Photo courtesy of The Great Plains Center For Agriculture Health
Hazardous levels of noise are produced by many things on the farm, including grain dryers, tractors, combines, livestock, chainsaws, and firearms. Any noise that leaves you with ringing in the ears or you are in a noisy location and you have to raise your voice to be heard, the noise is too loud!
Protect your hearing by doing the following:
Reduce sound levels – When selecting new equipment, ask about sound levels and pick the quietest option.
Perform routine equipment maintenance – For example, fixing mufflers on engines, lubricating bearings, and replacing worn parts will reduce noise levels and improve farming operations.
Isolate yourself from noise – Working in motorized equipment equipped with cabs or enclosures will reduce noise exposure.
Use personal protective equipment – Since purchasing newer, quieter equipment is not always an option, use hearing protection when working in noisy settings. The earmuff style offers the best protection and is easy to use. Expandable ear plugs are the next best option but these require proper insertion to be effective: roll them up, insert into the ear, and hold in place while they expand to fill the ear canal.
Mark “High Noise Zones” – anywhere there is risk of excessive noise exposure. Have a set of earmuffs or earplugs in or near every high noise setting on the farm.
Choose the highest Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) – This isusually between 15 and 30 decibels. Chose the hearing protection with the highest NRR value.
Limit daily exposure duration – Reducing the amount of time you are exposed to noise can limit its harmful effects.
Kristin Porter of Iowa Girl Eats. Photo courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats
Eat healthier. Get in shape. Spend more time with the family.
It comes as no surprise that these three are among the top resolutions made in 2014 by Americans. Newly released results from a study conducted by the Iowa Food & Family Project confirms that interest in food among Iowans continues to spike, mirroring national trends.
Americans today have more food choices than ever, from locally grown to organic. U.S. supermarkets are stocked with thousands of easy-to-fix meals, yet two-thirds of our population is obese. Contrast today’s stats with the 1950s when food production and meal production were more labor intensive, yet only 9.7 Americans were obese.
Photo courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats [Click Here for Recipe]As fewer people are directly involved in the business of growing food, there is a growing need to create understanding between producers and consumers. That’s why last spring the Iowa Food and Families Project launched the “Join My Journey” campaign featuring Iowa Girl Eats blogger Kristin Porter. Kristin describes herself by saying, “I eat as well as my sweet tooth allows, run as often as possible despite the crazy Iowa weather, and am usually dreaming about the next place I want to travel to!”
Her travels in 2013 took her to several Iowa farms and points of interest where she milked a cow, saw first-hand how pigs, cattle, turkeys and poultry are raised and how farmers grow corn and soybeans. A native Iowan who wasn’t reared on a farm, Kristin took the wheel of a tractor during the 2013 planting season and drove a combine during #harvest13. She met several farm families, who raise and care for livestock and crops. Rather than google for answers, she had the opportunity to ask Iowa farmers the questions that she and other consumers had about modern production practices.
Photo courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats [Click Here for Recipe]Now you can embark on a journey of your own! To help you take a step toward eating healthier and spending more time with your family, today we’re sharing two Iowa Girl Eats’ recipes that will put a new twist on fruits and vegetables. This recipe for Pineapple Mango & Orange Smoothie looks simple enough for my sixth grade Girl Scouts to make, plus I’m hoping this tropical concoction will help warm up our January troop meeting. (Doesn’t a trip to Maui sound fabulous now? Since I’m not headed there, I’ll enjoy a taste of it from the comforts of Iowa.)
The second recipe of Kristin’s that we’re featuring is for Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa Bowls. Quite frankly, I’m intrigued with this one because it makes use edamame (a soyfood) but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever tried making at home. Guess it’s time I step outside my own comfort zone and try something new!
Stop smoking. Start exercising. Spend more time with family. Even though “increasing bushels per acre” doesn’t make the nation’s Top 10 List for New Year’s Resolutions for 2014, we know it’s on every farmer’s mind. That’s why today we’re sharing tips to help you do just that!
