The First Christmas: Part Two

S'mores for a Christmas Eve treat!

As previously noted, Abby and I had our First Christmas together and although we aren't married yet, we had a wonderful time resting, relaxing, gifting, serving and making memories that could possibly tun in to our own new traditions.

Since Thanksgiving, I've learned just how much Abby enjoys Christmas movies on tv. So on Christmas eve, we lit the fire, roasted up some s'mores and settled in for an evening of Christmas classics.

We were able to have time with our family Christmas day via Skype and FaceTime (no thanks to our internet speed) as well as relax and enjoy doing our own things and reflecting on the year we've had.

As I write this blog and continue to reflect on the year, it's worth noting that this is my 100th blog post! It has been a fun adventure to this point, and I have met many great people and learned many unique things because of my involvement in advocating for agriculture through social media and blogging.

I am so blessed to have the freedom to write what I experience, and to share my thoughts and opinions with whoever may be interested in reading them! Social media has given me a way to share my passion for agriculture with others, bring them into our family farm and now as I transition into "adulthood" and the new life that I will have with Abby, provides fun new ways of communicating with family and friends and as I share the adventures!

Besides Christmas wishes, you hear a lot about this time of year is New Years resolutions. I intend to have some new goals and resolutions for myself both personally and professionally in the new year (coming soon to my blog). Christmas was wonderful, returning to work is also very satisfying to me as I get a chance to get back in the swing of things with work, and I look forward to future adventures to share on my blog. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, has a happy new year, and may the next 100 blog posts be as fun and meaningful as the first 100 was to me!

2014 in Review

Sometimes, I have trouble deciding what to write about for this blog, and what to provide as commentary to my friends at Swineweb.com.

For no reason other than it had been a while, I chose to publish this one to swineweb. Please take a few minutes to read it, reflect on what you have to be thankful for and share with others the joy that God has given you.

Then, be sure to check out Swineweb.com for all your pork industry news in the US and Canada. 

http://www.swineweb.com/sam-wildman-pork-producer-commentary-year-review-december-22nd-2014/ 

Request From A Friend: 10 Questions

I know I promised to have the follow-up discussion to my "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" post this time around, but it's gonna have to wait until the next one. Recently I was tipped off that a friend of mine won an award and wanted to pass it on to some of her blogger buddies, but she needed us to answer some questions first. So here it is Janice, my best attempt to provide some "Love for Bacon" to the "Love of Beef"!

1. Describe your Agriculture Operation.

I grew up on a 650 sow farrow to finish pig operation in southwest Ohio. Recently we have converted our unit to a wean to finish operation that can provide nearly 25,000 market pigs annually.We work closely with the folks at Fair Oaks Farms Pig Adventure, which is where we buy our weaned piglets from. We also raise corn and soybeans to offset some of our feed costs. 

As a college student, I don't have a full time role on the farm besides asking my dad for constant updates about this, that and everything in between. But I help when I can and we continue to move the farm forward for the future.

We believe in transparency and consistency on our farm. Which is why my dad and I provide such unique aspects to the blogging world through our blogs. Because we come from different generations and educations, we look at the same issues a little differently, but provide for a more diverse impact from our advocacy efforts.

2. What Agriculture Operation would you never do and why?

Produce! I'm not much of a green thumb, and I don't understand the way a garden (of any size operation) works. I'm not one for humid air of greenhouses, and I'm not sure there is any way to sustainably be a produce farmer in Ohio without it. 

3. When was the last time you vacationed (agriculture events do not count)?

As many others farming families, vacation rarely happens, and when it does, it involves agriculture events! When I was young, we would vacation at the county fair while we were showing our livestock, but that is an ag event. Now that I'm older, dad and I often travel together, most recently last June to Washington D.C. for the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholder's Summit, which is also an ag event. 

But to my family, agriculture is our pursuit of happiness, and we know that sometimes family time is sacrificed in order keep improving. But I personally feel that traveling with my dad provides enough of a vacation for us. No matter what the event we are going to is, we enjoy the company and have made some good memories on those trips. 

4. What is your least favorite food?

Clams and sushi! I'm not one for the texture…that's all I have to say about that.

5. If you could make a t-shirt today - what would it say?

"When the going gets tough, turn to God" - Faith is a farmers best friend. Both in religion and in practice. Having faith in what you can't see is the only way to wake up in the morning and know that all your work will pay off. And only God and reward you for your loyalty, both to Him through faith and to your passion for the land and livestock.

6. What is the last thing you pinned on pinterest?

I'll probably catch some wrath from my college buddies for this, but I DO have a Pinterest. I use it mostly to show my girlfriend what I'd like to eat someday in the near future, but also because I enjoy the humor section quite a bit. Lately I've been looking forward to graduating college and beginning my post-education career somewhere. Which means I won't be living at the Alpha Gamma Rho House anymore, which is going to be a bit of a culture change for me. So I'd say the last thing I pinned was some sort of barn siding table that I'd like to make someday when I have a house of my own. 

