From the Field: Where's the Beef?

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

I recently received the 25th Anniversary edition of Directions. Directions is a report that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) publishes in their magazine to members. I always look forward to reading this report and viewing the rankings.

It should come as no surprise that there were some shifts in cattle production and numbers this year. The droughts of the past two years have placed significant pressure in cattle country, which is the center of the country to include the Midwest and Plains states. Although I will say, the Southeast contributes a significant number of cows to the US herd.

We all heard and saw pictures and video of the severe drought in 3/4ths of the country this summer. Even now, the drought still persists. Let’s not forget about the severe drought that brought Texas and Oklahoma to its knees last year. These two years of droughts have forced a lot of cattle to the market that would not have normally gone there. Some ranchers completely exited the beef business. Others sold part of their cow herd.

From the Field: County Farm Bureaus- the Foundation of Farm Bureau

If you have been involved in Farm Bureau for any amount of time, you have probably heard someone say that Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization. Our policies all start at the county level. Our state and national leaders all started at a county Farm Bureau. This county structure has been in place for decades and is still the mainstay of Farm Bureau.

Last week, I helped with the Open House at the new Appomattox County Farm Bureau office. VFBF President, Wayne Pryor; Appomattox County Farm Bureau President, Earl Pickett; and Appomattox Young Farmer chair and incoming county Farm Bureau President, Joanne Jones kicked off the event with remarks to the audience. A great lunch with dessert was enjoyed by many. They had a steady flow of people at the office throughout the day. I enjoyed talking to all of the people that visited. Visitors included VFB staff from the home office, the largest cattleman in the county who is a young farmer, a livestock auctioneer who is also a young farmer, members just visiting and some conducting business, and some potential new members.

 

Even the kids enjoyed the open house. Some of the young farmer parents had their toddler-aged kids there, and there were balloons on hand. Balloons and kids. It’s a classic combination where you can’t go wrong. The cutest part of the day was when a little girl took two balloons. One was for her. The other one she took out to the parking lot, released it into the air, and then told her parents that it was for Jesus. This open house, like many we have had in Farm Bureau, was a great blend of county Farm Bureau volunteer leaders and Farm Bureau staff all working together in preparing for and hosting the event.

 

From the Field: Agriculture’s Message in a Sound Bite Culture

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

For several years the agriculture community has worked on educating the general public about the production of food and fiber. This educational effort has received an increased emphasis from agribusinesses, food retailers, commodity groups, and agriculture organizations in the past two decades, but especially the most recent decade. The Internet and social media have facilitated the ability of anyone to put out information, pictures, and videos to the world in a matter of minutes.

Through social media, the information expands to readers and viewers exponentially. Information is great, but the crux of it is how to decipher the legitimate information from rumors, myths, or just plain made-up information. I am happy to say that many people in our community have really stepped up to the challenge of being an agriculture advocate.

So how do we get our message out amongst all of the other messages out there, and how do we counter misinformation that can be easily believable to a public that has much to learn about agriculture? The good news is that I believe the public is more informed about agriculture than they used to be. We have great advocates for agriculture that are doing a great job. Being an effective advocate means reaching outside of our community, being genuine, trustworthy, and transparent, and relatable. The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance has developed methods to help agriculturalists work on these things. I’m not saying that we are not trustworthy, genuine, or transparent; we have just had a hard time expressing it. We must remember that we are one of the steps in getting food on the plate. People want to know where their food comes from and how it was raised. So if you think of yourself as a food producer; it gives you a different perspective.

From the Field: Farm Bureau staff and volunteers cover a lot of ground on eminent domain campaign

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

Virginia Farm Bureau’s campaign in support of a constitutional amendment on eminent domain is in full swing mode. Farm Bureau staff and volunteers have been using every opportunity available to inform members, the agriculture community, and general public about the eminent domain constitutional amendment and the importance of voting yes on question 1 on the Nov. 6 ballot. Things really picked up the first of August. The volunteers are pumped up about promoting this.

The Field Services and Governmental Relations staff have been promoting all of the available promotional and educational tools available to county Farm Bureaus, and the county Farm Bureaus have acted quickly in ordering supplies. There are a lot of events happening around the state now, and even more will be taking place going into the fall season. Farm Bureau is utilizing all of these venues to get the message out to the public.

From the Field: Stepping Up to the Gate

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

I recently attended the Young Farmer Summer Expo in Lynchburg during the last weekend in July. The Young Farmer Expos are always filled with great learning and networking opportunities. The Expos are family oriented, and there are usually several small children in attendance.

