“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

How true! This quote has become somewhat of a mantra since my husband, John Latham, made it part of a presentation last year as part of our company’s 65^th anniversary celebration.  John used the quote in reference to how our family-owned seed company takes the road less traveled by remaining independent and offering a variety of product and program options for our farmer-customers.

This particular Frost quote also is relevant to the people side of our business.  Often times I meet some of the world’s nicest people while I’m visiting the smallest farming communities.  I hear the most interesting stories while sitting in the buddy seat of a combine or across the table from a farm couple.  These stories are what shape my blog, TheFieldPosition.com.

For the past five years, I’ve blogged in support of America’s family farmers.  Often times I talk to industry experts and share their helpful agronomic tips. Other times I share recipes from meals I’ve enjoyed while visiting Midwest farmers.  And when ridiculous laws or rule changes like those concerning Child Labor and School Lunches threaten our way of life, then I do what I can to give agriculture a voice.

I’ve never been known to walk away from a challenge, so that’s why I’m joining Holly Spangler’s 30-days of blogging. The objective is for agriculturists to share what they do to help promote understanding among our non-ag friends. Get ready to agvocate!

During this 30-day challenge, I will feature farm families and their favorite recipes on Fridays.  I’m looking forward to “Slow Food Sundays” when I highlight recipes we’ve shared to bring families together for a healthy meal and a few hearty laughs. On Tuesdays, Larry Sailer will continue to post his “Musings of a Pig Farmer” blog. The rest of the days, I’ll address topics of interest to readers.

Walk along the road less traveled with me!  As Janice Person wrote, “While I want to do this daily, I also want them to keep readers by making them good enough to be read!”  The best way to assure these topics are relevant and interesting is for you to send me your story ideas.

“Musings of a Pig Farmer” by Larry Sailer

#Harvest13 is winding down, but there’s still combing to be done on my North Central Iowa farm.  All this “windshield time” has given me so many things to think about, and so many ideas for today’s blog have come to mind.  Since this evening’s #AgChat discussion will focus on family vs. corporate farms, it made me reflect upon last week’s AgChat discussion about the size of farming and ranching operations.

Ownership nor size determines a farm’s worth.  Farms, big or small, can be good or bad – or simply average.  Management makes the difference.

When I was young, I grew my farming operation to about twice the average farm size in just under 10 years.  Growth can lead to problems in any business, and farming is no different.  Farming is extremely capital intensive.  Even in the 1970s, farming wasn’t a cheap business to expand.  The 1980s Farm Crisis with high interest rates took a toll on my operation.  Since then, my operation has been close to what is considered an average-size Iowa farm. Herein lies another problem…

To use most of today’s farming technology, an operation must be large enough to spread out the cost.  I’m not a large farmer, so I don’t have large machinery.  That’s not a problem for me, but it is a problem for others in the industry who assume bigger is better.

My point is that farmers come in all sizes and operations come in all types.  Each farmer must learn to adapt and do what works for him or her.  They may find that new equipment is the best fit for their operation, or they may scour the combine grave yards in search of replacement parts.  Perhaps a farmer may find his niche raising crops or livestock for a certain market.  In the past, I’ve grown seed stock for seed companies and breeding stock for suppliers of hog genetics.

There is technology that can be used by all farmers of all sizes. At World Food Prize Tweet Up where I recently met Dr. Robb Fraley, he made a comment that has stayed with me: The technology he has helped develop is good for operations of all sizes. Seed technology is size neutral.

There is a place for every size of farming operation. With only 28% of the world’s land mass suitable for growing crops, we’re going to need every farmer to help feed the growing world population.  I’m certainly looking to see how to make my farm better!  Sometimes adjustments must be made on any farm, regardless of its size.  Times change, and farming never stands still.

By Mark Grundmeier, Soybean Product Manager

#Harvest13 is underway across the Upper Midwest. Many farmers prepare to sell their crops – either now or sometime in the near future.  But at family-owned Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, the 2013 #soybean crop becomes our 2014 seed supply.

Production growers have started bringing in more bushels than we had expected, and we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results.  The size of the soybeans is larger than we had expected as dry years often produce small seed sizes.  We’re also happy with the preliminary condition of the seed beans as they’re coming into our plant.

