Thirteen from 13

2013 was a wet year.

Spring was wet and that delayed planting.  Summer was wet but for the most part crops like water.  Fall was wet and that spread harvest out right up to Thanksgiving.  So far the winter has been wet and that makes for happy duck hunters.

2013 was challenging.  2013 was a good year.

Here are a few, 13 to be exact, observations and reflections on things I learned, saw, heard, or enjoyed in the year that was.

• We began (again) homeschooling this year.  We took a two year break from homeschooling after our third was born and while we transitioned to a new home, career etc.  Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart, just ask my wife.  I have a new newfound respect for teachers and administrators.    

• Along those lines I believe Common Core has the potential to do to public education what ObamaCare is doing to healthcare.  But it's for the children!

• Howard Buffett - farmer, philanthropist, and son of billionaire Warren Buffett - has written a book called 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World.  It gets its title from the average number of seasons a farmer has of planting, caring for, harvesting, and improving upon his crop.  Buffett weaves together stories of his travels around the globe and the challenges (often dangerous) of feeding the planet.  Check it out.

• And along those lines, I am not convinced GMO's or Monsanto are the enemy of the Earth.  However, I am becoming more convinced that there are reasonable arguments for concern about food safety, what's in our food, and the trustworthiness of companies such as Monsanto.  Wendell Berry may or may not endorse that statement.

• Fools Rush In Where Monkeys Fear To Tread by Carl Trueman should be read by everyone.  After all, he takes aim at everyone.  While you are at it, read his book Republocrat.  While you're still at it pretty much read anything he writes.  

Also check out Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, ND Wilson, Tim Keller, Jay Sanders, and Marty Duren.  Over and over again these guys writings help me immeasurably.  There are many others, to many to list, but start here and they'll lead you to the others.  And for the ladies, consider Gloria Furman, Jani Ortlund, and Elyse Fitzpatrick.  

• Have you heard of Peter Bradley Adams?  Go take a listen.  You'll like and you'll buy.

• What about Gregory Alan Isakov?  Ditto the above.  

Both of the above guys have been around the music scene for some time now.  But in my small part of the world we have about 20 radio stations that come in clear.  Sixteen of those are country, two are Christian both of which are obsessed with Casting Crowns, one is dedicated to all things Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, and the other one plays a mix of classic rock (not that that's a bad thing).  So if you love Luke Bryan and Casting Crowns with a dash of AC/DC, Northwest Tennessee is your musical headquarters.  If not, create a station on Pandora called The Head and The Heart and you'll discover great music that radio doesn't know exists.

• Myself and many others rejoiced from afar when Matt & Courtney Cummings son was born.  What an incredible testimony of faithfulness.

• Josh & Gretchen Neisler are two of the most incredible people I've ever had the pleasure of being around.  However, Josh is a die hard Ohio St fan.  And Cincinnati Reds fan.  He'll probably have to give an account to the Lord one day for these sins.  But likely before that day comes, he'll get to rub my nose in all the future SEC (b/c as anyone from the south knows, when your team stinks you by default get to hitch your wagon to the conference) and St Louis Cardinal flops, frustrations, and failings.  Then I'll have to give an account.  But on that day that we are all united in Heaven, in unison we'll cheer against Notre Dame. 

• I do not believe Phil Robertson is a hater, phobic, or racist.  Welcome to the new America where tolerance is defined and speech is based upon agreement with those whom you disagree with.  Wait what?  Because me and someone whom I may disagree with couldn't possibly be great friends or colleagues despite our differences. (Note the sarcasm)

• There is very little difference between the Republican and Democrat party.  Stand with Rand.

• Frozen is one of the worst movies ever.  If you like musicals, Narnia theme knock offs, and a repeat of every princess movie ever, you'll love it.  Naturally, my girls loved it.

• Lana and I married in the year 2000.  I love her 13 times more now than in the year we married.

Like I said, 2013 was a good year.  Happy New Year!

Doing Ourselves a Disservice

A few days ago Andy Borowitz of The New Yorker wrote this satirical piece about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia resigning as a Boy Scout scoutmaster.

Now it's starting to pop up on Facebook and other places as gospel.

Hold up and let's take a breath.

1) Scalia rarely gives interviews or makes public comments, particularly about issues the high court is still weighing (DOMA) and especially regarding hot button issues such as gay marriage.

2) I question if folks who are posting and reposting this story even read it, or just read the headline and thought, "We've got one for our side!"

Consider this line from the article: “Some of the happiest memories of my adult life have been as a scoutmaster. Huddling under blankets around the campfire, and so forth. But now, all of that has been ruined. Ruined.” 
Is there any way possible to read this in which it doesn't make Scalia sound like a pedophile?
Then this one: "Shortly after sending the letter, Justice Scalia destroyed his scoutmaster uniform in the blazing fireplace of his Supreme Court office."
Who knows if he really has a fireplace in his office or not, but doesn't that strike you as brash reaction by someone who is so seemingly cool and levelheaded?

3) Marty Duren warns us, especially as Christians, that "The good news of Jesus should not be obscured by our penchant for spreading error riddled bad news."  Read that article here.

As Christians, we do not help ourselves, the church, or the cause of Christ by blindly repeating and sharing stories like these.  At best we appear to be lazy and sloppy.  At worst we appear to be incompetent and violators of  the 9th commandment.

How can we expect to be taken seriously on any number of significant issues when we do not offer up any credibility?  Christians need not be FoxNews 2.0.  Christians need be faithful disciples of Christ, a disciple who has done their homework.     

Joel Salatin & Monsanto, Part Deux

This post doesn't really deal much with anything to do with the title, I mostly just wanted to use the word deux.  Now I can feel like a co-producer on one of the Hot Shot movies.

Marty Duren took the time to read my post and his response was gracious, logical, and fair.  This is what makes him one of my favorite people to read.

