The long-awaited first 4-H calf…

Legacy. It’s one of those words that’s thought about more than talked about. Legacy is about an opportunity to leave an impact that lives on beyond your years. Legacy carries on your voice after death.  I’ve seen it drive many people to do a better job for the future, whether on their farm, business or through a service organization.

Last month I saw my legacy come to life. My daughter bought her first calf. It has been a long anticipated event, made even sweeter by some recent changes in our life. She went to our neighboring friend’s barn, made her choice all on her own after watching the calves and carefully evaluating their maternal lineage (she’s still talking about the udders) and then negotiated the terms standing in the free stalls. As she counted out money from her savings account, she became the very proud owner of Ving (already named, or she would have been Clarinet). Ving is black month-old calf with spirit to match my spunky first-year 4-Her.

Those who recall purchasing their first 4-H animal know the lessons that animal projects teach a young person. Perseverance. Work ethic. Respect for animals. Risk management. Responsibility. Joy in victory and defeat – and the agony associated with both. Sense of accomplishment. How leading involves a lot more than movement in one direction. Leverage (spoken as a person who is usually smaller than the animals I’m handling). So many lessons are taught in caring for animals, teaching them to perform in a show ring and working through the years to improve genetics of your selected species.  They are lessons that later shape your career, your perspective on life, and how you give back to others.

My first calf Bambi, who gave me so many lessons.

Ving has a big responsibility; she will become the starting point a little girl’s reference of what it means to be a part of the dairy business. You never forget your first animal. I recall Bambi, my extraordinarily stubborn Astronaut daughter, who is pictured here. I remember going to Brownson Farms to pick her out and making the deal with Keith Brown. I remember Bambi stomping on my feet and her hoof sliding down my shin during the open class show at the county fair when she was in heat and jumped me, even though she was way bigger than a 10 year-old little girl. I remember Bambi’s first calf, a bull I named Thumper. I remember learning to braid on her switch (the hair at the end of cow’s tails). I remember the pride I felt when I “made her pretty” after countless baths to remove her manure stains. But more than anything, I remember how Bambi and later cows, such as Goldilocks and Perfect, fanned the flames of my great love affair with dairy cattle. As anyone who loves cattle will tell you, once they’re in your heart, you never quite get them out.

It’s a privilege to watch a little girl wrap her arms around her first dairy calf and do everything she can to make friends with 150 pounds of orneriness. As Mother’s Day approaches, I am so thankful to see my daughter carry on this legacy. Not just because of my dairy love affair, but because I believe the best job a mom can do is to prepare her children for life.

There’s no better place to teach about life than in the barn. I don’t know if my daughter will be a part of the dairy business someday, but I will do everything I can to help her experience the many facets of agriculture and let her forge her own legacy. How are you contributing to your legacy and those who come after you?

Can you tell me what a dietitian does? How about a ruminant nutritionist? If you’re like most people, at least one of these will make you scratch your head. Funny enough, these two jobs have more similarities than differences and each influences food choices, albeit very differently.   The first, a dietitian, makes science-based recommendations for your diet as a human and provides educated insight on the food on your plate. The second, a ruminant nutritionist, creates rations for cattle (which have four compartments in their stomach, including a rumen). Interestingly enough, a dairy

nutritionist balances the cattle diet for 42 nutrients, which helps be sure you have healthy, tasty milk and meat.

Both are a part of the food continuum. In other words, our food plate is a part of a continuum – the people at one end are connected to those on the other end. Agriculture is at the beginning of the food continuum, the dietitian closer to the fork. Both nutrition and agriculture have an important role to play – a role that could be helped by understanding each other, even beyond the similarities of a human and cow dietitian.

The connectedness between farm and nutrition becomes particularly poignant in March. It’s National Nutriton Month, created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choice and healthy lifestyle. March also the month of National Ag Day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture, as outlined in this history of the Agriculture Council of America.  Both National Nutrition Month and National Ag day are celebrating 40 years and each the cause of food, but yet there has never been any joint efforts (if you’re aware of connected efforts, please do let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear examples). Isn’t it about time to make that happen after 40 years?

The mutual interests in between the nutrition and agriculture are covered extensively by dietitians, farmers and food scientists in No More Food Fights! Growing a Productive Farm & Food Conversation. Last week I was chatting  about the book with Jennie Schmidt, a registered dietitian who farms in Maryland, and she  offered an excellent firsthand perspective on the similarities of the two worlds, as you can find on her blog.

“What I do now as a farmer is very similar to what I used to do as a hospital dietitian. In the clinical setting, we look at patient’s medical records and lab analysis, and determine what health needs can be addressed nutritionally, or what health needs may interfere with adequate nutrition. The same is true with soil and plants, so instead of reading patients lab analysis, I read soil and plant tissue analysis and assess what health needs can be addressed nutritionally from the availability of nutrients in the soil. Or if a plant is showing nutritional or health issues during the growing season, can determine what may be wrong that is interfering with the plants ability to take up nutrients. Funny enough, soil & plants are much more compliant with their prescribed diet than my human patient’s ever were.”

