fall light and pears from our trees - such a great time of year!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Oh No :: No More Bacon!
"Bacon, pork prices to increase next year"
There were a few quotes that stood out to me ...
The group said farmers worldwide are cutting their herds "at a significant rate" that could double pork prices in Europe in the second half of next year.
"If I were purchasing all my grain to feed my hogs, I'd probably be closing out right now," said David Struthers.
"You will be able to eat BLTs next year. You just might be paying a little bit more for the bacon than what you did this year, but we will not run out," said Joe Kerns.
"If we have another dry year things could get really ugly," said Struthers.Wow ... there is so much to think about in this little article. First of all it has me scared ... the fear has been there deep down for awhile, but I've tried to not let it come to my mind. But, I'm with Mr. Struthers ... if we have another dry year things could get really ugly. As a beginning farmer who still hasn't established everything on the farm and as a hog farmer that must purchase feed I don't even want to begin to think about grain prices going any higher than they already are. I'm praying (really praying) for a wonderfully cold and very snowy winter followed by the muddiest spring the farm has seen!
The article goes on to talk about the shortage that is expected in Europe and the probably price increases that will be seen in the United States. Many hog produces are cutting the numbers in their herds (in fact I know a few hogs leaving the farm in my area as well) and once those cuts are felt there will likely be price increases.
But, for me the most telling quote was this one ...
The National Pig Association is calling on consumers to choose local products to help boost prices to help farmers.I whole heartedly agree with that statement! I have one question though ... are they talking about purchasing from local farmers directly or purchasing for local grocery stores. The only reason I ask is because at a recent taste test there was a pork shoulder roast from the local small-chain grocery store. The person hosting the tasting talked to the meat department at the grocery and asked about where it came from ... the grocery store said it came from Tyson, but that it probably was an Iowa pig. The host then called Tyson directly and they said there was a chance that it came from Iowa, but it also could have come from Canada or Mexico.
My thoughts ... purchase directly from you farmer and then know for sure you are supporting your local farmer! In fact we haven't raised our prices yet (and hope not to), so you can reserve a hog for the spring at the same prices you could last fall.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Single Sport Athletes ... err ... Farmers
It just too me about 30 seconds and a Google search for "single sport high school athletes" to come up with article after article talking about how it is detrimental to the athlete in so many ways. Here is one article and here is another. A few quotes really stood out to me ... "'A lot of parents are going to fast-track their kids,' Cuthbert says, 'and you've got to be careful about burning a kid out.'"
To put it simply I think much of agriculture (like American youth sports) is too fractured and specialized. Of course I could go on and on about how specialization in agriculture is something I don't care for, but that really isn't my current frustration. My current frustration stems from the news I heard on the way into town this morning ... the farm bill will have to wait until after the election.
Of course this is the same farm bill that I went to Washington D.C. to discuss two summers ago (I guess things take time). But, it really isn't the fact that we won't have one that frustrates me (I don't know enough about it). What really has me down is the fractured state of agriculture in the United States (or the world). As I listened to the radio and read a few news reports I found that not only was the legislation fractured along party lines, but also along farmer lines. Farmers are at times lined up fighting against other farmers!
While in D.C. I had one senators staffer tell me that all I wanted was the playing field tipped in my direction. That I wanted an advantage, "because that is what everyone wants". That made me angry ... it still makes me angry! I don't want an advantage ... I just want to be able to do my thing and I want to be able to look at things holistically ... not fractured and compartmentalized.
It seems if we continue down the fractured and specialized road we will just find ourselves with twice as many injuries each year ... you know ... like we are seeing in youth sports partially as a result of the "benefits" of specialization.
"Experts and may area high school coaches contend the one-sport emphasis is premature for an athlete who has yet to reach full physical and emotional maturity and has the ability and desire to play multiple sports."
"A growing number of young athletes are focusing on playing a single sport, putting themselves at greater risk of serious injuries, physicians said."
"Some parents believe that specialization can help their children becomes stars, earning a college scholarship or even a pro career."
"The movement toward specialization may produce more successful athletes, but it also results in more injuries. More than 3.5 million children 14 and younger were treated for sports injuries in 2010, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In contrast, 1.9 million were treated in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control."You can see there is quite a feeling that this specialization in sports for students is not a great idea. I tend to agree with that because of what I saw with the students I coached ... or the ones I didn't get to coach because they were "focused" on only one sport. But, this is far from a sports blog ... so what does it have to do with farming?