Since tractors nowadays drive themselves, I had time to think about my previous post and some of Marty's and Jay's feedback.  I think fundamentally we agree, or, at least I don't have any problems with their feedback.  I'm trying to approach this topic from the perspective of how can we feed a growing global population.  In other words, what's it going to take in terms of production, technology, economic factors and so forth.  That's what undergirds most of my thought processes, at least on this topic.

I had some additional random thoughts and considerations on the topic (some of which can be connected to the previous post), so I'll just spill them all over this page in no particular order.  Hopefully I'll remember most of them.  Here we go:

• It's easy for us in the U.S. of A to say things like "don't eat meat" or "only eat organic." But try that line on someone in India or Ethiopia.  How does that help the rest of the world?  What does that do to help alleviate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in third world countries?  They just want to eat, and would like to know another meal will be there the next day too. 

• Vegetarianism is fine too, but as Jim Gaffigan states, animals are "fun to pet but better to chew." 

• If I get sick enough, I go to the doctor and they usually give me an antibiotic.  People do this for themselves, and for their pets.  Why not do this for livestock as well?  The same thing can be said for vaccinations.  People get them, pets get them, how about cows?  Granted, this is a multi-facited issue with multiple approaches on how to care for and feed animals and how to raise them, impact of droughts etc.,  in other words there is a lot more to this than sad looking pictures of CAFO's, but I'm happy for people to have the choice.  If you want to only eat grass fed, free range, organic, antibiotic free beef or poultry, that's great.  There's a market for that, and people are willing to pay a premium to have that.  If you're content with McDonalds, there's a market and a medical field for that as well. 

• I know of now other industry in the United States more heavily regulated, moderated, tested, or scrutinized than agriculture.  It's not fail safe, that's been proven.  But I feel safe to eat the salad and the steak from the grocery store or the local restaurant.

• When a seed is altered to make it tolerant or resistant to something, it's been genetically modified, hence GMO's.  The two common GMO seed traits we use are plants that are resistant to the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) for weed control and Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) which protects the plants against worms.  Roundup attacks an enzyme in plants that humans don't have, and Bt is naturally occurring in the soil.  The funny thing about Bt is that it is an "approved" insecticide spray on organic crops, but when it's incorporated into a seed, it's now an evil GMO.  Another common corn herbicide goes by the name Callisto, and its active ingredient is derived from the chrysanthemum flower.  

• With all that, those darn weeds and insects still come back.  Maybe they don't stick around poisoning the soil as much or as long as we're sometimes led to believe.  Perhaps sunlight and soil microorganisms start breaking them down or feeding on them immediately.  Thanks for the thistles Eve. 

• If I used commercial fertilizer mined from the Earth, I get blamed for mining from the Earth and polluting the water.  If I use manure as fertilizer I get complaints about the odor and polluting the water.

• If I till the ground I get accused of raping the soil and creating erosion, polluting the water, dusting the air, and burning too much diesel.  If I go No-till, I significantly reduce erosion and fuel use, but I use more herbicides to achieve weed control, and I pollute the water.  2 out of 4 isn't bad.    

• Biotechnology is not the end all, but in my opinion it helps get us toward the goal of feeding people.  Community gardens, farmers markets, buying local are all great ideas and should be utilized.  I'm just not convinced we can feed the masses with those methods alone.  

Joel Salatin and the Monsanto Dilemma

I don’t know Marty Duren but I wish I did.  Based on his writings, I can tell he is someone I’d like to hang out with.  In fact you should go now and bookmark his website, martyduren.com and regularly check his blog, “Kingdom in the Midst.”  After that, go and order a copy of his book, “The Generous Soul.”  Then tell everyone you know about both.  I think we both live in the same state, Tennessee.  I think Duren works for Lifeway, and I used to work at a Lifeway bookstore.  And, we share a mutual friend in The Nature Boy Jay Sanders.

On Monday Duren wrote a piece entitled “What Charles Darwin and John Deere have in common.”  Myself being a farmer, I was of course drawn in by the use of the words John Deere.  Why?  Because nothing runs like a Deere. (rim shot)

With the exception of the cattle feedlot photo which could have used some more context it was, as usual, a splendid article.  Check it out at the above mentioned site.  I noticed after reading it a link to a review Duren posted about six months ago regarding a book written by Joel Salatin.  (Salatin is among others things, a popular lecturer on food related issues and his Polyface Farms was featured in the documentary Food Inc.)  Somehow I had missed this, so I read it as well.  Read that one also.  If I may, it is with this article that I want to quibble.

In particular, this line is what I’d like to focus on:

Are food consumers the beneficiaries when the food chain is increasingly controlled by a corrupt, multiple-fined company like Monsanto–the Planned Parenthood of the food industry–whose greed is exceeded only by the shamelessness with which they advance it?

(There is also a line about subsidies, but that’s a topic for another time)

Since I’ve yet to read this Salatin book, I’m not sure if these are Duren’s or Salatin's words, but either way to compare Monsanto to Planned Parenthood is a fairly egregious charge.  I’m no Monsanto apologist, and I’m certain Monsanto will not be elected to the business ethics hall of fame if such a thing existed, but here’s the deal.  Monsanto produces genetically modified seed.  This is no secret.  So does DuPont.  And Syngenta.  And BASF.  And Dow.  And Bayer.  And the list goes on.  They’ve been doing it for years and will continue doing so.  And as such, they own the patents and the rights to the use of their property.  That’s fair.  Each year, we sign a license agreement stating we understand this and agree to play by the rules.  Farmers who don’t play by the rules and get caught are subject to severe penalties, such as the case with Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman.  We pay a premium to use this seed, and the folks who save their GMO seed year to year are guilty of theft.  One of the misnomers about Monsanto is that they force farmers to use their seed.  Not hardly.  I can grow whatever seed I want including non-genetically modified seed, the good ol’ conventional stuff.  It’s readily available as well.  We personally use GMO seed on our farm because with it our yields are steadily increasing, it helps us be more efficient, and it actually reduces our pesticide use.  Given our current environmental conscience, these are good things.  Is Monsanto a friend or enemy of the farmer?  The answer to that question is probably yes.  They’re a frienemy.  Multi billion dollar companies tend to get treated like the evil empire, but lets not stoop as low as comparing them to Planned Parenthood.  Call them the Yankees of seed production.

