the planting process.  From making the labels to putting each seed into it's container, it just makes me happy.  The record keeping and watching the plants sprout and grow is simply amazing.  It reminds me daily of the power of God and what he can do.  This year I hope to make enough off the greenhouse to pay for our plants.  Next year will be better hopefully since we will have the high tunnel.  Today I am creating order forms and planning the last few seeds to purchase.  Over the next four weeks I will plant the rest of my seeds to allow for early to late crops with a five week span in plantings.  Overall, I am super excited for the greenhouse and garden season!

The Future

The past few months have been filled with planning the future of LGI Farms. I am putting together a farming operation from the ground up. This is a huge task. Talk, theory, and book knowledge is a long way from having hundreds of animals’ lives depending on you to provide them with food, shelter, and water. This venture will be the culmination of nine years FFA, a B.S. Degree in agriculture, and a lifetime of on the farm work. It is literally a dream come true.

It will be a long process. One of the hardest parts of farming is the slow change. You cannot just say I want to plant a field like this and have it instantly happen. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of hard work, and a lot of luck.

Meat, specifically beef, is the base of my business, as well as most of the farms in Clay County now. Most people sell directly to the stock barns or to cattle buyers. This works well, especially since prices are high at the moment. I plan on bucking the system in some ways. I am going to try to obtain a permit to sell freezer beef and meat. If I can get this permit, I will sell meat straight off the farm. This will cut out the middle man, which will allow me to make more profit and my customers to get a higher quality product for a cheaper price.

I currently have seventeen Angus-based cows. I am probably going to cull a couple and drop my numbers down to fifteen. This will take some pressure off my farm and allow me to rebuild the soil. I am going to swap to a different bull to get hybrid vigor. I plan on weaning my calves and finishing them on grass. I would like to obtain an eight to eleven hundred pound animal.

I have a gilt I am going to breed and will buy some more pigs this fall. After they are old enough to start eating well, I will turn them in on the three acres of corn I am planting. I will take them to slaughter at around three hundred pounds.

I have a few sheep and goats. After I get some more fences up, I am going to get a few more. I will run them with my cows which will create a more efficient grazing system. It will also provide me with some prime lamb and goat meat.

I have a few laying hens I am collecting eggs from right now. I have 22 Rhode Island Reds brooding out. As spring progresses, I will expand my flock as the demand for eggs allows. I will sell farm fresh eggs from these hens. Once warm weather gets here, I am going to buy some meat chickens to run in chicken tractors. This will provide high quality chicken meat.

I have two bee hives coming, which will allow me to harvest honey. As the demand for honey rises, I will increase my hive number.

This summer I am going to plant a large garden, and whatever produce we do not use for ourselves I will sell to the public. This fall I will have a large high tunnel up and running which will begin year round produce production.

Now imagine a store where you could go buy things directly from the farm. Fresh beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and goat meat. Fresh eggs. Fresh honey. Fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, and on and on. A store with fresh spices and seasonings.  You could walk in and buy a piece of meat with the confidence of knowing who raised it and that it is safe. Imagine coming to a store where you could walk outside and see your food growing. Imagine someone willing to talk you through the whole process, to share knowledge with you. That is what I am going to create.

Water and Poo

The Ups and Downs of Farming

Twins born in freezing rain. The mother left one and went to the other side of the field.

Farming is not always the happy-go-lucky occupation it is portrayed as. It has its ups and downs just like anything else. That is not to say it is unrewarding or unfulfilling. It is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things I can think of doing on this great earth God gave us. I could think of nothing else I would rather be doing, but with the happiness also comes sadness at times.

People like PETA and HSUS like to portray us farmers as being cruel to animals, when they do not understand what we do to care for our animals. They have not ventured into the driving snow to find a ewe who is bawling for a lamb that was born dead. They cry foul because we "let" the lamb be born dead then leave us to nurture the ewe, to provide it a warm bed, plenty of food, and all the clean water it can drink. They have never witnessed a cow who has twins and refuses to let one suck. That leaves the farmer to venture out into the rain, to the bottom of hollers to drag that calf back from the brink of death. They have never spent hours fighting with an orphaned calf trying to get  it to take a bottle. They have never seen the destruction domestic dogs can cause to a herd of lambs, leaving us to spend hours cleaning the wounds and doctoring the lambs. They have never tried to will life back into a dying animal. They have never had to make the decision to end the suffering.

I would love to paint this beautiful picture of agriculture being perfect and no bad ever happening, but that would be wrong. People wonder why we use the medicines we do in agriculture, and the reason we use them is from past experience. People cry that we abuse our animals with medicine, but they have never seen the destruction that comes with prolapses, infections, and birthing problems. They have never been the ones standing behind a cow with your arm inside her trying to save a cal- or worse yet trying to get a dead calf out to save a mother. They don't witness the bloat and malnourishment that comes from an animal infected with worms. They have never seen pigs rubbing themselves raw trying to stop the lice from itching. They have never seen the pain caused by a heifer that was accidentally bred to early. They have never seen the hoof problems that leave an animal walking on its knees. We farmers despise seeing an animal suffer. We go to the ends of the earth to stop the suffering. That is why we have and use the medicines we do.

