I just today realized that I have not only not posted anything in almost a month, but I have not even been on here to look in the past month. Can you say FAIL! Don't worry I just slapped my own wrist for that one.
But in my defense I have been rather busy the past couple weeks. I may have jetted off to Nashville TN for a week of fun then as soon as I returned I took off for Valentine NE for our Nebraska Cattlemen Midyear Meeting for a few days and then I have had a few evening meetings and events to cover since then. And I just now realized that tonight is the first night in almost 4 weeks that me and the puppy have sat at home alone on the couch just catching up on some TV time. If you have ever met my pup Peyton, you know that she is as spazy as they come, so the fact that she is just sitting here helping me write this is a testament to how much she has missed me the past few weeks.
So since me writing about my trip to Nashville and the County Music Festival would probably result in me blabbing on and on and on and you all falling asleep, I will let some pictures explain the awesome epicness that was CMA Fest.
SO MUCH AWESOMENESS I ABOUT LOST IT!
Lenny Kravitz and Jason Aldean... can you say AWESOME!
Heyyyyyy, its Mountain Mand!
GOLLY JEEPERS he's good lookin
just chillin back stage waiting to go to the front row
Kinda freakin out about going to CHURCH!
He sang straight into my soul!!
Oh hey Craig Campbell
Joe Joe Joe JOE DIFFIE!
Lady A sounds like angels when they sing. Is that weird?
Can you say, HAIR FLIP! Jake Owen
Oh Thomas Rhett, it goes like this...
Hey Handsome, why you gotta be so quiet and shy?
Joe Joe Joe.. Joe Diffie!
Thats right Kieth Urban...
Jon Pardi, or what I like to call...eye candy.
Lenny Kravitz showed up as a surprise!
Holy Jack Daniels, its Eric Church!
The boys of Lady Antebellum playin a little ping pong
What did I say, AWESOME EPICNESS, that it was for sure!! Oh ya, and I guess I also have a new distraction to occupy my free time now too. Since its finally "Facebook Official" I guess I can share to the maybe 5 people who actually read this thing....Say hello to "The Boy". Ya, he's cute, be jealous :-P
So the last few days Carrie Underwood has caused quite a ruckus on the web
with her comments regarding her disapproval of Tennessee HB 1191/SB1248, The
Livestock Cruelty Prevention Act. And
since all my fellow ag peeps are raising their voices on the issue, I figured I
might as well join the party!
In Tennessee, The Livestock Cruelty Prevention Act (HB 1191/SB1248) has
passed in the state legislature and is now awaiting the signature of Tennessee Governor
Bill Haslam. The measure stops animal rights activists from videotaping and
editing videos to create animal cruelty on tape and sending these videos to the
media and debuting them on social media to create publicity for something that
may or may not have been fabricated. This measure certainly does not prevent
farmers and ranchers from being transparent and helping to stop animal abuse,
but it instead prohibits animal activists from going undercover with false
pretenses in order to try and film abuse.
Well apparently, Carrie Underwood isn’t too happy about this
measure entering into the agriculture world. A world she apparently LOVES and SUPPORTS
so much, with her monthly donations to the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS), her vegetarianism, her support of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA), and her blatant disregard for a majority of her country music fans,
who I can probably guess are involved in agriculture.
Now what boils my blood more than ever, is that she supports groups such as
HSUS, an anti-animal agriculture extremist group who would be MORE THAN HAPPY
to put her ranching parents out of a job. Come on Carrie, do your research,
talk to your family, realize what you are potentially supporting!
I was reading an article about some recent comments Underwood made about the
TN bill saying: "Shame on TN lawmakers for passing the Ag Gag bill. If
Gov. Bill Haslam signs this, he needs to expect me at his front door. Who's
with me?"
In response, State Representative Andy Holt, who supports the bill, told
local news: "I would say that Carrie Underwood will stick to singing, I'll
stick to lawmaking."
To that I say, right on Representative Holt. This is just another example of
celebrities using their status to try and manipulate the legal system.
The first sentence of that article also said, “nobody is going to tell
Carrie Underwood to “shut up and sing”.
My whole life I was raised in the thick of the farming life. Everyday I was able to wake up to an open window with the Nebraska sunrise shining in and corn fields glistening in the distance. But in my young and dazed mind I would just wake up and never really realize or appreciate How Country Feels.
