Initiative.

It only takes a little bit to change a mind - whether yours or someone else's. A little bit of initiative can get a lot accomplished.

I have to say, I've been pretty down on my chosesn profession in the past few weeks. Well, probably longer than that because the assault on production agriculture has been going on for quite a bit longer. But, my bad attitude toward journalism has gotten progressively worse over the past few weeks mostly because of the recent TIME magazine article.

Unfortunately for those of us involved in production agriculture, we have relied too heavily on the mainstream media to tell our story. This is unfortunate because, as has become all to apparent in the last few weeks, journalism has changed greatly over the past few years. In fact, it has morphed from th Woodward and Bernstein era (the two gentlemen that could find dirt in a snowstorm and uncovered the Watergate scandal)  to the Kenner and Walsh show (director of Food, Inc., and writer of TIME's most recent recylable), where facts don't matter and it's okay to dress opinion pieces up as hard news.

The thing that makes this especially dangerous for the agriculture industry is the fact that consumers - for more than three or four generations - have been removed from their farming roots. Even though many consumers' great-grandparents spent their lives raising food for their families and America, consumers are too far removed from their farming past. This has created an information gap where consumers, who still believe they're living in the Woodward and Bernstein era of journalism, tend to believe everything they read. And, agriculture, the industry that once trusted the media to tell it's story truthfully, doesn't know how to rebound from ill-written articles that misrepresent the industry.

But, this is where I can circle back to my original thought: initiative.

As I said, I've been very distrustful of the mainstream media - and the monster it has created - as of late. But, that's when I read this:

http://www.embraceyourheart.com/blog/2009/08/27/the-soul-of-farming-busy-womans-guide-to-eating-better/

If you haven't read this - and are a fan of agriculture (or even if you aren't) - make sure you take a look at this entry. Eliz Greene was very much a fan of organic foods and small, local farms and was very much against larger farms and traditional agriculture.

Then, she decided to go out and take the initiative to see a farm herself. She and her children traveled to an 800-cow dairy farm in Wisconsin to check out the operation.

Much to her surprise, the cows were dirty, mistreated, sad or ill-cared for. The cows were healthy and happy. And, the farmers did everything they could to make sure it stayed that way - 24 hours a day.

By just taking the initiative to go out to a farm and see for herself, Ms. Greene found out that the "issues" surrounding production agriculture weren't as black and white as editors and directors like Bryan Walsh, Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan and Robert Kenner would have her believe. Sure, she admitted there was more she needed to know, but she began to understand that farmers do care about their land and their livestock. If they didn't, they would have a livelihood.

Can you imagine what would happen if we could get everyone to take a little bit of initiative to come out and visit the farm themselves? I'm not saying that we haven't done enough to "open our doors" - I know the agriculture industry has offered to accomodate industry critics more than once.

But, it does mean we need to make every effort possible to make sure that our story  - the correct one - is out there and that we are doing everything we can to make sure people outside of the agriculture industry feel welcome enough to take the initiative to visit the farm themselves. And, to make up their own mind, rather than having it spoon-fed to them.

Losing my cool.

My poor husband. For the past hour, he's sat on the floor and listened to me sighing, groaning, cursing and pounding my fist.

The good news for David is I'm not mad at him.

I'm losing my cool because of an article I read last week. I've tried to put it out of mind, but that just hasn't worked. And, by now, I'm quite sure my husband and best friend are really getting tired of hearing me talk about it.

But, it's something that must be talked about.

An article published in the August 31 issue of TIME Magazine, called "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food" (you can find it at this link: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html?xid=rss-top-aol), has many farmers and members of the agriculture industry up in arms - and rightly so.

This piece - in the very first paragraph, no less - serves up every incorrect stereotype about the modern agriculture industry on one giant silver platter.

But, that's not what bothers me most.

