Tag Archives: agvocacy

What makes a constitutional amendment?

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As I’ve made perfectly clear in the past, I am in favor of Measure 3, the North Dakota Constitutional amendment that would protect farming and ranching and modern practices employed by farmers and ranchers.

I want to address one of the concerns that is being brought up by the only vocal agricultural group in opposition to this measure…the North Dakota Farmer’s Union.

First of all, as a member of Farmer’s Union (I’m a member of Farm Bureau as well), let me tell you that I’m extremely disappointed and concerned regarding the stance they have on this measure. It’s becoming more of a school-ground bullying match than fact-sharing, and it’s not what being in agriculture is all about.

Enough about that, let’s get to the issue. Opponents of the measure keep declaring that the constitutional amendment is too vague. Practices aren’t specified and there are no restrictions for negligence.

Why did I highlight constitutional amendment? Because that’s what this is…a change to our state constitution, that would protect the heritage that makes North Dakota the great state that it is, that provides food, fiber and fuel for the world.

The amendment needs to be broad enough to stand the test of time, allowing society to advance and our state constitution to stay current, even when we can’t imagine what the next century may bring.

Let’s take a look at another constitutional amendment:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

 

Wait a minute…how could that amendment have been passed? It doesn’t state that you can’t use weapons negligently. It doesn’t state that you are limited to muskets and cannons only. So, surely, it must have been voted down and didn’t stand the test of time, right?

How about another one:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

Geez, that one didn’t pass either, did it? I mean, it doesn’t specifically state that I can’t call someone a few choice words in a newspaper ad that runs across the country. Oh, wait…but I can’t, can I? Not without the other person having legal recourse.

No, constitutional amendments are NOT about specifying exactly what it is you can or cannot do, it’s about upholding the wishes of the people of the state, for generations to come. It allows flexibility for growth and changes that are made by society, yet it protects the basic rights that we should be entitled to…and that includes our agricultural heritage.

With these rights come expectations, regulations and limitations, it does not, nor will it ever, trample on the rights and freedoms of others. It allows for the legal protection of our way of life and direction for those that are making the laws that will govern our future societies.

Please, do not tell me that Measure 3 is too vague in its wording, and needs to have specifics put in place.

Although, all I can do is ask, because there’s already an amendment that allows you that right.

Yes on North Dakota Measure 3

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Did you know that America’s farmers and ranchers produce 16 percent of the total world food production on just 10 percent of the world’s land?

Agriculture and related industries provide jobs for more than 21 million Americans. That’s 15 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

In 1940, each U.S. farmer annually fed approximately 19 people in the U.S. and abroad. In 1960, each farmer feed about 46 people. In 1980, 115. In 2000, 139. Today, each U.S. farmer feeds approximately 154 people here and abroad. And they are doing it with fewer inputs, and on fewer acres.

Farming and agriculture is the backbone of our country, but more importantly, it’s the number one industry in North Dakota. Long after the oil boom has come and gone, farming will still be growing our economy and providing for our state and our country.

 

Waiting his turn…his dad is in the tractor, his grandpa is in the combine. Is his future in jeopardy?

 

Measure 3 is a constitutional amendment that will ensure that out-of-state interests and activist groups will not be able to pass ballot initiatives that would jeopardize our heritage of agriculture. This measure would protect the way of life that has made North Dakota a great state and a great place to raise a family.

But there are misconceptions about what this measure is about, and we’d like to clear those up. This measure is NOT about farming systems, it doesn’t pit organic versus conventional or large versus small. This measure would ensure that if you wanted to use GPS and auto steer in your tractor, that would be allowed. You would be allowed to raise livestock of your choosing without worrying that some out-of-state feel-good group is going to tell you that your buildings or fences are abusive to the animal. You would also be allowed to make your own individual seed and chemincal choices on your farm, including heirlooms, biotechnology, organic or conventional. A law could not be passed determining what is right for all farms in North Dakota, those decisions would be left to each farm to make.

The measure is NOT about removing local control. It would not limit local zoning ordinances, nor would it remove the power from local and state governments for regulations.

Measure 3 IS about allowing farmer’s markets and other niche consumer activities to continue to grow and prosper, it’s about giving people choices and protecting our past, present and future. The constitutional amendment is intentionally broad enough to stand the test of time, yet focused enough to protect what North Dakota holds dear.

For those that would question whether regulations would still be allowed, we give you an example of another constitutional right. We have the right to bear arms, but with that right also comes limitations, responsibilities and regulations. The same is true for agriculture.

We just want the right to farm, without risk of having someone else from out of state taking that right away.

