Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and the popular Pinterest.com, seem to be the online places to be these days.  It seems almost everyone has a social media account on at least one of these sites and those who don’t have one definitely know someone who does.  Common uses for these sites are to keep in touch with friends, family, post pictures of a child’s achievements and more, but have you ever thought of using those sites to get in touch with a farmer and learn where your food comes from?  Doing so is a growing trend in social media.  Consumers who are concerned about where and how their food is produced are now talking to the farmers who grow their food products daily through social media.

With well over 350 million active users, Facebook is arguably the most widely used social media tool on the web today.  People from all over the world, from varying backgrounds constantly use the site to convey their thoughts from day-to-day.  Farmers from across the country are also on Facebook and are ready and willing to tell their story as well.  Countless farms of various types have their own Facebook pages so consumers and other farmers alike can see what they are doing, how they are doing it and why.

Some examples of Farm related Facebook pages are Organic Valley, The Farmers Life (IN. Grain Farm)  , Haley Farms (OH. Cattle Farm),  Gilmer Dairy Farm , Fair Oaks Farms (IN Dairy Farm) , and Boucher Farms (IL Grain Farm), just to name a few.

With 100 million new accounts opened in 2010 alone Twitter has proven its place in the social media landscape.  Every Tuesday night on Twitter from 7pm-9pm CST, about 125-175 farmers and non-farmers alike, take part in a discussion called #AgChat.  Each week the discussion has a different general topic surrounding farming, food production and agriculture in general.  The discussion is moderated by a different person each week and everyone is welcome to chime in with their thoughts on the subject.  Topics of conversation have ranged from Ag Policies to Biotech Crops to Feeding our Ever Expanding Population to name a few.  The discussions are always educational and usually result in great conversations with other Tweeters after the chat is over. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

 Some farmers who tweet are

@kansfarmer, @okCableGuy, @sunflowerfarmer , @Katpinke , @BoucherFarms , @JeffFowle , and @farmerhaley .

Google+ and Pinterest are new comers in the Social Media world.  Both sites are growing in size but as many of you know Pinterest has basically exploded in popularity, and yes, Farmers are on it too.  While most searches and “pins” on the site seem to be about crafts, household items, and travel, a simple search for Agriculture or Farming will easily put you in touch with a farmer who produces your food products.

Lets not forget YouTube. YouTube is a place where many of us have visited to see one video or another, but soon find ourselves watching something totally unrelated to what we came to watch in the first place.  From EHow, where you can learn to do basically anything via video, to that viral video of a kid singing a song, YouTube covers it all, including farming.  A simple search for farming will bring up countless videos of farms including one by Chris Chinn (familyfarmer ).  In the video “Truth about Modern Pork Production”  she explains, in detail, how her modern pork production facility works on their family farm.  Other farm related YouTube channels provide education on modern grain production, organic farming and urban farming as well.

Last but not least, blogs are all the craze today.  Sites like tumblr.com and wordpress.com have countless blog post entries every day covering all sorts of subjects.  Agriculture is a growing part of the blog world.  Many farmers are using blogs to communicate with consumers today to better explain how and why they do what they do.  Three great AG blogs are “Common Sense Agriculture”, by Jeff Fowle, “Agriculture Proud” by Ryan Goodman and “The Farmers Life” by Brian Scott.  Bryan, Ryan and Jeff are professional Farmers and/or Ranchers who share their day-to-day lives and opinions with their ever-growing community of followers.

No matter which social media outlet you prefer to use, the farmers who produce your food products are there to answer your questions.  They are easy to find, and will be there to give you an honest answer, straight from the source.  The next time you are updating your Facebook status, or tweeting a tweet, look up a farmer and learn about where your food really comes from.

Today’s Farmers may make up only 2% of the population but their occupation directly affects all of us.

If you have any farm or food production related questions please contact any of the farmers listed above or leave a comment on this blog.  Thank you for visiting Off the Cobb and God Bless.

Thought of the day, Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Post the most logical response you can.  Lets see who comes up with the best one.

It’s an age-old question, no one has really been able to completely answer.  Theories on the subject are like…well you know…,everybody has one.

Being a Monday morning, I posted it as a joke, but also asked for commenters to post their most logical response.  I thought there may be some comical responses about chickens antics and such, along with one or two more serious ones. 24 comments later the conversation had turned into one of the best convos I’ve ever had on Google+ as well as other social media sites I’ve ever been on.