I'm no expert on crop or beef production, but growing up in the agriculture industry, I feel as though I probably know more than most (I say this because, unlike most consumers, I know the hamburger I ate tonight came from a beef cow and not the refrigerated section at the supermarket). And, even though I don't work in the beef, pork and grains production industries on a daily basis, I can see that there are gross misrepresentations in this article (in fact, there are more than five - count 'em, five - factual errors in this piece).

These factual errors have organizations, farmers and members in the agriculture industry in a twist. And, they're troubling to me, too.

For me, the worst aspects of this article don't lie in the slams, jabs and kicks aimed at the industry that feeds the world. Instead, it lies in the writing itself.

As a writer myself - and someone who has earned a degree in journalism - I find it extremely troubling that this article actually made it to the pages of TIME.

It bothers me because the author didn't do his research (I'm not going to go into the factual problems with the article here, but I'll be sure to include them in my letter to editor of TIME -I'll also be sure to include the references so they know that I didn't pull my information out of left field).

It bothers me because the author didn't take the time to report both sides of the story. In the entire nine page article, he included only ONE quote from a member of the agriculture industry (even though the National Beef Board was only too happy to provide half a dozen sources for interviews and research papers to back up their positive information about agriculture). It's easy to write a scathing article when you don't take the time to present the counter opinion to your readers.

Finally, perhaps the thing I find most disturbing, is the fact after he wrote this article with no research or counter opinions, the managing editors at TIME cleverly disguised this piece as hard news and presented it to the country as their feature story.

I may be younger than the average writer for TIME, and I may have less experience, but even I can tell you that (only a year ago when I was completing my journalism degree) my professors taught me the importance of unbiased, fair reporting. In fact, I'm quite positive that my advanced reporting and editing professors would lose faith in the entire profession after reading this article.

However, there is one good thing to come from this article (but, let me tell you, it by no means outweighs the many kicks, punches and stabs this article landed): the writer aimed his outlandish claims at more than one industry. Hopefully, this can serve as the uniting force the agriculture industry has needed for far too long.

In the 24 short years that I have been deeply involved in the agriculture industry, I have watched time and time again as one sector of the industry after another is stomped on by the government or special interest groups trying to serve their own needs.

Each time the agriculture industry logs another loss on the scoreboard, it is mortally wounded - and so is our ability to produce and market the safest and most cost-effective food source on the planet. And each time, the agriculture industry stands by and waits for the problem to disappear.

The fact that this article - and all of it's misrepresentations - was published in TIME Magazine is a blow in itself. However, the added blows to the beef, pork and crop production industries made this piece doubly painful.

That's why I'm so pleased to see the mobilization and action on the part of many of the membership organizations associated with these commodities. With the National Corn Growers Association, Cattle Network, Brownfield and many state farm bureaus providing coverage of the story, issuing statements and letters to the editor already, I can only hope that many in the agriculture industry follow suit.

As members of the agriculture industry, we understand the blessings given to us and the lessons learned. Despite the information in the article, we know that we care for our animals and our land - many times, better than we care for ourselves. And, in effect, we also care for our planet - and the people that live on it.

When we all make a stand, we can tell our agriculture story - and we can tell the correct one.

Back to the grindstone.

Whew. I feel like it has been a really busy couple of weeks, but it really hasn't. Maybe, I'm still trying to recover from our trip home a couple of weekends ago.

David was traveling for work the week before we came home, so I had to wait on him to leave Lincoln. Unfortunately, David didn't get home from Alliance, Neb., until about 6 p.m., so that's when we finally took off and headed east. Since David had been driving all day, I took the reins for the drive home and it was brutal - in fact, right up until we pulled into the hotel parking lot, I was pretty sure we were never going to make it to Peoria.

Anyway, at about 1:30 in the morning, we finally drove into Chillicothe, Ill., and found our hotel. Of course, being the concerned wife, I made David stay in the hotel room with mom, Janell and I (he was really happy about this, as I'm sure you can imagine) instead of driving the rest of the way home. After a few hours of sleep, though, we were up again. Janell, mom and I headed to the show grounds for the Paint show in Peoria and David headed home.