7. What are you cooking for supper?

Well, funny story…mom got me a nice cookbook for Christmas (I guess she plans on me graduating) and The Pioneer Woman cookbook may just give me an idea to try sometime (but probably not tonight). There is a few tasty looking recipes for the Super Bowl, so maybe I'l try one of them.

8. Who are you following in Basketball right now?

I'm not a huge fan of basketball, but I do go to The Ohio State University, which means B1G basketball is a part of my daily routine to check. Lately the Buckeye boys have been on a bit of a slide, but I have faith for a turn around in February, especially on the home court. #GOBUCKS

9. When was the last time you ate beef?

This weekend. I don't remember what day, but I'm sure it was in there. I, like many others, take for granted the food I eat and don't often think about exactly what the ingredients are.

10. What is your most motivational Bible verse?

Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." As I said before, it takes faith to know that the work of a farmer will be rewarded by the Maker. To taste and see that the Lord is good, to me, means that I must always put faith in Him and try my hardest (although I will always fall short) of His glory, when I take refuge in the Creator, things become easier.

Well Janice, Hopefully this provides you with some sort of inspiration to keep writing. I mean, For the Love of Beef, you gotta keep it going!

Life On The Farm Aint Never Laid Back!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride across the Midwest. Lately Ohio has been stuck on the backseat of that rollercoaster ride that never seems to end.

I enjoyed the recent three day holiday weekend by helping my dad plow snow and then power washing a finishing barn (thank God for enclosed barns and hot water washers).

I enjoy power washing because it gives me time to really think about what’s going on in my life and collect my thoughts for things like this blog. While power washing today, the song “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by John Denver came into my mind. I know that sounds cliché because of my profession and heritage, but there was something about that song that seem to connect to another thought I’ve had lately.

Lately I’ve been looking at the progression agriculture has taken in the past two decades thanks to some advanced technology coming along. As an advocate for the pork industry, I spend a fair amount of time discussing how technology has created a new version of pig farming, what we know as “modern day farming” or “commercial farming” or even “factory farming”.

When I hear that famous song by John Denver, I can’t help but think what it would sound like if written for today’s farming industry. In this blog post I’m going to aim to point out the changes from when it was recorded to now and my next blog will be my version of the song for 2014(I may need to wash another barn and gather my lyrics!).

First, I’ll point out that the song assumes that if you live in the country, than you are a farmer. According to the USDA’s website, “Fewer than 2 percent of Americans farm for a living today, and only 17 percent of Americans now live in rural areas”. Which means that if you are reading this, and you are farming for a living, I want to thank you for your effort. To me, it’s a no brainer that consumers are becoming distant from the source of their food and I don’t believe that it is 100% agriculture’s fault for having a lack of transparency.

Next let’s talk about the “laid back farm life”. It takes months of preparation to raise a crop, provide superior care for livestock and handle the office work that goes along with being a self-employed farmer.

Being a farmer is a year round job that is never taken lightly. And I’m here to tell you that life on the farm is rarely “early to rise and early to the sack”. Usually it’s early to rise, and late to bed. That’s because we believe in a job well done and American farmers are committed to providing the best product they can for market, which means spending long hours caring for it.

As you go down through the lyrics you can see that some things remain true, no farmer would ever trade his farm or his job for “diamonds or jewels” and farmers are not often “money hungry fools”.  It takes years of hard work and Modest living to be able to create profits off the farm. Many times, farming is not the only occupation.

The song finishes by talking about the connection between father and son, and the heritage of the fiddle. This is so very true in my life today on the farm, dad has given me the things I need in order to be successful, or at least have a good start in life and it’s all because of the farm. Heritage plays a very big role in the farm life. Many times father and child will work together on the farm for years. I remember when I was young, I spent nearly every free minute I had on the farm or helping dad with livestock.

So today, as the weather begins to show snow across Ohio, I am grateful that I have been born and raised on the farm. The opportunity to be a farmer is one that I cherish and I hope that I can fit the role. I’m also glad that technology has created changes in agriculture, so that the farm life has become more management than hard labor, not because I’m lazy, but because it has created safeguards for the crops and livestock against disease, drought and other things that impact its yield. But most of all, I still thank God I’m a country boy!

Stay Warm Folks

Today we woke up early, with beef brisket, mashed potatoes, jello and birthday cake still full in our stomachs; so naturally we were all groggy and tired. But the weather outside made that attitude just an excuse to crawl back in bed and sleep throughout the day.

However, the pigs have to be fed, and the farm has to be cared for in case of an emergency. So dad and I were up and ready to roll. Well dad was ( I was making coffee), so we decided to split up and stay at the farms today where the barns are so if there is an emergency we can get to the animals and fix the problem as quickly as possible.

They are calling for thundersnow in the area here in a little while, so we'll see what it turns into this afternoon. But for now I am making another pot of coffee and waiting for the call ( hopefully it never comes) from the farm saying the power is out and the generator is running. You see, just because we have generators to backup our power source for feed, fans, fresh water and heat its important we are there to check the generators status as well as the pigs comfort while the adverse weather is here.

