By Amelia Kent I’ve been fortunate over the past month to travel on two very different trips, both of which provided insight to policy challenges and useful management practices I can use on our farm and in my advocacy efforts.
The first adventure was ten days in Europe with the Partners in Advocacy Leadership (PAL) program through the American Farm Bureau Federation. For my nine classmates and me, the majority of our time was devoted to an intensive case-study of Brexit, potential effects on agricultural trade, and the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity the United Kingdom has to create new farm policy from scratch. We started our meetings at the new, beautiful U.S. Embassy in London, where we met with U.S.Department of Agriculture staff members in efforts of learning more background of the Brexit referendum and the events leading up to that fateful vote in 2016. We went on to visit with the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which is similar to our USDA, and learned about its bureaucratic and policy development challenges. After a broad introduction to the bureaucratic dynamics at play, we traveled to Warwickshire and met with staff members of the National Farmers Union, which is an organization structured very similarly to the American Farm Bureau Federation. While in the country, we visited a vertically-integrated family farm, on which two generations of family members work alongside each other raising crops, caring for the cattle, grinding and bagging canola straw to sell as bedding, and manufacturing farm implements. The sheer creativity and innovation this family employs to remain a viable farming business is inspiring, to say the least! We also visited a produce processing plant where, in spite of still-dormant crops across Europe, they were packaging onions and radishes sourced from their company farms in Africa. We then traveled to Brussels, Belgium where we received briefings from policy-makers, lobbyists and researchers working within the European Union, and heard a much more critical and skeptical account of the Brexit efforts. One of the policy-makers we visited is the Irish Minister of Agriculture. Given that Ireland is already 102% self-sufficient, one of their main concerns with potential Brexit ramifications is that they become 116% self-sufficient, and in turn have to find a new market for more than 230,000 tons of agricultural products that are currently exported to the U.K.. While in Belgium, we were fortunate to visit with Bayer researchers and tour one of its Bayer ForwardFarms on which farmers and staff members work together to implement sustainable management practices and technologies to stay ahead of Europe’s ever-tightening regulations. While my trip to Europe focused primarily on policy development, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Livestock Advisory Committee’s Beef Tour to Oklahoma was a great opportunity for the nearly 50 participants, including my husband and me, to study management. One of the more notable tours was of the Noble Research Institute where the staff performs research geared toward making farmers and ranchers more profitable, while focusing on soil and herd health. The work we saw at Noble was similar to work being done on the Bayer FowardFarm in Belgium. However, rather than being driven by increased social skepticism and ever-increasing regulations, the Noble Research Insitute’s work focused on continuing innovation. One of those innovations we learned about was the Integrity Beef Program. Noble works with a group of farmers and ranchers across multiple states with similar production techniques to collaborate for enhanced marketing abilities through verified sales and pooling resources on load lots. While on the trip, we also visited Oklahoma Steel and Wire, Express Ranches, Pfeiffer Angus Ranch, and the Pjesky stocker operation. Ryan and Hope Pjesky provided vast insight for both my husband and me, relative to our own stocker cattle and my advocacy efforts. Hope was a member of PAL Class 3. I am currently a member of PAL Class 9, so we had lots to discuss. Ryan focuses on mitigating the risk of the cattle market through continued buying and selling of yearling cattle throughout the year. That philosophy of risk management is an approach we’re working to implement on our own farm. Oklahoma Steel and Wire is a storybook tale of family determination and creation. It's a third generation family business. There are employees working there today who started with the business when it started in 1978. Because turning scrap iron into wire and wire panels is such a specialized task, those employees had to create some of the machines they still use today. We also took quick tours of Oklahoma State University’s Purebred Research Farm, Feedlot Research Station and Range Cow Research Station. All were inspiring to the younger generation of cattlemen on the trip interested in careers in the beef industry at a time in which it’s difficult for those under 35 to find their path within agriculture. We did include some fun stops on this tour, including the Oklahoma City National Stockyards, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the Fort Worth Stockyards. In a time in which farmers must be innovative to continue to be viable, trips like the recent Beef Tour to Oklahoma are great resources for those striving to improve management. In a similar political environment where agrarians represent less than 2% of the democratic vote, our experience learning about Brexit, and the resulting policy and trade concerns, is proving to be insightful and helpful to our group as we develop our advocacy skills. Trips like these can give you ideas so you can make changes on and off the farm. So, if you have the opportunity to travel and learn, take it. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la.