After my last showing experience - which we all know did not end well - I decided to take another stab at it. So, I showed in showmanship, two-year-old western pleasure and a walk-trot class. Much to my excitement, I wasn't as rusty as I thought. I ended up getting third in showmanship (and there were 14 in my class, thank you very much) and a third and sixth in western pleasure.



But, almost as soon as I was done, I had to hit the road for home (Clinton home) again to go to a "concert" that Jimmy Holland was putting on. David and I were asked to be the "official photographers" (I use the term loosely) for the '50s and '60s themed event, and let me tell you, it was a lot of fun! Lots of great singers and acts - very entertaining.




Needless to say, after showing all day in the heat, driving home, showering and heading back into town for a long evening, I was pretty much shot at the end of the night. Unfortunately for David and I, we had to get up and head west the next morning.


But of course, that never quite happens like you think it's going to...


I left David's house in the morning to run home and visit with mom, Chuck and Janell. I also wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa and I knew that my cousin had some home-grown green beans for David and I to take home. I headed home and, of course, took some pictures around the farm, then decided I needed to get going and make the stops I had originally planned on.





First stop, my cousin, Chris's, house. I ended up with two large grocery bags of green beans and a bucket of tomatoes to take home.

Next stop, Grandma and Grandpa's. This time, I ended up with a large box of tomatoes and some sweet peppers (yes, David and I have been eating green beans and tomatoes with every meal. We had them again tonight with chicken macaroni).

Anyway, after visiting at home, heading back into town to say goodbye to David's family and heading back out to my house to drop off Janell's car, David and I didn't leave for Lincoln until almost 5:30.

Yes. That means that the trip home was BRUTAL. David drove the first four hours, then I settled in for the last four. At hour three, I just couldn't make it anymore. David and I pulled over at Nebraska City to switch drivers and, according to David, I was asleep before I even finished buckling my seat belt.

After what seemed like weeks after we left, we were finally home. Just in time to start the work week over again. And, let me tell you, I didn't think I was ever going to graduate to this weekend.

This weekend, David and I stayed home. We ran some errands in Lincoln (two pairs of work pants for David just weren't cutting it, so I dragged him to the mall for some shopping) and we saw a movie (this is where I interject that EVERYONE must see The Ugly Truth - HILARIOUS!).

That means, after all that, we're back to Monday again. Back to the grindstone. And, I think I'm still tired from a week ago...

Turning the corner

It has happened. We've turned a corner and started a new chapter in our lives. It may not seem like a big change, but it is for us.

David just started his new job. While he has only been on the job for two days, I do have to say that I'm enjoying the fact that we share the same work hours and that David gets to do something new and exciting.

His job isn't like anything he's done in the past - and I'm proud of him for going out and trying something new. He's still in communications, but in this new job, he won't be doing as much writing. He'll still be using his journalism skills to go out, find the story and interview the sources, but he won't be writing his own pieces. So, hopefully this new endeavor will serve to broaden his skills - and more.

Because it is his job to "find the story," he will be doing a lot of traveling. In fact, his boss told him that he would most likely be on the road about 10 days of every month. David will travel to different companies to interview employees for stories for the respective company's newsletter or press releases - basically any kind of internal communication. David's company manages communications for several different companies, but David will only manage a few of those accounts and those accounts will take him to western Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana; with the possibilty to go to California or Colorado from time to time.

In fact, David is already gearing up for a trip out west. Tomorrow morning, he'll leave to go to Alliance, Neb., for his first assignment. He'll be traveling with someone else so he can learn the ropes, but will also be doing a good portion of the assignments for this trip himself.

I think he's excited to have a new, full time job. But, of course, he is also very nervous. I try to do my part to encourage him and reassure him that he'll do a great job (because I know he will!) and hope that he is confident in himself as he spends his first week traveling.