Now 22 years later, I am off and on my own (well technically, thanks mom & dad for still helping me out when I need it :). I live in Lincoln, which to most is still just a town, but to me, its a big city. There are many days I wake up to the sound of my neighbors banging around outside or squealing tires on the street and I think to myself, where is the bright sun that would wake me up in the morning and that I use to curse as a teenager. Where are the corn fields in the distance? Where is the sound of cows bellering? Some may think these kinds of things are pointless, but that only means that you have never been shown How Country Feels.
So when I see groups like HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and PETA (People for the Eating of Tasty Anima.... opps, I mean.. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) trying to attack agriculture and the country way of life I just want to scream, YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW COUNTRY FEELS! How do you as a political lobbyist extremist think that you know what is best for agriculture? You know nothing about how or why we do the things we do? If you truly knew why we care for our animals and our environment with such respect and passion, you would not be attacking us they way you are.
So I ask you, are you giving into the media hype and greedy lobbyist groups who are trying to fool you in to thinking they actually care about the country and agriculture? or do you truly know How Country Feels.
Summer time, for most, means sleeping in late and spending every moment lounging by the pool. But for many 4-Hers, summer time means getting your animals ready for the county fair.
In my mind, there is nothing in the world that compares to a county fair. Its 4 days of hot, sweaty, exhausting, nerve-racking fun :). Most city folk think that fair time is only about the carnival and the concerts, but little do they know that the fairs were first started way back in the day because of agriculture. So you can probably understand my frustration when I talk to someone about a county fair or the state fair and they don't even realize that there are animals at the fair.
My last year as a 4-H member. (way back in 2008)
These young 4-Hers work extremely hard all year long getting their animals ready for the fair. They get up early every morning to feed and bathe their animals. They walk them, put them in barns under fans or even inside air conditioned buildings. They take every extra step to make sure that these animals are calm and comfortable.
My cousins Colton and Cameron get they calves ready for this
years beef show. The cattle stand in chutes while they are
brushed and readed for the show.
Almost a year ago CNN posted an article titled "Does 4-H Desensitize Kids to Killing?" Yes, I am not making this up! An actual human being wrote such an article, and I know its been over a year but I feel like I still have something to say on the matter.
Nowhere in my 13 years as a 4-H member have I ever considered myself insensitive towards the well-being of any animals. I worked hard on each of my 4-H hogs and cattle. Feeding them twice a day, giving them a bath every morning, training them to lead, putting them in a cool barn with fans and misters in the summer when it was extremely hot outside, and training them for show. And after all that work, there is no greater feeling than all your hard work paying off by a success in the show ring.
Another great feeling, is when your animal is auctioned off at the end of the fair to a 4-H supporter in your community. The higher the bid, the better, because all that money went back into my account to help pay for next years 4-H projects.
My first few years as I walked my big steer into the show ring, usually weighing him in at about 1200 lbs, I cried. O boy did I cry. In my young mind, my steers were pets. I had spent several hours everyday for the past few months with him, so you can imagine my heartbreak when I had to see him go.
Fair time is a family affair for us! My uncle Kurt and his boys
Colton and Cameron are the only family members young enough
for 4-H anymore so the entire family comes out in full force
to help during the fair. My aunt Kim, uncle Kurt and
mom Deb are all 4-H alums.
As my 4-H years went on, it became easier for me to see my steers and hogs leave. Does this mean I was "desensitized to killing?" ABSOLUTELY NOT! I now began to understand the purpose of my agriculture animals. My steers served a purpose. To feed the world. And I, a young 4-Her, was part of that purpose. My steer was not put on this earth to be a pet, he was put here to grow and then be harvested.
4-H taught me and many others the difference between pets and animals for food. It makes perfect sense to us 4-Hers that when we start working with our animals, that they have an ultimate purpose and we work extremely hard to make the best market animal that we can. Yes we still become attached to the animals because each has its on personality. My cattle and hogs had their favorite scratch spots, their favorite feed, and favorite spot in the pen. But I knew all along they were not pets.
What many people do no understand is that agriculture animals are not pets. Nor does 4-H try to give kids that impression. Death is a part of life, and we must realize that fact.
We use show sticks to scratch the cattle tummies to
make sure they are calm and comfortable at all times.