0 Comments
By Amelia Kent Trade is a hot topic in the news today, and a high priority for America’s farmers and ranchers. Not convinced global trade has a real effect at the farm level? Let’s look at some ways I know trade directly impacts my farm. Thanks in part to projects funded by the Beef Checkoff, the value added to the beef industry by exports in 2017 alone was more than $286 per carcass/animal. I know this helps my husband and me on our farm as that increases the market value on the beef cattle we raise. Think about all the parts of an animal we Americans don’t use, but other cultures feast upon – that’s incredible added value!
Of that $286 per animal, 27 percent of that value is marketed to our fellow NAFTA countries, Mexico and Canada—totaling $1.6 billion in 2016 alone. In fact, Mexico is our second largest beef export destination and Canada our fourth largest. In other words, exports to Mexico account for 3 percent of all U.S. beef production. Can you imagine one country alone consuming that much of our farm-raised products? Since NAFTA went into effect in 1994, agricultural exports from the United States to our NAFTA partners increased from $8.9 billion in 1993 to $39 billion in 2017. Yet, given the unknowns surrounding renegotiating NAFTA, our export customers may look elsewhere for ag products—and some already have. In 2017 Mexico sourced 45 percent more beef from Nicaragua and 9 percent more beef from Canada than in the previous year. In a time of expansion in the beef industry with all of agriculture being more efficient and productive than ever, these export markets are a crucial outlet for our crops and goods. Expanding our markets beyond our borders has been critical to the survivability of the American farm. We have increased our customer base while also keeping American-grown products affordable for consumers here at home. Recently, I heard Dan Halstrom of the U.S. Meat Export Federation state: “How dark the ages can be if you don’t have trade.” That quote struck me as I ponder the potential of NAFTA renegotiations. I appreciate that some modernizing and updating is needed – how often do we have to update our operating systems, apps and software? However, in these discussions, we must protect the gains achieved in agricultural trade and work to remove the remaining barriers to trade with Canada and Mexico. Let’s look again at whether global trade affects your farm or ranch or community. Economics, in its simplest form is supply and demand. Global trade increases demand for beef, which raises the price. What do we feed our cattle? Corn and soybeans from other farms. Increased demand for beef means increased demand for feed, which increases the prices of those commodities. You can’t deny the data. Global trade increases demand for U.S. agricultural products, which affects the farmer’s bottom line, keeping that farm and others like it in business. But the ripple effect doesn’t stop there—as American farms thrive, we secure our nation’s food supply, support millions of jobs, and help boost the nation’s economy. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la. By Howard J. Cormier, LSU AgCenter Southwest Regional Equine Agent A round pen is considered by many to be essential equipment for all horse trainers. Most people who buy their first horse hope to get a round pen as part of the package to advance their horsemanship skills. A round pen is valuable because, when used properly, it helps the horse accept the training someone will provide in a safe, enclosed environment. It is a good place to warm up a horse, especially one that has not been ridden for some time. Presumably, after the horse learns to accept the training administered by the human, it will lose its fear and become more compliant and willing to be trained. Presumably.
