Farm Fresh Podcast: ‘Backstage Pass’ to Farming

Illinois River barge, lock & dam

The Ag Exchange program, sponsored by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce offers participants a ‘backstage pass’ to see agriculture up close and personally meet local farmers.

Take a look behind the scenes with Ag Exchange members Krishna Balakrishnan & Cat Woods, guests on  WJBC’s Farm to Table segment Episode 10.28.15.

Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. for the “Farm to Table” segment on WJBC Radio.

Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Podcast: 'Backstage Pass' to Farming
Loading
/

The Friday Five: Et tu, Subway?

On Tuesday, another restaurant chain joined the ranks of the farmer-maddening crowd. If you have farmer friends on social media you may have noticed a flurry of comments and commentary about Subway’s announcement to source meat from animals raised without antibiotics.

For a quick sampling of farmer responses check out: Subway Announces A Bullet is their Choice of Treatment for Sick Animals…Did Subway Make the Right Call?  & Eat Fresh & Stay Politically Correct…and more

Farmers are a little fed up with the rhetoric and fear mongering surrounding antibiotic use. The frustration stems from the fact that while farmers provide the raw ingredients for our food, most of the time they get left out of these conversations and are villianized by corporate marketing decisions driven by misguided opinions rather than real food safety risks.

To take a look at the meat of the matter, check out five reasons you can rest easy about antibiotics used for animals for this week’s Friday Five:

  1. ALL meat is antibiotic free. Any animal treated with an antibiotic must be held out of the food supply until the withdrawal time for the drug administered is up. Just like any drug used by people, after a certain number of days the antibiotic is no longer present in the animal’s body. Specific withdrawal times for each drug are set by USDA & FDA, plus meat is also inspected & tested for the presence of antibiotics. For more about withdrawal times and how antibiotics are used on the farm, check out this video from the North American Meat Institute.
  2. Veterinary Oversight:  Similar to prescription drugs for people, antibiotics can only be given to animals with a directive from a veterinarian. To learn more, check out this info  from the Animal Health Institute.
  3. Quality Animal Care to Limit Antibiotic Use: Did you know that on many of today’s pig farms, workers must shower before entering the farm everyday? That’s just one way farmers work to limit the need for antibiotics by limiting exposure to disease.  Other tools farmers use to keep animals healthy include vaccinations, feeding animals a balanced diet specifically formulated for their age and needs and providing shelter from inclement weather or extreme heat. Take a closer look at antibiotics & animal care on the farm herehere or here.
  4. Most Animal Antibiotics are not used in Human Medicine: Antibiotics are classified into different categories and about 70% of the antibiotics used in animals are rarely used for people (Tetracyclines) or not used for people at all (Ionophores). Check out this infographic for a more detailed breakdown.
  5. Antibiotics are Expensive…and as a result farmers have no incentive to overuse them. Check out this Facebook post from the Peterson Farm Bros that explains more about the cost of antibiotics.

Have a question about antibiotic use on the farm? Ask us!

UPDATE: Subway revised their statement on animal care & antibiotic use as of 10-23-15. For more, check out this post or see Subway’s policy here.

Farm Fresh Podcast: Immersed in Ag for a Day

15_LMCAgDay

A group of about 33 area business leaders spent a day immersed in agriculture Friday, October 16 as part of the Leadership McLean County program.

Hear what participants  Ryan Thomas & Pete McCann thought about the experience on WJBC’s Farm to Table segment Episode 10.21.15.

Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. for the “Farm to Table” segment on WJBC Radio.

Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Answers Podcast
Farm Fresh Podcast: Immersed in Ag for a Day
Loading
/

Traditions & Technology

Combine, Farmers, Corn

My dad,  my brothers & I with our 400-horse power combine in 2006. Technology changed a lot during my father’s farming career, but the traditions he passed down to us continue. Traditions like taking care of the land so it can take care of you – a legacy I plan to pass on to the next generation.