When I read the article the part that really got my blood boiling was when 4-H members were called "insensitive". This is complete garbage. Everytime one of my animlas looked ill or uncomforatble, I did everything in my power to correct it. I have worked extra hours in the morning and at night to makre sure my animals were not subjected to the extreme heat of the day. I have been stepped on, drug on the ground, charged at, and kicked by my own animals, but loved them all along the way.
If that is "insensitive and cruel to animals", then I think I need to check the definitions of those words.
So I'm back from Eric Church, and its was gosh-darn-bang-fantabulouly-awesome! or in other words, EPIC! But I guess when isn't Eric Church epic.
But there was one, well technically two if you count the no adult beverages rule, that was not so EPIC.
One of my greatest pet peeves is the apparel I see at concerts. So things such as "These Boots" kinda bug the bejeppers out of me!
(FYI if my brother sees this. Yes, you did tuck your pants into your boots for dramatic effect for part of the night)
So before I proceed let me say, Disclaimer-This is purely my opinion.
I would just like to share with you my overall rules of thumb for concert attire:
1. If you don't own a second pair of boots that are covered in mud or animal crap, you do NOT need to have a pair of boots to prance around in.
2. Please do not go purchase a new outfit from the, and I quote "Cowboy Store", just to go to a concert.
3. If you don't know what a longhorn is, please do not wear jewelry which have said animal on it.
4. If you have never shot a gun, please do not show up wearing camo.
5. Plaid. Nowhere on your ticket stub does it say, must wear plaid for admission, so just stop it.
So I probably seem a tad bitter about this but that is because for some, These Boots are almost sacred. Some boots have seen a lot and have traveled many miles out in the fields or pastures. Working long hours out in the heat and dead of winter working the land. So when I see people prancing around in "cowboy clothes" I take offense. Not on my behalf, but on the behalf of those hard working men and women who wear those work boots everyday and work extremely hard for you and me.
So before you get dressed up in your next concert get-up and slip on your brand new pair of boots, think about the true meaning behind These Boots.
Guess what kiddos! I have been 22 for two days now and let me tell you....... it feels the same as 21. But o well, in 10 years I am going to wish I was 22 again so I am going to enjoy it while I can.
Anyway, so I totally FAILED yesterday and didn't get my awesome Country Music Monday post done. #Fail And I am going to #Fail again on Wordless Wednesday because I have some work things to take care of. So GUESS WHAT! You are going to get something I like call "Wordless Country Music Tuesday". (I know the name kind of blows but just go with it.)
So as you probably already noticed I am kind of rambling on and on. Well here is my reasoning.... I AM SO GOSH DARN EXCITED because............ I GET TO SEE MY MAIN MAN ERIC CHURCH IN 5 DAYS!!! I know right, BEST news ever!
So Sunday myself and about 7 others Church-sters are venturing our way up to Madison, Nebraska for the Madison County Fair. Now I know this is like a definite shot in the dark but one of the top things on my bucket list, is to meet Mr. Church. So I will keep you posted as to my success in that category but seeing as this is the third time in two years that I will be seeing the boy, I feel like the third times a charm. So wish me luck y'all! And if I do succeed in this task I am sure the whole world will be hearing about it. haha
So in honor of the one and only bad boy of country music, I invite you all to go to CHURCH with me, and take a gander at some of these lil nuggets of pure country.
So I have three different paths I could take with this week’s
Country Music Monday song.
I could go with the unsurprising – The Midwest is not a bunch of flyover
states, we are the heartland of America and offer so much to our country in
terms of lifestyle, beauty, and of course AGRICULTURE. But, that is what you’re
all expecting me to write about, so PASS.
I could do the unspeakable, and yell at Jason Aldean for
leaving out Nebraska in the song’s lyrics.
But there is no way I could be mad at such a good looking hunk of country
music man. So, PASS.
For this week we are going to be talking politics. Yep, I said politics, everyone’s FAVORITE
subject. But the politics that I am going to be talking about may be a tad unfamiliar
to many of you. I am talking about the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their recent unwarned, and in my
opinioninappropriateand waste of tax payer dollars, aerial flights over
Nebraska rancher’s property.
So before I get to really rolling here is a little
background of this whole issue.
A few months ago it was discovered that the EPA has been
conducted small aircraft (NOT DRONES like the media has been reporting) flights
over cattle producers and taking photos from the sky. The reason they say for this is to find
producers who are in violation of the regulations. In simple terms, checking to make sure that
no feedlot run off is spilling into fresh water areas or things like that.