Before you go out and purchase a round pen, there are several things to think about to get the most benefit from this common piece of equipment. Of course you need to be aware of cost, but that’s a variable each owner will have to deal with. Too low a panel will encourage a horse to jump over, and too high will increase the cost. Let’s consider size, location, footing and upkeep. The round pen, usually made of about 12-foot-long corral panels that pin together, is normally about 50 feet in diameter. Why 50 feet? This allows the horse to lope in a circle without undue strain on its legs. It is also small enough for the trainer to stand in the middle and direct the horse’s gait and direction. Too big a pen will quickly wear out the human who has to run across it to reach the horse with his encouragement tools to make it go faster, or change direction. There is no owner’s manual that comes with the round pen. Just as it takes years to become a horseman, or at least a good rider, it takes a lot of study and work to use a round pen properly. We will not get into that topic in this brief article, but I would like to help you think about more than the initial purchase. If you recall that old formula you thought you’d never need to use, diameter times π, or Pi (3.1416) = circumference, you can figure how many panels you need for a 50-foot round pen. Fifty times 3.1416 equals 157 feet. Add a 6-foot bow gate, and you get a 163-foot circumference. Have I lost you? This will equal a 51.9-foot diameter, which is close enough to fifty. You’ll have to adjust this to fit the length of the panels you purchase. Don’t go for precision. You can’t cut off a piece of a panel to make the size perfect. Think ballpark figure, and you’ll be fine. The next consideration is the location. We see lots of round pens in the middle of a pasture, away from the barn. Assuming that you will use your round pen, try not to put it far from the barn, where you will have halters, ropes, bridles, saddles and other tack stored. Also, what is the elevation? Will the area drain after a rain? If the pen stays under water, you won’t be able to get much quality training done in it. With most of our state being flat, you can’t easily find a hill next to your barn, but you might be able to haul a few loads of dirt to help drainage. You need to also consider that as the horse goes around the circle, he will throw dirt towards the outside. If you put belting or boards on the panels to keep the sand in, this turns your pen into a bowl that will hold water. If you have to use a shovel to cut through this levee so it will drain after every big rain, you’ll find that you will develop a low spot where the water carries dirt and sand away. If you’re on somewhat of a hill, even one you made, you can sink a 2-inch plastic pipe near the center, go down a few inches, then attach an elbow to a horizontal length that carries the water away from the pen. You must have some elevation difference to do this, but it works well. A good soil/sand mix will still require regular working with some type of disk or harrow. Once the soil builds up against your boards, the panels will be hard to unhook to get a tractor in, so a four-wheeler or ATV that is strong enough to drag a tool, but fits through a six foot gate, is a good idea. Another aspect of good footing is to manage grass. Be prepared to spray with a herbicide to kill the grass a couple of times a year. Upkeep of a useable round pen will be important to be able to get the most out of it. With good quality corral panels, you won’t need to repaint regularly, but you might need to treat rust that develops to prevent corrosion, especially near ground level. Working a horse on hard ground can lead to injuries that take a long time to heal, such as splints or tendon strains, so let’s consider the footing. Regular dirt doesn’t offer much cushion and gets soggy if it stays wet. Too much sand will tire a horse and increase the incidence of strains and sprains. There needs to be a balance. If you just dump a load of sand on the ground, the horse will likely slip and fall because the sand is slippery on the dirt, so you need to mix it well before you begin actively working a horse. A sand/soil mix takes time to cure, or mix well. A tiller can be helpful for this. Avoid regular use of a disk plow because that will allow the sand to settle deeper into the soil profile. Till lightly, and once you have the mixture right, disturb it as little as possible to keep it loose. I hope this gives you some helpful tips to get the most use out of this horse training tool. By Amelia Kent My 2018 has started out with a whirlwind of a month! In the beginning of January, my husband and I had the honor of representing the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation in the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award Contest at the American Farm Bureau Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Most recently, I attended the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Checkoff meetings.
Leading up to the AFBF convention we worked and reworked our application and upon the deadline felt good about our submission. At that point, we were confident we didn’t leave anything on the table, and hoped to make the Top 10 Finalists. A day after arriving to the convention, we learned we did in fact make the Top 10 and interviewed the following afternoon. Walking out of our interview, we had a similar confidence that we didn’t leave anything out, we both were calm and collected during our conversation with the judges and hoped to possibly make the Top 4. While the judges made their decision later that day, the winners were not announced until the next day during closing session. In that time frame, I also sat on two panel discussions. In the meantime, we both felt the same confidence – if we receive an award that’s great; but if we don’t, we don’t feel like we left anything out or should’ve done something differently. The closing session finally got underway in our fourth day at the convention. Only in those last few minutes did my nerves start. Shortly into the program, it was time for the Achievement Award Top 10 to take the stage. The announcements started with the National 4th Place, 3rd, and so on. When the National Winners were revealed as our names were called, we could barely believe what we heard! Truthfully, I think we’re both still in some degree of disbelief. Never in a million years would we have ever envisioned winning! But how did we get here? We are a typical farming couple, just like many of our neighbors and peers across the country. The first step is involvement. I know, we’re all busy and it’s so hard to get away from the farm because the work never ends. Taking that first step may indeed be the most difficult, but there are benefits. The contest application is a prime example – it takes time and may not be easy to complete, but part of the inherent benefit is more deeply examining your management and goals on your farm. Another example regarding the advantage of involvement comes to mind while I attended the Cattle Industry Convention a few weeks ago. Prior to leaving, a friend asked me about a specific policy issue housed within the GIPSA rules. I’d only briefly heard of it, but replied I’d keep my ears open. Sure enough, that exact topic came up in a meeting, and I was able to follow the policy discussion of the national producer group at this convention. Although that convention has concluded, our conversations and efforts on this issue continue. Whether the benefit is profoundly analyzing your own farm management, the generous prizes associated with contests, or following policy issues that directly affect your livelihood, these benefits are worth that first leap – that first, biggest step to take time away from your farm to show up. Have you heard the saying, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu?” While we’re busy on our farms, the world keeps spinning and new policies are made every day. And fewer and fewer people understand what we do as the population steadily grows and the farming population steadily decreases. I share these thoughts with you because you can do the same. These things can happen to you, but only if you get involved. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la. By Howard J. Cormier, LSU AgCenter Southwest Regional Equine Agent I have been thinking about a few things I would share about horse trailers and wondering if I will have enough information. As I get into it, I don’t know if I can get it all said in one article!