I, on the other hand, will be spending the week here at home. I wish he was going to be here, but I have to remember I can't be selfish! Oh well, while he's gone, I fully intend to Bogart the remote, watch girly movies and never cook a meal.

I'm also looking forward to tomorrow. A video project I have been involved with at work is finally done and I get to see the finished product tomorrow. I'm really excited to see it because I think it's going to be really beneficial in the overall project.

However, after that excitement tomorrow, I'll just be counting down the days until David gets home and we are on the road to Illinois. We decided a few weeks ago to make a trip home this weekend because David needs to get fitted for a tux for his best friend's wedding. Plus, David's sister, Tracie (who lives in Des Moines) also wanted to make a trip home - with her new man - so she could show him where she grew up. Because she and her boyfriend live in Des Moines, it will be really easy for David and I to pick them up on our way home and just take one car, rather than two.

Of course, I'm not looking forward to the trip home because I'm excited to see David get fitted for a tux (I know - exciting, right?). There's a paint show in Peoria this weekend and I think I'm going to try this showing thing one more time. Two weeks ago when I went home to show, it was pretty much a disaster, so I'm going to give it another go and see if I can make it work. Oh well, if I can't, you know I'll be at the show with the camera attached to my head trying to get a few good shots of Janell and Tennyson showing.

Plus, it's just nice to be able to go home. I'm hoping there's still some sweet corn and tomatoes left when I get home.....

I think that's all for tonight. Stay tuned for more job updates - and, of course - pictures from the horse show this weekend!

Playing catch-up...

I know it has been a long time. But, in my defense, it has been a very busy several weeks. In fact, I can't think of the last time David and I had a weekend where we weren't doing anything or didn't have any visitors.



David said this morning, "Can you believe it? In the past few weeks, we have seen more people from home than we usually do while we're at home."

And, he's right. David's mom, sister and nieces were out here visiting for a few hours a few weeks ago. Then, we had a visit from David's sister Tracie and her boyfriend, JD. This weekend, we entertained Rachel, Kirk and David's sister, brother-in-law and nephew.

Somewhere in the past few weeks, I was also able to fit in a trip home. I had originally decided to take just a few vacation days in August to go home and ride and maybe show at one of the smaller paint shows. Then, I found out that our team was working on some market research for one of the equine brands and was hoping to get some video to go along with the PowerPoint presentation and handouts. So, I moved my trip up to July and took the video camera home with me.

While I was home, I was able to hang out at the Illinois State Fair Illinois Paint Horse Show and the Farmer City Fair. Even though I didn't get to show that much, it was wonderful to catch up with everyone and have a chance to just watch all of the classes - through the viewfinder of a video camera, of course. And, you know me, I also used it as an opportunity to take some still shots.

Of course, up to this point, David was still working nights and part time, and couldn't come home with me. After I had been home a few days, we noticed that a job he applied for (and, unfortunately, and turn down an offer for) had been posted online again. After talking it over, we decided he should go ahead and apply for it - just to see.

A day later, he got a call asking for an interview. The next day, he interviewed, and a few hours after that, had a job offer!

So - drum roll please - DAVID HAS A FULL TIME JOB! He will be working for a company that writes newsletter and press releases for other corporations. He'll also get to do quite a bit of traveling, so it should be a pretty exciting job and a nice change of pace - and paycheck.

I'm really looking forward to the change of schedule, too. It will be so nice to finally be working during the same time of day. We'll both be home at the same time, can eat supper together and spend the rest of our evening relaxing together.

Anyway, David starts August 7. He still has to work until August 13 for the Journal Star because they're very short-staffed. That following weekend, we're planning to head back home with Tracie and her boyfriend for a quick weekend at home. I suppose that's it for now - but, I did drop some pretty big news, so that should hold you all until I can post again. Which, of course, may be tomorrow - or it may be next month!