Thought s about trying Organic and weeds

This picture is from 10 days ago where my son and I are trying to pluck all the little weeds. However, today there was no brown dirt to be seen.

I just came in from trying to reclaim my garden (too embarrassed to show pictures).
I am now convinced that weeds grow at least twice the speed of any planted seed.
With all the talk about 'going organic' it crossed my mind to maybe try keeping my garden organic but after having to till my garden just to find items I planted (losing precious soil moisture)-- I think I'm going to rely on using some glyphosphate--otherwise I will not have any produce.
Now, I'm sure that some organic people will ask "why did you let your weeds get so tall?" My first response is "I have a life besides trying to raise food". And it has been raining and raining (which is good) - but it makes it really challenging to weed in the mud.
I planted a garden mainly to make sure my kids understand how food grows - but most importantly how much work goes into raising food. A garden is kinda like an animal - it most be cared for daily--if it goes ignored-- the weeds get out of control. That is a pretty good description of what is going on in one of the public debates. The agriculture industry has been so busy at feeding the world (and doing it more effeciently, because so many have moved off the land for easier and higher paying jobs in the cities) and trying to make a living over the last decade that we didn't realize that other (non-ag) people were telling the story of growing food and taking care of the land and animals. So now we have a population where the weeds (non-aggies and AR type)have been getting the focus instead of the planted seed (farmers).
However, I am excited to see that Ohio has stepped up and said 'enough is enough' it is time to tell our story and let the truth be told about the weeds. See more here.
I hope that everyone is trying to tell their story to any non-aggie they come across. One person at a time - will make a difference.
Who have you reminded today that food comes from farmers not the grocery store?

What's on your Chore List

It seems like my chore list is expanding at a much faster rate than I think I can accomplish. However, I find new inspiration to get more done each day. What is my inspiration? My kids – our future! If you haven’t noticed by now, I am an agricultural activist. The first time someone called me that – I was taken back—I’m not an activist. But over the last 6 months I have come to realize I am an activist, ( I prefer advocate), for agriculture and my passion is to tell the real story of production agriculture. That is why my chore list continues to grow and I am asking you to add a new item to yours!

That item is: Tell Your Story, talk to anyone and everyone within your circle and at least one new person each week about how agriculture affects their life and your community.

How can you do that? It’s easy and simple. The best part is we have the truth on our side. The US food production story is the best in the world. We have the safest and most affordable food in history. The challenge is with less than 2% of the population in production agriculture – we have to get our story to the other 98%. And if we don’t tell it, there are many others trying to and it’s full of untruths.

Do your neighbors know the truth about what HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) is really about? That they are working everyday to put you and I out of business and force everyone to become a vegan? Find more info here. Remind them that means no hamburgers and no leather boots and no animal testing.

Does your farmer neighbor know that nearly 98% of all soybean meal is fed to animals…the livestock industry is the soybean farmers number 1 customer. Find more facts about how soybeans are being used here.

Have you visited with your hometown newspaper editor and reminded him/her the value of agriculture?

Have you talked to your city friends and reminded them that all food starts on the farm…not at the grocery store?

I have learned how to use the latest in social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and blogging, and that is how I am accomplishing the task of telling the story of ag.

I saw this from another farmer on Twitter that sums up my request:

@derekbalsley Farm Chores 2.0: Blog about your farm, tweet about your day, confront activists w/ truth, be an ag advocate!

NE farmers willing to share their experiences via Twitter.

TWEET CORN?
Nebraska farmers sharing their experiences via Twitter Micro-blogging tool provides a glimpse of farm life and food production.

LINCOLN, NE ­ If a farmer uses Twitter to talk about planting the latest hybrid, would you call it ³tweet corn²?

>From corn and soybean farmers to livestock producers, Nebraska farmers
>who
have flocked to Twitter provide insight on those subjects and more by ³tweeting² what they are up to on any given day ­ and helping their ³tweeps² (Twitter followers) and others around the world better understand farming, farm life and food production.