What makes Salatin, Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry and others appealing is their honesty, sincerity, passion, and ability to articulate their position.  However, this farmer believes these guys often only give one side of the story and with their smooth speech people are seduced into believing that their line of thinking is the only way.  And when I get an opportunity to perhaps shed light from another perspective, I kinda feel like I’m duty bound.  No doubt these gentlemen appeal to a growing niche market, and each have helped propel a national discussion on food matters.  For that I’m appreciative.  Nor though am I naïve enough to forget that global population is booming, people are hungry, and we’ve got food to produce.

In other places Salatin talks about poisoning the water and raping the soil, but much of this seems to me to be conjecture spurred by over zealous documentaries and lecture circuits.  One year recently we were using chicken litter (manure) as our primary source of fertilizer (something Salatin would be proud of) and wouldn’t you know someone threatened to sue us over the smell and potential groundwater contamination.  Much more could be said on this.  Stories like that are all too normal around America’s farmland.  Sigh.  What’s a farmer to do?

Is Salatin right or is Monsanto right?  That’s debatable.  They likely both are, in part.

Should we be using GMO seed?  That open for debate also, but I see numerous benefits.

Consider this, who’s more likely to create corn that can produce its own nitrogen?  Who’s more likely to create drought resistant wheat that can be grown in countries like Uganda and Ethiopia?  Consequently, who's also likely to charge so much for said seed that no third world country farmer can afford.  Levon Helms words ring true: "The poor old dirt farmer can't run no corn cause he ain't got no loan."  Or, who’s more likely to produce another documentary that fits a narrative of railing against the evils of modern agriculture, only giving one half of the picture while simultaneously blaming our healthcare crisis on cows and corn as opposed to gluttony and excessive antibiotic use?

In his Darwin/Deere article, Duren is correct when he said: “Whether Salatin is 100% accurate, like most things, can be debated. What he brings to the forefront, and what is critically important, is the need to avoid fragmented thinking. We are not moving toward truth when we isolate parts from the whole. Instead, we make truth more elusive.”

I agree, but it helps me sometimes to fragment things down into there parts before putting them back into there whole so that I can gain a clearer understanding of what, or where, the truth actually is. 

On the Eighth Day

My Facebook page blew up sometime around the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl.  That was about the time Dodge ran the now famous "So God Made A Farmer" commercial narrated by the late Paul Harvey.

The comments were fantastic and hilarious.  I loved every one of them.  Apparently I am the only farmer many of my friends know, which does make sense since farmers make up less than 2% of our nations population.  I live in a small town, most folks know or know of one another.  My circle of friends, contacts, and networks includes a lot of farmers.  That makes sense to me.

But, I'm reminded that I'm in a minority.  Most people don't know a farmer.  Most people don't know how food is produced.  Most people don't know where their food comes from.  I'm reminded of the awesome task and responsibility given to us who produce the food.  I'm amazed at how much so few of us are able to produce.  It's simply mind boggling.  And, I'm reminded of the task that lies ahead of us as the population continues to grow.  It's going to be all hands on deck.  Looking forward to the challenge.

Paul Harvey first gave the original version of that speech back in 1978 at the National FFA convention. I was barely one year old at the time.  Dodge did slightly edit the original version, but did so without sacrificing the overall content.  For the cost of Super Bowl commercials, I can hardly blame them.

I remember where I was the first time I heard Harvey recite those words.  Sitting in my dads truck out in a cotton field eating lunch, the local radio station would play the Paul Harvey update each day at noon. I was around 16 at the time.  Quite fitting I think.

Now as usual some folks just can't resist lampooning a commercial like this one.  Probably in the same way I find it hard to resist taking shots at Wendell Berry.  Popping up in comments sections and on message boards are comments ranging from the clueless, to confusion, to delusion, to cheap shots at...wait for it...Monsanto.  How original, attacking that evil empire.  As an aside here, let me say if you want to criticize "big farming" at least have the courtesy to use and understand the basic nomenclature of agriculture.  As a starting point, may I suggest the following tips:

1) Know the difference between a family farm and a global corporation and the stats on those.  By some peoples standards, our farm is a global corporation seizing on the weak and destroying the environment.  Sigh.  I think not.

2) Understand the difference between terms like hybrid and genetically modified organism (GMO). Hybrids are nothing new.  I'm a hybrid.  You're a hybrid.  In layman's terms, anything that has two parents or anything this is crossed with something else is a hybrid.  How do you think we got so many apple varieties?  GMO's means the plant (seed) has been genetically infused to resist something or control something.  Roundup Ready/Bt corn for example, can be sprayed with a product containing glyphosate --known as Roundup to most people-- and kill the weeds w/out hurting the corn.  Bt protects the plant against insects.  These are good things.

3) Understand the costs associated with farming.  Some things are expensive, some aren't.  Know the difference.

Farmers may very well have a love hate relationship with Monsanto.  But I've never understood why they seem to be targeted more so than the other Ag affiliated companies.  Maybe b/c they're the biggest?  The wealthiest? Maybe others are envious of them?  Other companies are using this technology or have invested in their own version of it.

Where is the outrage towards Dupont, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, Phytogen and so on?

How about a little consistency here?

Farmers know the rules to the game, and we (should) fully understand our rights and limitations when we use their products.  It's their product.  They hold the rights to it.  It's their intellectual property.  To knowingly use Monsanto's or anyone else's patented products then complain about the rules later is asinine. No one is forcing our hand here.  Not really anyway. We have other options in the seed and chemical market.  We use these products b/c we've seen the results.  Besides, if the weed resistance problems continue with Roundup (Glyphosate), Monsanto will be less and less influential.  Farmers will spend money, but not bad money towards solutions that doesn't work.

I read on RealClearPolitics website that this was the first of a series of commercials spotlighting farmers and agriculture that Dodge/Chrysler will be unveiling throughout 2013.

