With job creation one of our nation’s biggest concerns, it is encouraging that the approximately 3,300 undergraduate and graduate students who are just beginning or continuing their studies in the Purdue University College of Agriculture are preparing for careers in one of the hottest job-creating sectors of our economy. And studies indicate that land-grant universities such as Purdue fuel that sector’s growth.

Please don’t refer to the cow as my boss, Agent 101

Getting back to perspective and the beautiful photo I provided.  The green bottle on the right is just like the one the inspector used to sample the milk with.  So you could see how big the sample was I included the cow.  For those of you who might think the cow is real, I included the quarter on the left.  If you can’t figure out how big a quarter is then obviously you couldn’t pass the test to be a secret agent like me.

Anyways, that sample of milk will be checked for antibiotics, bacteria, and for the somatic cell count, which is an indicator of milk quality.  One cow’s milk could ruin the entire sample and get The Farmer in a lot of trouble.  You have to understand that the sample was taken out of a great big giant milk tank and one cow, just one cow, could pollute the milk and The Farmer would have to throw it away or even be fined.  They can find out a lot about the milk with a very small sample.  Well, The Farmer has done a pretty good job of keeping his milk in good quality so I don’t expect this sample to be bad.  As far as the milk from the cows that are agents: top notch.  My boss, Agent 101, has us do random milk screenings all the time.  Trust me, you don’t want to disappoint her.  We call her Beastly Bovine, I mean Best Boss all the time.

Agent 428, reporting from the Udder Side.

The Udder Side

Like last year, Morgan and I snuck away to see some of the sites of the fair that weren’t within the four walls of the hog barn. I used a “cartoon” feature on my camera phone to take this photo. Artsy.

As usual, Ryan was the star of the Michael family pig showing crew. He racked up quite a few ribbons over the week, including champion Landrace barrow (Landrace barrow = white castrated pig with floppy ears). Here he shows his Yorkshire gilt (white female with upright ears).

There are probably readers of this blog who would pay good money to see how I used to get in the ring and show our hogs. Fortunately, I have pumped out enough junior showmen to retire and become chief photographer and water bottle holder, however, it’s all hands on deck when we have three pigs in the same class. Husband, GrandDad and my Grandpa all are helping the kids get ready in the holding pens (the pens where you go before your class enters the show ring).

Husband and I very much disagree about fair food. I, like most normal people, look forward to the opportunity to buy something on a stick for every meal. Husband fondly remembers the days when the Ohio State Fair had a Wendy’s booth, which he visited at every opportunity. Blasphemy!

Our good friends at the Ohio Farm Bureau always put on a great display at the Ag and Hort Building. A few years ago we met a very self-aware cow, who I believe has since retired to a pasture of astroturf. Anyway, we always have fun there and the kids love to ride the pedal tractors.

The Ohio State Fair is over now but we are still looking forward to visiting the Indiana State Fair and our county fair. Stay tuned for more fair fun photos and possibly a look back at my time in 4-H (it was the 80s!).

Bringing Home the Bacon

It is amazing the number of people that I have connected with via my blog, Twitter, social media. People that I call my friends, yet we have never met in real life. I wanted to do a Q&A with a few of them. Not only because they are really interesting people, but they also have some good advice for us.

Let’s start off with James Decker. James and I crossed paths through Twitter and here’s what he had to say.

Crystal Cattle

The wine glasses we made before heading out on our tour.

The other weekend I jumped in a limo with a dozen other girls and headed towards wine country. Ok, it was actually only Missouri’s wine country, which means North of Kansas City in the Weston/Platte City area of the state. We were off to celebrate a good K-State friend’s upcoming wedding.

I am a wine lover, but this was my first time actually going to a winery and doing a wine tasting. Our first stop was the Jowler Creek Vineyard and Winery. Jason along with his wife started making wine out of their home’s basement and it has now grown into a successful business.

As Jason started pouring the first glass of wine the questions started pouring out. How many acres, how long were the grapes planted before you could use them for wine, do you buy grapes from other growers? I am sure he was surprised by our questions, but as farm girls these are the things we contemplate while enjoying a glass of wine.

The Chambourin was my favorite wine.

As Jason poured the next wine sample he told us about how sustainability was important to him and his wife. They use a small sheep breed to help keep weeds down as part of their sustainability plan. These sheep are small enough that they can’t reach the vines, but will everything at the base of the plant. Smart idea.

I automatically asked what breed? I think this is when Jason knew something was up. It was quickly explained that he had a table full of K-State College of Agriculture girls. The breed is Babydoll sheep and they are all white. Knowing that we were interesting in farm Jason also talked to use about some trails they were doing with chickens to keep the bugs down and reduce pesticides.

Jason then said something that made me really like him. He said that he loves technology and isn’t against it in any way but is willing to explore other avenues that can help his farm be more profitable. Yeah, I bought wine from Jason, and next time I see Jowler Creek Wine on the shelf I’ll probably buy another bottle. Technology is awesome and should not be judged, and neither should more traditional ways of farming. Thanks Jason for a great afternoon!

Everyone needs to take a break sometime, even secret agent cows.  It gives you a chance to pause, think, and chew on your food again.  I’ve found my agents always do better work when they are refreshed.  The Farmer must feel the same. Every afternoon I notice he pauses between chores to get something to drink. On hot days like these chocolate milk might be the most refreshing thing he could drink.

The tree in the photo is the hot spot, or rather the cool spot to be at on a hot day to cool off.  What’s interesting about it is that even as little as five years ago you would’ve seen at least a few cows out there smoking on their breaks.  Ugh, I still remember when The Farmer added NicCudtine (R) supplement to the ration.  It tasted terrible but had excellent results.  The Farmer said healthy cows are productive cows and I couldn’t agree more.

Agent 101, taking a break on the Udder Side.

The Udder Side

Farmers are telling me we are about out of time to get that general rain. Some farmers are thinking harvest is pretty close now and that they will have to get what they have. We had hoped Irene might come in at the Big Bend of Florida and become a rain event for us with not a lot of wind. Had she taken that path which was projected early, we would have had general rainfall across the peanut belt in Georgia.

Now she is going east and tat is by far the worst thing she can do because she will suck all the moisture out of the air for most of the southeastern peanut belt.

I was in Brooklet over the weekend and peanuts in the flat country near the coast should be lapped and green and lush this time of year but alas I could still see the row of the twins. I am not sure, save a warm Fall and late frost that there is much many of those peanuts can do this year.

I suppose I am back to praying for a miracle for our farmers and so now I am expecting it.

Don’s Peanut Place