Agriculture blog going fallow

I had hoped that we might be able to utilize this blog, once our original site got back up and running, to offer another angle on agriculture blogging.

Perhaps some day we may be able too, if we get more team members contributing from the Capital Press staff. However, for now, our current team members have their hands full producing our regular weekly paper, periodic special section, our primary Blogriculture site, a podcast and other duties.

So, for now, we will leave the site as it is, but we don't anticipate any new posts for the foreseeable future. If we do start posting here again, we'll post some sort of announcement on the main Blogriculture site.

In the meantime, this will be fallow ground.

Can a parent have a favorite child?

Our original blog is back up and running. The technical problems we were having on the Blogriculture site have been fixed by the folks at Blogger.

It's nice to have the original site back. Even during our down time at Blogriculture, we were still getting visitors based on the content of are archive posts and the different material people were searching for.

It's been a big more difficult to build traffic here because there are fewer posts and fewer links to this site.

But I have to admit, I'm a little sad, I'm not quite sure what will happen to this site now. Will it evolve into something else? Will our team continue to make posts here?

It's still too early to say.

It's nice to know our first child is alive, well and nursed back to health. But will second board now be neglected?

Farm Bureau experience is more than just a meeting

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — While the American Farm Bureau Federation is a serious, powerful farm lobbying group, those who come back year after year know it’s more than just the grassroots’ representatives deciding policy.

The annual meeting is a display of passion and humor, show business flair, and a chance to learn, vent and network.

President Bob Stallman as usual stirred members to be proud of the work they do back on their farms, feeding the world and protecting their way of life. This year he threw out tough messages for American politicians to do what is needed to help agricultural interests, warned that animal rights groups need to be stopped, and rallied his troops to play hardball against other parts of the world who present challenges to American agriculture such as South Korea.

Stallman and the power of the Farm Bureau cannot be ignored. There were policy heavy hitters attending the meeting in the last couple of days, talking to farmers on issues such as farm policy, animal ID and biofuels. The House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson, U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns and USDA Under Secretary Bruce Knight were among those who met with farmers.

Several countries in the European Union had representatives from their Washington embassies on hand to also listen carefully to whatever the politicians said, including being present at press conferences.

But the Farm Bureau meeting also helped show the passion and support that people have for their organization, their communities, and their neighbors.

As they met in the hallways and sat next to each other in the meeting rooms, farmers and ranchers from different states shared stories of blizzards and droughts and how they impacted their operations. They offered sympathy to each other, and talked about being united to seek disaster support.

There was a moment of silence during the general session after Bob Stallman told people of a recent tragedy involving a promising young farmer. In November, Jeffrey Michel won the North Dakota Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award. In December, he was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling with friends.

As for the other Young Farmer and Rancher competitors, they received a lot of support from the more than 5,000 people who are attending this year’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City. When one of the young couples accepted a prestigious award, the guy became rather choked up and shared how much the award meant to him and how devoted he’d be to Farm Bureau for the rest of his life. The thousands in the audience watched the stage and giant screens spellbound, right up to the back of the giant room and warmly applauded this next generation.

There is also the entertainment component of the meeting, from a well-known cowboy poet like Baxter Black to country music stars performing.

Well-known television journalist Sam Donaldson shared stories of interviews he had done with various presidents, but also shared messages on what makes a great leader.

He said a leader should have a complete plan. “Great leaders make great plans.”

A leader needs to build trust, earn it and talk straight.

A leader is with the people and not apart from the people. A leader gets out there, wants to know more about the people he meets, and wants to know more about what people want and need … even though a good leader also knows there are times to be tough and not give what people want.

A leader takes responsibility, and takes the blame.

A leader has persistence.

And, Donaldson said, sometimes it’s even more important to take a plan and modify it.

Donaldson made some blunt comments about Iraq and the problems Bush faces there. He stressed that Bush rewarded people who didn’t do a good job, and warned that it isn’t good leadership.

“A good leader rewards those that do a good job.” Giving awards to those that don’t deserve it doesn’t breed the trust a leader needs from people, he concluded.

Donaldson’s speech was timely. American Farm Bureau Federation, as well as state Farm Bureaus, has enjoyed strong leadership.

What helps make a good leader in this organization is that the leaders recognize the importance of the grass roots and follow their wishes when it comes to policies.

The organization also does a good job of rewarding those who serve it well, from the promising new farmers and ranchers to those who have served their Farm Bureau for decades.

And Stallman, as well as other former presidents of the Farm Bureau such as Dean Kleckner from Iowa, were often greeting, shaking hands and seen mingling with the farmers who have gathered here from all around the country.

Why has this organization continued to grow and become so powerful?

Yes, good policies and leaders have a lot to do with it.