Variety Selection: In my opinion, this is THE most important factor to achieving higher soybean yields. Farmers need to manage a number of stress factors: disease, insects, Soybean Cyst Nematodes, etc. Fortunately, many of these stress factors can be managed through careful variety selection. Soybean Aphids can now be managed with Aphid-Resistant soybean cultivars. In the past, too many decisions have been based on cost per bag and the size of the seed in the bag. Those two factors won’t add a single bushel to your overall yield.
Early planting: Soybeans are a light-sensitive crop, so yields are strongly influenced by the amount of solar radiation the crop receives throughout the growing season. It stands to reason that the earlier-planted crop will have more potential for yield since it will have greater access to sunlight. However, there are risks associated with early planting. Farmers must be careful to protect early-planted soybeans from seedling diseases and insects. We recommend the use of seed treatments containing either a fungicide or a fungicide-insecticide combination.
Weed Management: Soybeans are very sensitive to early season competition from grass and broadleaf weeds. Using a weed control program that includes a pre-emergence herbicide and a post-applied product will reduce the stress from weed pressure and allow for early canopy closure. An early complete canopy is important to intercept as much sunlight as possible throughout the growing season.
Narrow Row Spacing: Again, getting back to the theory that enhanced yields are tied directly to the amount of light that can be intercepted by the soybean crop, then narrow row spacing will help greatly in closing the canopy and allowing for increased light interception. I strongly recommend that farmers take a look at row spacings in the 15 – 20 inch range. Over many years of field observations, this seems to be the range that affords the greatest amount of yield potential while also mitigating risks associated with drilled soybeans in the 7 – 10 inch range.
Soil Fertility: When striving for higher yields, soybean farmers need to ensure they have the available soil nutrients to achieve those yields or else all their careful planning and cultural practices will be for naught. Latham’s hallmark Seed-2-Soil program is invaluable in helping farmers achieve these goals. Soil sampling, field mapping and nutrient recommendations are just three of the many benefits members of this exclusive club can take advantage of.
Soybean Cyst Nematode:SCN is the number one pest of soybean fields in the United States. You really can’t even begin to think about raising 80 bu/A or even 60 bu/A soybeans until you know exactly where your SCN populations are in each field. Nematodes tend to cause the most damage in drier years where soil moisture is lacking and plants are already under severe stress. Here again, soil sampling and careful variety selection are critical.
Crop Rotation: Many will argue this comment, but in my opinion, the corn-soybean crop rotation is still the most profitable practice for farmers over time. The long-term benefits of this rotation far outweigh the short-term successes of corn-on-corn or even beans-on-beans.
Scouting:Scouting your fields at least once a week is crucial. There will be times during the year when once a week isn’t often enough, and you might find yourself scouting fields every other day!
Annual consumer poll shows trust in farmers, confusion in labels, concerns about food safety
Interest in food among Iowans continues to spike, mirroring national trends. Eighty-five percent of respondents to an annual poll, commissioned by the Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP), said they think “often” or “sometimes” about how the food they eat is grown. While that percentage was nearly identical to Iowa FFP’s 2012 consumer pulse survey, intensity of interest increased substantially. Fifty-three percent responded “often think about” compared to 45 percent the previous year.
The annual Iowa consumer pulse survey, conducted recently by CampaignHQ of Brooklyn, queried 500 Iowans active in health and fitness activities. Respondents were primarily female, highly affluent and educated and make the majority of their household’s food purchasing decisions. The survey’s margin of error was 4.3 percent.
Iowans overwhelmingly approve of the job farmers do. Sixty percent had a favorable impression of how farmers care for their cattle, hogs and poultry compared to just 8 percent unfavorable (32 percent were neutral/unsure). Forty-eight percent had a positive impression about farmers as environmental stewards compared to 16 percent unfavorable. Thirty-six percent were neutral or unsure.
The high marks given to farmers by food purchasers has remained consistent since the Iowa FFP’s inaugural consumer trust survey conducted in 2011, said CampaignHQ’s Nicole Schlinger. Farmers retain the confidence of their urban neighbors, but that trust must continually be earned.
“Gaining people’s trust is a key way to maintain your social license to operate,” said Laurie Johns, public relations manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, in Mythbusting 101 presentation. “Shared values are three to five times more important in building trust than demonstrating technical competence.” Shared values include compassion, responsibility, respect, fairness and truth, Johns said. These values especially resonate with women ages 25 to 54, who make many purchasing decisions within their households.
