Jamie's Food Revolution (His not Mine)

Anybody talkin' 'bout the Revolution?  Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that is.  Perhaps you saw the conclusion to his ABC series last week on t.v.  My wife and I watched every episode and frankly we were impressed.  For those that didn't catch the series, the gist of it was that Jamie Oliver (aka "The Naked Chef") was trying to promote a healthier diet through better cooking, the use of fresher and more diverse ingredients and a return to the family dinner.  Sounds simple enough and certainly within his wheelhouse.

At first, we were suspect.  I originally started watching the program concerned that a celebrity chef was about to hit the public over the head with a bunch of suspect science regarding their food and how it is grown and prepared.  For the most part, that didn't happen.  Instead I came away encouraged that Mr. Oliver was truly trying to make a difference.  Sure, it was a t.v. show.  But by the end I was convinced that he was trying to use the show as a vehicle for his message, and not the other way around.  The show spent much of the time looking at the school lunch program in a West Virginia town and trying to improve it.  His goal -- replace the pizza, chicken nuggets, fries and flavored milk with more wholesome and balanced fare.  Fresh veggies, fruits and meats prepared on site for the kids.  And get rid of all the sugar and flavored milk (as much as a can of soda).  While focused on the schools, he also spent a lot of effort educating the community about fresh, healthy food prepared and eaten at home with the family. 

Amen, brother.

Our nation has an obesity problem.  A full quarter of us fit that definition.  We didn't get there overnight, either.  Somewhere, between the working, running and texting we forgot how to eat.  Think of it like a three-legged stool.  WHAT we eat.  HOW MUCH we eat.  WHAT WE DO WITH what we eat.  

Society has confused healthy eating with "Organic," "All-Natural," "Grass-Fed," "Low Fat," "Low Sugar," etc.  For the most part it's not.  Think back to how Grandma used to cook (o.k., maybe minus the lard).  A variety of mostly fresh food prepared from scratch, eaten at home with the family -- and in moderation.  For the most part our kids weren't obese, they learned how to cook and they knew where their food came from.  And as a side benefit the family spent quality time together.

Join me in supporting Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Corn Planting Finished

Sorry I haven't posted the past couple weeks -- we've been kind of busy! Today we finished planting corn!! I think I've said it in each of my last several posts but it bears repeating again -- What a difference a year makes!  Today is only the 2nd time in the past 40 years that we have finished planting corn in the month of April.  Last year because it was so wet and cold we didn't start planting corn until May 4th.

These pictures were taken last week.  Before we can plant first we must prepare the seedbed by leveling and mixing the soil several hours before planting.  We use a field cultivator (above photo) to accomplish this task.  After this spring tillage pass, we then plant the field using a 24 row John Deere bulk fill planter (top photo).  With this setup we can plant anywhere from 250-350 acres/day depending on field size/shape, road-time and how long we want to work.  Usually we put in around a 14 hour day.  This year we didn't have to push too hard.  With the advent of auto-steer (see previous posts), dust, darkness and operator fatigue are no longer serious problems.

With larger equipment, more acres and fewer people, we have moved away from individual seed bags (roughly 50lbs. each) to bulk fill seed.  This reduces handling, speeds filling the planter and helps reduce operator fatigue.  The seed corn is loaded in large boxes (above photo) on a specially designed trailer that weighs and conveys the seed into the large yellow tanks on top of the planter. A fill takes about 15 minutes.  Once filled the bulk planter can plant around 200 acres.  Before bulk, we would have to spend 1/2 hour every 75 acres to fill the planter.  Bulk saves A LOT of time!

We plant the corn seeds about 1.75" deep and about 6.5" apart within the row.  Each row is 30" wide.  It always amazes me when I think about how many seeds we will plant in a single season.  This year we will plant about 34,000 seeds/acre.  That's 75 million corn plants on our farm this year!

The first corn we planted (on April 14th) is just spiking through the surface today.  Planting conditions have been nearly perfect this year and we expect a very high emergence (survival) rate.

Beside planting we have also been busy delivering seed to other farmers (a sideline business is seed sales) and spraying herbicides to keep our weed populations under control.  Yes, we use chemicals and are not an organic farm.  Done properly it is a safe and efficient way to maximize the production of a healthy and affordable food supply.  I plan to write more on that topic (and discuss the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution t.v. show in an upcoming post).

Cheers!

Planting Begins

We started planting corn yesterday.  That ties the earliest date we've ever planted.  Again, what a difference a year makes!  We will continue conservatively with an eye on the weather forecast.  No sense going like gangbusters (even if warm temps helps the corn emerge well) and risk freezing off too many acres with a late frost.  Every year is such a balancing act.  I'll write more and include a few pics when I get a bit more time.  Get the peas planted in your garden!

And We're Off

What a difference a year makes.  Last year at this time we were still dealing with snow, rain and cold temps.  We were weeks away from even thinking about fieldwork.  This year, thanks to some cooperation from mother nature, we are headed into Easter weekend with 80% of our Nitrogen fertilizer (mostly in the form of anhydrous ammonia) already applied.

This year we were able to run two application rigs pulling two tanks each.  Both rigs run autosteer which greatly improves efficiency because it eliminates overlap and allows the operator to run a longer day well past sunset and with less fatigue.

I tried shooting some video of the autosteer in action, but I was afraid that if I posted it I might make somebody seasick.  It's pretty bouncy.  I'm hoping I can shoot some smoother video during planting and will try posting that at a later date.  For those not familiar with autosteer -- it is basically robotic steering that runs off the same GPS system that the military (and your car's navigation system) uses.  The system we use drives the tractor with about a 3 inch or better accuracy level.  It has saved about 5% of the overlap we used to have when driven by a human.  That's 5% savings on fuel, fertilizer, seed, time etc.  Over a few thousand acres it's a pretty big deal.  Of course we still ride in the tractor to keep everything under control.

One final note, during this Easter weekend we will be taking the day Sunday to spend with our God and our families.  We hope you are able to do the same.

Blessings.