The conversation started out with some great comments, ideas and thoughts then became more serious and deep in nature, which I totally did not expect.  Afterall I just asked a simple question, jokingly.  Subjects such as religious beliefs and evolution were discussed without any issues arising (which are common on these subjects in the social media world).  The conversation was open, understanding, respectful, and heard by everyone involved To sum it up, the entire conversation was educational for everyone.

My point is, we can all learn something from this.  We can learn what true communication really is.  We can learn that true communication can happen over social media and education can take place.

  We can learn that with respect, communication, and education, understanding of each other will happen, almost instantly.

 Did we learn “Which Came First, The Chicken or the Egg?” , probably not, but we had a great conversation trying to figure it out.

Whats your theory on “Which Came First, The Chicken or the EGG?”  post it in the comments below, lets see who can come up with the most logical response!

Thank you for reading, and God Bless.

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.htm.

The Yahoo article turned out to be a blog post of sorts citeing info from the Department of Labor (indirectly) with quite a few of the authors opinions mixed in and few real facts.   So what were the top five listed “Useless Degrees” you ask?

1. Agriculture
2. Fashion Design
3. Theater
4. Animal Science
5. Horticulture

Judging by this list, apparently no one needs to :

1. Eat
2. Wear Clothes
3. Watch Actors on TV or Broadway
4. Have pets care options
5. Have any Landscaping around their houses, Golf Courses, Football Fields, or local Flower shops.

From a guys point of view, we need all of these!  WE love to eat good food provided by farmers and others in the Ag industry, we can’t live without a good pair of Jeans and a T-shirt, there are few things better than watching a great action movie, mans best friend needs a good vet like Kata Nichols (a vet with a Animal Science Degree) to go to once in a while, and sometimes most importantly us guys need a good local Florist to provide us with flowers for our wives/girlfriends or both (just kidding) from time to time.  Not to exclude the girls, but lets face it, while the the above could be said for you too gals too, I doubt you buy flowers for the guy in your life.

After reading the article I began to think about the value of my degree I worked hard to get, a Bachelors in Agricultural Business.  While I was fortunate enough to be able to come home to work on and eventually take over the everyday operations of our farm, there were many other job opportunities along the way that my Ag Degree allowed me to pursue.  I recall going to an agricultural job fair at ISU where countless companies from all across the country were actively seeking those with Ag Degrees to work for them.  No Degree…NO Job.  It’s that simple.  I wonder if going to the job fair was “useless”  hmm….  NO.   Like I said above, I didn’t take any of those 9-5 jobs which my degree allowed me to enter into, however I do work in the AG field on my own farm.  While I may not need a degree to run my farm, I value it and the education I received greatly because it helps me everyday, in every decision I make which in turn makes my farm better than it would have without a degree.  Many others in my situation would agree.

AG FACTS:

1. Nearly 30 percent of today’s farmers and ranchers have attended college, with over half of his group obtaining a degree. A growing number of today’s farmers and ranchers with four-year college degrees are pursuing post-graduate studies
2. Agriculture employs 17% of the U.S. workforce, or about 23 million people.
3. Agriculture employs more than six times as many workers a the U.S. automotive industry

Back to the original article,  In response to the article a Facebook Page was quickly created appropriately named

“I Studied Agriculture, and I have a Job”

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Studied-Agriculture-I-Have-A-Job/306700539376086?sk=wall

 Almost immediately the page took off and was running…well sprinting…well…something faster than that, maybe like a speeding Indy Car.  It seemed to be gaining exponential popularity as the day went on.  As of this morning, less than 24 hours into the pages young life it had over 2500 likes and growing.  As for the time this post was written, it is boasts over 2700 likes.  Countless posts on the page have stated what degree the posting person has, how they use it and why they believe the article to be in error.  Recently other media types have even picked up on the flaws of the Yahoo Article like those listed below:

The Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-s-levine/useless-college-majors_b_1217401.html

And AG DAY on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l_d3zdx0jI&feature=share

And even other media stations like WIBW.

http://www.wibw.com/blogs/melissa/Useless_Degrees_This_List_Doesnt_Sit_Well_137706603.html

An Agricultural Photographer https://www.facebook.com/#!/lens.of.a.farm.girl Posted these pictures

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=314532528589459&set=a.314531975256181.70626.309663002409745&type=1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=314532841922761&set=a.314531975256181.70626.309663002409745&type=1&theater

In the end, if the author was looking for attention he got it.  But in the end, which is more useless, the degree or the article?   In my honest opinion even this flawed article wasnt totally useless because it had 2 items of value.