As I sit and wait, I see the many posts from livestock producers just like me all over social media. We all have the same basic feeling, we have to protect the animals and keep them safe from the weather. I enjoy seeing the pictures of the pretty snowfall, barns covered in snow and such, but I'm a realist and I'm well aware of the amount of work that those images leave behind for the hard working farmer. So if you see one of those farmers, be sure to thank him for working hard in all weather for your food, buy him a cup of coffee, or offer him a handshake. Attitudes change everything and I know that while we are all working through these hard winter storms, our attitudes could always use a shot of encouragement and endurance.

Hopefully you all read this from a safe and dry location but if not, be sure to stay safe and warm while enduring the weather.

AgriPOWER: Session 1

We began our AgriPOWER institute this weekend in Columbus, OH at the Ohio Farm Bureau office. The discussion for the weekend focused around "me" and how we all have strengths and weaknesses in our leadership style.

We spent time doing introductions and getting to know each other and I immediately found folks who had much in common with myself whether it was school, business, family or hobbies. I introduced myself and the family farm, Standing Oaks Enterprises and what my role in our farm is.

Weeks before our meeting we had to do a personality, leadership test with some very nice people from Kinexa company to help us determine and interpret our leadership traits, strengths and weaknesses. From there Kinexa would build a profile for each of us in the group and we would be able to follow along with their part of the training during our first session of the institute. Kinexa focused on 5 strengths for each person that help build your strongest possible profile.

My profile consisted of Responsibility, Activator, Stimulator, Mission and Interpersonal skill traits as my leading strengths. These were all very accurate of how I feel I act in my lifestyle and personality.The biggest surprise in my profile to me is that the section for motivators, being ego and drive were both vacant in my profile strengths. Not to say they don't exist, but I thought they would be more present in my strengths.

We spent a few hours discussing how these traits build your management style, decision making process and even your choice in friends. I thought it was all very interesting to see how we all have our unique ways of concluding things and even interpreting our own traits.

Overall AgriPOWER started with a successful weekend and I had an absolute blast. I can't wait to go to the second session to learn more and report back here what I thought of it.

What An Adventure : Fair Oaks Pig Adventure

So there's a farm in Indiana, a dairy farm, an hour south of Chicago that has decided, "we are going to show the public what we do on a commercial dairy farm, and we will give them tours of our facilities and educate them about the agriculture industry."

This is Fair Oaks Farms and they have done a great job achieving their goal of educating everyday people about the dairy industry. So now for the exciting news, Fair Oaks is expanding, they want to cover as many livestock species as they can to educate consumers more on what the agricultural community and industry is all about. So the first step in expanding is to build a pig barn which will be known as the Fair Oaks Pig Adventure (FOPA)

This facility, located two miles from the Fair Oaks visitors center and dairy education building will be a commercial pork production operation that will operate 2400 sows (mommy pigs). The tours will be given through a building connected to the pig barn by glass walls, ceilings and floors so that you can see everything that happens in the facility.


The reason for the separate building is because it is important that we (producers) protect the airspace within our pig barns so that no foreign disease enters the air, feed or water from all the traffic and locomotion that comes with giving the tours. In order to keep our animals healthy and in tip top condition we create the safe air barrier within the new state of the art barns. Another way to look at it is the first week of school, a lot more children (baby pigs in the case of producers) get sick from all the new people, places and things going on in their lives. So with livestock, we can use these types of safe guards to protect our pigs, employees and ultimately the pork that goes to the supermarkets.

My family has a small (by industry standards of the day) pig farm in Southwest Ohio. We raise pigs as independent owners/growers. That means we own pigs all the way from birth to market. The Fair Oaks Pig Adventure (FOPA) has presented an exciting opportunity for our family to become even more involved in the pig industry. When the barns are built and the pigs start having babies, my family farm, Standing Oaks Enterprises will continue to raise pigs, but we will no longer raise our own from birth. We will be what is called a private grower, we will purchase baby pigs from the Fair Oaks Farm and own them from wean to market.

The pig adventure is a very big, exciting thing for the pork industry. We are looking forward to teaching as many people as we can about the industry. On our farm, the education doesn't just stop at Fair Oaks in Indiana, we are learning how to be better educators and how to get more involved in many ways, one of which I will talk about in my next blog post.

So if you're interested in learning more about the agriculture industry, Fair Oaks Farms, or the Pig Adventure I want to give you some suggestions. My friends at Feedstuffs, one of the top agriculture publications have covered the pig adventure from the beginning of the construction and continue to do so. They have taken some very good photos and written a couple articles about it. I encourage you look at them. Please follow my family farm on either facebook or twitter. If you're excited about the adventure we have all started and want to help, their is a fundraiser being done by Dennis Sargent at Indiana Pork for those interested who might  want to contribute just contact them and they will help you with that.

My reflections in the past few months have started to center around this adventure that my family is going on and its very exciting to us and we really enjoy telling others about it so be looking for more posts about this from me.

Until then....be safe, be healthy and eat pork!