Can man really control the weather? Apparently the government thinks so and is willing to spend your money to do it!

Last August I attended a conference on resilient agriculture where I heard a presentation by William Hohenstein, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Change Program Office. One year ago this month, he released a “new” report stating that “climate change is already happening across the United States.”

Apparently that sensational headline didn’t spark enough attention so now the USDA announces it is building a program to respond to climate change. An article in the May 1 edition of the Illinois Farmer Today states: “This [new program] will utilize voluntary, incentive-based conservation, forestry, and energy programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration and expand renewable energy production in the agricultural and forestry sectors.”

Mr. Hohenstein’s job is to ensure every government agency considers climate change before any project is undertaken! He has been given a lot of power, and money seems to be no object. It seems every week I read about another muti-million program from my “favorite government agency,” but apparently the USDA doesn’t have to prove whether the expenditure will lead to the desired results.

When are Americans going to start questioning whether centralized government is the best route? This week I read an article in The Daily Signal entitled, “The Death of the Green Energy Movement,” where author Stephen Moore concludes:

We don’t know if renewables will ever play a significant role in America’s energy mix. But if it does ever happen, it will be a result of market forces, not central planning.

When taxpayer money is thrown at green projects, there is going to be waste. Why are we continuing to throw money into a sink hole as big as “climate change”?

Undoubtedly, weather changes. Weather cycles even repeat themselves… Remember what we learned about the Ice Ages? That climatic change occurred without man’s interference! Throughout history, weather events like meteors, volcanoes, earthquakes have occurred that affect our weather.

Climate change is real, but government bureaucracy is also real. Our Founding Fathers believed in less government control and more free enterprise. The United States, and let me repeat STATES, was built by private business owners coming up with solutions to problems. Private business owners have skin in the game. Let’s let real, true ingenuity from our private business come up with solutions that will work!

Sunday morning before I went to church, I shared an article about Australia holding a day of prayer for the USA. It was admitted that Australia may have the same moral and spiritual bankruptcy as the U.S. but its concerned more because so many countries worldwide benefit from foreign aid from America.  The article states: “Moral and spiritual bankruptcy leads to financial and governmental bankruptcy. America is in great danger from within and from without.”

After sharing this post, I went to church. I didn’t check my Facebook account until the church service was done, and there was a pretty charged debate taking place on my post! Everything from civil unions to a separation between church and state was being discussed. Many comments were thought-provoking, and my “friends” definitely were passionate about their beliefs.

This online debate combined with the sermon I heard earlier that morning brought his scripture to mind, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

Pastor Scott’s sermon on Sunday, as always, seemed to be directed at me. (Ok… Ok… Pastor Scott probably isn’t targeting me, but his sermons are definitely speaking to my heart!) The burning question Pastor Scott raised Sunday was, “Who or what is the king ruling over your life?”

Are you a workaholic, who is allowing your job to take you away from church and family? Do you value material possessions, such as your house or vehicle, to separate you from what’s more important? I knew what my wife, Janice, was thinking as she listened to this sermon. After all, Janice has often threatened an intervention of my Social Media!

While I really don’t believe agvocating has gotten in the way of church and my family, it definitely is time consuming. So many activities and jobs compete for my time. I’m more involved than ever with church activities. Serving as an Elder has been a very rewarding position. I’ve attended way more events for my grandkids than I did for my kids.

No matter how much time I give to my church, my family or even my farm, I feel like there’s more I should be doing. My To Do List is longer than the list of projects I’ve completed. There’s landscaping to finish. My shop is going unused. There are rocks that need to be picked up from fields. The list goes on… My mind wanders to the numerous jobs on the farm that need doing as I sit writing another blog post!

Some folks have suggested that I apply for a new award, America’s Pig Farmer of the Year for demonstrating the “We Care^SM ethical principles.” I’m good at raising pigs, but I haven’t been all that successful at making money at it. Diseases like circo-virus have not helped my bank account. When my combine caught fire during harvest last fall, it made rethink farming this year. Less than breakeven grain prices makes “pushing a pencil” a must! I know there are others like me, who are thinking very hard about how to survive this round of low crop prices.

Whether we farm or not, there are things that weigh heavily on our minds. We all have pet projects that distract us from our priorities. I thought by having some custom farming done this year, I would have more time. This may come back to bite me, but I’m going to give it a try. I’m going to fuel more energy into building my seed dealership, and I’m going to reprioritize my “Honey Do” list. Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and I want my wife to see just how much she means to me! We’ll attend church together and afterward we’ll enjoy a family dinner. I’ll be smoking pork, of course!

What tops your list?

Every April, the Franklin County Farm Bureau hosts an Ag Fair at the Franklin County Fairgrounds for the third graders throughout county. Jennifer Healy has organized this event for many years. This year was no exception, although she was fighting cancer.

The Ag Fair on April 23 was bittersweet this year as Jennifer passed away one day before the event. Jennifer was as passionate as anyone about hosting this event, so kids can experience agriculture firsthand. Even in a rural county like ours, many kids don’t experience farm life.

Thanks to the staff of North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom for doing such a great job. These ladies provide hands-on learning experiences that are so much fun. Third graders experienced many different stations: horses, cattle, fire safety and llamas. Who knew we had so much diversity in our own county? Talk about a well-rounded farm day!

It’s important for people of all ages to understand how their food is raised. That’s why I accepted an invitation to attend a screening on the Iowa State University campus last week of Farmland, followed by panel discussion. The movie is about several young farmers from across the country with very different types of operations, and the ISU panel was set up the same way. The committee did a great job of bringing together a diverse group of Iowa farmers:

• Bill Couser raises cattle and crops.
• Mark Kenney grows crops and seed.
• Katie Olthoff raises turkeys.
• Andrew Pitts is an organic farmer.
• Mitchell Roush grows the famous Muscatine watermelons.
• And me… a pig farmer with a small crop farm.

Now his is the way to find out how your food is grown… learn about farming from farmers! Our group represented six very different ways to grow food. And guess what… there wasn’t a single argument. No one put down another farmer’s way of growing food. We had a great discussion about how what we do, and we discussed how our practices are “right” for each one of our operations.

We all grew up in different areas of the state, and we came from different backgrounds. What we have in common, however, is the desire to grow food and tell our costumers why we do what we do.

We talked about food choice, and how Americans can buy what they want. Consumer choices also creates diverse markets for farmers.

One member of the audience asked how consumers can find out more about food, and I believe this panel was a perfect way to do that! Special thanks to Natalina Sents for bringing together such a great event with a panel of high caliber experts to share about what they do.

If you’re interested in learning more about your food is grown, follow some of my favorite ag bloggers including:

• Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids
• Home Again Finnegan
• On the Banks of Squaw Creek
• Farm Eats City Streets
• And, of course, “Musings of a Pig Farmer,” which posts every Tuesday on TheFieldPosition.com!