Some may say that stuff only happens to bad farmers, or farmers in other countries. They might say it doesn't happen that often. The worst is to say the farmer is the one who caused it. None of this is true. The stories above are all true. I am only twenty years old and I have already experienced all of them. What hurts the worst is knowing that despite my best efforts, despite trying and doing everything that I can, something will happen in the future. But I know that I, the Farmer, will be there not to hurt but to help that animal when it does.

With the sadness comes happiness though. That is what a farmer lives for. That moment, when after hours of fighting, you deliver the calf: the cow heaves a sigh of relief, the calf sucks and you know everything is right with the world. The moment when you get that ewe whose lamb was born dead back to the warm barn and she meets with the herd and finds enough comfort to stop crying for her lost baby. The relief of washing away the blood and gore of a dog attack and seeing the lambs recover to live a healthy life. There is the moment when a set of twins both suck, or when the orphan calf finally takes a bottle. There is a satisfaction that comes with being a caretaker. It's that moment you take at the end of the day, the nod of the hat, the ray of sun beaming across the land, the squeak of a rocker on the porch, the moment when you know your place in the world, and know that humanity is still there.

Christmas Morning Lamb

Pigs to Slaughter

In the morning I am taking two hogs to Dyer's Slaughterhouse in Cookeville, TN. I am hoping they will weigh around 300-325 pounds each. I have really enjoyed the experience of raising hogs. I originally got them for two reasons. First, I wanted fresh pork in the freezer. Second, I wanted to learn about raising hogs and what better way to learn than to do.

Food is becoming more expensive every day. I bought three hogs when they weighed about 40 pounds. They will be killed tomorrow at around 325 pounds, and I will have approximately $1000 in them. This is just for purchase price ($50) each, grower, corn, and supplement. When I bought my corn, which was the largest input cost, it was at a record price (I know smart wasn't it).

I kept one gilt and purchased another. I am planning on getting them bred and farrowing them this spring. This fall I should have pigs ready to hog off the corn I am going to plant. If everything goes as planned, this fall I will have at least 10 hogs to slaughter and sell. I have already had people show interest in purchasing freezer pork.

Soil Health Highlights

Soil Health is going to become a major talking point this year in agriculture. We must improve our soils in order to sustain feeding ourselves, our country, and the world. We cannot maintain the practices used in the past and keep production profitable. Fuel and time are becoming too valuable.

Ray Archuleta is heading the push for the understanding of soil health. He has taken all the research and information we have on soils and soil ecology and tied it together. I recently had the opportunity to listen to his presentation.

Ray is introducing a concept. He has worked with farmers all across the country to help them improve their soil health, and every farm has to use different techniques and practices in order to do so. There are too many variables in farming to prescribe one plan to cover everyone. Do your research, use common sense, and start with a small test plot on your farm.

Here are the highlights from Ray's presentation. These are not my opinions, but I do agree with what he is saying.

Tillage is the most destructive thing we can do to our soils. When we till we let air in which activates the copiotrophic organisms, also known as R-Strategists. Once activated they eat the "glue" that holds the soil together. This is a very rough description, but it is the simplest way I could describe it. Research it!

The second most destructive thing we can do is spray fungicides and insecticides. Chemical fertilizers are third.

The number one reason people go no-till is time.

Yield will make us a slave

The more you emulate nature, the less inputs you need.

Efficiencies for crop production is going down. This is due to the decline in soil health.

Don't promote the tool. No-till is a tool. It is a component of soil health, not the only answer.

It takes less energy(fuel) to till than to make and use herbicides.

Our conventional nutrient tests were based on tilled systems. Some universities are now giving a nitrogen credit of 50 units for no-tilled soils. There are also some new soil tests emeging that goves us a clearer picture of what is going on beneath the surface.

Our soils are not a chemical set that we can manipulate at will.

Enzyme activity shuts down at  113 degrees fahrenheit

Diversity is key. Monocultures will not do it. Currently 10 and 12 species cover crops are being used successfully.

The overall gist of Ray's presentations were that we are killing(literally) our soils. We have to change. Cover crops and no-till are currently the best tools we have to do this with. We are learning and evolving. Nothing is set in stone.

Cover Crops: Under Cover Farmers

This is an excellent video that goes more in depth on the possibilities of cover crops.

This week I attended the 69th Annual TDA Convention in Gatlinburg, TN. I had the opportunity to listen to Ray Archuleta's presentation on soil health. In his own words he is a missionary for soil health. He has some great ideas that will help change the face of agriculture. He has taken years of research and tied it all together for a more complete understanding of what makes plants grow. If you have a chance to attend one of his presentations I would recommend going. I will try to get some more soil health articles published in the future.