If you have a horse, you will need to have a trailer. Even though you plan to just ride Ole Paint around the pasture, eventually you’ll need to take it to the vet after an injury, or go ride with friends, or just teach it to load. There are many different kinds of horse trailers in all price ranges. Most folks start with a simple design, like a two-horse straight load bumper pull. Nothing wrong with that, but be aware of a few concerns. It is harder to teach a horse to load in a straight load with double doors and a center post than it is for a wider opening. Also, the center post can catch and pull off a stirrup if the horse backs out too quickly. Yes, they are more economical, but there can be problems with rust if the trailer sleeps outside most of the time. If you can keep it in a shed, that will greatly reduce the rust threat, but not everyone can start with a shed and the cost of the trailer. Even small trailers need electric brakes. And don’t neglect to check the tires. Do they have good tread left? Are they dry rotted? Does the trailer have a spare? Does a jack and lug wrench come with the deal? The larger you go, the more stopping power you will need. You will also need a brake controller unit inside the pulling vehicle. A slant load trailer with wider doors is a better idea for most people. Aluminum is great, but a metal trailer made of galvaneal steel will be very rust resistant. Some people think aluminum is lighter, but this has not always been proven true, depending on which trailer is tested. A tack room is wonderful to store saddles, bridles, pitchfork, feed, water, trailer jack, etc. When you’re on the road, or in a campground, you can add a porta potty for convenience and comfort, if bathrooms are not available. If you can afford it, you will not regret your decision. As you get bigger, you will want to consider a gooseneck design. There again, cost goes up, but so does safety. A gooseneck hitch, such as the popular B and W brand bolted into the bed of a truck, can add $750 or more to the cost of pulling a gooseneck trailer. Most dealers do not honor the warranty on a truck if it has been welded on, hence the need for aftermarket bolt on hitches. There is no limit to what you can add to your horse trailer, especially once you decide on living quarters. With living quarters, it is more important that there are no leaks in the roof. That can stain or rot things inside the living quarters. You’ll need a generator for basic lighting, sleeping spots on a mat or sofa or in the gooseneck, and a way to store water, in case you camp where there are no hookups. You can add A/C, heat, lights, a counter top space to put things, a microwave, a small heater, closets or storage spaces, a small vanity (to treat eye injuries or other trail mishaps), and the list goes on. If it’s a heavy three or four horse trailer, you might opt for an electric jack, especially if you are the fairer sex whose beauty exceeds your physical strength. You can add an awning, sound system, flush toilet, shower, propane tanks, and hot water heater. Depending on the width, you can get a trailer with mangers and storage space under the horses’ neck area. A lockable tack compartment is a great idea, too. All of these conveniences will add to the cost of the trailer, exceeding $125,000 for top of the line models. You can find used trailers for a small fraction of that, but do your homework. Check the trailer out completely so you aren’t surprised when you get it home. Get someone with experience to ask the right questions. Get the seller to show you how each option works. There might be issues that they have failed to correct that you will have to spend money on to fix. At least you will know about these issues, and how much extra it will cost you to correct them after you buy the trailer. Rarely is there any warranty given on a used trailer. The seller wants to make a sale, so it becomes your responsibility to check everything out. Crawl under the trailer. Any signs of water damage? Do the water holding tanks leak? Each tank can cost over $1,000 to replace, and if your waste water leaks in a campground, or a national forest, that might lead to fines or expulsion. My best advice is to bring along a trusted friend who has experience with trailers. They will know what questions to ask, and whether the problems will be minor, or major. The simpler