As Jennie and I discussed the need to connect the various roles around the plate and how to join our celebration, she suggested we enjoy food together. “Come together at the center of the plate (yes, I read Michele’s book) and share information. RDs could plan a grocery store tour to talk about food and invite a farmer along to describe how some of those foods are produced.” She pointed to a the farm tour that Nebraska CommonGround did for RDs and food retailers as a great example.

National Nutrition Month’s slogan is “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day”.  National Ag Day is promoting  ”Generations Nourishing Generations”.  I firmly believe that if you’re going to eat right, you need firsthand information about where your food comes from. Likewise, if agriculture is going to nourish generations, I believe it’s an effort that involves a connected food plate  - not just farmers or agriculture.  

How about “Eat Right, Farm Right, to Nourish Generations” as a thought to lead us into the next 40 years of celebrating those connected around the plate? Eating right and farming right will certainly impact all of our futures – and those of generations to come. Shouldn’t we be looking at the food continuum, rather than only our own role?

Let’s change the conversation about food, starting February 14-15…

Do you feel guilty about nearly everything you put in your grocery cart or on your plate?  Friends tell me they find food confusing because all they really want is great tasting, affordable, healthy food for themselves and their families.  They would love to know where to get information enough to feel good about their decisions.

The politics and propaganda concerning the food on our plates is a frustrating problem for all of us. Join me in bringing peace to the plate. Can you help with that, starting on Valentine’s Day?

I’m like many people who don’t enjoy buying food anymore because of the drama around food. An excerpt from the introduction to the food side of No More Food Fights! explains why.

The guilt starts in the produce section, which you’d think would be another feel good place for a mom with a young child. But we live in the Midwest. Fruit and vegetables only grow here only a few months of the year, so there’s no way we can always buy local. Being a “locavore” is fashionable, but will Midwesterners really settle for potatoes, turnips and a few apples all winter? Should we ban bread in Las Vegas?

Then I look at the organic foods and wonder if I’m a terrible mom for not spending the extra dollars on that “luxury.” I think of friends who grow products conventionally and organically and know both are a good choice—there’s no need to feel guilty if you choose to not buy or simply can’t afford organic. 

Feeling annoyed, I’m thankful the bread aisle is next. My family loves bread—preferably homemade, but reality doesn’t allow for that to happen too often so we buy bread. Whole grain, which is supposed to be the “right” thing to do, but then I remember hearing something about grain belly, growing tumors from the biotech products in that bread and poisoning our family with gluten. Oh the rumors!

So much for doing the “right” thing! Thankfully, a dietitian is in the aisle talking about the science showing the need for balance in a diet. I just know it’s overwhelming to select from 75 varieties for a simple staple item and another 20 when we need bagels. Ugh!  Is it time to go home yet?

Venturing down to the meat case not a good choice, as I look at the steak that’s claimed to be chock full of hormones, pork from pigs supposedly crammed in cages and chicken breasts laced with antibiotics. Then I remember that vegetables like broccoli and cabbage actually have more hormones in them than meat, the environments that pigs live in are luxury resorts as compared the mud pits of yesteryear and science that shows humans use five times the level of antibiotics of those we use in animal agriculture.

As I reach into the meat case, I’m overwhelmed with disgust remembering sensationalized abuse videos that animal rights groups like to “release” to the nightly news. And even if animal rights messages don’t make me feel guilty for being a carnivore, I think of Meatless Monday and how my hamburger is supposedly causing the planet to melt. I nearly knock over another shopper in my haste to get away from the meat case!

Then it’s time to look at milk, which used to be chosen based upon percentage of fat (skim, whole, etc.). Now dairy labels claim more things than my hairspray—antibiotic free, hormone free, no rBST, organic, grass fed and happy cows on marijuana.

The last is an exaggeration and there are a whole lot of questionable claims in that sentence, but you’ll have to read “No More Food Fights” for the full story. There you’ll find the story about a bitten tongue, Advil, water bottles (and landfill guilt), confusion over the high cost of questionable food and a fellow shopper ranting about the farm bill while the person behind me paid with a Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) card.

Why does food have to be so complicated? The end result of the soap opera in the grocery store means I don’t feel very good about what ends up on my family’s food plates. How about you?

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s work a little harder to meet in the middle. I’m inviting you to share some #foodlove (if you’re a tweep) or Food Love (for normal people). It’s simple; extend your hand across the plate to engage in a positive conversation about food—in person, through a blog, or on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube or Linkedin. Copy  ”Share the food love” if it will help—you’re welcome to use the graphic or grab a copy of the book.

When my family sits down to a meal, the last thing we want to worry about is what kind of statement our food is making. Food is about nourishment, and the meal is about spending time together as a family. Won’t you join in celebrating food without the guilt? Let’s share  some food love!