As the seed travels from our growers’ fields through our processing plant, we aim to be as gentle as possible to preserve the quality of the soybeans and to avoid cracking the seed coats.  Some of our handling equipment is the same as that used by a maker of corn flakes.  You know it’s gentle if it keeps a corn flake intact!

Farmers who planted Latham® Hi‑Tech Soybeans in 2012, for example, noticed a drastic difference when our soybeans had 10% higher germination than our competitors.  We heard more than one customer tell us he was surprised when the actual germination was higher than the number we had placed on the tag. The reverse situation occurred on the competitor’s soybeans, and the tag on the bag actually showed the germination to be 4% better than the true germ.

From the growers who take the utmost care of our foundation seed, to the individuals who hand-test the raw product, we follow a stringent, quality-driven process.  Click here for more details about our hands-on process.

“Musings of a Pig Farmer” by Larry Sailer

In my blog post last week, I pointed out that farmers can’t just shut down and questioned how civilized is a society whose government shuts down.  This week I promised last week to solve our federal government’s debt problem but… that must wait a week.  Today I can’t pass up the opportunity to share my thoughts about the World Food Prize and the #borlaugdialog Tweet Up I attended yesterday.

When I first received the invite to yesterday’s Tweet Up, I thought, “I can go if it rains.”  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something that I really want to attend.  After all, I had planned to get done combining beans over the weekend and my corn wasn’t yet ready. That plan sounded reasonable until a few setbacks occurred: (1) my combine broke down and (2) I had to stop and watch my grandson Devin and his ISU teammates play football, and kickoff was scheduled for the silly time of 11 AM Saturday.  Before I knew it, I was down an entire day’s worth of bean combining.

The next problem I encountered was the location of the World Food Prize Tweet Up because this particular coffee shop advertised a vegan menu.  No chance of me walking through the door of such an establishment!  After pointing this out to two Tweet Up organizers, Janice Person and Deb Brown assured me BACON would be served there. Game on!

This Tweet Up gathered together a group of 140 Conference speakers in honor of World Food Prize Week.  One of the three laureates this year is Robb Fraley, PhD.  Dr. Fraley, is responsible for global research as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.  He has worked for Monsanto for 30 years and was on the ground floor of biotechnology.

Often referred to as the Father of Biotechnology, Dr. Fraley has literally changed the world of agriculture.  Yet, the one thing that struck me when he visited with us during coffee is that Robb grew up on a small farm about 100 miles south of Chicago.  He’s an old farm boy like me!  Robb reminisced about growing up in a small town with just 17 students were in his graduating class.  He developed a strong work ethic by growing up in a farming community.

Another person attending this Tweet Up from Monsanto was Janice Person, Social Media Director for Monsanto.  Anyone who has ever been around Janice knows what a sweet, sincere and genuine person she is.  A third person in attendance at yesterday’s Tweet Up was Tami Craig Schilling, Technology Communications Lead for Monsanto. Tami and I have been friends for quite some time on Facebook, and I was glad to finally meet her in person.  Online she often talks about being a farm wife, and I know her family is extremely important to her.

Why am I explaining so much about these Monsanto employees?  Monsanto has been demonized as a huge corporation, trying to take over the world’s food supply!  The truth is, this corporation is made up of people like you and me.  They have families.  They have social lives.  And, yes, they might even have a few faults – just like you and me.

One statement that Robb said stuck with me: “GM crops are the least size-sensitive of any crop. Small farmers, as well as large farmers, can use them.  They are just seeds, and any farmer knows what to do with a seed.”

Please do your own research on the topic of GM crops.  Below are a links to resources:

• Why do farmers plant GMO Crops?
• GMO Answers
• Type 5 Myths of GM Seeds Busted

And if you have more questions, visit directly a farmer.  There are some great chat boards where you can ask questions and receive straight answers.  Please do NOT just listen to some emotional jargon provided by a special interest group or someone with a bone to pick!

“Musings of a Pig Farmer” by Larry Sailer

It’s a good thing farmers can’t shut down. If they stopped milking the cows or feeding the pigs and chickens for a day, it would cause more havoc than any shutdown Obama can dream up, writes Randall Reeder, Reeder & Associates LLC, in his “Weekly Comments.”  Reeder goes on to say, “Milking Cows are more essential than parts of government.”

