Common Sense Agriculture's Blog

Making It To The Stump Was A Start

Happy – characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy

Last week, while I was heading someplace, I was listening to John Stossel, on my XM, “What Really Makes People Happy.”

I spent the next few days thinking about this question. I thought about myself and what makes me happy?

Late Saturday afternoon, my son could not have provided a better example.

I was loading the truck with hay when Kyle came running in the front of the barn Whooping and Hollering.

“What’s up buddy?” I asked.

“I did it daddy! I did it! I did it all by myself!” He yelled exuberantly.

“Did what?” I asked. (I was smiling from ear to ear seeing his expression and enthusiasm.)

“I climbed two trees (pause for breath) all by myself (pause for breath) without any help!” he exclaimed.

“Awesome, big guy, that’s great!” I said, still grinning.

“Can you do it again?” I asked.

“You bet I can! Come on dad, I’ll show you!” he said, as he pulled me down from the hay stack.

I proceeded to follow him to the lower horse pen and watched the HAPPIEST boy climb two trees, again, without help.

My son defined happiness through his expression and the emotion he brings out in me.

Getting Up To The Fork Was The Accomplishment!

Happiness cannot be bought; it is not achieved through accumulation of things, is not achieved by making more money and does not result from a handout.

Happiness is taking pleasure in being able to accomplish something through your own effort and energy, without interference from the outside.

Happiness is being able to achieve an endeavor, through ingenuity, creativity and determination.

Happiness is the joy in knowing that God has a plan for you and has you in the palm of his hand.

‘He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.’ Proverbs 16:20

Demonizing companies and individuals through the use of misleading and false information is never productive. More times than not, fissures are created, within families, communities, states, the country and even the world. It is very acceptable to question actions and results, but let us remember to remain objective in our assessment, research the origins of the information and pass on only that which is true. Passing this type of information along, without doing research on it, is just as irresponsible as passing along an email that says the world will end if you don’t forward to your whole address book.

I have seen a number of people posting on Facebook and Twitter lately, that they have signed one of a couple of petitions currently circulating with a host of claims against Monsanto. Many of these people I consider to be friends and respect. I felt inclined to write this post to provide some additional information in order to clarify several of the accusations that are being claimed. I, for one, as a small farmer and rancher, am very grateful for the work that work that Monsanto and others are doing to help farmers be more efficient and holistic in their management opportunities.

Read more…

I have written in other posts on my thoughts regarding the Farm Bill. Once again, we have the opportunity to make changes that could turn a program into a true safety net…meaning it would send producers back up, after falling, not catch them and not let go, or worse yet, promote a state of long-term dependence.

Being from California, I suspect I have a slightly different perspective on the issue of crop insurance. However, I also believe that there are others, particularly in Florida and Michigan, to name a few, who have some similar thoughts. I mention this because of our tremendous diversity in crops grown, many of which do not even qualify for support from the current or past Farm Bills. Read more…

When I saw the article on Yahoo last week, ‘College Majors That Are Useless,’ I was reminded of some thoughts I had last May when it first ran on another site. After digging around my laptop a bit, I finally found some notes I had jotted down.

First and foremost, I do not believe that ‘Agricultural Degrees’ are “useless.” However, unlike many, rather than compose a response that points out the value of such a degree, I was struck with the thought, “could agricultural degrees be MORE useful?”

For that matter, could all degrees be more useful?

Personally, I think a quality and broad education, no matter the “degree” associated with it, is only useful if the person is able and willing to apply what they have learned. (But that is another post.)

For the purpose of this post, I am referring to all agriculturally related degrees: animal science, crop science, soil science, agricultural business, horticulture, etc.

Keeping in mind, that agriculture is an ever-changing industry, constantly developing and implementing new technology, becoming more efficient and modifying production practices; are colleges offering and requiring courses for their degree programs that are relevant? Read more…

I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at some of the responses coming from some in the agricultural community in regards to the article in Yahoo News that listed the “College Majors That Are Useless.”

I am particularly disappointed when I see individuals who are “teaching” others how to utilize social media to agvocate and individuals who have attended training’s, react in such a way.

This article and the one last May were wonderful opportunities to respond in a positive manner and encourage dialogue and conversation on the topic.

However, what ensued were multiple comments, tweets and responses on Facebook that were little more than shouting and bragging…not productive. Read more…