1. It brought the AG, Animal Science and Horticulture (all 3 of which are Agriculture Based) together
2. It proves just how important the AG industry is to our world, and how many jobs are out there for those with AG Degrees.

So, I suppose, in a weird way, we should Thank the author for not doing his homework, studying his sources, or filling in the blanks (so to speak) on his article.  Wait…that kinda sounds like what we all had to complete to get our degrees doesnt it?  Have a great day, and God Bless!

Years went by, and I had no reason not to believe in the big man, after all he knew everything about me to the point it was kinda scary (but not really).  As I got older and began to put two and two together I began to ask more logical questions and figure things out.

How is it possible for Santa enter someones, well everyone’s, home in one night, and deliver all those presents throughout the world?

How is it possible for Santa to know what everyone wants and needs?

How is it possible for Santa to know how good or bad ALL little boys and girls have been all year?

The list can go on and on.  But, since the REAL Santa knew everything about me, how could it not be true?

Although to this day I still believe in Santa (Ill explain below), I eventually came to realize there was something  fishy.  Although I don’t remember how I figured it out, I found out that a cousin of mine on my Moms side was a Santa’s Helper at the mall (aka the REAL Santa).  I also found out that Mom was feeding this REAL Santa information he could tell me so I would believe he was the REAL Santa.  For that, I cannot thank my Mom and Dad enough for making the Santa aspect of the Christmas season an extra special one for me.  While most kids had the chance to go to see Santa, tell him their name and what they wanted, I had the chance to go to a Santa who already knew me, as well as what I was going to ask him for.  How cool was that!

As I said before, I do believe in Santa to this day.  Although I do realize that it is impossible for one individual to deliver all those presents all over the world in one night, to know all about every childs wants, and to keep track of the naughty and nice lists, I  do believe that Santa exists, well, figuratively anyhow.  To understand what I mean, lets define what Santa is:

Definition of Santa (in my opinion):

Someone who cares about someone else so much that they are willing to go to great lengths and do seemingly impossible things with the intentions of filling that person full of joy, while asking for nothing in return.  The Real Santa has little to do with gifts, rather he has everything to do with family, togetherness, and being there for one another.

While this definition may not fit everyone’s idea of Santa, to me, that’s what the idea of Santa is all about.  Bringing joy to others while asking for nothing in return is Santa job or life choice if you will.  Does this sound similar to another choice in life?  I believe it sounds like what a parent does for his or her children.  Parents constantly give of themselves to their children while asking for nothing in return.  So is a parent the REAL Santa?  I believe so (in more ways than one)

Through ups and downs of life, I know my parents have always been and continue to be my REAL Santa’s just as they were when I was a child.  When walking through the mall every year, I am reminded of my experiences with the big man in Red and I find myself being very thankful for the REAL Santa’s in my life.

Merry Christmas!

What are boneless bananas?  Well believe it or not, you can purchase them at your local grocery store, market, or even the famous Trader Joes.  They are yellow in color, (sometimes pale green) are usually sold by the bunch (by the pound) or sold individually.  I can even guarantee that if you ever have eaten bananas you have consumed a boneless one at some given time in your life.

Confused? concerned?  I bet you never knew there was a such thing as boneless bananas!  The truth is there is.  That is simply because ALL bananas are boneless.  To say that a banana is “boneless” (according to yahoo answer search) simply describes their shape.  However, if someone (who didn’t know any better) saw a sales sticker in a store such as this:

Someone (again who didn’t know any different) may be more inclined to purchase these vs regularly labeled bananas.  Afterall the sign implies that other bananas have bones right?  And who wants to chip a tooth on a bone when biting into a banana!

     So how does this relate to popcorn?  While watching the local news the other day, a “heathy food expert” recommended popcorn as a good healthy snack.  Now, I like popcorn, and have actually grown some myself in the past, so she had my attention.  The next thing this “expert” said really caught my ear.  She proceeded to recommend ”whole grain popcorn….” such as this…

Now, I’ve always known that corn, or popcorn in this case is considered a whole grain food in its natural state, but didn’t know if it was still considered a whole grain after popping.  A google search lead me to:

 http://www.orville.com/whole-grain-snack.jsp

This site stated that all popcorn is Whole Grain even after it is popped.  Very interesting.  I learned something new.  Taking this intriguing idea to the next step, I began to look around for signs of ”Boneless Bananas”  well, similar #BSLablels.  I began to look for popcorn labeled as Whole Grain.  I found that like the picture above, mostly all of Orville’s popcorn (as well as a few other brands) are labeled as Whole Grain.   However many other brands  are not.  The question I had to ask myself is, If I didn’t know about popped popcorn being a whole grain, would I (or other consumers) be more inclined to purchase the package marked Boneless Bananas, (excuse me, sorry)  “Whole Grain” vs one that isn’t marked?  I’ll let you decide that one for yourself.

