Farm American & #Foodthanks

Project Farm American: a mobile agricultural education unit traveling to schools, shopping centers and sporting events that will reach over 62 million people every year. This project is an opportunity to build bridges between rural and urban America. For years, those in agriculture have been ‘searching’ to find a way to reconnect with consumers, particularly those in urban areas. Project Farm American fits that goal in a unique way.

Every agricultural organization understands the importance of policy development; however, with bridge building to the urban interface, we have the opportunity to garner even more support, outside our own community. We in agriculture clearly understand that the pressures we are facing from regulatory and legislative actions, drafted by individuals without a clear understanding of that which they are wanting to govern. This project will lead to a more informed public and more common sense legislation.
Would it not be advantageous to reach out to the public, educate them on what, why and how we do what we do? The Farm American project will reach over 62 million people, covering all demographics, each year. The potential impact that will be gained through this effort is astronomical.

Further, it is important to note that this project promotes the importance and value of all agricultural enterprises. It will fit hand-in-hand with the multiple social media projects, spread throughout the country, that are already building bridges and growing communities of understanding. The opportunity for consumers to meet local farmers and ranchers, enjoy the product of their toil, and learn how that commodity was grown and harvested will be personal. This is a package that will put the face of the American farmer back on the plate.

This is an effort that all Americans can participate in. Our objective is raise the recognition of the American farmer, so that we are able to continue to produce all of the food that our country needs and not have to rely upon foreign imports to feed our own people. It is fitting that this week is also #world #foodthanks week. Show your support for American farmers and ranchers by supporting the Farm American Project and by visiting http://foodthanks.com/, and make some posts utilizing the #foodthanks hashtag.

Together, Troy and Stacey Hadrick, Ray Prock and I are undertaking an effort to raise $1 million dollars to go towards getting the mobile, interactive agricultural education unit on the road. We are asking for pledges for four years at the following minimums, feel free to challenge others for more; individuals, farms and ranches - $50, County Farm Bureaus, Cattlemen and Cattlewomen Associations - $250, State Farm Bureaus, Cattlemen, Cattlewomen and Beef Councils - $2,500. We are counting on agvocates across the US to help us reach these organizations and many more.

To show your support of this endeavor, we simply ask that you post your interest as a comment to this blog and send an quick email to FarmAmerican@gmail.com One of us will contact you for the appropriate information. Also, feel free to contact any of us with questions you may have.

Thoughts On My Son's First Day Of School

As I walked my son to his first day of school, pre-school, I couldn’t help but contemplate the state of our educational system and the potential impacts it is and will have on society.

During my short 40 years, I have seen the transition from a focus on cursive handwriting, to printing, from typing to keyboarding, from writing out mathematical solutions to graphing calculators and party lines with rotary dial phones, to digital phones with answering machines, to cell phones, to smart phones that are used more for texting, tweeting, posting and emailing than talking.

These transitions of focus included a transition away critical thinking and in my humble opinion have resulted in the following:


1. People rarely write thank you cards or letters anymore. Instead, the cards are pre-printed, digital or email is utilized. People no longer have to think about how to say what they feel and then legibly put those words to paper. Humanity is lost. Let us return to the days when a “rough draft” for an essay meant writing it on paper. Would this not improve critical thinking and reduce the temptation to “cut & paste” from an electronic file?

2. People are unable to compute mathematical problems without a calculator or computer, let alone run a proof to determine if the given answer is truly correct. “Experts” working for regulatory agencies rely entirely upon computer models without any regard for the quality of the data entering, whether the data was entered correctly, whether the data was utilized properly and are unable to “prove” the outcome is accurate without utilizing multiple runs on another computer, using the same files and same model. Start putting it back on paper people!

3. People become agitated when responses to questions are not answered in a timely manner via social media or email, when a phone call could give an immediate reply. I fear cell phones, if not already, will soon be utilized more for digital communication than speaking. Will this lead to the inability of individuals to communicate effectively vocally and introduce classes on texting instead of speech?

Do not take this the wrong way, I appreciate technology and utilize all forms that help me to be more efficient. However, I do think that we need to re-introduce some of the basics back into schools. Teach students how to write again, legibly and grammatically correct. Require students to show ALL of their work in math, not just answers and bring back speech and debate classes.


While I am looking forward to my son’s future experiences in his educational endeavors, he can rest assured that what he does not receive in school, will be waiting for him at home. Until then, it is back to changing water and ranch work alone, two days a week. At least I get to be weaned from him in phases. :-)

Economics 101

A good friend of mine posted the following story on FB. It's so simple & true! Everyone in the country needs to read this. Welfare dependent societies, as ours is, are destined to fail. We need MAJOR government reform! Thanks Ned, for posting it.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.