the trailer, the less problems you will usually encounter. The more creature comforts, the greater will be the maintenance and repair costs, especially if you are not handy at fixing things. Safe and carefree horse hauling is the goal, but the reality is that you have an ongoing responsibility to maintain this vital piece of equipment. By Howard J. Cormier, Regional Equine AgentLSU AgCenter What would you have done differently had you known we were in for one of the worst winter weather events in decades? How can we prepare for the next cold weather event? First of all, your horses need protection from the elements during inclement weather. Horses can get by if they are warm and dry, but cold and wet conditions result in shivering, stress and greater susceptibility to disease. The jury is still out on whether blanketing is the final answer. Some say that heavy blankets result in the hair coat being mashed down, with the resultant loss of warm air trapped in the hair coat. Horses that are conditioned to being outside will have heavier, thicker hair coats. If a horse has been kept in a stall, blanketing might be necessary, but the majority of horses kept outside will fare pretty well if left to the conditions they typically live under. The exception is rain and cold. No matter how thick the hair coat, they cannot be comfortable if they get wet. That means you must have some type of shed for them to get out of the weather. Consider that lead mare that drives other horses out into the cold. You might need to stall her separately from other horses. Shed improvements don’t have to be fancy, but they must protect horses from cold, rain and a north wind.
If you plan to make any barn improvements, give some thought to how you will provide adequate space for the number of horses you have. If horses are stalled, can you clean them out daily? Also, give some thought to how you can drain water pipes before they freeze and burst. Put in a low faucet that will allow good drainage of water in the system. A water hose leading away from a faucet to a lower elevation can also siphon water out of the lines to reduce freezing, but you must have an opening on the high side to allow air in as the water drains out. What about access to drinking water? With several days of subfreezing weather, horses sometimes will drink much less. Eating dry pastures, or dry hay, can lead to colic and impaction problems. Ponds can provide water, but horses that aren’t accustomed to drinking from ponds or ditches will not do so until they get very thirsty. They also might not know how to break even thin sheets of ice in water troughs. So, keep that in mind. Nutrition is important in cold weather. Ryegrass provides good nutrition, but if temperatures are subfreezing, horse’s hooves will do much damage to a stand, especially if the ground is wet. Some varieties, such as Prine and Nelson, have better cold tolerance than older varieties like Gulf because they were developed with colder climates in mind. It is not uncommon for entire stands of ryegrass to be killed by freezing temperatures, so variety selection is important. Good hay is critical to keep the gut functioning normally, especially if access to grass is limited. Avoid making big changes to the diet of horses when short periods of cold weather are imminent. Corn can provide extra calories, but most experts agree that good hay is the most important feedstuff for a balanced diet that is also safe. Grain overload can lead to problems that will linger long after the cold weather has subsided. What about those on an exercise or training regime? How can they maintain their productivity? Most would agree that riding or training in subfreezing temperatures with a strong north wind and a chill factor in the teens does little to make the horse better. Yes, you can say that you rode, but toward what end? It might be better to wait until the weather conditions, and the frame of mind of the horse, is more favorable for what you want to accomplish. By Amelia Kent Everything has a season, so they say…. The holiday season is here; the season of giving. On our farm, it’s also calving season. Have I told you how much I love calving season?! As much as I adore calving, the most routine chore this time of year is a direct result of hay season earlier in the year, as we feed hay when our cows are not grazing ryegrass.
