Passionate about farming

So, my husband came upon a new site the other day. He was really excited to read the articles it had and the information seemed accurate and informative. It is all about farmers and what really takes place with us.

If you are not a farmer, I still recommend you click on the link and check out this site http://www.thehandthatfeedsus.org/ - I especially love the farm policy fact of the day.

Here are a few for you that you may or may not know:

“Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.” - William Jennings Bryan

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." - President John F. Kennedy

Did you know those facts? They are true.

Do you want to know why Wheaties prices (General Mills cereals in general) are going up?Check out the website and this article: http://www.thehandthatfeedsus.org/farm2fork_its_grrrreat.cfm
Did you know that farmers are in the same boat as many other people? Yeah, sure, you may have heard that wheat was up to $12 a bushel last year, but now we are somewhere between $4 and $6 - depending on what type of wheat we are selling. And we weren't making tons of money last year (if we sold our wheat) because all of the input costs (like fuel to drive tractors and trucks, fertilizers, and payroll expenses) are just skyrocketing along with all the other prices of everything. At best, we might break even and hope to stay in business.

Did you know that something like 70% (I couldn't find the article again) of the government farm bill went towards the food stamps program!?!? I know farming and food are connected, but seriously, how are food stamps helping agriculture and farmers? Money should go where it really helps - like to control the deficit.

Okay, I'm done ranting and raving for a moment. So, support farmers by learning more about them (us) on this site: http://www.thehandthatfeedsus.org/ and then tell your friends and educate them.

After you check out the website, let me know what you think about it. I would love your feedback.

One more time: http://www.thehandthatfeedsus.org/

Talk to you soon...

Water, Water

I know a lot of the midwest is under water. We worry about you who live there.

We, in Idaho, jumped from winter to summer (seriously, snow to 80 degrees) within 10 days time. The temperatures continue to rise and we struggle to keep our crops watered. So, if you don't hear from me for a few days, there is a good chance it is due to water.

I get a lot of questions asking what else we grow besides spelt and wheat. So, here is getting to know us better.

We also grow potatoes (by the way, potatoes really are healthy for you. It is the butter and sour cream that isn't so healthy for you.), seed peas, alfalfa hay, grass hay, hard red wheat, soft white wheat, and sweet corn, and a few cows.

The sweet corn is only about 3 acres that we pick by hand each harvest and sell locally. It usually turns out to be the best sweet corn I've ever had.
Everything else is grown in lots of 20-200 acres. (That is a very rough estimate)

So, there you have it... now you know!

Talk to you again soon.