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?