Since I usually (maybe excessively) try to take a look at the marketing side of labeling and packaging, (which I believe my wife is probably rolling her eyes right now)  I began to see why Boneless Bananas and Whole Grain Popcorn are marketed the way they are.  Its not about providing healthy popcorn or bananas without a hard boney center. It’s about getting you to purchase their product, even if it means stating the plain and simple truths that the consumer may not put much thought into while picking out food items at the store.

Moral of this story,

While the “Boneless Bananas” and “Whole Grain Popcorn” labels are clearly true in nature, they are not necessary because every Banana is Boneless, and Every kernel of Popcorn is Whole Grain.  In a way, that makes these labels #BSLabels

Want more BS Labels?  Search #bslabels on twitter, Facebook or blog sites around the internet today, for today is BS Labels Day!

I hope you enjoyed this post, learned something, and most importantly, it made you smile.  Now, I’m off to eat a boneless banana.  HAHA

Filed under: #BsLabels Tagged: #bslabels, babnana, bogus, boneless bananas, consumer, funny, health food, healthy, label, labels, marketing, Orville, popcorn, whole grain ]]> http://offthecobb.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/bslabels/feed/ 1 boucherfarms2011 boneless-bananas-400x391 Orville R Whole Kernel Popcorn http://offthecobb.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/local-everyday-heros/ http://offthecobb.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/local-everyday-heros/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 06:29:53 +0000 boucherfarms2011 http://offthecobb.wordpress.com/?p=8 ]]> Tonight was a night not much different from any other saturday night, and although we usually go to our local Church for Mass on Sunday, the family and I were headed to Saturday night mass tonight instead. But still, Like I said, tonight wasnt much different from any other saturday night.  That was untill mass was just about over.

At that time, my oldest child (in the pew at church) turned around to pick up her coat, then somehow tripped and fell hitting her head on the way down.  As a parent, you never want to see your kids get hurt or have any kind of pain, however being a Dad of 3 kids under 6, I’ve learned not to get too worried because bumps and bruises happen all the time. This was not one of those times.  Quickly after hitting her head, she began to cry (at this point I’m still not too worried).  After my wife and I reached to pick her up, we realized the back of her head was bleeding, A LOT.  We both quickly rushed her to the church bathroom and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.  Within a few seconds, some good friends came to the rescue (God Bless you Mrs Shultz and family).  She graciously gave my wife and I some quick advice and called 911 for us as well as jumping in and watching over our other kids too (our own and our Youth Group kids who we were with).  She and her family are Local Everyday Heros in my book.

After the 911 call was made, 3 other Local Everyday Heroes arrived.  2 EMTs and one of our towns finest.  The EMTs (one of who also leads the local girl scout troop) came to our aid and quickly and professionally.  They helped us stop the bleeding, helped keep both of us and our daughter calm, and quickly extinguished any fears our daughter had about stitches or worse.  Amongst thoughts and concerns about my little one, another  thought kept coming through.  Do the Local Everyday Heros we are surrounded by really know how much they are appreciated?  Does Mrs. Shultz really know how much she helped us tonight?  Does she know how much we appreciate her and  what she did?  Do the EMT’s know how much they are appreciated for everything they do?  Sadly the answer is probably no.

A few years ago we were in a similar situation when my little guy had a febrile seizure in a restaurant and an unknown local hero (off duty EMT) ran to our side.  I regret that in the hustle and bustle of the moment we found ourselves in, I never had the chance to get his name or simply to stop, shake his hand, and say THANK YOU for everything he did that night.  So tonight, I am taking this time to say THANK YOU to the off duty EMT who helped us back then;  to say THANK YOU to the EMTs and Officer who come to our aid tonight; to say THANK YOU to all of the Mrs. Shultz’s of the world who instinctively run to the aid of others in need, even when they dont have to.

 Tonight I am taking this time to say THANK YOU to all of our Local Everyday Heros who more than likely do not know how much they are appreciated and how much they mean to us as well as everyone around them.

THANK YOU!