"So God Made a Farmer"

I hope each and everyone have seen the Dodge commercial by now that aired last night during the big game. I was happy to wake up and see my friends have been posting this to my Facebook wall, just to make sure I hadn't missed it, they definitely know me & how much I love agriculture!

This was definitely the highlight of the Super Bowl in our house!The familiar voice of the late Paul Harvey reciting his speech he originally gave at the 1978 Future Farmers of America  (FFA) national convention, the words and images brought us pride and to tears.

When you watch the video on Ram’s website, and share a badge, the Ram Brand will make a donation to National FFA Organization (up to $1 million) and assist in local hunger and educational programs. My friend Kelsey did a great job expressing what this meant for agriculture.

Share this with your friends and family AND make sure you also vote for this commercial on YouTube.

It made me proud to be directly involved in agriculture and that my family has been all their life!

Prairie School Farms..... Does it again

I can't say enough good things about Prairie School Farms!
 Kansas Agri-Women toured their alpaca farm last October and I posted about it here.

Then she posted about my hand made jewelry, here

They have done it again, they posted about Dirt, Denim & Diamonds! Hop over there and read about it, here.

I will say, she forgot one exciting bit of news, she will be the main speaker at the conference on Saturday Aug 11!

Breaking News.....over at Circle the Wagons

Thanks to Elizabeth at Circle the Wagons for her promotion of my upcoming conference. You can check the story out here.

Burger King.....No Longer King (in my books)

Yep, Burger King too has fallen to the pressures of being more, "ethical/healthy" or whatever they choose to call it.

Burger King vows cage-free chicken and pork
Decision by the US No. 3 burger chain raises the bar for its rivals

I had heard the news last week and I started thinking about what we have talked about in my last grad level class, Communicating Ethical Issues in Agriculture.
Do people really know what they are doing and how it will effect others when they make these decisions?!

I was driving home the other day listening to K-LOVE radio and the dj was talking about the new plans for Burger King. He joked saying: who was going to be on egg gathering duty, how will they find the eggs, where will the chickens live, etc. He then asked if anyone listening could help him understand, "this cage free deal" ( I decided that was going to be me, I am emailing this post to him as soon as I finish it)
Interesting enough the dj's grandparents had a farm and I believe he grew up on one as well. I started getting upset about BKs new vow and that someone who grew up in an farm family had a lack of knowledge of what was going on. People assume that cage-free  or free range means that that the chicken is roaming free all the time NOT SO: According to USDA, free range means " Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside."  (Allowed access can mean that the chicken or pig was outside for 15 min.) Labeling is not as straight-forward and honest sounding as you might think or hope for. Even those against animal agriculture are not clear about proper labeling and regulations for cage-free. As of today there is not a strict and concise labeling for eggs in the United States.

We need to educate others (even if you think they grew up on a farm) about what certain terms in agriculture mean AND how these harmless looking steps can lead to something much worse. A fellow K-State grad blogged about this here.  Check out another great blog post here. We as producers and Ag Advocates need to have our voice heard- don't allow PETA & HSUS be the only voice that consumers are hearing!

Happy New Year!

I hope the best for each and everyone of you in the coming year. May you be blessed beyond measure.

I have resolutions for 2012, some of which include stepping up my advocacy for agriculture and connecting more with friends. As we "grow up" and become busier it seems we sometime lose that connection we had with people we really admire and cherish.

So, I'm going to start right now!

Check out this post that gives me great hope for 2012-"More Young People In Ag" It is posted over at a friend's blog. She is a great gal and I sure wish we saw more of each other.

Use the "correct" stamp for mailing.....

I want to thank my friend over at Ag On The Forefront for this post. Please go check out her blog about the new postage stamps coming out.

As Kelsey mentioned, the new stamps will have famous vegetarians faces on them. Why did PETA beat us Ag Advocates to the punch. I think it is important that we in the Ag Industry are willing to stand up and stand out to promote agriculture. Other organizations and people are doing the same against us.

Think about what stamp you are using next time you go to the post office.

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies

I found this recipe over at Beyer Beware. I made it the night after Thanksgiving when we still had company around. I used leftover ham and not as much butter. I try to be healthy when I can :)

I was featured..........

I just got back from Wichita for the American Agri-Women National Convention. It was great seeing old friends, making new ones, and finally putting a face with some of my social media friends. I meet up with Crystal Cattle and Celsete at Couture Cowgirl Communications , she did a post about my booth at convention.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! 
I really appreciate the support from Celeste and can't wait till the next AAW event.

Best of the Barns

There is a little contest ya'll should check out. This is the second year they have had this friendly little competition. I know a couple people who are up for nominations. First head over to Crystal Cattle for a fun little give away and then  head to Best of the Barns and vote.

Oh someday for me to be in that league.