To put it simply I think much of agriculture (like American youth sports) is too fractured and specialized. Of course I could go on and on about how specialization in agriculture is something I don't care for, but that really isn't my current frustration. My current frustration stems from the news I heard on the way into town this morning ... the farm bill will have to wait until after the election.
Of course this is the same farm bill that I went to Washington D.C. to discuss two summers ago (I guess things take time). But, it really isn't the fact that we won't have one that frustrates me (I don't know enough about it). What really has me down is the fractured state of agriculture in the United States (or the world). As I listened to the radio and read a few news reports I found that not only was the legislation fractured along party lines, but also along farmer lines. Farmers are at times lined up fighting against other farmers!
While in D.C. I had one senators staffer tell me that all I wanted was the playing field tipped in my direction. That I wanted an advantage, "because that is what everyone wants". That made me angry ... it still makes me angry! I don't want an advantage ... I just want to be able to do my thing and I want to be able to look at things holistically ... not fractured and compartmentalized.
It seems if we continue down the fractured and specialized road we will just find ourselves with twice as many injuries each year ... you know ... like we are seeing in youth sports partially as a result of the "benefits" of specialization.
got outside to paint in the fal light!
Went out painting with the super folks from gamblin paint yesterday!! It was very fun to be with some really great painters... I'm very inspired to get outside more now that the fall light is here!!
12" x 11" (available) on my web site
got outside to paint in the fal light!
Went out painting with the super folks from gamblin paint yesterday!! It was very fun to be with some really great painters... I'm very inspired to get outside more now that the fall light is here!!
12" x 11" (available) on my web site
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
doing another painting challange
I just did some work on my taxes NOT very fun for me at all but in doing so I got to run some reports - and to my delight my painting income over the last 4 years has increased exponentially in comparison to my design income ... yes my design income has gone down a bit (due to other little things taking my time like running a farm and winery) but the painting income HAS slowly but surely increased each year... this has buoyed my resolved to get into the studio and PAINT!
sooo my friend Lester and I are doing another challenge this time it's a bit shorter ... I will be doing a painting a day for ten days ... the catch this time is my hope is to do this abotu 1x each month... we'l see I'm starting with ten days!! so here's goes... day one for me was yesterday and I have some nice fall fruit for today!!
If you are interested in seeing more of my work you can visit www.clarecarver.com
sooo my friend Lester and I are doing another challenge this time it's a bit shorter ... I will be doing a painting a day for ten days ... the catch this time is my hope is to do this abotu 1x each month... we'l see I'm starting with ten days!! so here's goes... day one for me was yesterday and I have some nice fall fruit for today!!
If you are interested in seeing more of my work you can visit www.clarecarver.com
doing another painting challange
I just did some work on my taxes NOT very fun for me at all but in doing so I got to run some reports - and to my delight my painting income over the last 4 years has increased exponentially in comparison to my design income ... yes my design income has gone down a bit (due to other little things taking my time like running a farm and winery) but the painting income HAS slowly but surely increased each year... this has buoyed my resolved to get into the studio and PAINT!
sooo my friend Lester and I are doing another challenge this time it's a bit shorter ... I will be doing a painting a day for ten days ... the catch this time is my hope is to do this abotu 1x each month... we'l see I'm starting with ten days!! so here's goes... day one for me was yesterday and I have some nice fall fruit for today!!
If you are interested in seeing more of my work you can visit www.clarecarver.com
sooo my friend Lester and I are doing another challenge this time it's a bit shorter ... I will be doing a painting a day for ten days ... the catch this time is my hope is to do this abotu 1x each month... we'l see I'm starting with ten days!! so here's goes... day one for me was yesterday and I have some nice fall fruit for today!!
If you are interested in seeing more of my work you can visit www.clarecarver.com
Thursday, September 20, 2012
a dreamy two days
It's that time of year again - almost harvest !! - so laura, sarah and I hit the beach for two days of nothing but ponies... (and a little wine and sleeping under the stars)
true love
One of the highlights was after a few glasses we ditched our saddles and hit the beach for an evening of frolicking : )
and this is how tired cowgirls sleep.. : )
a dreamy two days
It's that time of year again - almost harvest !! - so laura, sarah and I hit the beach for two days of nothing but ponies... (and a little wine and sleeping under the stars)
true love
One of the highlights was after a few glasses we ditched our saddles and hit the beach for an evening of frolicking : )
and this is how tired cowgirls sleep.. : )
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