We wrapped up harvest this week and as I watched the equipment make its final rounds through our fields, I could still see  my father sitting in the cab, even though it’s been 10 years since his last tour of duty running the combine. This September marked the sixth anniversary of my father’s passing as well as the sixth birthday of my  oldest grandchild.

My father never took much, if anything, for granted. He loved good food, a “good read”, the Chicago Bulls (Jordan Era) and he loved people. He also loved to farm and appreciated the technology that went with it.

Pulled out of school at 13 (during The Great Depression), his farming life began holding the reins behind a few horses (the four-legged kind) and ended 75 years later in an air conditioned cab, on top of four hundred horses (diesel) that used satellites orbiting the earth  to guide it through the field. I could elaborate at length on how much he appreciated the advances in technology in his farming career, but just suffice it to say, “a bunch”!

He suffered through allergies (ragweed was the worst), long hours (never heard him complain much), and some daunting curve balls that “Mother Nature” threw his way.  Embracing changes and advances in technology, helped alleviate his allergies, shorten his hours and  helped him get a few hits off of some of the nasty pitches thrown his way. Thanks to the inventiveness of others (and some of his own), he provided for his family, made time to spend with his family, and left us a farm that was in better shape than when he acquired it.

As I mentioned, my father didn’t take much for granted, including leaving the world a better place than when he entered it. I believe he truly was and is representative of the American farmer today. The conservation practices and farming traditions that farm families carry on today are because of the legacy of those who came before us  and continue to touch us today!

I miss him!

Olson, horse cart, circa 1950

My dad started his farming career behind two horses (the four-legged kind). Here he is with the reins and my two older siblings circa 1950.

The Friday Five: Harvest

2013 soybeans, landscape

As you may have noticed by the waves of amber grain disappearing from farm fields, corn and soybean harvest is rolling in full force. For farmers, harvest brings the culmination of a full year’s worth of work and then some in planning, selecting, planting & caring for their crops.

For this week’s Friday Five, I though maybe we should take a look at five things harvest means on the farm:

  1. Long hours & hard work! Harvest is a time-sensitive task and when it’s time to go, farmers are usually in the fields from sun-up to sundown or longer as long as a) the weather’s fit b) the crop conditions are right and c) the equipment cooperates.  If you have friends or family who farm, you may notice they completely disappear from social events for a couple of months in the fall, as described by this chart from Illinois Corn Growers.
  2. Meals in the Fields:  Farmers may not stop for lunch or dinner during harvest (see above), so meals are often delivered to the fields. Take a look at some creative and delicious ways farm families stay fed during harvest with ‘How to Feed a Farmer’ posted on the Watch Us Grow blog and ‘Field Meals to Go’ from Katie Pratt’s Rural Route 2 Blog.
  3. Technology & equipment: Today’s family farmers harvest data, not just crops. Sophisticated computer and GPS technology give farmers a wealth of information to make decisions and adjustments for next year. Take a closer look  inside a combine with these photos from the blog Daddy’s tractor and get a glimpse of the bits and bytes of precision farm data  in this article from Business Insider. Or if you want to watch harvest in real time, check out this opportunity to watch it on Periscope!
  4. Danger: Farming is a dangerous occupation and harvest carries many hazards. Big machinery with lots of moving parts, dry corn stalks that can catch fire from a spark and even fatigue from the long hours can lead to accidents. Do your part to help keep farmers (and yourself) safe! Slow down & pass with caution when you meet equipment on the road. Check out this advice from blogger Celeste Harned for more tips to stay safe.
  5. Helping Hands: Farmers are a close-knit community.  Every year I see at least one story about farmers coming together to harvest crops for a neighbor in need. This week I saw three: One right here in McLean County, one near Champaign and another over by  Galva, Illinois.

To see more, search & follow #harvest15 on Facebook or Twitter.

What does harvest mean to you?

1 9 10 11 12