Water Rights, Cattle Fights and Drought Sites! Oh My!

I am really looking forward to this weeks weather forecast not only because of the predicted warmth but because we also have a slim chance of rain!!

The most recent drought map

Moisture is needed terribly in our region (SW Kansas / Panhandle) because of the horrible drought we have been suffering through. Last year we only received a quarter of an inch of rain for an entire 12 month period at one of our feedyards just north of Liberal. It's dry. We have been in a state of emergency for near a year after the wild fire last spring.

Farmers are truly starting to fear this upcoming season for several reasons. First, many of them used so much of their water right's in the 2011 season that they actually started taking from their 2012 rights, already putting them behind on top of not getting any moisture this past winter.

 If you are not familiar with this terminology the legal definition of a water right is, a right to use in accordance with it's priority, a certain amount of water in  a specified time slot. Example: In SW Kansas the farmer that owns the water right is only allotted so many acres of water per year and if he goes over this allotment he will pay a fine and be deducted from the following year's allotment. However, last year when we were declared in a state of emergency, and it was instituted that no one will pay a fine it will just come out of the 2012 allotment because in order to get the crop to harvest or even the insurance cut offs, they had no choice.

The drought also effected the cattle production and market as well. Obviously when we have no moisture we have no grass therefore we have nothing to feed the cattle. I have never seen so much hay moving south in my life! It seem's almost every semi I pass is loaded down with hay out of the north heading to the panhandle and throughout western Oklahoma and Texas. There are many ranching operations out of the region that have gone to the extreme of moving their herds north in search of fruitful pastures. Those who could not find any, moved to late or flat couldn't afford it ended up culling (: to reduce or control the size of (as a herd) by removal of especially weaker animals) much more of their animals than they normally would in order to sustain the quality of the herd on what they could afford to feed them.

The situation doesn't look any brighter coming into this next warm season. Experts are already forecasting a hotter and drier summer than what we had last year, increasing concern for farmers and ranchers. Irrigation systems are already making their rounds of the field and cattleman are still trying to plan the future of their herd.

The purpose of this post is to bring awareness to anyone who does not understand, comprehend or doesn't know about the situation we are in, in the South West. We are the heart of the cattle industry and if something doesn't change quickly, we will have even more severe consequences in the future than what you think we are facing now.

So my request to the readers is: go pull out your tom-tom and start doing the rain dance!!

High Five For Friday!!

Hey y'all!
That was pretty forced. I'm not southern. I'll stop now.

Well it's fabulously Friday and I'm going to share with you my five favorite things I learned/liked from this past week. Seeing as how it's National AG Week they are all going to be AG related. Eeps! An entire WEEK and POST all about loving agriculture it's an agnerd paradise!

1. The Peanut Farmer. Check it out here. Hallelujah for Reese's and PB&J!!

For your enjoyment:

2. This Diagram say's it all, there's no such thing as a vegan!! Cattle make our world go 'round and support nearly every aspect of your life. Eat beef = support your community. 



3. Truth: Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family. Found here.

4. It takes a combine 9 seconds to harvest enough wheat to make 70 loaves of bread!

5.  I am Ag Proud because without agriculture where would I be? Not only does it affect my life in the way of food and other products but it affects me in my monthly income as well. I aspire to inform and educate the consumer and my community, hopefully through my light and silly personality, as to how relavent it is in their lives as well. 

Thank you to my parents for investing such strong values and appreciation in my life for the men and women who make my meals possible but also for giving me the education to pursue my dreams!

Why are you AG Proud this week?



Kansas Ag Week: Teaching the Younger generations

Were you aware that there were 8 MILLION members enrolled in 329 thousand 4-H clubs and 4-H sanctioned programs? That 33% were in grades K-3, 39% grades 4-6, 16 % grades 7-9 and 9% in grades 10-12. I attribute the dwindling percentages in the older kids to joining FFA (Future Farmers of America) when they are of high school age.

Were you also aware that there are 33 MILLION school age children in the United States? That puts 4-H enrollment at only 24% of kids, which means that only 2.4 out of every 10 kids has ever had any influence of agriculture in their lives. Granted, there are some "farm kids" that are never in 4-H but that is more the exception than the rule.

Wyatt shaking up his ice cream for one
activity during their meeting.

Friends, we have a lot of work to do to touch the lives of these children and teach them the actualities of the agriculture world. There are several groups out there, not naming any names *cough, cough* PETA, set out to convince them that we are wrong and inhumane, if we don't show them otherwise then who is left to blame the kids for believing them? We are. We can no longer just assume that they are being taught correctly about our industry, because that is simply not true. Most are even 2 to 3 generations removed from agriculture which means in some cases their parents and grandparents aren't even educated on what we do for a living. Like I've said before it's time to take a stand, pull our boots up and get to getting, after all that's what we are good at anyway's , isn't it?

A good place to start is by encouraging  the younger generations that are already interested, to pursue a life goal in AG by showing them what a diverse culture we are as an industry, that they actually have options, you don't just have to be a farmer or a rancher. Dream big and go for the gold!

 Wyatt Gigot, the son of Marc and Jackie Gigot (Circle Heifer Development,) invited TJ McClure of Circle Heifer Development, LLC in Garden City, Kansas  to represent him for career day in his 4-H club, The Happy Hustlers.

 TJ set out to inform them of the different options they would have in the heifer development industry. He also, explained to them what actually goes on at his facility.

TJ McClure speaking to the Happy Hustlers
4-H Club

At Circle Heifer, they receive female Holsteins at the age of 6 months. They raise these heifers on a silage/roughage diet, expertly care for them with the help of a veterinarian, breed them and when the time comes send them happily back to the dairy and herd to which they belong. Each heifer has an individual i.d. that can trace their entire record while in the care of TJ and his crew to be sure that she has the attention she needs. Their goal is to provide high quality care, full service development and expertly chosen genetics for breeding to encourage a returning customer.

Examples of careers at his company are:

• General Manager - usually requiring a Bachelors of Animal Science background
• Large Animal Veterinarian 
• Animal Nutritionists
• Commodity Re-seller
• Artificial Insemination Specialist
• Office and Computer help
• Human Resources
• Cowboys
• Feed truck Drivers
• Mill Operators

Heifer calves being trained in stanchions at
Circle Heifer Development

One of my favorite questions from a member to TJ was, "What is your favorite part of your job?" He answered with, "The fact that our organization impacts the entire circle of life in the dairy industry.  Raising the calves from 6 months of age through breeding, we will hopefully see many generations of the same herd through our facility." 

A large point that he really wanted to drive home was that there are many many options for a career field in agriculture. A lot of the time kids are only acquainted with area their parents work in and don't realize how much our industry really has to offer.

TJ is a great leader in agvocacy and truly cares to teach others about his field. What are you doing to teach the consumer about your part?

I of course have to add this picture of Wyatt's little sister, she's too darn cute!

Lauren wanted to take a "silly" picture :)

Until  next time...