Who are you going to trust?!

Oh man, are things muddied up this week by Subway's announcement that they will start using meat from animals that have never been giving antibiotics. Not only that, but they are DELETING comments from people who are making reasonable statements questioning their decision.

I'm pretty sure that even the untrained eye can see what this really is - a public relations maneuver.

July 2015, huge fall out from Jared Fogel scandal. October 2015, this bandwagon decision following a few other restaurant chains. Connect the dots, and you have a case-study for entry-level marketing students.

Here's what it comes down to: who are you going to trust?

So we turn to our good friend, Google.

Including me.

I am a farm gal, but most of my experience and understanding is in dairy and crops. This topic is more about poultry and beef.

So I took to googling information just like anyone else.

Five things I found:

1. It would take days, weeks, months, years to even come close to the collective level of understanding that the agriculture and medical community have. I am NOT in any position to understand all the ins and outs of the antibiotic use and whether there's any connection to resistance.
   
   Here's a comparison this is not meant to be offensive at all, but is something I think a lot of us can relate to. It's like childless people who claim wisdom in parenting decisions and methods. I'm a cattle-less, bird-less person who is humble enough to admit that I don't know how they should raise their animals.
   
   If you are interested in getting a basic introduction to this topic, there are a lot of blog posts available about the topic. Also, many farmers and ranchers and veterinarians would welcome the opportunity to share and answer questions. People love to talk about their passion and share it with others. You just have to take the time to ask openly and kindly.
    
2. These sorts of announcements paint it as an "us" versus "them" topic, but that isn't the case. It's a round table, not a rectangle one. We are all in this together - all wanting healthy food that is readily available at affordable prices to nourish our bodies and souls.
    
3. Nothing in this world is perfect. However, I will put my odds on the agriculture community - including ALL sizes and styles. It's a community that has salt-of-the-earth people throughout. Not perfect (nothing is), but the highest integrity steering them.
    
4. Marketing is a powerful tool. As the receivers of marketing, it's up to us to filter the marketing tactics with a strong mind. I was just talking to someone recently about how one of the highest-used marketing methods is fear-based. I know I've been victim to fear-based marketing messages at times. Be on guard.
    
5. I trust God with all of it. With my own personal health and food decisions, that He is steering our food producers and that everyone around the table will be patient and understanding of one another. Matthew 6:25-34

Highlights of soybean harvest 2015

For all you farmers out there, our total farm average looks like 56 bushels/acre, which is pretty consistent with what we've been getting the past few years. Some fields went as high as 65 and the low end was 45. The couple fields on the low end seemed to have a lot of white mold.

Now that we got that out of the way, here are a few highlights of soybean harvest 2015:

1. It went fast! 540 acres harvested in about seven days.

The guys have sort of a running discussion every year of whether they prefer to harvest beans or corn. From my perspective, I like beans better because of how quick it can be. Also, beans can only be harvested during a certain time of the day, so it makes for more reasonable hours. They take on moisture from the air, so they become "tough" for the combine to handle after dark and need to dry out in the morning. Similar to mowing lawn - the grass just doesn't cut nicely unless it's dried out. Of course there's still maintenance that needs to be done every day, so they're still really long days. Just not like corn where you literally could keep going day and night until it rains.

2. No major breakdowns.

With so much equipment (two combines, three grain trucks, auger to fill the bin) and it's all running for a LOT of hours, there's bound to be things that wear out and break. The question is always the scale of the breakdowns. There weren't any major ones during soybean harvest, so the guys were able to press on every day.

This picture is what Ben found when he emptied his rock trap the last day - a deer antler! That's a rare find! The rock trap is REALLY important when combining soybeans. The bean pods are all the way up the stem of the plant, so you need the combine to cut it off as close to the ground as possible so you don't miss any beans. That creates a potential for rocks to come into the machine. If a rock went past the rock trap, the whole machine would basically become scrap metal because of how much damage it would do. Yikes! 

3. Fall in Wisconsin. Need I say more?

It's been a gorgeous week to spend out in a field! The girls and I didn't get out there all that much during soybean harvest, but the times we did was a lot of fun. I got to run the weigh wagon that we were borrowing to get accurate results of our tests. Molly (2 years old) confirmed that she is still freaked out of the loud noises from the equipment. However, she LOVED playing in the pile of beans that was accidentally spilled. With a crop farm, there aren't as many tasks that the whole family is involved in, so we take advantage of the fieldwork that is conducive to us tagging along. We're glad that we still have corn harvest to look forward to so we can spend even more time out there.

4. I get to analyze!

I'm such a nerd. I enjoy creating spreadsheets to analyze data. We had two soybean tests this year. One was just a plot to test different types of seed. We haven't done one in several years, so it was a good exercise to compare the options side-by-side. This is especially important while margins are tight right now to make sure we are maximizing our profit potential. The other test was to compare different planting methods and see if we want to invest in a new planter. It would be nice to take more time in the slower winter months to do these sorts of things, but the seed companies give the best discounts if you order early because it helps them plan and assess their inventory. Once again, it's important to take advantage of this to maximize profit potential with tight margins. We have to balance the rush of earlier purchases with the need to still analyze the information to make good decisions. (more information about the tests to compare planting methods will come in a later post...)



They finished beans on Saturday, spent Sunday afternoon and all day Monday getting equipment switched over to corn. It was supposed to rain last night into today. I asked Ben what he thought of the possible rain day. He responded that he is excited to put all the tools away. Excited to put the tools away?! I had to make sure my jaw wasn't hanging open. He generally thrives in a state of disarray... Things must really be bad if he is looking forward to cleaning of any sort!

Alas, clear skies this morning so they are picking corn. Putting tools away will have to wait!