Wordless Wednesday

There are no words. Headed to the field on April 29th to plant corn! It's been a wet spring but things are finally drying out. This is the latest start I can remember in my 7 springs on the farm.

 

The boys are all excited!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

As I was assembling a shelf for the new baby's closet the older boys thought it would make a great feed trough.

Happy Easter!

It's already Easter (well yesterday); we just had Christmas didn't we!?! Each year does go faster it seems.
Around the farm Easter usually has marked the time to start planting; this Easter the weather is a bit different. We have rain in the forecast almost everyday this week. Planting will wait a bit longer.

We had a busy day yesterday with family gatherings.

We started at church.

Seven more weeks give or take until we are a family of 5!

 

The C's have mastered the egg hunt this year!

We joined some cousins for lunch. The kids enjoyed playing together.

 

 

We were home long enough for the boys to get a quick nap and head to the grandparents to eat again with more cousins and egg hunt.

Wordless Wednesday

It's beginning to look like spring. The corn planter is out of the barn and hopefully will be in the field in a few weeks.

 

Wordless Wednesday

He was so proud. He cut some flowers for Mommy. It's looking alot like spring, finally. Yes, that's a sticker on his head.

 

The Other Side of Agriculture

Think of the first phrase that pops in your head when I say:

Agriculture

Was it? growing food, farmers, or tractors.

While all of these phrases are true I'm going to draw your attention to another aspect of agriculture that I have not thought about too much. Yes, agriculture does include growing food, but there is so much more that comes from the crops farmers grow and the livestock they raise.

I just finished reading Farmer Boy to my boys about Almanzo Wilder set in the 1860's. The plot of the book followed the young boy, Almanzo on the family farm. Through reading the book to the boys I realized how much work was done on their farm. They raised their own food for the whole year and worked together with their family day and night to get the work done. The mother even made the kids clothes from the sheep wool or fabric they bought. I'm thankful I can buy our clothes. I'm thankful for modern technology that allows those that want be off the farm to have the opportunity. I'm sure before I married a farmer I didn't even think about how our food made it to the grocery store. I'm quickly learning how agriculture effects every aspect of our lives more than just food.

I realized that apples, bananas, potatoes, onions, peppers and the whole produce section were grown somewhere.

What about the ink on your newspaper, particle board bookcases, candles, crayons,
and foam in your car seats?
All these items are made from soybeans. Soybean have a high protein content and soybean meal is used in animal feed while the other part of the soybean is oil used in soy foods and other non-food items. A bushel of soybeans weighs 60 lbs and produces 11 lbs of oil and about 48 lbs of protein meal.

What about mouthwash, floor wax, bandaids, boots and purses?
These are just some of the uses of a cow's fatty acids, and the cow's hide. I knew yummy things like ice cream and cheese came from cows milk and steak is a product from cows but not these inedible by-products.

What about fireworks, rubber tires, and fuel for your car?
These products are just a few of the many things made from corn. One of my favorite uses of corn is grits and I have a hard time finding good grits here even though I'm surrounded by corn fields. I have to bring good grits back from Florida. A bushel of corn weighs 56 lbs off the cob. A bushel of corn can sweeten 400 cans of coke.

What about antifreeze, chalk, and fertilizer?
If I said bacon and ham I'm sure you would have no problem guessing these products came from a pig. The above items are some by-products that come from pigs.

My hopes in writing this is that you have a new perception of agriculture and how important it is to your daily life. We have become removed from having to provide for ourselves as Almanzo's family did. On our farm we have corn, soybeans, wheat and pigs; we don't make all these products, but we are doing the best we know how to grow a good crop and raise a healthy pig. There are many non-food items not listed here but this is just a glimpse into how important agriculture is to us.

I hope when you think of agriculture now you think of more than just tractors.  



Wordless Wednesday

Wayback Wednesday January 2009-my first winter in KY. I'm thankful this winter was just snow and not ice like this. We were without power at our house for 13 days and the pig barn thankfully only 4 days. We did have generators to run power but it still didn't make

 it easy.