³Posts on Twitter are captured in real time and provide a peek into the life of farmers. People can read what we¹re working on that day, the issues we¹re facing, why we do the things we do and more,² said Debbie Borg, a farmer from Allen. ³If people choose, they can join Twitter and ask us questions.²

Borg, who is known as ³@iamafarmer2² on Twitter, frequently posts information on planting and crop progress, cattle production and related issues. She said Twitter is easy to use with a web browser or other software that will help keep track of people you decide to ³follow.² By following someone, you can see what they have posted and their replies to others who are on Twitter.

³This time of year I¹m posting about planting progress, problems that come up some days and issues that are important to me as a corn farmer,² said Brandon Hunnicutt, a farmer from Giltner. Hunnicutt is ³@cornfedfarmer² on Twitter.

Other Nebraska farmers on Twitter include Ryan Weeks of Juniata
(³@huskerfarm²) and Susan Littlefield (³@firefighter89²) of Surprise. Weeks has been posting planting and crop progress updates and related information, while Littlefield has been describing the impact of weather on her operation and providing updates on lambing.

³Twitter is unique in that it is relatively simple to use and posts are a maximum of 140 characters so people can read them quickly,² Hunnicutt said.
³It¹s a great way for anyone to follow a farmer and see what we¹re up to.²

Borg said Twitter is also a great way to ask farmers questions if someone doesn¹t understand what is happening or why. ³I¹d encourage anyone to have a look and pose a question if they are looking for a better understanding of why farmers do what they do and food production in general. If we don¹t know the answer, we¹ll find someone who can help,² Borg said.

To see what these farmers are up to, just follow these web addresses or search for their username at Twitter.com:

§ Debbie Borg: www.twitter.com/iamafarmer2
§ Brandon Hunnicutt: www.twitter.com/cornfedfarmer
§ Ryan Weeks: www.twitter.com/huskerfarm
§ Susan Littlefield: www.twitter.com/firefighter89

Let's keep the Choices

There is so much information available every morning to review, digest and then decide which to believe. How does one know what is science vs. junk science? I seem to be using the words 'everything in moderation' more often these days. Is one food bad? Yes, because we need variety everyday. Every food can be bad-if that is the only one you consume. But when consumed in moderation, I believe we can all enjoy some of the abundance that the US population can choose from.
That's what I keep coming back to, one of the great things about living in the United States of America-is the freedom of choice. Do I think organics are bad? NO. Do I want to feed my family organics? NO. But I am so glad we have the choice to choose today. And I am concerned if we keep heading down the path we're on today - in not too long of time - those choices will not be available.
So I encourage everyone to be wise and read health claims on marketing materials with a degree of skepticism - enjoy the amazing bounty we have and enjoy all the choices we have.

Current farming practices improving to feed the very hungry world.

In 7 of the last 8 years, the world has consumed more grain than it produced. Experts now predict our planet will need to double agricultural output by 2050 to feed a growing population. By some estimates, that means producing more food in the next 50 years than has been grown in the last 10,000 years.

—It now takes 30 percent less energy to grow a ton of corn than just a decade ago.

—latest advancements in biotech & improved production methods help farmers squeeze more from every drop of water, fuel and fertilizer and from every acre of farmed land than at any time in history.

Blogging for Food consumers

The Humane Society of the US wants to put animal agriculture out of business----they want everyone to be a vegetarian—they call it humane eating. Not only should we have the obvious choice as to what type of protein we choose, but what about ZIP---Zinc, Iron, and Protein, the nutrients that help tweens brains grow and develop which are all found in beef. Not only do we get protein and ZIP, what about the 42 life saving pharmaceuticals that come from animal agriculture. I believe that all of us should be given a choice of what kind of protein we want to consume. But even bigger than that, there is not enough non-animal protein to meet our growing needs. Animal products provide more than one-third of the protein on a global basis and the global demand for protein continues to increase as third world countries improve themselves. Besides children need 540+ nutrients every day to grow, move and have fun. No one food contains them all, so it's important they eat a wide variety of foods in order to obtain enough of all nutrients.