What’s your image of a farmer?
Photo credit: Zach & Anna Hunnicutt

“Farming isn’t just a job. It’s more of a calling.” were the words I found myself saying to a couple of communications professionals last week while trying to explain why it’s so easy for farmers to get defensive. The personal nature of farming is hard to define to those who have not lived it.

Families are wrapped up in farms 24/7. Often time, several generations work together. It’s not a career or a job, it’s a lifetime commitment. While farming today has to be a business, it is personal. And when farming is deeply personal, it’s easy to feel any slight, misunderstanding or question about farmers is a personal attack.

I understand that, but…I can’t advocate or support the defensiveness often found in agriculture’s response. I’ve seen farmers get up in arms because they don’t like a ‘silly’ question, be insulted by misunderstanding or become downright defensive if people don’t agree with your choice in farming. Yet other agriculturists decide they have to nitpick success stories like the tribute made to farmers and ranchers in Super Bowl ads through “So God Made a Farmer”, a grown Budweiser horse remembering his caretaker or Milk: the Morning Run.

Yes, farming is personal, but so is food. People have a right to ask questions. They even have a right to disagree with your farming choices. Please realize the person next to you may have a very different image of the perfect farmer than you – and that’s O.K. My perfect farmer image would include pretty black and white dairy cattle, a lot Midwestern flavor and include younger females. Your perfect farmer image might include cool technology, big equipment and thousands of acres. The next reader’s perfect farmer image might fit an organic stereotype, apple trees and chickens roaming in a green yard.

The public is a farm’s stockholders. When a farmer fails to help stockholder’s understand your business practices, build stockholder trust, and respond thoughtfully to their questions – your business suffers. And since a farm is a deeply personal business, think about how that will impact you. Your family’s future will largely depend on your ability to connect to those stockholders in a very human, non-farm way. The beginning of  the farm side of “No More Food Fights!“ (a new book released on Valentine’s Day for farmers and foodies) gives you a sense of my personal frustration and thoughts about agriculture’s future as a precursor to the 6 ½ steps offered in the book for agriculturists to engage around the plate.

When I look around a farm, the need for agriculture to tell our story becomes crystal clear. I walk into the barn and observe our cattle, which reminds me of how often farmers are portrayed as animal abusers. I want to bang my head against the barn wall as I think of the power of pictures and video in appealing to emotions.

Looking across the land, I reflect on people’s angst about the types of products and practices used in the soil. I see large equipment filled with amazing technology and consider how some food buyers balk at technology in their food. I want to turn my back and just get back to work when I think of how polarizing the discussion has become.

But it’s a group of giggling girls scampering through the pasture and playing in the haymow that leaves me firmly convinced of the need for each person in agriculture to do a better job of reaching a hand across the food plate. Yes, one of those girls is my daughter, who enthusiastically shares her love for dairy cattle with every friend who walks in the barn—a great reminder to all of us to do the same.

Is one image of a farmer right and the other wrong?
Photo Credit: Emmert Photography

Don’t you want them to understand agriculture? If you’re frustrated by today’s perceptions about farming, the paperwork necessary to operate your business and media misinformation about agriculture—imagine the disconnect in 20 years. Who is responsible for the voice that will grow understanding between the farm gate and food plate?

Yesterday’s practices won’t rewrite tomorrow’s history. Agriculture is not perfect; there are likely practices that need to be changed in farming and ranching. One needed change is to hold agriculture accountable for having productive conversations to connect farm and food.

Yes, farming is personal, but have you taken the time to explain why it means so much to you?

Have you ever known you needed to take that next step, but held back until you had the right concept?  Maybe expanding your business, leaving a job or creating a new product? That’s exactly how I felt about writing a book. Connecting the two sides of food plate was the idea that finally gave me permission to write a book after a decade of knowing I needed to.  It’s been an educational and laborious process in the months in between, but I’m thrilled to announce that Valentine’s Day will be the print release of No More Food Fights!  I invite you to be be a part of sharing the food love with this book!

What motivated me to finally write a book? The first part of the food side sums it up. “When my family sits down to a meal, the last thing we want to worry about is what kind of statement our food is making. Food is about nourishment, and the meal is about spending time together as a family. Yet the conversations outside of that table have become increasingly complex.” My hope is that No More Food Fights! will move the conversation to a different level, one based upon connections around the food plate, rather than rotten vegetables.

Writing the two-sided book proved therapeutic, as I was able to corral a whole lot of thoughts, experiences and research. The framework fell into a book that “flips” with  six senses for the food side and 6 ½ steps for the farm side, plus a common chapter about connecting at the center of the plate.  60,000 words came much more quickly than I ever expected, largely due to the great examples available from both the farm and food side.  It was a testament to the collective energy of a community building energy for a cause, something that is bigger than any one individual. My heartfelt thanks to the following individuals for allowing me to share your stories and the dimension you added to the book.