I am a rich man.  No, I’m not talking about being a rich farmer.  That I’m not! But, I am rich in the ways that matter most.

The tragic events that unfolded this past week – from Boston to West Texas – caused me to pause for a moment and think about how good life really is here in the Heartland.  For example, yesterday was Earth Day.  Such a day reminds me of what a wonderful world God has created!  I also caused me to reflect upon the change Janice and I are making as we transfer our memberships to the church she attended as child.

Thinking about Janice’s childhood then caused me to reflect upon my own childhood.  I was born to farm!  From the time I was a toddler, I literally followed in the steps of my great grandfather, my grandpa and my dad.  Fifty years later, I’m still proud to call myself a farmer – but it hasn’t always been easy.

In the 70s, I was one of what they called the “Young Tigers.”  I reached my goal of farming 1,000 acres, which at that time, was worth $1,000 per acre.  I spent all my available hours working on the farm.  As a workaholic, I was focused on the wrong goals!

My way of thinking changed a decade later.  On my 30th birthday, I married Janice and had an instant family.  We joked that “something had to go” to make room for four kids, so I sold my airplane.  During the 1980s Farm Crisis, I sold off some farmland.  Janice ran the farming operation, including doing hog chores, while I took an off-farm job working construction.  We built hog units across the Midwest, so I was gone from home too much of the time.  We did what we was required to provide for our growing family at the time, and we were all thankful when I could return to farming full time.

Over the last 30 years, I’ve become very wealthy in a non-material way.  Our family has brought us so much joy!  The past two weeks have been particularly enjoyable: our grandchildren Jessica and Zach went to prom; and grandson Devin finally was healed enough to play some great football in Iowa State’s spring game!

While sipping my morning cup of coffee, I usually browse my social media news feed.  While doing so last Thursday, I came across a post entitled “Did You Know?” on the blog Jean’s Boots Are Made for Talking.  Imbedded in this post was a video that I’d seen before, and honestly, it blows my mind every time I watch it. This video virtually reminds how we’re not isolated in our own part of the word, and it also explains why I believe we must work diligently to educate others about farming practices and how their food is grown.

Why should farmers care about consumers? The long and short of it is that hate stems from fear. People, who lack a clear understanding of GMOs, for example, fear the GMOs and hate everyone who grows GMO crops.  More consumers need to understand why farmers plant GMOs, for example.

Another reason farmers should care about consumers’ thoughts and opinions is because – thanks in large part to social media – misinformation spreads faster than wildfire.  Below is an excerpt from a post I saw last week on Facebook:

DANGER TO YOUR FAMILY!!
from the Department of Life Education:

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots, which are put through a machine that cuts and shapes them.  What you may not know and should know is the following…

Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine. (This is the same chlorine used in your pool).  Since baby carrots don’t have a skin or natural protective covering, they’re given a higher dose of chlorine.

You’ll notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form. This is the chlorine which resurfaces!  At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables?  I used to buy those baby carrots for vegetable dips. I know that I will never buy them again!!!

I was watching this conversation – trying to decide if when and how to engage – when I saw a fellow agvocate, Carolyn Olson, post. Carolyn shared “Myth & Fact about the white film on baby carrots” and then shared a related link for waterandhealth.org.  Great job, Carolyn!

It’s difficult to always be in the right place at the right time as Carolyn was, but I hope this explains why there is a group of agvocates speaking out and trying to have that conversation. I hope this also helps explain why we need more farmers to join our effort.  Agvocating: It’s harder to say than do.  Just do it!

Related Posts:

• Chlorine in carrots?
• Carrot and Shtick
• Bleach on carrots

Knowing where food comes from and how it is grown is becoming increasingly important for many U.S. consumers. Connecting consumers with local producers is one goal of the Healthy Harvest of North Iowa’s “Buy Fresh. Buy Local.” initiative.

Local food initiatives help fuel stronger communities. Each dollar spent on locally grown food keeps dollars circulating through the community, which can have a big impact on rural communities. The average Iowa family spends $137.90 weekly on food. Residents in the Iowa counties of Franklin and Wright spend $69 million annually on food.

“If we could capture 10% of the food dollars in Franklin and Wright counties, that means $6.9 million would be reinvested in our local communities! Even a 1% market share would be significant,” said Jan Libbey, coordinator for Healthy Harvest of North Iowa.