Increasing consumer confidence in how food is grown by encouraging conversations and providing unique opportunities for farm families and their urban neighbors to become better acquainted is the mission of the Iowa Food & Family Project. Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is proud to be one of nearly 40 farm and food retail partners that help support the Iowa FFP’s mission.
Stay tuned for more information about an exciting partnership between Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds and the FFP… more details will be announced soon!
Image Credited to The Washington Post and created by Lisa Benson. (Click Image for original source)
As I write my post today, the weather is giving many Americans a shot of reality! As much as we like to think we’re in control of our lives, winter storms like this remind us we’re not. We have to face reality and weather this storm!
Reality is one of those words, which can be misunderstood much like the word sustainable. The definition of sustainable depends on what group or person is using it. The definition of reality, on the other hand, can be very specific!
“Reality is the state of things as they actually exist as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them,” says Rhonda Ross, creator of the Thank a Farmer® brand and programming to create understanding between rural and urban societies.“Reality is the state of quality of having existence or substance.”
Rubbing shoulders with some of the best in entertainment and athletics opened Rhonda to the reality that “anything is possible.” As a result, she’s accomplished some pretty amazing things. By age 13, Rhonda was professionally performing her comedy juggling act. By age 22, she had completed her journalism studies and was singing the National Anthem in venues like Madison Square Garden.
Fortunately for those of us in agriculture, Rhonda is channeling her passion and energy into traveling the countryside, giving kids and their parents a first-hand look at where food comes from. Her “Thank a Farmer” Facebook page has more than 23,700 fans; she shares interesting facts that on this page that even farmers enjoy. Rhonda educates others about modern farming in a very entertaining way with her Ag Magic Show. When she performs at the Iowa State Fair, I always make it a point to visit with her. I always enjoy learning from her and appreciate her efforts to promote appreciation for what farmers do.
Now back to reality…
I have blogged about many of the ways farmers and our products are perceived. The way we farm and ranch now is very different from words sung in Old McDonald’s Farm or Disney cartoons. Today’s agriculture is so vast, and there so many different ways to produce every product that is consumed.
In my own operation, I no-till as much as I can. Does that make the way I farm better than someone that strip tills or minimum tills? Of course not! This practice doesn’t work everywhere.
When I visited the Ukraine, I was fascinated by the equipment they used. Farmers there raise crops very differently than I do. I use seed that is modified, so that I don’t need as many chemicals and can’t make fewer trips across the field. Reality is that Ukrainian farmers can’t plant the same seed as I do. They need more tillage and more chemicals to grow their crops. Right or wrong, this is the reality.
The best way to raise livestock is also an ongoing debate. In past articles, I have shared struggles with raising pigs outside in Iowa. I try to eliminate all the stress that I can for my animals, so I raise my hogs inside climate-controlled barns. On a cold, windy day like yesterday with wind chills of 45 degrees below zero, the reality is that my pigs are way better off inside. Yesterday I shared photos on my Facebook page of how comfortable my pigs really are. That’s reality!
Farmers and ranchers use their many years of experience plus current technology to continually improve how they raise crops and livestock. There are reasons I farm the way I do, yet others use emotions to debate it – and to sway the debate!
Emotion plays a big role in the ongoing GMO food labeling debate, too. A stigma is being created that will keep some people from buying a product labeled this way. Reality is, non-withstanding all the junk studies, there’s no proof that GMOs are harmful to our health. Fact is, organic and conventionally grown foods do not vary significantly from a nutritional perspective. Plus, organic food is not guaranteed to be free of pesticides. Reality is, Americans have many food choices available.
Photo credited to Latham Dealer Andria Fritz-White of Lancaster, WI
“Today is what you make of it!” I often tell my kids. “There is a silver lining to every cloud,” is another one of my favorite sayings. But today even I am searching for the silver lining as temperatures dip, wind chills hit 45 to 50 below zero, and the wind gusts at 30 miles per hour. Winter Storm Ion is moving across the U.S., bringing the coldest temperatures we’ve experienced in almost two decades.
My Facebook feed is filling up today with posts from friends, who have rescued newborn calves from the elements and moved their newborn lambs into the garage. Faucets are freezing and equipment is breaking. As one of my friends posted, “Expect things to break and breakdown.”