Protecting ALL animals – Vote NO on Measure 5

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North Dakota is an agricultural state. No matter what happens in the west with the oil boom, agriculture will still be here for generations to come…if we protect our heritage.

There is a measure that will show up on the November ballot that can put all of that at risk, and it’s up to us, the citizens of our great state, to stand up and let others know that we fully support and wish to protect our legacy.

What am I talking about? Measure 5 is a poorly worded, narrow-focused measure that has been crafted by an out-of-state animal-rights group that has a history of coming in with big guns, lots of money and slick ads, changing state laws and then pushing anti-farming, anti-hunting and pro-vegan agendas. All while making you feel warm and fuzzy that you’re helping little kitties and doggies.

Do you know how much of the Humane Society of the United States’ budget goes to truly help hands-on pet shelters? Less than 1 percent of the multi-millions that are in their budget. The rest is spent on pensions, lobbying and suing others to make them follow their guidelines.

We cannot let a group such as this in the door.

Let’s take a closer look at the measure, not just the people behind it.

To start with, the measure only addresses horses, cats and dogs. Why would that be? Well, it seems pretty plain to me that they’re aiming at easy targets for an emotional argument. It’s a great marketing ploy. If you were to set my dog on fire, you better believe that I want you to see jail time. In fact, jail is probably the safest place for you, because if I have an opportunity to inflict harm on you, well, I may face a little jail time myself.

Hurt one of these little guys maliciously, and you better hope you’re in jail, where I can’t get a hold of you. Yet, she’s not included in the measure.

But the same is true for my cows. And they wouldn’t be protected under the measure.

Another problem I have with the measure is the scope of “crimes” that it addresses. Here it is directly from the measure: “Any individual who maliciously and intentionally burns, poisons, crushes, suffocates, impales, drowns, blinds, skins, beats to death, drags to death, exsanguinates, disembowels, or dismembers any living dog, cat, or horse is guilty of a class C felony.”

I agree that all of those things are cruel, malicious and worthy of jail time (or worse), yet those things rarely happen in our state. In fact, when you search for crimes like these in reports, you have a hard time finding any at all.

Yet, the most common types of cruelty are not addressed. Things such as starvation and animal hoarding, which cause much more distress and harm to the animals, aren’t even mentioned. Why? Perhaps because a law such as this would seem to be a no-brainer, but once we let HSUS in the door, we’re open to litigation, interpretation by the courts and forced to defend those things that should be seen as protected rights.

I’m not asking people to just vote “No” and call it a day. There is a group of people that have worked hard to come up with an alternative that could be passed legislatively, making it easier to adjust as concerns come up and easier to amend when times change.

Let’s send the message that we don’t need out-of-state interests coming in to our state and telling us what to do and how to treat our animals. The scare tactics they use to push these measures is almost laughable, if it weren’t happening right here.

Defeating this measure is not going to be easy. When their advertising revolves around cute cats and puppies and ignores the issues surrounding the measure, it’s pretty plain to see what we’re up against.

We love our cats…and our dogs…and our cows. But Measure 5 is not the right answer, for any of them! Vote NO!

I love my dogs, I love our cats…but I also love our cows. Voting “No” is not a vote against our pets, it’s a vote for common sense and a vote for the future of agriculture.

Do you have questions? Would like more information on the history of HSUS and their involvement in other states? Stay tuned. I’ll answer anything you care to ask (or find the answers if I don‘t know), and I’ll be showing you the track record this group has in other states.

But I’ll warn you, it’s not pretty.

Learn about corn chopping from a 3-year-old

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It’s Wordless Wednesday, so I’ll let George use his words today…ENJOY!

Worth Fighting For

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We’ve had a busy few days, trying to prepare for harvest, loading out hay as fast as the semi’s pull in the yard, and hosting our county Farm Bureau annual meeting here at the farm. Yet today, as I take a moment to sit down and actually gather my thoughts, I was bombarded with messages online, reminding me that today is not just any other day, and that we have so much to be thankful for…so much.

I was also made aware of a new single by The Departed, called “Worth the Fight.” Take a listen…it’s worth the time.

So, what does the anniversary of September 11th and the song have in common? I would think that is obvious. And more importantly, it’s a great reminder that all of these trials and tribulations have to be used as a base to move forward, to move up and to make improvements to the world we live in…and that is how we make it all worthwhile.

For me, my passion is agriculture. I have come to love our way of life, and I happen to feel so strongly that I’ve been driven to share my story with thousands of people around the world. And I don’t do it so that I feel better about myself, that’s not the case at all.