Now you probably are thinking well how is this a bad thing? Let
me first say, beef producers in Nebraska are committed to protecting their environment
and being in compliance with all regulations and they are committed to making
sure that our water, soil, and air are protected in all ways. They are in no way trying to hide from
regulation.
So now let me give you some facts as to why cattle
producers, Nebraska Delegation (Mike Johanns, Ben Nelson, Jeff Fortenberry,
Adrian Smith, and Lee Terry), and many of the agriculture community are upset
and why the EPA aerial flyovers areinappropriate and in my words, a waste.
The NDEQ (Nebraska Department of Environmental
Quality) was even unaware of the flights occurring, and they even feel as if
EPA is overstepping because the NDEQ is the authority in Nebraska.
EPA and NDEQ currently have the right
to inspect any cattle producer currently under regulation at any time, so the
flights are a waste of time and tax payer dollars.
The EPA fly overs are done secretively
with no warning to producers. (Many say well the police patrol from the sky so it’s
the same thing. No it is not because the roads have clearly marked signs that say
aerial surveillance zone.)
When the EPA conducts flyovers and
takes photos, majority of the time private property such as home steads are also
taken in the photo.
Many times things are not as they
appear, especially from the sky. In many
cases thus far, EPA has found, “what they thought” were violations, but if they
would have only been on the actual feed lot, on the ground, they could have
easily seen that there was nothing wrong in the first place.
Nebraska Delegation sent a letter
to EPA Region 7 officials asking for answers about the fly over program. The EPA has been secretive, vague, sluggish,
and practically unresponsive to citizens and government concerns.
I could go on for hours about this topic, but don't worry I won't because I know I have probably already lost half of the readers by know anyway. So my finals thoughts about this whole thing is that this flyover
program is creeping way to close to “Big Brother is watching you” territory. The government is getting way to intrusive
and it’s just wrong. I am in no way trying to protect those few cattle
producers who are violating the laws and creating environmental problems, but I
am protecting those cattle producers who do AMAZING work and create great
steaks for all of us to enjoy. So I say let the NDEQ do its job and BACK OF
EPA!
So, for this weeks County Music Monday, I'm gonna ditch the life lessons and philosophical-ness which I usually try and convey to you all, and replace it with some, well I'm not quite sure yet. I guess I'm winging this post tonight. haha
So this weeks song is CORN STAR by the one and only Craig Morgan. I stumbled upon this song about two weeks ago and immediately fell in LOVE with it. I honestly am a true sucker for funny songs with great innuendos. So thus I present you with.... CORN STAR.
So instead of me relating this song to life, I'm just gonna give you some great CORN facts. Since my family makes a majority of its living fromcorn production, it only seems fit. So here we go....
U.S. farmers produce about 40 percent of the world's corn, using
only 20 percent of the total area harvested in the world.
One bushel of corn is 56 pounds. That means U.S. farmers
produce an average of more than 9,000 pounds of corn per acre.
If U.S. farmers used crop production practices from 1931
to produce an amount of corn equivalent to the 2008 crop, it would
require 490 million acres—an area more than 120 million acres
larger than the state of Alaska.
Individuals or families own 82 percent of corn farms. Another 6 percent are family-held corporations.
Less than 15 percent of U.S. corn acres are irrigated.
Farmers today produce 70 percent more corn per pound of fertilizer than as recently as the 1970s.
Corn farmers have reduced total fertilizer use by 10 percent since 1980.
According to the USDA, one acre of corn… removes about 8
tons of carbon dioxide from the air in a growing season…at 180
bushels per acre produces enough oxygen to supply a year’s needs
for 131 people.
Corn production has marched steadily upward for decades while using fewer acres.
American farmers produced the five largest corn crops in
history during the past five years. Even after supplying
food-makers, ranchers, ethanol producers and grain exporters,
America will again be able to save 10 percent of this year’s
harvest for the future.
Farmers today grow five times as much corn as they did in
the 1930s — on 20 percent less land. That is still 13 million
acres, or 20,000 square miles, twice the size of Massachusetts.
The yield per acre has skyrocketed from 24 bushels in 1931 to 154 now, or a six-fold gain.
Now it is sad to say that many people in our world today are
uneducated in the facts about farming and ranching in America. It is
not always their fault though, many people have never been exposed to
truths about the agriculture industry, because today the average
consumer is 3 generations removed from the farm. Because of this fact,
most consumers get their thoughts and opinions from public figures,
social media, and television, none of which most of the time are
connected to production agriculture and report the facts.