But a lot of it also has to do with the winning formulas that the organization has developed, from involving grassroots members at meetings at counties across the nation, to educating and entertaining farmers and ranchers at this impressive meeting each year at the national level.

Read more of the Capital Press' coverage of the American Farm Bureau Federation conference here including audio coverage of Stallman's speech. Listen to the latest podcast on Stallman's remarks here.

Technorati tags: Agriculture

Trading one TV guy for another

There was a change in plans about who would be the keynote speaker at this year's American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Salt Lake City.

ABC newsman Sam Donaldson was picked to substitute for actor and former-U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson. According to the Farm Bureau, Thompson was "called away to shoot the TV series Law & Order," on which he costars as the gruff by lovable district attorney.

Perhaps it is true that Thompson's acting schedule got in the way, but it should also be noted that he is currently filling in for radio newsman Paul Harvey this week.

I'm not sure which speaker, Thompson or Donaldson, members of the American Farm Bureau Federation would get more out of hearing as a speaker. I do know who I would rather hear from. Even as a journalist, I don't have a lot of desire to hear Donaldson speak.

Thompson strikes me as a much more interesting character -- a lawyer, who was co-chief counsel on Senate Watergate Committee, went on to become an actor and later a U.S. Senator from his home state of Tennessee.

So while Farm Bureau attendees may be missing out, those of us who have time in our day to listen to the radio can hear Thompson's commentary on some of the items making news this week on the Paul Harvey radio show.

You can follow the developments at this week's American Farm Bureau convention on the capitalpress.com website.

Technorati tags: Agriculture, Farm Bureau, Fred Thompson, Sam Donaldson, Paul Harvey

Bull riders play in NY, farmers work in Salt Lake

At times over the last two years, I've played at being a rodeo reporter. I've posted updates from the Pendleton Round-Up in 2005 and 2006 and made some blog posts from the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas last month. But if would like to see some regular updates on what's happening in professional rodeo, here's your chance to speak up.

Veteran radio/rodeo man Butch Thurman of Pendleton, Ore., is offering the Capital Press the opportunity to run his column on a trial basis to see if our readers are interesting in reading his comments on a regular basis.

Butch has covered rodeo for 27 years and this year, in addition to his radio duties, which includes doing a daily radio show on rodeo and his weekly column, he's got another little side gig. Thurman is this year's president of the Pendleton Round-Up board of directors.

So, check out his column about bull riders taking on the Big Apple and let us know if you like it.

***

Capital Press Executive Editor Elaine Shein and California Editor Bob Krauter will be in Salt Lake City this weekend for the American Farm Bureau Federation convention. They will be posting updates from Salt Lake City.

Bob previews the convention here. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will address the conference. Check for updates beginning Sunday and early next week on capitalpress.com.

***

On another note, I'm still making mistakes, and still learning, about this whole podcasting thing. I ended up having to re-post Episode 7 of the Farmers' Capital Press Agriculture Podcast today. When I posted it yesterday, for some reason the file had about 5 minutes of dead air at the end of the file. I would have though the blank portion wouldn't add to the files size, but I would have been wrong. Dead air makes for a big file.

Who knew?

So, I lopped off the dead are and reposted the file.

Live and learn.

If your iTunes subscription downloaded the big file, my apologies. Someday maybe I'll get all this stuff figured out.

***
Technorati tags: Agriculture, American Farm Bureau Federation, Rodeo, Podcasting

How do I offend thee, let me count the ways...

By Elaine Shein

Reading Gary’s blog about how a political cartoon he suggested for Capital Press led to the executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association being offended reminds me of times in the past when we in the media have offended people whether we intended to or not.

Sometimes it’s the subject matter, sometimes it’s a factual error, and sometimes it’s a typo, bad grammar or other mistakes that lead to someone being offended.

We journalists always appreciate when people tell us if they have a problem with something we did. Sure, it can be embarrassing for us or we might be disappointed someone took something a different way than we first intended, but we appreciate their honesty and courage to let us know how they perceived what we did.

There are definitely times when mistakes need to be corrected, but other times this gives us a chance to explain why we did things certain ways. It leads to good discussions and better understanding on both sides.

Sometimes people hesitate whether to let us know we offended them.

At a former agricultural newspaper I worked at, we had a popular ads section that allowed farmers to run want personal ads seeking spouses.

One day we received a letter from one of the people who had run an ad. He admitted at first he wasn’t sure whether to complain or not about a typo in his newspaper ad that appeared, since he had received a large number of responses.

Perhaps his worry was that some of these responses were more out of curiosity rather than being interested in seeking a meaningful relationship with this farmer.

So what was the typo?

Seems that he had requested we include in the ad that he was 6 ft 1 in. tall … but instead we had published he had a 6 ft loin.

