How Do Farmers Use Water?

When you think of water, what do you think of? Maybe you think of a refreshing drink on a hot day. Maybe you think of irrigating your lawn. Maybe you think of a farmer irrigating their crops. One thing that is certain is that water is an important resource that needs to be preserved.

So you may be wondering to yourself just where the water goes that is used by so many people world-wide. According to the United Nations, food production uses approximately 70% of the world's fresh water supply while 20% is for industry use and the other for 10% domestic use. With water being a hot-button issue these days to both consumers and agricultural producers, I wanted to take this time to explain some ways that producers are efficiently using water to combat climate change and a growing population.

Drip irrigation allows a producer to place water at the top of the soil or on the roots of a plant. The irrigation system accomplishes this by setting up a network of tubing, valves and emitters that manage how much water is dispersed to plants. This minimizes water runoff and increases efficiency to help producers better allocate their use of water. Traditional systems are operated by gravity, but some systems have become solar powered.

Drought tolerant seeds enable farmers to grow crops in areas that may have a very limited water supply. This has been achieved through the identification of a gene in a specific crop's genome being mapped out over time. As more of the genes are being identified among various crops, the potential for increases in yields and decreases in resource use such as water bring monumental economic and environmental benefits to producers.

Rotational grazing systems make it possible for livestock producers to alternate the grazing ranges for their animals. This practice allows the ground and soil to recover from the animal hooves breaking up the soil. Through this system, organic matter is returned back into the soil while also reducing water runoff. With organic matter being returned to the soil there is increased water holding capacity for crop production if the producer chooses to return that ground to crop production in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about these techniques, or others, I strongly encourage you to check out this link that discusses water conservation efforts in farming and gardening.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, send them my way. I would love to hear them!

Signing off,
Wyatt Pracht

Upson Lecture Series - Charlie Arnot and Big Food Recording on YouTube

If you weren't able to attend Charlie Arnot's recent Upson Lecture Series that addressed why people love to hate "Big Food," your fretting can end - the lecture is now available to view on the Food For Thought YouTube page!

Or, if you are click-averse, you can view the lecture below!

We would love to hear your thoughts about Charlie's presentation - so please leave them below!

Not the Farmer's Daughter

Riding my horse Daisy

Hello to all you FFT readers! My name is Cheyanne Evans and I’m new to the Food For Thought scene. I am currently a sophomore at K-State in Animal Science & Industry with a focus in production management. However, my true passion is with the swine industry. By now I’m sure most of you caught that I didn’t grow up farming by the title of the post. I grew up in a very small town about an hour north of Manhattan. I didn’t have farm animals to and take care of growing up, but what I did have was a passion for animals and a love for the earth. Then when I was a freshman in high school my family bought two horses and a farm and that when everything changed for me. I got involved with 4-H (showing horses)  and FFA and started helping with the local farmers around me to experience what it was like to be a farmer. Some people think you have to be raised to be a farmer or that you have to till dirt and plant seeds or maybe we all have cows but that’s not completely true. I hope I help show you that anyone can get involved and can be a farmer if they want to.



Holding a grower hog

Growing up I had dogs and cats which I loved, but I always wanted horses, cows, and every other farm animal you can name. Living in town, it wasn’t easy to have all these animals.  We also had a large garden that we would grow different kinds of vegetables that we would eat or can all summer long. This was not enough for me though, so I begged and pleaded with my parents to buy a horse, but they did the next best thing. They bought a small farm house on a little two acre patch and two ponies for me. I was in seventh heaven. Later we expanded our farm, we got chickens, ducks and pygmy goats. This is when all the real chores of having a farm kicked in I had to get up early every morning and go out and feed all of these animals before I ate breakfast and sometimes before the sun had come up along with getting ready for school. We may not have had cows or even crops to worry about but taking care of any kind of animal is time consuming. Fast forwarding to the bigger step toward becoming the farmer I always wanted to be, after high school I started dating a hog farmer’s son and this was a huge change from the farm I lived on with my family.

Feeding the pigs marshmallows

Hog farming is messy and sometimes smelly work, but it is so rewarding in its own ways. For me, the reward was watching piglets that were coming from the nursery to the finishing building and watching them grow and become adult pigs. I will tell you being a hog farmer isn’t an easy job. You work very hard to keep your stock healthy and growing like they should, and then you send them to be harvested to feed people around the country. It seems like you work so hard for nothing, but when you look at the bigger picture you realize it is something . You just helped feed a family or kids at school. That’s something, you helped a bigger cause! This is where I found my calling, I could raise animals that I loved to help people not go hungry. Many people think farmers look at their livestock as something to make a profit and that they don’t care otherwise, but it’s deeper than that. They love these animals and it’s a way of life but it’s never easy when you have an animal that is sick or injured. On the lighter side if you think you want to work with agriculture in anyway go for it. Find a local farmer that’s willing to let you spend a couple days on the farm see what they do, how they do it and why do it. Be ready to put your hand in the dirt and get dirty because it’s and experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Thanks for reading!
Cheyenne

National Ag Day 2015: What Does Agriculture Mean to You?

A spring wheat field in Kansas.

Happy National Agriculture Day! Here's a quick question for your Wednesday coffee break:

When you think of agriculture, what comes to mind?

Do you think of a pasture full of cows? A waving wheat field? Apple orchards? I tend to think of a rolling wheat field, because I hail from the Wheat State. However, do the people of agriculture ever cross your mind?

What's cuter than a baby pig?

I hope that you think of people when you think of agriculture, because the people who produce the food we eat are very important. That doesn't mean they are more important than doctors, teachers or firefighters but they still do play a vital role in our society. In fact, many agriculture producers are also teachers, firefighters, lawyers or students. All of these different people may help produce food in a unique way. A teacher may help his/her family raise cattle after the last bell rings. Similarly, many farmers or ranchers volunteer in their communities as firefighters, school board members or community leaders.

Agriculture is not a cookie cutter industry.

It's a complex chain of producers, consumers, retailers, agribusinesses, families and friends all working together to produce food for a growing world. Working with communities to provide good food that leads to healthy lifestyles. Working in conjunction with public health leaders, educators, public policy officials and many others to move forward with feeding the world. See a pattern? We are a nation working together, hand-in-hand, to feed the world. Pretty daunting task.

Today, on National Ag Day, I challenge you to think about agriculture and how you fit into our U.S. food chain. Do you make informed food decisions? Do you help produce food? Do you market, sell, distribute, promote or eat food? If so, you have an important role and should celebrate National Agriculture Day as a food enthusiast and agriculture impressionist.

Just some Food For Thought!
~ Buzzard ~