This weather isn’t fit for beast nor man. While farmers are busy caring for their livestock, they must also remember to take care of themselves:
Dress for the weather – Wear loose-fitting layers. Cover your head. Wear mittens instead of gloves.
Clean and organize – Go vacuum a few rooms or walk up and down the stairs. Moderate exercise will get your body warm without breaking a sweat, which would obviously cool your body.
We certainly appreciate America’s farmers, who work 365 days a year, regardless of the weather. We also appreciate all of service workers, who provide behind-the-scenes support including electricians, heating repairmen, truck drivers and others. In honor of all of these hardworking agriculturists, today we’re going to give away this beautiful “God Made a Farmer” plaque by Isabel Bloom. Everyone who likes Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds‘ Facebook page by 5 PM today will be entered in a random drawing.
Christmas Break or winter vacation? Whatever you call it, I haven’t had one that was this much fun since my best friend in college took me on her family’s trip to the Rose Bowl. Even though we were Iowa State students and the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing the Rose Bowl that year, it was the trip of a lifetime. The California sunshine felt especially nice to this ISU kid, whose eyelashes literally froze together while walking to Finals just a few days prior. Beauty was all around… I was awed by a behind-the-scenes tour of floats being built and thrilled to learn we had seats for the parade. That New Year’s Day goes down as “one perfect day” in my book.
Fast forward a couple decades and New Year’s Day 2014 found me making a 9-hour drive to Baudette, Minnesota, in Lake of the Woods County. When I pulled into the parking lot at Sportsman’s Lodge, my family and I were greeted with temperatures of 22 below zero. (I have no idea what the wind chill was, and I’m not sure I really want to know!)
My 12-year-old son was questioning my judgment. First of all, he was missing the first two days of the new school year. Secondly, he’s missing the chance to play with his friends in a basketball tournament this weekend. And now this: “Mom, do you realize I can only get 3G here? It’s taking forever for Snapchat to load. Someone sent me a message 15 minutes ago, and I’m just getting it now.”
“Be thankful you have any service at all,” I replied cheerfully. “It may not be as fast as you’d like, but you have service.” I started grabbing gear and unloading our vehicle in an effort to get settled into our room as quickly as possible. Seriously, who wants to dawdle when it’s -22°F?
You may be questioning my sanity, as well. 🙂 Why would a 40-something-year-old woman pack up the family vehicle and head to the frozen tundra for vacation? There are several reasons, actually. I’ve enjoyed fishing since I was knee high to a grasshopper. My dad used to take me trout fishing in Northeast Iowa in the spring practically weekly. My entire family would often spend a week in a fishing cabin somewhere in Minnesota. When I was attending Iowa State, I’d sometimes join my dad for a weekend of ice fishing around Creston in southern Iowa. Fishing is just something we enjoy doing together.
I’ve caught a lot of fish in my day, but I’ve not caught a wall hanger. And I want one! (I have the perfect place in mind to hang one in my house.) Why a Walleye? Why not? 🙂
My quest for a trophy Walleye brought me and my brother to Baudette nearly two years ago. While we never even got a big one on the line, we did catch a lot of walleye. More importantly, we created a lot of fish tales and enjoyed many belly laughs. We’ve relived some of those moment since, and each time, we laugh about them again.
As country crooner Trace Adkins’ sings in his fit song, Just fishin’, it’s less about fishing and more about living. My personal motto is to live life to the fullest. And this New Year’s fishing trip is all about living, creating lifelong family memories – and eating well.
Trying local foods is one thing I enjoy about traveling the country. I’ve enjoyed the lightly breaded walleye, which is on the menu here at Sportman’s Lodge with a side of Traditional Minnesota Wild Rice. I’ve heard from other fishermen that panko makes a nice, light breading. That’s why today I’m sharing one recipe that I’m looking forward to trying soon with our fresh catch.
Consider the following Latham® RIB corn hybrids to your 2014 portfolio. Remember, one of the best ways to manage risk is by planting a diversified portfolio of seed products that includes minimum of three or four different hybrid numbers in varying maturities.
