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 ~

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Always wished you knew more about how all those bales sitting in the fields as you drive by are made? Did FFT member Bruce Figger’spost back in August really spark your interest in the baling process? If so, today’s your lucky day. J Many things can be baled and used as feedstuffs for cattle. I’m just going to go through a quick overview of the general process for those that aren’t very familiar with it.

A swather is used to lay down whatever crop you want to bale. When using a sickle swather like the one shown below, the sickles on the front of the swather header cut the hay at its base and an auger moves everything to the middle of the header where the conditioner is located. The conditioner crimps the stalk of the plant to allow air access for faster drying. This leaves windrows of hay in the field, and the bigger the swather header, the more hay there is in a windrow. The length of time that the windrow lays out to dry before being baled depends on the crop, size of the windrow, and the weather and climate conditions. If the hay is too wet when being baled, mold can grow within it, decreasing the quality. If baled too dry, quality is decreased due to loss of nutrient-rich leaves.



New Holland sickle swather



Swather cutting sorghum Sedan grass

Windrows after swathing in beautiful western Kansas!

Once the hay is dry enough, we are ready to rake and bale! Usually one person operates the rakes with the baler operator not far behind. The rakes speed up the baling process by combining two windrows into one. When baling sorghum sedan grass, as shown above, rakes may be needed to help dry out the windrow by rolling it over a couple days prior to baling.

Rakes in action

The windrow is gathered by a pickup attachment in the front of the baler and the hay is delivered into the baler where a series of belts begin rolling it into a tightly wrapped bale. There is a tensioner roller inside the baler that keeps the belts wrapped securely around the hay to ensure that the bale is packed tight from the beginning of the process to the end.

There is a sensor within the baler that will tell the operator when the bale is at the desired height. At this point, the baler will wrap the bale with either twine or net wrap. After the bale is wrapped, the operator can drop the bale out of the baler onto the field. Net wrap is used more commonly than twine because it is more efficient. This process is continued until all the windrows have been picked up and turned into bales!

This photo isn't mine but wanted you to be able to see a freshly made round bale being dropped out of a baler.
Source: ttp://www.rspb.org.uk/community/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/

Such a pretty sight!

Hope this was as interesting to you guys as it is to me. J

Keep calm and bale on,

Tonia

 

Checking Cows and Summer Rain

Hello, everyone!  My name is Cassie Schmidtberger, and I am a veterinary student at Kansas State University.  I’m from the small town of Victoria in western Kansas where my family runs a cow/calf operation consisting mainly of Red Angus cross cattle.  Now, if you’ve heard anything about western Kansas, you have heard it compared to the desert.  We’ve been in a significant drought for a long time.  However, this summer we were blessed with rain!  A lot of rain!  It was great!  It was also muddy.  As the principal “cow checker” over the summer, I had the job of going around to our multiple pastures and making sure the cows, calves, and bulls were all well and healthy, not to mention in the pasture where they were supposed to be.  With all the rain, there were several roads that got slimy, and some that were just plain impassable.

Lots of rain leads to flooded roads

That meant I got to check cows on a four-wheeler (ATV) for probably half the summer.  This led to a great farmer’s tan, but also some pretty great opportunities to interact with our cattle.  You’ll notice in the picture to the right that I’m on the four-wheeler, and those cows are headed straight for me.   

 

Curious cattle!

They literally ran up to sniff and lick on the four-wheeler.  I’m sure it tasted like mud, but oh well.  It was a great moment for me.  To see our animals happy, with green grass, fresh water, and playing with me really drove home just how much I love what I do and the career I’m going to enter. I want every producer’s animals to be just as happy, healthy and full of life as our cows are.  Now that I’m back in Manhattan and no longer checking cows, I like to think on that day to remind me that my hard work in veterinary school is worth it, and that not all the happy cows are in California J.

Best,

Cassie

Wheat Harvest Report

Here in southwest Kansas, wheat harvest is buzzing. Not only is this a huge time of year for agriculturists, but I see an increase in local economy as business is also good at the grocery, gas station and local restaurants. 

As of June 18th, the Kansas Wheat Commission reported that harvest had begun in nearly all of the southern counties in Kansas. Harvest will begin to creep into the northern counties as the days go by and the crop becomes ready.

This is a combine with a wheat header on it. The wheat header is the attachment that protrudes from the front of the machine that allows a combine to harvest different crops for farmers. This combine is cutting wheat while also dumping grain through an auger into a grain cart that is being pulled by a tractor. Photo courtesy of Kansas Ag Network

Due to statewide rainfall, harvest came to a halt on June 24th for a short break, but on my way to work this morning I saw some headers down ready to cut!

In 2013, Kansas farmers planted 9,500,000 acres of wheat. An acre is equal to 43,560 square feet, or in a little different terms it is equal to about 1.3 times an American football field! The state of Kansas is the largest wheat producer in the US, that's why we are often called America's Breadbasket! About half of the wheat that is grown in the US is used domestically.

We have a few more posts about wheat harvest that you might enjoy: Story of Wheat, Amber Waves of Grain, Wheat Harvest in Kansas.