What makes my fight worthwhile are the four blessings that I am privileged to call my sons…and they are worth every minute I spend talking about agriculture, sharing our story and doing what I can to ensure that they have the same choices and opportunities that Boss Man and I have been blessed with.

My heart belongs here.

Today is not just a somber reminder of what was lost all those years ago.

Today is a reminder of what we are fighting for…

and it’s worth the fight.

The Land of Oz

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For those that don’t know me in real life, or didn’t catch the news through social media, I almost had a moment last week. Well, not really almost. It was a moment, but it didn’t last much longer than that.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Early last week, I caught a tweet sent out by the Dr. Oz show. It asked for people to share their use of dairy products. I simply replied that dairy is an integral part of our day, and that we use it for every meal and snacks, consuming dairy sometimes as much as 7 times per day…a total of 5-7 gallons per week.

I didn’t think it was that out of the norm…and didn’t expect a reply. But I was wrong.

It started with a simple reply, followed by a request for more information and contact numbers. I was still under the assumption that they were just looking for quotes, survey information, etc. It wasn’t until our second conversation was underway before the woman at the other end of the line floored me. “Well, I know this is sudden, but would you be willing to fly to New York to tape a show on Tuesday?” WHAT?!

I spit, sputtered and tried to gather my thoughts. The show was going to feature dairy usage, but I didn’t know much more than that. I quickly found out that we would have to be willing to forgo dairy for a 28 days. They would do a before/after comparison to see how we felt, where our health was, etc. Although I wasn’t convinced there would be any change, I was willing to try it out.

Why? Well, there are two reasons.

1) George already follows a diet that is much stricter than what they were proposing. I wouldn’t mind being forced into a situation where I can get a feel for what he goes through (although I do know I could do it at any time, the incentive here is greater). Plus the opportunity to share HIS story and see if I could gather more information/insight would be spectacular.

2) The Dr. Oz show will go forward with the production of this show, whether or not my family participates. So is it better to have someone on that perhaps would have no agriculture background? The opportunity to participate in that conversation with that level of audience was one that I felt was too great to pass up.

So, what happened? Well, I’m not 100% sure. I know what they wrote in their email. And I know how the conversations leading up to it went, so I’ve put two and two together and think I have a pretty good idea as to what happened…but I’ll never know for sure.

Here’s the facts: Boss Man wasn’t comfortable going to NY to tape. We are in the middle of our third cutting of alfalfa and we have many people depending on our hay crop to feed their herds. We have been pretty blessed with timely rains, so the fact that we have a crop at all is nothing to take lightly. He was willing to go through with the 28-day challenge, the blood work, all of it, just not be in the studio for the first taping.

They said they were fine with that, had my flights booked, had a flight to ND booked to tape on Saturday, even called our local clinic to inquire about having the bloodwork completed for Mark.

And at 10:30 Friday morning I was on a conference call with a producer or two of the show, when I started asking some pretty specific questions. Mainly, what is it that they were hoping I would say. I had explained to them from the beginning that we were a farm family, that we worked closely with our friends and customers that are dairy families. And I specifically stated that at no point would I blame dairy products for any health issues I may have, and I would not throw dairy under the bus.

I was assured that I would not be portrayed in a negative light. That it would all be fine and work out. And then I was told that they would be in touch…and I waited…and waited.

Late Friday afternoon, less than 6 hours from the time that the production crew was supposed to land at the nearest airfield a mere hour away, I received an email that stated that the show had decided to go a different route.

Plans aborted.

Am I disappointed? A little, but more for the missed opportunity to reach out to others that may have information that would help with George’s care and the opportunity to connect the farm to a face than anything. Am I relieved? A little, having my medical flaws exposed on television didn’t exactly sound like a great way to spend a morning.

But I will take my lemons and make some lemonade…and I have learned SO much. And I have my own 28-day challenge that I will embark on…starting next week.

Stay tuned. Oh, and I have some more lessons that I learned, but I’ll have to wait to share those. I’m still trying to figure out how to word it all. Did I say something wrong? Did I ask the wrong questions? And I don’t just mean with the show.

Last week was one for the record books…and I’m still tired just thinking about it.

Is there a calf in there?

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A few weeks ago, we had a crew of people out in our pastures. Although the set up and take down took a little time, the reason behind all the work was definitely important. You see, we were ultrasounding our cows, to find out which ones were going to have calves and when they would be having them.

Just like at the OB’s office!

That’s right, we used an ultrasound machine…much like the one that is used every day by obstetricians when they are looking for a baby’s heartbeat, measuring the size of the baby or checking for any other problems.

Why would using a machine like this be important for our cows? One reason is where we live. Since we start calving in February in North Dakota, it’s important to know which cows should be calving and approximately when. That way we can make sure that they are closer to the barn, so they can hopefully have their calves inside, where it’s warm and protected from the elements.