So
again I say, like I always do, it doesn't matter what your choices and
opinions are when it comes to your food choices, but it does matter that
you are making choices that are based on truth and facts from the
people who produce your food. The ones who work extremely hard to
produce the safest and healthiest food for us as consumers to enjoy. You
as a consumer are not the only ones who eat the food that farmers and
ranchers produce, they eat it as well. So don't you think they would
want to raise safe and healthy food? Farmers and Ranchers eat from the same table as the rest of us.
The average age of the American farmer is 57 years old, and there has been a 20% drop in the number of farmers under the age of 25. (according to USDA) Now many may wonder why this is such a problem so let me put it simply. Farmers feed the world.
Without farmers producing food for us to eat, we won't eat. While I was on my way home last night I heard the song, Last Of A Dying Breed. And I started to think about my grandpa. My grandpa Fred is 94 years old and would still be a full time farmer if his health would allow. But don't get me wrong, at 94 years young he still tends to his garden, mows the yard, checks some irrigation wells, and drives a tractor now and again. He is the definition of life long true American Farmer and for sure, the definition of the last of a dying breed. But then I think about my father. My dad is about the average age of a farmer today. Then I think about my older brothers. They are 25 and 28 years old. They are a all part of a "rare breed" in today's world and I am proud to have true American farmers in my life. But one thing that, well frankly scares the bejeepers out of me is the fact that someday the average age of our farmers might be in the 60s. Which will mean that our total number of farmers is still decreasing. And that is a fact that should scare everyone because we need our farmers and ranches to produce all the products that we use everyday. Our worlds population is projected to double by the year 2050. This means we are going to need to increase our world food production immensely by then and we need as many farmers as we can to reach that goal. So, it is so important that we support our farmers and ranchers because, well without them, we can't survive.
In a water tower town, everybody waves Church doors are the only thing that's open on Sundays Word travels fast, wheels turn slow Yeah workin' hard and livin' right is the only life we know Friday night football is king, sweet tea goes good with anything Fireflies come out when the sun goes down Nobody eats till you say Amen, and everybody knows your mama's name You can see who loves who from miles around, in a water tower town Well your friends a friend, and your words your word And our pick up trucks, they ain't for looks they're made for work Corn grows high, crime stays low There's little towns everywhere where everybody knows Friday night football is king, sweet tea goes good with anything And the girls come out, when the sun goes down Nobody eats till you say Amen, and everybody knows your mom and them You can see who loves who from miles around, in a water tower town Friday night football is king, sweet tea goes good with anything Peace and quiet makes such a beautiful sound Nobody eats till you say Amen, and everybody knows your mom and them You can see who loves who from miles around, in a water tower town
Let me first say... YEAH! for my first Country Music Monday! So for anyone who knows me, they know how much I live and breath for country music. I know pretty much every song from Johnny Cash to Faith Hill to George Strait to my main man, ERIC CHURCH. So let me just say one more time... YEAH! for Country Music Monday!
So a few weeks ago I heard a song on the radio by American Idol winner Scotty Mccreery, Water Tower Town. Now, anyone who lives in a rural area knows exactly what this songs means. But for those of you who don't, let me explain.
Sutton Nebraska, population 1,502 is the prime example of a water tower town. This small rural Nebraska town is home to a large white water tower with its name stamped proudly on the side. In almost all of these, water tower towns, the water tower is the tallest thing around. And residents are proud of that fact.
In small rural towns, we have a different way of life, but it is a life that can not be found anywhere else. When you drive downtown you wave at everyone you see because well, you pretty much know everyone, but even if you don't, you still send a friendly hello. High school sporting events bring every member of the community together. Sundays are saved for church and praising the Lord. Word travels fast, especially in the morning at the downtown bakery. And my favorite part of small town rural America, AGRICULTURE. Agriculture is the driving force behind the economy of a water tower town in Nebraska. The businesses in Sutton include, two banks, insurance agency, realtor, news paper, feed & seed supply, propane & fertilizer dealer, two veterinary clinics, livestock sale barn, and the list goes on. So as you can see, in the little water tower town of Sutton, agriculture is key. And that is definitely how I like it.
So the next time you hear Water Tower Town on the radio, think for a second about the truth and stories behind those lyrics.
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