I couldn’t agree more with Reeder, but it appears the Obama Administration has a much different opinion of what are essential parts of government.  Apparently, it’s in the best interest of national security to secure the World War II Memorial, which has no gates, no doors and no way of closing – until are wise government leaders (insert sarcasm here) installed barricades.  This attraction was hardly manned before the shutdown, but now there are barricades and guards!

Likewise, it wasn’t enough for the U.S government to close the doors to Mount Rushmore.  When the Feds realized people could still see it from a nearby road, they blocked off part of that road.  (Perhaps our government leaders thought, “Out of sight, out of mind.”  They certainly wouldn’t want American citizens to remember these great presidents and ponder why the U.S. was never close to a mess of this magnitude during their administrations!)

Reeder had a brilliant idea (IMHO)… invite President Obama and his Cabinet to the Capitol for a joint session of Congress. Then block all the exits, and don’t let anyone out until they agree on something.  Once they get this government shutdown resolved, they’ve can tackle the debt ceiling.

Throughout history, government – or organized leadership of some type– has been necessary for a civilized society.  I’m beginning to wonder just how civilized our society is.  Just think about how the government shutdown thinks about things we take for granted.

For example, is the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier still being guarded 24/7?  I heard that Amber Alerts cannot be sent at this time.  The USDA website has been shut down because U.S. Secretary of Vilsack says they can’t afford to keep it secure.  Does it really cost anything for this information to be on the web or is this merely a tactic to show us who’s the boss here?  I can’t say the shutdown of the USDA site has even affected me, but I have noticed its effect on ag education teachers.  Teachers will work around this bump in the road, but it’s just infuriating to know politicians are playing games with our kids’ education!

What will happen with commodity markets during the government shutdown?  Some folks I’ve visited with believe the markets will not function properly without all the information our government collects. I’m positive markets will not function the same because yesterday it seemed that analysts were trying to digest other information provided by private reports and the media.

This hiccup in our system of government can have an upside, however.  Now perhaps more Americans will examine what our government really does.  Perhaps more Americans will question what spending is really necessary and what isn’t!  Perhaps more Americans will start asking questions and holding our elected official more accountable instead of being so apathetic.  We need a government for the people, by the people – and that takes engagement.

Let’s hope we can find a solution soon because Obama’s “all or nothing” mentality will not cut it!  (Play on words intended.)  People are different with different needs.  Government cannot give everything to everyone.  The government can’t continue printing money and expect this country to continue!  Tax dollars come from people, not the government. Someone must pay those tax dollars by producing something.

In celebration of National 4-H Week and National Pork Month, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds on Oct. 9 is helping sponsor a pork lunch fundraiser for the Franklin County 4-H Scholarship Endowment.  We’ll be selling “brown bag lunches” in the parking lot of Fareway in Hampton, Iowa, from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.

We’re providing two options for the Brown Bag Lunch: Option 1 is 2 pork burgers for $5; Option 2 includes 1 pork burger, a bag of chips and a bottle of water for $5.  Lunches will be ready to “grab and go” for farmers who are busy and need lunch taken out to the field or for any local resident who would like to support 4-H with a quick and easy lunch.

Thanks to the Franklin County Pork Producers for donating the pork burgers, and special thanks to Larry Sailer is halting his own harvest to grill Wednesday’s lunch.  We also appreciate the support of Fareway and KLMJ Radio for contributing to the success of this event.  Broadcaster Craig Donnelly has been known to flip burgers and fill orders in between his live radio reports, and we greatly appreciate that!

Last year we grilled 400 burgers and raised a record-setting $4,000 thanks to matching funds from an anonymous donor.  Please help make this year’s Brown Bag fundraiser another successful event.

We hope to see you at Fareway in Hampton on Wednesday!  The forecast calls for sunshine and 74 degrees – perfect for grilling and enjoying a tailgate lunch.

Related Posts:

• Franklin County Family Raises Winning Pork 
• 4-H Brought this Family Together
• Farming and 4-H Are Plagge Family Traditions 

I’m so frustrated with D.C. Right now that I’m going back to talking about pigs instead of government!