Kudos to Dodge for that.  In case you missed the commercial, here it is again:

And, for the full text of Paul Harvey's words, watch and listen here:

Expository Farming

When farmers go about making decisions many factors come into the equation, and each decision can in turn affect a prior or future decision.  I can pick the perfect variety for a field, have the perfect amount of fertilizer placed, have all the pests controlled and have my drainage all lined out only to watch it all wither away because it was scorching hot and never received any rainfall.   Not much I can do in a situation like that.

The point here is that farmers have some things in their control and some things out of their control, so we need to be experts in the areas we have some control over, and make sure our basics are covered.  I can't control temperature nor can I control rainfall, at least not on non-irrigated fields.  So, to position myself to be as successful as possible, I better make sure the things I do have some control over are being taken care of, such as proper soil fertility, pest control, proper timing of various field applications and the like.  I'm talking about the kinds of things you have to do week after week or month after month or year after year in order to maintain a crop to help it reach its maximum potential.  This is what we call taking care of the basics, or taking care of the fundamentals.

Agriculture like other professions has its fair share of scoundrels and snake oil salesmen.  They come along every year promising the moon, which for any given product is always a 3-5 bushel increase.  Evidently each attends the same snake oil school because regardless the product, each essentially use the same sales pitch promising the same result, all for the same price.  Yipee! We got ourselves a deal boys!

I suppose these guys continue to exist in agriculture, like other professions, because PT Barnum was probably correct when credited with saying: "A sucker is born every minute."  The problem is that by and large these "add-on" products just don't work and rarely pay off at a better than break even margin.  A fellow could spend a small (or large) fortune trying to outwit and outguess Mother Nature.  A wise dairy farmer once told me a big key to successful milk production was to obey the four C's: keep the cows clean, calm, comfortable, and cool.  The same logic can be applied to plants.  Rainfall will cover up a multitude of mistakes but if the basics haven't been taken care of along the way, fields will tattle on you come harvest.

Likewise, the church and her leaders has to take care of its basics, the fundamentals.  That all begins with faithful expositional preaching and teaching of Scripture.  What is expository preaching?  Short answer, it is the verse by verse, book by book teaching of Scripture.  What does this matter?  Bible scholar Don Carson lists 6 points as to why this method trumps the more common "topical" method:

1. It is the method least likely to stray from Scripture.
2. It teaches people how to read their Bibles.
3. It gives confidence to the preacher and authorizes the sermon.
4. It meets the need for relevance without letting the clamor for relevance dictate the message.
5. It forces the preacher to handle the tough questions.
6. It allows the preacher to expound systematically the whole counsel of God.

I bring this up because I was reading about a popular church that asked its members via Facebook to say in one word what they loved about their church.  These are some of the responses that question generated: 

• relevant
• a place of freedom
• because the students are wicked awesome
• come as you are (several versions of this one)
• accepted as I am (again, multiple variations of this one)
• because its a riverbed where flows living water (can someone explain this to me???)
• thinks outside the box

I suppose it's a good thing it's a place of freedom since only one person managed to answer the question   with one word.  None of these responses are bad or wrong, though some of them leave me scratching my head in wonder, while some make less sense than applause at a Justin Bieber concert.  Most churches would do well to be a little more relevant, open to outsiders, and to think outside the box.  But what's a theme commonly missing when the "relevant" heavy church starts asking their people questions like this?  You guessed it -- not one mention of the preaching, teaching, discipleship, worship, vision, mission, missions etc. of the church.  Sure most people would quickly embrace these when suggested, but isn't there something telling when the basics of a healthy church are otherwise never mentioned?

I think, that's too often reflective of churches that either abandoned or never really embraced expository preaching.  Expository teaching and preaching is a key foundation of the church.  It's the fertility, the rich soil, that aids in the growth of all the other functions of the church -- teaching, worship, missions, discipleship, counseling, family life, discipline...  It's key because it places Christ in the proper place, at the head and at the center of everything in the life of the church.  When Christ is placed on the tail end of everything in the church he becomes like a caboose was on a train.  It's only a matter of time before he is completely left off.  

Churches and farms are a lot alike.  Some are healthy, some are not.  Both can and should always be looking for ways to improve.  Both are guilty of looking for quick and cheap fixes to sometimes deep problems and issues.  Both want the snake oil salesman to be right.  But we both know, if we examine ourselves, that if neither take care of the basics, all either of us will be left with is being relevant.

Then we get tattled on.    

Post Election Thoughts & Ramblings

Election 2012 is (mostly) over.  Here is a list of random thoughts the day after:

I would suggest that:

Sooner or later, for better or worse, a country gets the gov't it desires or deserves.

If you want to spend time bashing the president and congress, fine.  However, make sure you spend as much more time praying for those elected officials.

The national debt is going nowhere anytime soon.  At least not down.

Uncertainty will remain in the markets, fuel prices, and with jobs.

War on women?  Seriously?  You've never been to a Muslim country have you?

Rush, Beck, Hannity etc. are about one third right, one third full of BS, and one third ego.

Dick Morris is a professional prognosticator.  How he is taken seriously baffles me.  After all, didn't he write a book called "Condi v Hillary"  

Those who claim to be ready to move to Canada or Switzerland haven't thought thru that statement very well.

If your church didn't preach the Gospel of Jesus but rather preached about the election prior to Tuesday, and preaches apocalypse post election, that's part of the problem.

For a Christian, if you don't hold to the sovereignty of God over all things, including elections, you are undeniably distraught today.  The question though is not why did this happen, but why am I not trusting God?

Mitt Romney is semi-conservative at best.  As long as the Republican party puts forth men who largely appeal to all white and uptight rich guys, don't be surprised at the results.  Church take notice.

America's demographics have changed.  This isn't 1950's America.  Those days are gone.  The Repubs need to take notice.  So does the church.

The sun still rose today.

Significant issues were glossed over or ignored during this campaign such as food production & security and environmental issues.  Meanwhile both parties toe the status quo of needing "more teachers, more cops, more military, more more more..."