Grazing for Profit Conference

Today I had the opportunity to attend the 10th Annual Grazing for Profit Conference hosted by the Roane County Soil Conservation District. It was an excellent conference, and I learned several new things. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of these conferences I strongly recommend it. The speakers today were Dr. Gordon Hazard, Greg Brand, Dr. Bridget McIntosh, and Gordon Jones. Here are a few of the highlights I found interesting:

"What we are doing in the cattle business is selling grass. It's just wrapped up in steer hide"
This is a very true statement. In our area the majority of cattle feed is grass.With the rising costs of feed, more and more people are turning to grass because of its cost efficiency.

"We cattle farmers are the biggest users of solar energy in the U.S. Grass is our solar panel."
Grass uses sunlight to grow and produce food. Once we understand this, we can manage our "solar panels" to be more efficient. If our grass is growing more efficiently, we can grow our cattle more efficiently.

The spring turnout after winter hay feeding can be beneficial or detrimental to the total amount of grass produced over the growing season. If you graze early grass too much, you can cut total grass production by up to 50% over the entire growing period.

The old rule for rotational grazing was take 1/2 leave 1/2. As we learn and become more efficient we have found that taking 1/3 and leaving 2/3 can lead to higher production.

A 1% increase in soil organic matter will provide .5 more acre-inches of water. This is a huge increase, especially during the dryer times of the year.

A three day rotation is an excellent goal to shoot for. It is a good balance between reaping the benefits of rotational grazing while still being managable for the average farmer.

100 cows on 1 acre for 11 days will provide enough nitrogen for any crop. 5-10 days will provide enough nitrogen for average pasture.

Manage your pastures for the good grasses and the bad will take care of itself. This is good to a point. The idea behind it is that if you manage the good grasses they will out grow the bad grasses.

No till drill feed corn mixed with other summer annuals to provide extra summer grazing.

Increasing BCS at calving time from a 4 to 6 will increase heat cycle time by as much as 40 days. This is critical for getting cattle bred back quickly.

Most forages in TN are borderline low in copper and selenium.

70% of feed and minerals in the beef industry are used just for maintenance and not for production.

The more milk a cow produces, the more nutrients are required to maintain BCS; however, more milk does not always mean a larger or more efficiently growing calf.

Forage efficient cows are not tall, shallow, narrow, frail, or fine.

These was just the highlights. I will try to get some more in depth articles on these in the future. If there is a specific one you would like to see discussed let me know.

Soil Samples 2013

I had Monday off because it was Presidents Day, so it meant a full day of working on the farm. The first constructive thing I did was take my dog Jax squirrel hunting. We did not find any squirrels. The next thing I did was to take my soil samples. I believe soil sampling is extremely important to all farmers. The samples I took will yesterday will serve as a starting point. One of the goals in my farming adventure is to improve my soil's health.

Our farm here is composed of roughly fifty acres. I took eight soil samples from the pastures, one from the garden spot, and one for a native grass planting. I divided the eight pasture samples up based on the lay of the land, soil type, and how the area was used in the past. In each individual area I took soil from roughly fifteen different spots. This will give me a representative idea of what is going on in each area.

Last night Amanda and I processed the samples and got them ready to ship. We took each sample and mixed it well. Then we picked the leaves, rocks, and other foreign material out of it, boxed, and labeled them. I will send them to A&L Labs in Memphis TN, where they will be tested. I am curious to see the results.

Undercover Dairy Farm Video: Shocking Images

I absolutely love this video. It shows what really goes on in the dairies across this country. These are happy cows. They are well fed, dry, and have easy access to water that is probably cleaner than ours. I love that the person who shot this video, Dairy Cairrie, does it in a manner that resembles the videos that are used to falsely incriminate farmers.

We need more videos like these. I am planning on trying to get some videos on here, and you need to as well. This video has been viewed over 18000 times since February 14th. This is some of the best advertising we can do for our agricultural industry. Be sure and share this video! Great job Carrie! From a fellow farmer: Thank You.

Dairy Carrie runs a great blog about the dairy industries and can be found at http://dairycarrie.com/

National Farm Machinery Show 2013

Thursday we attended the 48th  National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY. I tagged along with Amanda, Mr. Walker, and the Gallatin TN FFA Chapter. It was an awesome way to spend Valentines Day with my Honey.

The NFMS is a huge event, and just keeps getting larger every year. It is housed in a 1.2 million square feet building. There were over 850 displays set up. It really is an overwhelming amount of information. I walked from 1100 to 400, and got through the majority of the show. That was with very little time inspecting machinery or talking to the reps.

This year was the first time I have been to NFMS in about three years, so I was excited to go back. Before I had always went and OOOHed and Awed at the huge tractors, combines, and planters. This year I was on a different mission. I was on a mission to find practical stuff for our farm, and a half million dollar combine currently does not fit the bill. I spent most of my time in the smaller booths. I found some great new resources and products that im excited to fit into our operation this year.

This is one of many farm shows held throughout the year, but for machinery it is one of the biggest and the best. If you have the opportunity to attend I strongly encourage you to go.