Stay up to date on harvest through Twitter by following #wheatharvest14

Do you have any questions about wheat harvest? We would be happy to answer them!

Upson Lecture Series: Lee Borck and Entrepreneurship

 

Food For Thought is excited to announce our next speaker in the Upson Lecture Series!

 

Mr. Lee Borck, Kansas business owner and former president of the Kansas Livestock Association, will be speaking about the importance of building strong relationships and maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit on K-State campus next Monday.

 

Borck's message relates to a wide demographic - students, faculty and community members alike will benefit from his advice and experience.

 

If you are in the Manhattan area, please join Food For Thought at the K-State Vet School in Frick Auditorium on April 28 at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public so we hope to see you there!

 



 

 

ULS Secretary Rodman - Success!

Well, Secretary Rodman spoke about Kansas Agriculture in the year 2025 on Monday night and we are thrilled with the turnout - almost 250 people showed up to learn more about our state's most important industry. Thanks to all who attended and we hope you gained a better perspective of Kansas' role in global agriculture.

As previously announced, the hashtag #ULSRodman was the handle to follow and there were some great tweets by the audience. We've also included some pictures from the evening.

A great turnout for our guest, Secretary Rodman

Secertary Rodman addressed many important issues including water conservation, population and food interactions, future opportunities for young people in agriculture and the desire and capability for Kansas agriculture to expand and meet global food demand.

Thanks again for all who attended - we appreciate your support of agriculture, Food For Thought and bridging the gap!

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Upson Lecture with Secretary Dale Rodman Tonight!

Tonight is the night!

 

Tonight we welcome Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman to Kansas State University. Secretary Rodman will be speaking on the topic of Kansas Agriculture in 2025 in the Main Ballroom in the Student Union at 7 pm. Many factors affecting agriculture and food production will be discussed and Rodman will answer questions following the lecture.

 

If you are unable to make the lecture, be sure to follow along using the #ULSRodman hashtag on Twitter. Updates will also be posted to Facebook and you can also follow the @fftgroup Twitter handle.

 

We are looking forward to an informative lecture that will shed light on the challenges that lie ahead for Kansas agriculture. Don't miss out!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



New Member Alert - Lacey Robinson

We have some fresh faces around Food For Thought these days - we held a membership drive in August and September and have some great new minds who are excited about agriculture among our ranks! Periodically, you'll see their bios here so that you can get to know them. This post is about new member Lacey Robinson, a student at the College of Veterinary Medicine here at K-State.

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I am currently a first-year student at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine with aspirations of someday serving rural Kansas as a food animal veterinarian. For the past year I have lived on a farm near Olsburg, Kansas where we raise Angus cattle, grain and hay.

My passion has always been rooted in all aspects of production animal agriculture and the well-being of those animals which we rely on for survival and enjoyment. For generations my family has been devoted to livestock production (beef cattle, hogs, sheep, horses) and the way of life it represents.

Food For Thought is a great way to bridge the gap in communication between interested consumers and livestock producers like myself. We are proud of the tasty, wholesome food we bring to your table and enjoy sharing the miraculous story of how it gets there! This blog is a welcome opportunity to take part in dialog regarding current issues in agriculture and the future of our food supply. I look forward to contributing to this worthy cause and hearing what’s on your mind.

Fall Upson Lecture Series Speaker

Finally!

Food For Thought is thrilled to announce that our Fall Upson Lecture Series speaker will be Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman!

The lecture will take place in the K-State Student Union Main Ballroom at 7 pm on November 5 - put it on your calendar!

Secretary Rodman will address pertinent issues surrounding the recent drought and how it has affected food production and the agriculture industry’s challenge of feeding the world. Furthermore, the impending increase in the cost of food, which affects families from all demographics, will be discussed at length. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a question and answer session.

We're very excited about this lecture - it promises to be a very informative evening that will highlight some very critical issues in the agriculture industry! 

Tell your friends and be sure to follow our Facebook page and twitter feed (@fftgroup) for updates and information. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section, tweet or Facebook us and we'll get back to you!

New Member Alert - Alex Moran

We have some fresh faces around Food For Thought these days - we held a membership drive in August and September and have some great new minds who are excited about agriculture among our ranks! Periodically, you'll see their bios here so that you can get to know them. This post is about new member Alex Moran, a first year student at the College of Veterinary Medicine here at K-State.

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Hi guys! My name is Alex Moran and I’m a first year veterinary medical student here at Kansas State University.  I’m originally from Hays, Kansas and have spent the past three years as an undergrad at K-State studying animal science.  After I’m done with what seems like a ridiculous about of schooling, I want to own a mixed animal practice in Kansas (even though cats and dogs are my true loves).  The past few years, I’ve been very involved with my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and working for K-State’s New Student Services.  Other than that I really love spending time with the people I love, country music, a good book, rain, Kansas, and most importantly my cat, Bear.  I do not have an extensive agriculture background, other than growing up in Western Kansas and a farming brother-in-law.  I do, however, know just how vital agriculture is to each and every person in the world.   I am excited to grow in my knowledge this year in Food for Thought and I look forward to sharing that experience with all of you throughout the year :)