LH 5186 VT3 PRO – this hybrid showed excellent root strength and late-season intactness in 2013. The data also is great on this hybrid the VT2 PRO version called LH 5185 VT2PRO.
LH 5877 VT3 PRO – This is one of the most adaptable hybrids in Latham’s lineup. It can be planted in multiple situations and is very good against Goss’s Wilt.
LH 5898 VT3 PRO – This is the VT3Pro version of our popular LH 5896 and topped our own plots in Alexander, Iowa. Place this hybrid in your best soils for optimal performance, and feed it with extra nutrients. It’s also very good against Goss’s Wilt.
Wrap up your 2014 seed order during Latham’s 12 Days of Christmas promotion, and take advantage of great discounts through January 6! Click on the related posts below to learn more:
It’s the last day of 2013 and I’m thinking back about all that has happened during the past years. So many memories have been created – both good and bad.
The 2013 farming year can easily be described as a roller coaster! As the spring planting season got underway, we were hit with a late-season snow storm. Then monsoon season struck, and the equivalent to a whole year’s worth of rain fell as I tried to plant my crops. We experienced the wettest spring on record for 141 years. I finally finished planting by mid-June, close to six weeks later than normal. And that’s when the rain stopped. Even with all the rain we received in the spring, a good share of Iowa is still under some type of drought rating.
Fall harvest also was a big challenge. With such late planting, I harvested some very corn. It was difficult to combine and required lots of LP to dry down the moisture for safe storage. Now commodity prices have dropped to break even or below. Many Americans are asking for an increase in the minimum wage, but sometimes there is no wage for farmers!
This brings to mind the “Farm Bill” that has yet to pass. There’s been much talk, little action. I’ve already written so much about this bill, but today I want to comment on the part that most directly affects my farming operation. I have bought crop insurance every year as far as I can remember. I received a settlement one year, and it looks like there may be another one this year. The point is, I have paid far more in premiums than I will ever receive in pay outs.
While I understand this is pretty typical of insurance, I only point this out because there is a misunderstanding that crop insurance is making farmers rich. Even with a settlement, this will be a very unprofitable year for me. That’s the way farming can be… Sometimes it takes two or three or even more years to make up for one bad year. Even with crop insurance, farmers are still pretty much at the mercy of the weather. Farmers prepare to weather the storms.
As the year 2013 comes to a close, I don’t want to dwell on my fears. I want to remember the year’s highlights. While I enjoyed several highlights this year, the one that tops my list is the Black Seas Study Tour sponsored by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.
I spent 10 days in Ukraine and Romania with 25 other Iowans, checking out the competition that we will encounter from Eastern Europe in the future for our exports. Exports are an extremely important part of U.S. farmers’ marketing strategy. We have become very efficient at production on our farms and ranches, which allows for some balancing of our country’s trade. The USA has become increasingly hungry for products from other countries, so we need to export something to balance this hunger.
Ukraine, with a majority of fertile soil that can grow crops in the right climate, is like an awakening bear. This country was the Bread Basket of the Soviet Union. With the right governing climate, it can become a major competitor for the same markets that Americans have been developing.
Regulations are putting a strangle hold on U.S. farmers, so we may lose the competitive advantage we’ve enjoyed for years. Not only will this hurt agriculture, it will hinder the growth of all U.S. industries that supply agriculture. Small towns and small businesses in rural America have a huge stake in a healthy farm economy!
It’s my hope that 2014 finds us with a Farm Bill and more favorable growing conditions. Where there is seed, there is hope!
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” – Henry David Thoreau
One of the best ways to manage risk is by planting a diversified portfolio of seed products that includes minimum of three or four different hybrid numbers in varying maturities. Different flowering dates can help reduce yield loss due to heat during pollination.
LH 4819 SS, designated as one of Latham’s top Gladiator hybrids, is an excellent early product for North Iowa. Not only does it portray a great defensive package needed for tough corn-on-corn situations, but this hybrid is high yielding with excellent test weight. It has good stalks with excellent roots, giving this hybrid healthy late-season intactness. Staygreen allows LH 4819 SS to move south of its comfort zone, too.
Talk to your local Latham® representative about planting some 4819 in 2014. If you have questions or need help finding a dealer near you, call the Latham office at 1.877.GO.LATHAM (1.877.465.2842).