Seeing the young farmers, ages 18-35, and the young kids, most at age 7 and under, keeps me optimistic about the future of agriculture. This scene that I snapped a picture of really got me thinking about how each generation faces different opportunities and challenges, and what kindles that passion for farming in the youngest among us.

I think all of us in agriculture will admit that there is a passion within us for agriculture. A driving force that is part of who we are. Many people develop that passion for farming early in life. Some have found that love for farming later in life. I think that passion for agriculture is contagious and is modeled to others in our work ethic on the farm and through our caretaking responsibilities over the resources that we manage during our lifetime. I think this is especially true with kids, and this is how they catch the passion for agriculture. The parents love it, so it is interwoven in their lives. Their kids see that they enjoy farming even though there are sometimes challenges and hard times. It usually involves outside activities with nature, which kids love.

From the Field: Spreadin' Some Farm Bureau Joy

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

Farm Bureau has a history of helping meet the needs of farmers, and this is just another example that has been very successful.

Louisa, Madison, and Fauquier County Farm Bureaus rent a poultry litter spreader to farmers in their county as a service of the county Farm Bureau and Virginia Poultry Federation. 

The Virginia Poultry Federation first offered grant money in 2003 to county Farm Bureaus in the central and northern Piedmont regions of Virginia to help facilitate the movement of poultry litter from concentrated areas such as the Shenandoah Valley to deficit areas such as central Virginia. 

The poultry litter spreader fills a real need, as it is difficult to find someone to spread litter in central Virginia.  Most times, farmers are able to get trailer loads of litter delivered to their farm. But getting someone to spread it is difficult unless large quantities are purchased. 

Louisa County Farm Bureau houses their spreader under a carport at the county Farm Bureau office and the county administrative assistants administer the applications and keep records.  The Virginia Poultry Federation grant helped fund the purchase of the spreader, but the administration, record keeping, maintenance, and insurance are the responsibility of the county Farm Bureau.  The county Farm Bureaus do charge a daily rental rate, which helps cover these things.

As part of the grant, users must use Virginia poultry litter for land application, and use is restricted to within 35 miles of the county Farm Bureau office.  Louisa County Farm Bureau developed guidelines, application, and an inspection check list to ensure proper and efficient administration of the rental of the spreader. 

The spreader in Louisa has been highly utilized over the years.  So much so that Louisa County Farm Bureau purchased their second spreader just a few months ago to replace the first one.  Their new litter spreader is a BBI brand, 16 ton pull type, hydraulically operated with a heavy duty suspension and floor chain. 

If you're a Farm Bureau producer member in Louisa, Madison or Fauquier County and interested in renting a litter spreader, contact your county office.

Until next time,

Mark

From the Field: Introducing Mark Campbell

Welcome to the new column, “From the Field.” My name is Mark Campbell, and I am the Senior District Field Services Director for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation in the central part of the state. I will be sharing Farm Bureau activities and events throughout the state and other agricultural information and interesting stories, as well as my love for all things agriculture. “From The Field” will be posted here every other Wednesday.

I work out of and live in Nelson County—one of the most beautiful areas of the state! My wife, Dana, our two sons Hayden (9) and Daniel (7) and I live on our family farm, Deer Creek Farm, where I was raised. The rolling and sometimes mountainous terrain of Nelson County is best suited to cattle and sheep and fruit trees. While we do not have fruit trees on our farm, Nelson County is a leader in production of fresh apples and peaches. Nelson is also a high ranking county for vineyards and wineries. Another business that has really taken off in Nelson County is micro-breweries. The county also has a large wholesale nursery. There’s a lot more about Nelson County, click here http://www.nelsoncounty.com/

When I am not working for Farm Bureau, I enjoy working on our farm raising registered Simmental and SimAngus cattle. We sell bulls and replacement heifers to other cattlemen. We send the steers and cull heifers through the Virginia Retained Ownership Program, administered by Virginia Tech in coordination with Iowa State University. The cattle are fed at several participating feedyards in southwest Iowa near the Nebraska border, and are harvested in Iowa. In addition to the cattle, the only crops we raise are grass and trees. Over the years, I have installed several conservation projects with cattle water tanks and implemented a rotational grazing program.

Oh, by the way, we have a small flock of commercial sheep and one Italian Maremma guard dog. That is our new project and I am still working, and sometimes get frustrated trying to integrate them into our cattle system.