While I was putting hay out last week, my phone dinged the familiar sound notifying me of a Facebook message – for those unfamiliar, think of texting through Facebook. The message was from a friend I’ve known since elementary school, who is now a junior high school teacher. Her message read as follows: “I just had a social studies teacher come to me and ask me if I knew anyone with cattle! Her students didn’t know the difference between a cow and a bull, much less have ever touched one. Do you or do you know anyone that would be able to bring a calf to the school?” Here I am, on a tractor about 20 miles from the school in question, looking at a pasture full of cows and calves – with cell service to boot! I think about the message, and after dropping a pair of bales, with plenty left to go, I hopped off the tractor and posted a live video to our farm’s Facebook page addressing the difference between a bull and a cow. I even messaged the video’s link to my friend, all while still putting out hay. Meanwhile, I’m also visiting with a neighbor who can potentially take a halter-broke heifer to the school. My day carried on, putting more hay out to more cows. Between classes, my friend messaged me back saying that she and her colleague loved the video, and asked if I’d be willing to Skype (video conference) into the classroom to visit with the students about our farm. Wow, that’s such a great request – of course, I’d love to! The opportunity to provide a full classroom with a glimpse of agriculture in our area is one I don’t take lightly, and will not miss. As I think about this experience, relative to the fast-approaching holidays and all of the other seasons, I am reminded this is the season of giving. Two of our most valued goods are our time and our future generation. As we reflect on our spirit of giving, I encourage you to take some of your time to share your agricultural experiences with children and young adults, as well. Think about it. If we each visited with students in our area, the distance between the 98% of our society and us wouldn’t be nearly as wide. As for me, I’m as excited for my classroom visit as I am for our bouncing baby calves and grazing ryegrass. As this year winds down, and 2018 quickly rolls in, I encourage you to invest some of your time in our future. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la. By Amelia Kent In a conversation with a good friend, he used a description I hadn’t heard before: “... running from can ‘til can’t.” Initially I didn’t hear what he said, but on the second saying it made perfect sense. It is so applicable to my life presently, and likely yours, as well.
Our wet, rainy summer hindered much of our hay production, and any other weather-sensitive chores. When the pattern finally changed, we were at least ten weeks behind our approximate schedule. That time frame also coincided with when we plant most of our ryegrass. The result? Let’s cram ten weeks’ worth of hay and planting over 500 acres of ryegrass into about four weeks! We’ve diligently been working non-stop for two months, and our hay is baled and grass is planted. I know what I’m describing is nothing new to you, nor us. We are all dependent upon Mother Nature as one of the major influencers on our livelihoods – that’s been the case throughout history, and likely won’t change. But lately, it seems most of the people I’ve talked to share a common theme: frustrated and fatigued. I am exhausted, and have recently been at my wit’s end more that I’d like to admit. Whereas I’m usually incredibly optimistic, I’ve found it hard to stay remotely positive. My fog of exhaustion has multiplied the regular weight of our routine responsibilities, to the point that overwhelmed has become a standard. Now that we’ve checked the biggest hurdles off our list and are moving onto the endless list of smaller chores, I’m beginning to see the light at the end of our crunch-time tunnel. Plus, it’s now calving season, which is one of my favorite times of our production cycle. Another friend and I observed that a certain neighbor is always boisterous and jubilant, regardless of how busy, overwhelmed and scattered he is. This friend and I seem to have been stuck in the same rut the past few months, and in a half-joking and mostly-serious manner, we mutually wish we could maintain that same chipper spirit that outwardly appears to be a constant for our neighbor. From this conversation stemmed another saying: “just keep eating the elephant, one bite at a time.” We all face busy times of production cycles, sometimes battle with the weather, and have to fight our way through exhaustion because time is of the essence. This is the language we speak and the blood that courses through our veins. In challenging times such as my past few months, we persevere even when we don’t think we are – I promise! My words here serve as a reminder, mostly to myself. But maybe these thoughts will resonate with you too. By Amelia Kent What if there were no more farmers and ranchers? What would that look like, and how would that outcome affect the rest of our country? Those might sound like light, theory-type questions to most of us. But within our agricultural community, those thoughts are staggering and carry an incredibly heavy weight.
