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Gardening Tips and Tricks
Spring is here, which means planting is in full swing! While some people are just naturally born with a green thumb, others get nervous at the thought of planting a garden and keeping their plants alive. I’ve been planting a garden with my grandma ever since I was very young, and I still go to her with questions! Here are a few basic tips my grandma taught me: Time it right. Use a frost calculator to estimate when the last spring frost will be and when the first frost of the fall will be in your area so you don’t plant too early and clean up the garden before the…
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Where it Started
Growing up on a farm was always a dream of mine. Both of my parents grew up on farms; my dad raised swine with my grandpa and bought a couple dairy heifers to show at county fairs and my mom was raised on a beef farm and showed steers at local, county, and state fairs. My grandparents sold both of those farms long before my brothers and I were born, but agriculture was still a huge part of my family. My mom’s dad, who we call Poppa, owned a livestock hauling business. Summer, spring or winter break, or even on snow days, we’d call Poppa and load up in his…
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Outbreak of the Bird Flu
Avian Influenza (the bird flu) has been a hot topic in the news recently, with strands hitting farms all across the United States. The bird flu is a highly contagious disease that can affect domestic birds and wildfowl; the disease is transmitted by the infected birds’ feces, saliva, or nasal secretions. The bird flu can be transmitted from birds to humans, but the possibility of that is extremely slim and the cases are rare. If you watch the news, you may have seen recently that the bird flu hit a poultry flock in Jefferson county. This was the first case of the bird flu reported in Wisconsin since 2015, and…
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Gearing Up For County Fairs
Summer has always been my favorite season, especially fair weeks. I exhibited animals and projects at Stoughton Fair and the Jefferson County Fair, which were always the first two weeks of July. It was a crazy busy time for my family, but so fun and rewarding. All of my favorite memories are from fair weeks and it’s where I met some of my best friends from all over the county. Preparing projects for the fair takes a lot of hard work, time, and money; especially for animal projects. Depending on the species, you begin training your animal anywhere from 3 months to 10 months before the fair. You have to…
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FFA
FFA is an agriculture-based student organization that focuses on preparing students for their future careers in the agriculture industry. FFA changed their name to stand for the National FFA Organization in 1988 as opposed to their previous name “Future Farmers of America” as their membership became more diverse. Most members now didn’t grow up on farms, nor do they plan on becoming farmers, but they have a passion for agriculture and leadership in some form. FFA has many opportunities that most aren’t aware of. Every year, the organization hosts multiple leadership conferences in each state. These conferences aren’t directed toward agriculture; it’s strictly learning new leadership skills while making friends…
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Mental Health in the Agriculture Industry
A tough topic to talk about, but one that needs attention, is mental health in the agriculture industry. Farmers and others employed in the industry face many challenges every day which can really take a toll on mental health. It’s a very unpredictable industry, and things such as natural disasters or unfavorable weather can ruin crops, injure or kill livestock, and damage barns and equipment without warning. Labor shortages are prevalent in all occupations, but finding employees for farm work can be especially challenging, adding to the long hours already worked by farmers. Financial struggles are also not uncommon, with low milk prices, falling commodity prices, and increasing farm debt.…
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Understanding GMOs
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have become a lot more prevalent in recent years, and while the name sounds a little daunting, they’re nothing to be afraid of. GMOs by the FDA definition are “a plant that has had its genetic material changed using technology that usually involves the specific modification of DNA, including the transfer of specific DNA from one organism to another.” Still sounds a little scary, but it’s actually pretty cool. Scientists use genetic engineering to select desirable traits and transfer them to the plant; examples of desirable traits can be drought resistance or insect resistance. Higher crop yield, more desirable appearance, longer shelf life, higher nutrient content,…
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Milk vs. Milk Alternatives
You’re at the grocery store for your weekly shopping trip and you get to the milk section. There’s a couple different kinds of milk, and even more kinds of milk alternatives. How do you choose between all of the options? Milk is loaded with 13 essential nutrients: protein, calcium, vitamin A, phosphorus, vitamin D, idoine, potassium, zinc, selenium, B2, B3, B5, and B12. Just eight ounces of milk include 16% of your daily protein, 25% of your daily calcium, 15% of your vitamin D, 50% of vitamin B12- the list goes on. Milk alternatives, such as almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, flax milk, etc. have little nutritional value. A…
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More Snow, Please!
I’ll admit it; I am not a fan of the snow. But this year, I’m praying for more of it. Snow is crucial to preserve the moisture in the ground, and once it starts to melt, it adds supplementary moisture to the ground. In addition, snowflakes can help fertilize the next year’s crop due to the traces of nitrogen found in them from the atmosphere. The problem is, we’re not getting nearly as much snow as we used to. With the little snow and rain we accumulated last year, combined with the lack of precipitation so far this year, most of the U.S. is in some stage of a drought;…
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Where it’s Going
In my previous blog post, I introduced myself and shared my background in agriculture. I wanted to note that while my time in 4-H and FFA is done, and I no longer raise and show animals at the fair, the passion never goes away. I’m currently a second-semester sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, majoring in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations, a minor in Marketing, and a certificate in Event Planning and Promotion. While none of this is ag-based, that’s my ultimate goal after graduation; to obtain a job in the ag industry. My favorite thing to do is educate others on agriculture, and I’m hoping to find…