All  the while liberties and freedoms continue to be stripped while drones fly over our own soil, cameras watch our every move, and gov't agencies make unconstitutional raids, searches, and seizures.  But hey, who wants to quibble with that when Big Bird is threatened. 

Don't forget, it was Bush who gave us the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, and John Roberts.

15 trillion in debt and nuclear bombs doesn't make a country a superpower.  It often makes it a bully that's bad at math.

To think we are the lone superpower on Earth is naive.  

Paraphrasing Doug Wilson: The choices are (were) between Stage 4 and Stage 1 cancer.  Stage 1 cancer is better, but that doesn't mean I'd want to put that sign in my yard.  

Jesus is neither a Dem or a Repub.  To label him in such a way is blasphemy.  God Bless America is not his favorite song.  Too many Republicans for too long have elevated their platform to equal status of Holy Scripture.  As Tullian Tchividjian wrote:  Jesus + Nothing = Everything.  Or said another way, Jesus + Anything ruins everything.

Read more Carl Trueman, Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, Jonathan Pennington, Jay Sanders, Marty Duren.

Real hope and true change is found in Christ alone.  Not a political party.  That's a world I'd like to be united around.

What are your suggestions?

"...till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will." 
Daniel 4:25

Antibiotics & Our Future: A response

Recently I had the opportunity to respond to an article about antibiotic use in livestock that of all places, appeared on the Baptist Press website.  That article can be found here.

I wrote a response to said article, which can be read here or here.

There is an interesting discussion going on in evangelical (and other) circles on this and similar topics.  Creation Care, Christian Ecology and other semi-popular terms being used nowadays.  That's all fine and dandy,  I only wonder if our best and brightest leaders -- and no doubt these are rock solid, outstanding leaders for the cause of Christ -- are being subtly influenced by the writings of folks such as Wendell Berry and the makers of squiggly light bulbs.

The name of the game to me seems to be sustainability, and again, the reality is that we have a global population closing in on 7 billion.

And that's 7 billion mouths to feed.

Every day.

More than once a day if possible.

During droughts.

Berry et al, are intelligent people who bring good ideas and good challenges to the table, however I continue to contend that in order to feed and clothe a growing global population, all hands will need to be on deck and multiple approaches will need to be utilized that extend above and beyond political sloganeering which number as much or more than the number of items on a drive up menu.

Juxtaposition

Visiting Lana's family in Illinois this weekend, we had the opportunity to visit some of the Amish areas of the state.  In agricultural terms, can you say juxtaposition?

Old, Semi-Traditional

New, Modern

Is one way better than the other?  Maybe, in some ways.  Maybe not.  

There certainly is something refreshing, even romantic, about a simpler way of life that is vacant of what us modern folks normally call distractions, grievances, nuisances, worries, and anxieties.  But at the same time, we enjoy modern amenities and daily pleasures such as air conditioning, electricity, internet, and global positioning systems.

Either way, I am reminded of a couple of verses from Scripture that all believers would do well to remember:

25 e“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you.

34 q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.    Matthew 6:25-34, ESV

     “Be still, and know that I am God.

vI will be exalted among the nations,

 I will be exalted in the earth!”   Psalms 46:10, ESV

Slow Moving Vehicle

Modern farm equipment is big, shiny, technologically advanced, expensive, and slow.

I was reminded of this a couple of days ago, when planting soybeans for someone else, I had to travel down a state highway (two of them actually) in order to get to the field.

During morning commute.

It's not that big of deal, but this one particular highway is a fairly hilly two lane highway with few opportunities to pass.

Cruising along in my John Deere tractor pulling a planter at a top speed of 26 mph, looking in my rear view mirrors I could see the cars lining up behind me.  What was I to do?

About the best one can do in situations like these is pull over as much as possible and slow down or stop if possible and let the cars go by.

Some farm machinery is big.  Really big.  At least compared to state and rural roads.  Keep in mind that even the newest and fastest equipment has a top speed of 30 mph, and between trying to dodge mailboxes set too close to the road, overhanging tree limbs, road signs, narrow bridges, road ditches, and people texting while driving, we do our best to get over as soon as we can.

Yes some equipment is about as wide as the road, and yes some machinery has big tires on it that would make even the reddest red neck yell "Get 'er done!" but, keep in mind we can't go any faster, and tractors and combines and spray rigs don't exactly maneuver like a lamborghini.

So if you see flashing lights and the SMV sign on the back of something that looks big and scary, keep in mind we don't much like being on the highway any more than you like being stuck behind us. And, keep in mind that as farm sizes grow while the number of farmers decreases, it's going to require us to get on the highway from time to time to get to our fields.

So save your middle finger and curse words (yes, we see some of you mouthing off at us) for something that actually matters--you know, something important like your sons opposing t-ball team--and try to remember that when you sit down and eat your 8th meal of the day you can be thankful that the worst part of your day may have been that you were delayed a few minutes while driving down the road.

Engage

There's an old saying that goes something like this:  "Those who can do, those who can't teach, and those who can't teach are guidance counselors."  Might have made that last part up, but it works.

If you eat, you're involved in agriculture.  If you wear clothes, you're involved in agriculture.  If you drive a vehicle, you're involved in agriculture.  Each of us interacts with agriculture every single day, multiple times per day.

Agriculture it seems, is under constant assault from someone or something.  Animal rights activists, environmental activists, herbicide resistant weeds, rising fuel/labor/insurance/input costs, floods, droughts, regulations, taxes, and bureaucrats -- just to name a few.  Being an activist isn't a bad thing.  I'm an activist.  I'm just on the opposite side most of the time of those people and groups listed above.

Here's the rub though.  Less than 2% of the population is involved in production agriculture (the ones actually producing the stuff you eat, drink, and wear).  And, we're repeatedly told that by the year 2050 we will have to produce more food than we've had to in the past 10,000 years combined (or 5-6,000 if you hold to a really young Earth view).  The obvious question for me then becomes - 'How are we expected to remain efficient at doing our job when we are being handcuffed at every turn?'