Technorati tags: Agriculture

Ag pilot cartoon sputters

We received a letter-to-the-editor over the weekend from Andrew Moore, the executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association.

Mr. Moore was not too happy with the editorial cartoon you see here, which we published in the Capital Press last month. Here's what Mr. Moore had to say:

In the Capitol Press Ag Weekly December 1, 2006 edition, your publication ran a cartoon on page 7 titled ‘Ground Invasion, Air Assault,’ which shows aerial applicators storming ground sprayers. While we understand that the cartoon is meant to be humorous, it paints a negative picture of aerial application pilots and the aerial application industry.

Pilots in the aerial application industry are well-trained, highly professional people who take environmental and public safety very seriously and they do not storm anyone or anything on the ground. In fact, it is a violation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Worker Protection Standards (WPS) to treat any field with workers present. The aerial application industry is also tightly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I am certain that chasing people on the ground would guarantee a violation of 14 CFR Part 91.13, which prohibits “careless and reckless” operation of an aircraft.

Aircraft help in treating wet fields and spraying when crop canopies, such as orchards, are too thick or too high for ground rigs. When pests or disease threaten a crop, time is critical. An airplane or helicopter may accomplish more in one hour than ground equipment can in one day. This means less fuel used, less air pollution and no soil compaction. The aerial application industry appreciates the importance of ground sprayers as a tool needed in agriculture when aerial or chemigation work cannot be done. In fact, many aerial application businesses today use both aircraft and ground rigs to make crop protection product applications.

Today’s aerial application industry is a sophisticated one. Again, our pilots are well-trained, highly professional and they use cutting-edge technologies to ensure their own safety, safety on the ground and the safe application of the products being dispensed. Aerial application assists in providing a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food and fiber for the world's growing population. It is also vital in protecting our natural resources and combating pests that threaten public health, such as West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes.

The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) and its membership would appreciate the Capitol Press Ag Weekly providing space in its publication detailing the importance the aerial application industry provides to our nation’s farmers and consumers, rather than deleterious cartoons.

Sincerely,
Andrew D. Moore
Executive Director, National Agricultural Aviation Association

Maybe I should have run that cartoon past my father before I printed it. My dad is an aerial sprayer and a past president of the Pacific Northwest Aerial Applicators Alliance. Here was the note I sent back to Mr. Moore.

Mr. Moore,

I would like to thank you for your letter. We will likely be printing it in an upcoming edition, perhaps as early as this week’s edition, which will be published on Jan. 5.

I am saddened and disappointed that you are anyone with the National Agricultural Aviation Association would take offense to the cartoon we published, because I suggested the topic of the cartoon to our cartoonist and made the decision to publish the cartoon. In addition, I am the son of an aerial applicator. I grew up on the site of my father’s home-based business with the runway literally a few dozen yards from my bedroom window. I also have an uncle, who died late last year, who owned and operated an aerial application business. I also have a cousin, who works with my father and his business, who owns and operates a ground-spraying business. My formative years were spent in the company of ag pilots and my first paycheck was earned in the loading pits servicing airplanes.

It was certainly not the intent to portray ag pilots in a poor light. I’m disappointed that the cartoon was taken that way. I can certainly do nothing about how the cartoon was perceived by you or anyone else, but I wanted you to know that my intent in choosing to publish the cartoon was not to disparage an industry for which I have great respect.

Gary L. West
Associate editor
Capital Press

It's sort of odd working in a business and for a publication which covers an industry to which I have a direct family connection. In the traditional mainstream media, I would feel I would need to divulge a potential conflict of interest in writing or publishing anything related to the aerial application of ag chemicals. That's how several members of my family make, or have made, a living (as I've mentioned in a couple of previous blog posts). But now I work for an agriculture media organization where knowledge and understanding of ag-related issues is, if not a necessary prerequisite, an advantage.

It's weird. People who work in the media are often condemned for not relating enough to their sources or their readers. We are perceived as callous or aloof, which in some cases may be accurate. I can say in this case though I chose to put this cartoon on our opinion page because I thought, while not a literal depiction of actual events, it was a visual commentary on an industry (aerial applicators) under assault by the growing use of ground sprayers to do what aerial applicators can do, as Mr. Moore points out in his letter, often more effectively and efficiently. But airplanes spraying chemicals on crops — food — scares many people. Ground sprayers are less visible, less obtrusive and certainly have their own advantages. I picked the cartoon because I though it showed what some pilots may want to do -- to find a way to fight back to protect their livelihood and lifestyle.

I still like the cartoon by our freelance cartoonist Rik Dalvit. I'm sorry if ag pilots did, or will, take offense to the image. It was not my intention to offend or disparage the industry which has fed my family for more than four decades and continues to support many members of my family.

Technorati tags: Agriculture, ag pilots, opinion