The head gate makes sure that the cow stands still and doesn’t hurt itself.

Another reason we use ultrasounding is so that we can more accurately determine those cows that are definitely having a calf, and those cows that are not having a calf (we call them “open”). It’s expensive to raise cattle, even more so right now. We only keep the cows that are bred and the ones that are “open” are sold. Many times our open cows go to other farms that have a different calving cycle then we do, allowing them the chance to become bred later.

The girls, waiting their turn!

The ultrasound technique is very similar to the same used in a doctor’s office…well, in general theory anyway. 😉

Once the probe is in the cow and an image is on the screen, a measurement can be taken, just like how the technicians measure the length of a baby’s bone to estimate it’s gestational age. On a calf, the measurement is taken of the space between the eye sockets on the head. The number of centimeters between correlates between the number of days the calf has been in the uterus, giving us an estimated “due” date.

The calf’s age can be measured on the screen!

Of course, these numbers are just estimates, but every bit of information that we can use to ensure our herd is taken care of and healthy is definitely a step up from before!

The Ultimate Gift

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I’m sure you’ve read about our sweet corn before. We planted it earlier this spring, have watched it grow, taken care of it and waited for the day that we could enjoy the product of our hard work…and now we’ve given the excess of our crop to some pretty deserving people.

Giving our corn through the ND Huger Free Garden Project.

The Great Plains Food Bank arrived on Wednesday afternoon and picked up the remainder of our crop that was ripe and have been able to make it available to food banks across the state of North Dakota.

I have to thank my friends, neighbors and everyone who volunteered to help with this crazy project of mine.  Especially those that came from a distance, like my friend JP who flew in from St. Louis, and my friends at the ND Dept. of Agriculture. Thank you all!

So many volunteers, thank you everyone!!!!!

I’m so happy that we are able to share this with those that are down on their luck, or are struggling to put a meal on the table. And I’m so happy that we were able to find a place for it, instead of seeing it destroyed by wildlife, time and eventually, our tractors.

Sacks of corn, ready to share across the state.

It’s been a crazy week, one I’ll have to tell you about later. I’m going to go enjoy a cob of corn, a cold glass of milk and some time with my kiddos. School starts next week, and I’m not ready…even if they are.

Picking corn

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After weeks of waiting, our sweet corn is finally ready to enjoy…and enjoy it we have!

My littlest helper, George.

EJ is a big fan of sweet corn, too!

After my last post on sweet corn, I received some interesting suggestions as to what we could do with our farm…namely, someone thought it would be best if our farm were to burn down. That wasn’t very nice, now was it?

A good friend of mine found this video clip, and I think it does an amazing job of explaining the exact science behind GMO’s, as opposed to random modifications that are made in plant breeding all the time. (And trust me, I would never consider the Huffington Post as a credible news source, ever…but this one surprised me!)

Scientist’s take on GMO

Every time I think about our sweet corn, this is the image in my head, not a Mr. Yuck sticker:

This little one is excited for some sweet corn…and I’m excited about the possibilities!

A Needed Rain

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It’s Friday, it’s July 6 and we finally have some moisture on the ground. An inch to be exact. And we are so very, very thankful for it.

Our crops were starting to suffer, but this is a good start. It’ll buy us time and hopefully we’ll have more moisture soon.

This is the part of farming that I don’t enjoy. This is the part of farming that keeps men and women up at nights and makes them wonder if it’s worth it. Imagine building a $250,000 house and watching someone pour gasoline throughout, then play with a match around it. Yes, you have house insurance, but it doesn’t take into account the blood, sweat and tears that it took to get it to that point. Imagine.

Yet, we do it every year, time after time, knowing that Mother Nature can turn her back on you at any given moment. Why? Good question. Some say if we don’t like it, we can just get a job in town somewhere. But once you’re a farmer, it’s in your blood and it’s hard to stay away. Feeling the dirt beneath your feet, watching the sun rise and set each day, being able to breathe clean, fresh air from your office…well, that’s not easy to find.

So we head back out, watching the skies, paying attention to nature’s queues, waiting for the moisture that we need, the sun that we need, the right mixture of heat/wind/etc. If that’s not faith at it’s finest, I don’t know what is.

Today we celebrate a small victory. And I celebrate not having to water our garden…and I give thanks.

With as dry as our yard is, these puddles won’t last long!

These cukes are enjoying the rain, and a reprieve from being watered!

The wind combined with the rain made the sweet corn in the garden lay down, but it should stand back up with the sun now shining!