The way I see it, agriculture is in a public relations battle, and is getting its butt kicked.  Part of the blame can be directed on basic ignorance of the issues.  Part of it can be directed to well funded organizations like HSUS or PETA with slick, pull at your heart strings ads.  But also, part of the blame needs to be directed at farmers themselves.

Farmers do what they do, because, well, they are good at it.  They do it because they love it.  And they do it because most other people can't.  What we're not always good at is engaging with the general public, public relations campaigns, or talking to the media.  The days of unengagement are over.  That ship has sailed, never to return.  Gone are the days of sitting around the local co-op or coffee shop talking amongst ourselves about prices, dirt, and the weather.  We still need to talk about these things, but the scope of our audience must broaden, else I doubt we, or much anyone else, will like the results.

I don't like complainers.  And I feel like I've done a fair amount of complaining in this post, so right now I'm not liking myself all that much.  Farmers aren't usually complainers--whiners maybe--but not complainers.  They have a can do attitude.  I mean seriously, what other profession drops a 100 grand into the ground (literally) and then prays for the right amount of sunshine and rain with the high hopes of recouping expenses and making a profit, in order to it all over again the next year at 150 grand?  Now that's an optimistic, prayer driven bunch of folks.

Decisions are going to be made.  Laws are going to be passed.  Debates are going to be held.  Where does American agriculture want to be?  We can engage, become involved, and share our side of the story, or we can let someone else tell it for us.  Farmers can point fingers, shift blame, and curse the government, but at the end of the day, who do we want telling our story?  A story will be told, just don't act surprised if it's one you don't like or agree with.  Where were you?  Why are you farmer, letting someone else tell it for you?

I've watched churches, schools, businesses, and governments deteriorate and weaken to the point of uselessness because limp wristed wimps failed to engage.  I understand the thought line of picking our battles.  I get that.  But it seems to me that food and food related issues isn't one of those secondary issues we toss aside for clueless nitwits to decide upon.  When the price of bread, milk, and eggs rises at the grocery store, or fuel rises at the pump, where has the farmer positioned himself in the discussion when the consumer or policymaker starts asking why?  Look, you may disagree with everything I've said.  That's fine.  But defeat me in the arena of ideas.  At least there we can have a discussion.

There's another old saying something like "Get off the bench (or out of the bleachers) and get in the game".  We have a sufficient number of armchair quarterbacks.  You know what I'm talking about.  People who like to sit on the couch at 4 in the afternoon still wearing their pajamas, screaming at Tom Brady to throw it, or something like that.

Are farmers going to get in the game?  Are we going to be engaged and proactive?  Or, will we sit by idly, even naively, ultimately rendering ourselves irrelevant in our own profession in the arena of thoughts and ideas?

Farm Quiz

Agriculture.

You eat it, drink it, smoke it, wear it.  You drive with it, sleep on it, wipe with it.  You read, write, color, paint, buy stuff, cook, clean, and feed with it.  Agriculture touches almost every aspect of your life.  It's directly linked to over 24 million U.S. jobs, and indirectly linked to millions more.  Without it you would be cold, hungry, and naked.  If farmers went on strike globally, we wouldn't have to worry about whether or not the Iranians develop a nuclear bomb, Obama is reelected, or which Kardashian got arrested for DUI.  We'll all be dead. (Except for maybe Dwight Schrute, Bear Grylls, and those guys from Swamp People)  In other words, agriculture is kinda important.  Whether or not we realize it, we all have a vested interest in agriculture.  So, it stands to reason we ought to educate ourselves a bit on the topic.

Don't know much about American agriculture?  Don't feel bad, the vast majority of Americans don't, which isn't all that surprising as most people are 3 to 4 generations removed from the farm.  

For many, food comes from a store that has concrete floors, fluorescent lighting, cold aisles, and plays old Justin Timberlake music.  Clothes, on the other hand, come from another type of store, except it is usually carpeted, darker but warmer, and plays really loud Justin Timberlake music.  

I'm not usually a fan of quizzes, especially online quizzes, but I came across this one today and found it to be useful and helpful, particularly to those with little or no agriculture background.  Here's 10 questions, so take the quiz and test your knowledge.  

1.  How many farms in the U.S. are family owned/operated?
a) 98%
b) 75%
c) 30%
d) less than 10%

2.  A bale of cotton weighs 50 pounds?
a) True
b) False

3.  How many farms in the U.S. are headed up by women?
a) 500
b) 5,500
c) 25,000
d) 145,000

4.  U.S. farmers produce over 40% of the worlds corn.
a) True
b) False
c) what's corn

5.  Today, the average farmer produces enough food to feed 26 people.
a) True
b) False

6.  How much does one bushel of corn weigh?
a) 5 pounds
b) 16 pounds
c) 56 pounds
d) 50 pounds

7.  Most of the beans grown in the U.S. are green when harvested and can be consumed immediately.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know, but they're good for the heart!

8.  Farmers use environmentally friendly practices that have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions.
a) True
b) False
c) Huh huh, you said gas

9.  What is conservation tillage?
a) When farmers leave residue from the previous crop lying in the field
b) When farmers take residue and put in into a compost pile
c) When farmers use animals instead of machinery to till the ground
d) None of the above

10.)  If U.S. farmers used crop production practices from the 1930's to produce the equivalent amount of corn as produced today, how many more acres of land would be needed?
a) 10,000 acres
b) 10 million acres
c) 490 million acres
d) No additional acres would be needed

Answers

1. A - 98% of farms are family owned and operated, coming in all shapes, sizes, and diversity.  It's just a plain myth that farms are run by multinational corporations.  I once heard someone say "I know who owns all the land, it's owned by those that put their signs out next to the road."  Signage has nothing to do with ownership or with who farms the land.  Every seed company (Pioneer, Asgrow, DeltaPine etc.) uses signage to promote their product.  Where's the most visible place to advertise?  Next to the road.  Other than a farmer, I doubt anybody else would care about signs next to the road.

