The federal budget.  The Farm Bill.  The Middle East…  There are so many major topics weighing on Americans right now, but in today’s blog, I’m going to focus on education and topics discussed at last week’s county Farm Bureau board meeting.

You might think that all that farming and ranching is all that gets discussed at a Farm Bureau meeting, but that’s not true.  Board members help develop the organization’s policy.  Actually, any Farm Bureau member can provide policy input at the grassroots level.  Our policy covers things like the legal system, emergency service fees, energy facilities, as well as items directly tied to farming like conservation.  Education is also very high on this list.

Most Farm Bureau members have kids or grandkids.  (If you have been following me, you know I have lots of grandkids!)  That’s why once a year we invite the superintendents of our county schools to meeting for a chat.  The supers talk about their concerns for the year:  budgets, building projects and enrollment numbers.  New programs and ideas also are shared.

One new program discussed at last week’s meeting was CASE, Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education.  Mr. Brett Spurgin, ag instructor for West Fork Schools, explained how CASE teaches science and math concepts through activity-, project- and problem-based instruction.  Students need a background in science, math and language, but CASE goes beyond textbook learning and teaches them how to work together to actually solve problems.

I really like the idea of the CASE program.  Not only do students have an opportunity to apply what they’re learning in the classroom, but it provides them with an understanding of production agriculture outside a typical ag class.  I’ve always thought all school kids should be taught the basics of food production, and now I wonder how we can get a program like this into the big city schools.  A curriculum like this is needed so kids grow up knowing that milk comes from a cow, not the grocery store!

Education basics (the old 3 R’s) are extremely important.  To be successful in school – and life – a person needs to be able to read and write, understand math and know a little something about the world (history).  But, sadly many young people lack needed skills when they enter the workforce.

Workers don’t have the required skills, says Bob Funk, president and founder of Express Employment Services, America’s fifth-largest employment agency with annual sales of $2.5 billion and more than 600 franchises across the country.  Express has as many as 20,000 jobs across the U.S. that it can’t fill now because workers don’t have the skills required.

Funk is mystified why Express has so much trouble filling thousands of information-technology jobs when so many young, working-age adults are computer literate.  He blames public schools and universities for the skills mismatch.  In an article entitled Where the Jobs Are—and How to Get One, published Sept. 20 by the Wall Street Journal, Funk encourages young people looking for a solid career is to get training in accounting, information technology, manufacturing-robotics programming, welding and engineering.

All of these “top jobs” relate somehow to science and math.  There is truly a need for America’s education system to strengthen its core curriculum, but I don’t believe in taking a cookie cutter approach to education.  Every child is different, with different ideas, wants and needs.  If we were all the same, the world would never progress!  However, I was reading about some of laws the Iowa Legislature passed last session and am concerned about their impact on our state’s educational system.

One law passed last session addresses home schooling.  Wording of laws is critical, and it appears that Iowa kids can be home schooled without any supervision or testing.  I’m on the fence here.  On one hand, I believe parents should determine how they educate their children.  On the other hand, I’ve known some parents whom shouldn’t even had kids!

Like farming, I believe the educational sector can be overregulated.  And I haven’t even mentioned school lunches yet!  However, I believe there are some standards worth meeting.  What are your thoughts?

guest blog by, Tracy Schlater of Farm Safety For Just Kids

Safety on rural roads largely depends on knowing what the other vehicle is going to do.  Turn signals and brake lights are the only means we have of alerting others to our actions, and I learned that lesson – the hard way – shortly after getting my driver’s license at age 16.

On my way home from school, I was following a pickup hauling a couple of grain wagons on the gravel road leading to my family’s farm.  There was a field drive coming up on the left and a farmhouse drive to the right.  As we approached the intersection where the two driveways met the road, the driver of the pickup moved to the left side of the road.

Since he moved left, my 16-year-old self thought he was turning into the field drive on the left.  I assumed that he moved into the oncoming “lane” of our gravel road, so I wouldn’t have to slow down while he made his turn.