Farms and ranches are the lifeline for rural communities. In many places, agriculture is the only local industry. Additionally, farm inputs and services are often sourced by other companies within our small towns. In turn, farms and ranches carry a strong, positive impact on our local economies. In a time of intense dialogue about how farmers market their crops, I would argue all farms and ranches are local, regardless of how or where their crops are sold. Those same farmers and ranchers supply our food available through grocery stores and restaurants, whether locally, regionally or nationally sourced or through distribution suppliers. We consume domestically-produced food that is the safest in the world. Both at the farm level, as well as through protocols and testing throughout the supply chain, farmers, ranchers, distributors, grocers and restauranteurs strive to produce and serve safe food. Should American farmers and ranchers no longer produce the products we do, our food would be sourced internationally, and would likely not be subject to as rigorous safety protocols. We know the statistic that agriculturalists are less than 2% of our U.S. population. Of that 2%, how many of us actually do advocacy work? What does advocacy look like? You might be surprised at things you’re already doing that are considered advocacy. Do you serve on local and industry boards? Do you post pictures and stories from your farm on social media? Those are great, easy advocacy tools which help spread the good word of our farm stories. Who is your tribe? Do you have non-ag friends, or visit with other parents during ball games and practices? Those visits are great opportunities to advocate, as well, in a simple, informal manner. Earlier this month, I spent several days in Washington, D.C. in an intensive advocacy training focusing on communicating our issues to our policy makers. Ten farmers and ranchers from all over the country, myself included, participated in a rigorous agenda which included roleplaying testimony before the House Ag Committee, meetings with congressmen, a press conference, and television interviews. The mission of this advocacy training is to push us, farmers and ranchers who are already advocates, to a higher degree with this module focusing on policy. Relationships with our policy makers and their staffs are incredibly important. While this is outside of the comfort zone for many of us, our policy makers need to know how their decisions affect our livelihoods. Given the demographics of our society, advocating for agriculture is crucial – advocacy in any form is now a requirement. If you don’t advocate for your industry, you won’t have a job. This advocacy isn’t just for you so you continue to have a job, it’s so your neighbor has a job and the neighbor in the next town over has a job too. If our farming and ranching population dwindles to nothing, so do our rural communities. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la. By Amelia Kent For much of the past month I’ve either been studying forecasts and models trying to learn the latest cone of uncertainty for Harvey and Irma, or glued to the news reports coming from Texas and Louisiana in the wake of Harvey. If you’re remotely involved in agriculture, my guess is you’ve been doing the same; catching a glance while hurriedly harvesting what you can, or maybe helping neighbors get their crops out, and preparing the best you can. Given that in the last year nearly all of our state experienced flooding, we are empathetic for those now affected by this latest natural disaster.
The continued coverage coming out of Texas is staggering, but the pictures I’ve received from friends in southwestern Louisiana, as well as posts I’ve seen on social media about Harvey’s impact on Louisiana’s farming and ranching community, are heartbreaking. Many of us have similar personal experiences recently, so we understand the challenges so many are facing. A week after Harvey left destruction in his wake, I had the opportunity to visit good friends in Cameron Parish to see how the water impacted their farm. They received nearly 30” of rain in two days and water from further north was flowing through their property down to the Gulf of Mexico. During the visit, I received a lesson on the hydrology of the area in the form of a field trip. We took a side-by-side through their hayfield inundated with a foot of water to get to the mud boat. Once in the boat, we launched into an overfilled drainage ditch to go check their cattle, who were content and grazing on the levees. When I quizzed my friends about their needs, they were very humble and declared as long as the water keeps flowing they were in good shape. In the midst of this devastation, there is a refreshing, beautiful sight. The sense of community in this time of urgent need is, quite simply, amazing. A friend in south Texas texted me that his family was safe, their livestock fared well, but they sustained a great deal of damage. Yet, this same friend is facilitating pet and horse feed donations through his feed store and is coordinating cooking camps and food delivery efforts in the small towns surrounding his family’s ranch. A childhood friend of mine called me asking if I knew where hay was needed and that he already has two semi-loads of hay heading to Wharton, Texas. He is anxious to help any way he can, and fits hay loads into an already-busy schedule. The Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Livestock Advisory Committee restarted its hay clearinghouse after members learned the desperate need to feed stranded cattle. In spite of slim hay supplies this soggy year, we immediately began receiving hay donations from across Louisiana. With the help of our extension agents in affected areas, we were better able to pinpoint urgent needs and help get hay to critical situations. Other connections with semi-trucks have become the life savers as they are transporting donated hay across the state. Witnessing the generosity of farmers, haulers and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture come together in an orchestrated, collective effort is heart-warming. Though these efforts are selfless, hearing the sheer gratitude in the voices of the farmers who received help is priceless. As our society seems more divisive with each passing day, observing the strong sense of community as farmers and ranchers unite in the time of need is certainly inspiring. Farmers’ and ranchers’ tenacity is one of the most beautiful traits, and is also part of what makes our kind unique. In times like these, we’re not down and out, we’re just letting the water flow through and eventually go down. Amelia Kent and her husband, Russell, raise beef cattle and hay in East Feliciana Parish. Amelia is a past chair of Louisiana’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, is currently a member of the - Partners in Advocacy Leadership program with AFBF, and serves on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Find them on Facebook at Kent Farms; or on Instagram and Twitter @kentfarms_la. |
Archives
July 2022
|