2. B - False.  A bale of cotton weighs not 50, but 500 pounds.  That's enough cotton to produce over 200 pairs of jeans, 1,200 T-shirts, or 4,300 pairs of socks.

3. D - 145,000.  If you're like me, I'm wondering "Who are all these women operators."  But, I'm reminded that farms exist in all shapes and sizes, and not every farm will look like mine in Tennessee.  The number of women operating as head of an operation, along with African-American operators, are actually increasing.

4. True.  Depending on the year and the source, America's corn growers produce between 40-50% of the worlds corn.  That's more than China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the European Union combined.

5. False.  That figure would have been true in 1960.  Today, the average farm produces food for 155 people.  The average farm in the U.S. is around 400 acres.  Our farm is close to 2,000 acres, which means we produce food for close to 800 people.  If you ate today, our farm may have had a direct hand in feeding you.  I'm proud of that.

6. C - 56 pounds.  The old way of weighing was the bushel basket.  You've probably seen one at a farmers market, or at your grandparents house if they have a garden.  It would take 56 pounds of corn to fill the bushel basket.  For soybeans, 60 pounds = 1 bushel.

7. False.  The majority of beans are a grey or brownish color, and considered dry when harvested.  After harvest, the grain is processed and used in millions of products.

8. True.  Though radical environmentalists would likely argue otherwise, according to the EPA in 2007, for example, farmers cut CO2 emissions by 14.2 kg.  That's equivalent to removing over 6 million cars from the road for a year.  Honestly, I have no idea how they measure this, or if that's even a reliable stat.  But, consider this.  How many cars, trucks, semi's, planes, trains, boats, buses, motorcycles, 4-wheelers, and lawnmowers are traveling around burning fossil fuels versus how many tractors or combines are driving around?  I'll take a wild guess here and say about a billion to one.  I don't really think tractors are a major source of CO2 emissions.  OK, but what about livestock and their flatulence.   Don't cows contribute to global warming?  Well, I'll go with Ron White on this one and say the solution is to eat the cows.

9. A - Leaving the residue from a previous crop.  This means the farmer is not using any tillage or reduced tillage in preparing his land for planting.  This also means reduced trips across field, fuel savings, time savings, an increase in organic matter, returning leftover nutrients from the old crop directly back into the soil, moisture savings, and erosion savings.

10. C - 490 million acres.  We would need that much additional land if we were still using the same techniques we did in the 1930's to produce what we produce today.  That's an area larger than Alaska.  Thanks to the hybrid, nitrogen fertilizer, and technology, we don't have to invade Canada for their land.

Here's a short video with some more food for thought and interesting tidbits you may not have thought about:

Think Agriculture is important?  Yea, me too.  So, the next time you see Yahoo post a story about useless college degrees, and 3 of the top 5 are agriculture related, you can laugh it off and think about how useless their writers journalism degree must have been in order to write wasted stories such as that.  Right up there with fashion design and basket weaving (also known as psychology).

Top 5's

While I was in grad school, I worked at a bookstore with some pretty awesome people.  In the absence of doing any real work such as hauling off empty boxes to the dumpster, making ridiculous phone calls which in reality was nothing but soliciting, or putting up for display Neil's favorite "struggling with gay thoughts" books, my friend Jay would get me, Keshia, Matt and whoever to name our Top 5 favorite ___________.

It was a fun game, discussion (argument) starter, and helped slow days go by quicker.  The winter is a slow season for me since we currently only grow row crops and don't handle any livestock.  So, to help pass the time, and for old times sake, here is a random list of some Top 5's, in no particular order, and maybe a few honorable mentions.

Top 5 Man Movies

These are movies that the ladies may like, but are for sure movies for dudes.  If your buddies walked in and caught you watching any of these, extra points for manliness.  Whereas, if your buddies come in and catch you watching Legally Blonde, they have automatic permission to use jiu jitsu on you.  

• Snatch
• Kill The Irishman
• Boondock Saints
• Inglorious Bastards
• No Country for Old Men

Honorable Mention: Defiance, We Were Soldiers, Taken, Gone Baby Gone, American History X

Top 5 Shows Currently on TV

We don't watch a terrible amount of the boob tube, but these shows will most likely be DVR'd.

• 30 Rock
• House
• Only in America w/ Larry The Cable Guy
• Dirty Jobs
• Swamp People

Honorable Mention: American Restoration, Deadliest Catch, Alaska State Troopers

Top 5 Comedy Shows of all time

• 30 Rock
• The Office (seasons 1-4)
• Cheers
• Arrested Development
• The Cosby Show (until Elvin shows up)

Honorable Mention: Spongebob Squarepants, Wonder Years, Frasier

Top 5 Favorite Living Theologians

Very subjective, but these are folks I've either read, met, heard, or sat directly under their teaching.  Hopefully none of the single white guys that comment anonymously all over blogs won't see this list, lest I be cyber flogged for: a) having both a paedo & credo on the same list.  How dare I!, or b) not being "gospel centered" enough.

• RC Sproul
• Tim Keller
• Kevin DeYoung
• Jonathan Pennington
• Brian Vickers

Honorable Mention: Dan Doriani, Doug Wilson, Ravi Zacharias, Al Mohler, Derek Thomas

Top 5 Movies of all time (so far)

This is different than man movies.  The lists could overlap, but if I'm stuck in a room and can only watch these 5 movies, this is what I'd want in my queue.

• Good Will Hunting - It's a good car.  Got a good engine.
• Shawshank Redemption - If I'm trapped, this is an inspirational breakout movie.
• Almost Famous - Awesome soundtrack.
• Inception - Perhaps my entrapment is all a dream.
• Napoleon Dynamite - A little Rex Kwan Do training will help me fight my way out.

Honorable Mention: SlingBlade

Top 5 6 7  8 Books 

Books are incredible and can provide a wealth of knowledge, information, inspiration, and helpful instruction.  With so many genres it's impossible for me to list my favorite books, as different books have had special meaning, significance, or instruction at different points in my life.  But these are a few that if someone has never read, I would say are must reads.

• Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
• A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
• When People are Big and God is Small by Ed Welch
• Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
• Reason for God by Tim Keller
• Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

Honorable Mention: No Little People by Francis Schaeffer / Flyboys by James Bradley / Trellis & Vine by Colin Marshall / Moral Apologetics by Mark Coppenger / anything else by CS Lewis, Tim Keller, or Kevin DeYoung.

Top 5 Tractors

Since this is an ag blog, figured I better throw something ag related in.  Wouldn't want the sponsors getting worried.

• John Deere
• Case
• Massey Ferguson
• Caterpillar
• John Deere (yea, I know already mentioned this one, but come on, how many tractor manufacturers are there?  Foreign ones don't count.  They use the metric system.  That's un-American!)

What's your Top 5?

Hawaii, Pineapples & Stereotypes

Our family had the privilege of traveling to the Hawaiian island of Oahu for a few days and in short it was awesome.  On the flight home I had plenty of time to think about what we had just experienced and wanted to share some of it here.

I.  Hawaii

In Hawaii, we experienced and/or saw several firsts:

• Perhaps, but maybe not obvious, it was the first time to Hawaii for us.
• It was the first time the girls have flown.
• We ate at a Tony Romos for the first time.
• First time we saw sea turtles, at least not in captivity.
• And we saw firsthand for the first time what happens when a drunk passenger acts belligerent with the flight crew before takeoff.  Let's just say Carol Burnett would have been proud.  "And that's sky law."  Fans of 30 Rock will get it. 

While in Hawaii we stumbled across an Apple Store.  When you put an Apple Store in a place like Hawaii, I think you get a foretaste of heaven.  I'm pretty sure this is what Milton had in mind when he wrote his poem Paradise Regained, but don't quote me on that.

Driving around the island, there was a surprise around every turn in the road.  Gorgeous shorelines and powerful waves gave way to naturally rugged and beautiful mountain ranges only to give them back to the shorelines.  It was like a dance between the ocean and the mountains.  Lana remarked that CS Lewis must have visited Hawaii before he wrote Narnia.  I agree.

On a more somber note...Pearl Harbor.  A very solemn, even emotional experience.  I can't say anything that hasn't already been said a thousand times, but I was moved by this wartime prayer from Eleanor Roosevelt -
Dear Lord,

Lest I continue
My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war,
I then must
Ask and answer
Am I worth dying for?

Maybe it was the magnitude of the environment, but I found myself asking myself the same question.  I was reminded, thankfully, that God in his graciousness, justice, and mercy sent a substitute to those who repent and confess Jesus as Savior, you don't have to try and answer that question on your own (Mk. 1:15, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Rom. 10:9-11, Jn. 3:16, et al).

II.  Pineapples

Hawaii is known for many things, but one thing you may not know is that it is a pretty major player in the production of pineapples, nuts (of the macadamia kind), and coffee.  I predominately write on here about topics related to agriculture, and for many people, when they think of ag, or big ag, it's those people in Iowa with all that corn or those guys down in Texas with all those cows and cotton.  Farms and farmers come in all shapes and sizes, and produce all types of products for consumption.  And, farmers are growing fruits & vegetables, nuts, and coffee as well.  We don't typically think about items such as pineapples or nuts around these parts because no one grows it around here--except for maybe parts of Florida and California.  Why do I bring this up?  While some may view importing food as a necessary evil or perhaps worse, I view it as a necessary reality.  Especially if we desire to eat and drink things that we are unable to produce here ourselves, such as pineapples and coffee.  So, the consumer is left with only a couple of options.  Move to a tropical environment and eat pineapple and coconut all day while sipping on coffee, or do without.  Certainly safeguards to ensure quality and safety should be in place to protect the consumer as realistically as possible.  However, we as Americans have the tendency to want and eat our cake at the same time.  So, we can either do without and complain, or do with and probably still complain.

III.  Stereotypes

Being a silly main lander having been influenced and informed by bad information about Hawaii, I was (partially) duped into believing these common myths about Hawaiians:

Myth 1
All Hawaiians wear Hawaiian shirts.
Nope.  Pretty much the only people that wear those shirts are tourists who look like their skin has never seen sunlight and a certain sect of Southern Baptist pastors.

Myth 2
All Hawaiians walk around doing the hula dance.
Wrong again.  Probably picked up this idea from that bad show called Hawaii Five-0 or it's more bad new version called Hawaii Five-0.  It's on CBS, what'd you expect?  Sure, you can see and participate in a hula dance, and it is used to teach visitors about the heritage of the islands, but I got the impression this it is often done to appease well funded tourists.

Myth 3
Hawaiian music consists of only the ukulele.
Nada.  The ukulele is a popular and important instrument in Hawaiian culture, but music on the island is as rich and diverse as anywhere.  Yes, the late Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole is a legend in Hawaii, but ever hear of an artist named Jack Johnson?

Myth 4
The hand sign/wave using your thumb and pinkie finger means hang loose.
Uh Uh No.  Locally that is known as the Shaka sign and what it actually means is something closer to a type of greeting or a way of saying thanks.


So if you ever plan on going to Hawaii, do a little research ahead of time that extends beyond Magnum P.I. episodes, and don't act like such a tourist, stereotyping everything into a category like, for example when people up north think every other guy in the south is called Bubba.  Ok, that was a bad example. At the same time, don't try and be Kelly Slater either.  Get out of the city, explore the island, stop at a roadside stand and buy something, and mingle with the locals.  When you go, go a little more Globe Trekker style and a little less double decker bus style.  Leave technology behind, and go off the grid a few days.  No email, no facebook, no TV, no returning phone calls or texting.  It was great.  Didn't miss it a bit.  I had no idea what Tebow had done or who won the New Hampshire primary, nor did I really care.  It takes a little more effort, but it'll be worth it.  If you get the opportunity to go, go.

Eddie would go.

Aloha and Mahalo.