Day 4 in India

Just a few pictures from today.  We got to do our early planned appointments but had to cancel the rest because the country's CM (chief minister) was killed in a helicopter crash--the whole city shut down. 

But we did make it to a Anganwadi (training center) where 25 women came to learn how to use soya in their meals. Each of these women feed about 15 pregnant/lactating mothers and 35 children once a day. There are about 50 of these training centers in this state. For every 1,000 people there is one trained women to provide this feeding program and other basic education for a total of 70,000 feeding centers.


We are headed back to Delhi in the morning and plan to visit the embassy there.

The first day is now drawing to a close and how do I explain all that I saw.  I am probably most amazed at how the wealthy is right beside the slums.

But I have to say they are all so very kind.  In the last photo, I received my official welcome from the ASA-IM office staff.

Probably one of the most amazing things is the traffic.  Bikes, motorcycles, cars and buses all trying to be first to go.  I can't believe there are not more accidents.  I was told that 99% of all the cars have scratches.

What is probably the most interesting is to hear of the work that the ASA-IM staff are doing to improve the health and well--being of the Indian population.  It is truly remarkable what they have accomplished in the last 5 years.

We are all exhausted after the 14 hour flight and now a 14 hour day--and not sure what time zone our bodies are on.

What an amazing experience.

It's all over for some farmers-storm damage

We have experienced 2 storms in the last two days and there are some farmers not too far away that lost the majority of their crop if not all.
I just wanted to post a few pictures of the damage done. Yes, some of these farmers lost all opportunity to harvest a crop.

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!

Many believe it just won't work

Just wanted to share a few pictures of no-till soybeans following corn. Many farmers just don't think soybeans can handle so much organic matter (corn stalks/trash). Look at these soybeans. This field has been no-tilled for over 10 years.

I find it very interesting to see that the scientists have caught up with what us farmers knew long ago. "But removal of too much of that debris to use as a feedstock for biofuel could have a long-term impact on soil productivity, according to new research. The value of the organic matter is priceless in no-till operations.

So with the EPA saying that soy based biodiesel won't meet the RFS2 standard and farmers not willing to remove the cellulosic matter -- I just wonder how we're going to become more energy independent --more on that later.

Here's a few fun pics from our farm.