I was wrong.

He was swinging wide to make the right hand turn into the farm yard without taking out the mailbox on the corner.  His turn would have been obvious had the signal been working on his wagons.  I was seconds from plowing into the passenger side of his pick up as he made his turn.

My mistake was making an assumption.  I should have slowed down long enough to see his next move. I’m fortunate to have learned that lesson at such a young age without the costly implications of an accident.

About one-third of fatal tractor accidents occur on public roads, according to the National Safety Council.  That’s why I’d like to share the following tips for sharing the road safely this harvest season.

What’s the best way to share the road?

• Plan the BEST route; avoid busy streets and towns when possible
• You MUST allow 1/2 the roadway to oncoming traffic AND behind you
• Try to move equipment during daylight hours whenever possible.  Avoid moving farm equipment on public roads between sunset and sunrise or anytime when visibility is limited to 500 feet.

What lighting is required on farm equipment and wagons?

• DOT regulations state you must have at least 1 solid red light on the rear of an ag trailer
• Properly light your farm equipment. Ensure turn signals, headlights and taillights conform to state vehicle codes.
• Use amber flashers to provide warning to motorists that hazards may exist.
• Have slow moving vehicle emblems and reflectors in place on all tractors and implements.
• Emblems should be clean and in good condition; SMV signs are required for speeds less than 35 mph.
• **Speeds greater than 35 mph, signs need to be covered or removed.
• Make sure your load does not obscure lights and warning devices. Pay special attention to the outward edge of equipment such as knives.

How should you prepare your drivers?

• DON’T ASSUME your drivers know the hazards of large equipment on the road.
• Prepare selected maps for your drivers so you can avoid narrow bridges, blind hills and generally unsafe areas along the way

Start with a PLAN and make sure your drivers know what you expect of them in terms of safe passage.

When I have a lot of windshield time – whether it’s driving to meetings or combining corn – I contemplate all sorts of things.  For example, have you ever wondered about the term “landlord”?

The term dates back to the Roman Empire and feudalism when peasants (or serfs) were bound to the land.  The peasants worked the land and paid homage to their lord; they shared their produce and other fruits of their labor in exchange for military protection.

Fast forward a couple thousand years to the country of Ukraine. The tables have turned during the last 20 years, so now the people who used to be the peasants are the landlords.  When the Soviet Union fell apart, land that has been confiscated by the government was returned to the farm villagers.

Each qualifying person received about three to four hectares, but there was a catch… the villagers could not buy or sell that land! If the owners of the ground cannot sell it, that means they must either farm it themselves or rent it.  This is where the story really gets interesting (IMHO)…

During our Black Sea Study Trip last July with Iowa Farm Bureau, we had an opportunity to visit many farms in the Ukraine.  One particular farmer, Kees Huizinga, stands out in my mind.  His farm operation is called “krychenka.”  He has grown it from scratch to 14,000 hectares, or about 35,000 acres.

Now if you’re an old farmer like me, you start doing the math!  Kees has about 4,500 landlords living in about 10 villages, which Kees is now responsible for taking care of.  Not only does Kees need contracts with 4,500 landlords, he must take care of the needs of their villages.  There aren’t any property taxes to fund the schools, supply water, maintain roads or remove snow.  Kees has large equipment, so he’s expected to take care of all these needs!  Basically, he is taxed by the services he must provide.

Can you imagine?  Many Midwest farmers feel that one landlord is one too many!  Imagine having 4,500 landlords who expect you to take care of more than just their farm acres.  As frustrated as I can get with the rules and regulations, I can’t imagine having thousands of landlords.  Hmm…  maybe there are more similarities between the two than I first thought!

For more stories about our trip to the Ukraine, click on the links below:

• Busting Myths about Dracula’s Castle
  
• Farmer’s Markets Open 24/7 in the Ukraine
  
• How Eastern European Farms Measure Up