I just refilled the barns I manage with a nice group of pigs that are about 10 weeks old. Any time you move a pig, there can be stress just like a person going to a new place. And just like with people, stress can make them more prone to sickness.  Some pigs in this group had a bout of flu although the modern hog barns I use are very good at keeping the pigs comfortable. These pigs are getting better as they adjust to their new environment.

The ideal temperature is 75 degrees inside the hog barns. To get the buildings ready for the arrival of a new group of pigs, I set the computer to control the heat, fans, curtains and cool spray. I have eight of these computers, each costing about $1,000.  Six of these computers have been replaced, and many of the switches and other controls get replaced as needed.

When I set the temperature at 75, the computer controller does many things. First of all, it turns on the heaters to bring up the temperature. It also turns on fans to keep fresh air flowing into and out of the buildings.  “Minimum air fans” ensure there is always the right amount of fresh air no matter how hot or cold it is outside. As the temperature warms, the controller tells these fans to turn faster. When this isn’t enough air to keep the temperature in the barns constant, the second stage fans are turned on by the computer.

As the pigs grow bigger, they make more heat just like any living thing. The computers work to maintain the ideal temperature, so it starts opening curtains on the side of the buildings. On a warm summer day, the curtains serve as a big sunshade with a cool breeze blowing through. Many days this past summer, the pigs had the coolest place on the farm so it was more comfortable doing chores than spending time outside on the farm.

Also inside of these barns, there are additional fans that circulate the air.  But we don’t stop there… the computer also controls the system that sprays a mist of cooling water on the pigs. Pigs can’t sweat ya know! The evaporation process moves heat energy away from the pig. This computer turns the water off and on as needed to let the pigs dry and cool.  Neat huh?!

This entire system works in reverse as the building cools down: The cooling sprays stop.  The circulation fans shut off. The curtains go back up, just a little at a time. The big fans turn off.  As the building needs to warm up, the little fans slow down to the minimum that they need to turn to keep fresh air on the pigs. Finally, as the wind blows the snow into drifts outside, the heaters run inside to keep our pigs at a very constant temperature.

If the temperature gets outside the perimeters I set, or if the barns looses water pressure, I get a phone call.  This “alarm system” works any time of the day – even on weekends and holidays! Pig comfort is always our priority. Yet, some people think we are mean by building barns that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to pamper our pigs!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 2013 World Dairy Expo, a week which kicks off with the 4-H & FFA member contests. To help ring in this year’s expo, we’re holding our very own #MoreLathamCowbell Contest for 4-H and FFA attendees. Participants will have the chance to win one of three $25 iTunes gift cards.

To join in on the fun, stop by the Latham booth #883 in the New Holland Trade Center to get your Latham Cowbell and contest instructions. Then take a photo or video with your Latham Cowbell while you’re exploring all World Dairy Expo has to offer. Share your photo or video with us via one of your favorite social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Vine) or send us a photo message. Be sure to tag your entry with #MoreLathamCowbell! Winners will be chosen at random at the end of the day. Feel free to send us multiple photos or videos to increase your chances of winning!

Follow us on our social media pages throughout the day as we post our own Latham Cowbell photos and videos visiting our favorite places at the Expo. Need some inspiration on where to take your Latham Cowbell while at Expo? Here are some stops we’d recommend:

• Badger Dairy Club Cheese Stand (The best grilled cheese sandwich you’ll ever eat!)
• GEA Ice Cream Booth (Who doesn’t like ice cream?)
• Purple Cow Gift Shop
• World Forage Analysis Superbowl
• Cattle Showring (Sure to be a good photo or video opp!)
• And of course, the Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds booth #883

Latham experts Corey Catt, Forage Products Manager and Steve Bailie, Regional Sales Manager, will be meeting with dairy industry professionals throughout the week as well as discussing new forage technologies for 2014 and our AlfaShield™ seed treatment for better emergence in dry or wet weather.

We look forward to seeing all your Latham Cowbell pictures and videos!

• Facebook: Facebook.com/LathamSeeds
• Twitter: @LathamSeeds
• Instagram: @LathamSeeds
• Vine: @Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

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?