When warm weather is upon the prairies, things really start to happen. During recent travels to North Dakota, I explored the state’s south central region to expand my agricultural knowledge of wheat and livestock production – which is best accomplished with field travel. As an AdFarm PR Road Warrior, much of my time out of the office is spent working with growers and producers which continue to enhance my knowledge about agriculture along with the challenges and triumphs that impact the industry.

On the journey I visited the home office of AdFarmer Katie Pinke in Wishek, ND, which helped me understand how Katie stays engaged with agriculture day in and day out — so far away from those of us in Kansas City, St. Louis, Fargo, Calgary and Guelph.

Included is a pictorial of my trip to Wishek (a small, yet mighty agricultural community). Also included are facts about the town and North Dakota agriculture.

Upon entering Wishek, a HUGE community welcome sign proudly touts the town’s claim as the Sauerkraut Capital of ND. Wishek has a population of 875 with approximately 375 households.

Wishek was named after rancher John H. Wishek. The town hosts two restaurants, five churches, a community park and swimming pool, a grocery, a hardware/lumber store, multiple farm machinery dealers, two grain elevators, two hair salons, and its own school system. A well-established farming community, Wishek contributes to the states $5.8 billion in cash receipts from agricultural production.

AdFarm West (home of Katie Pinke) is open and ready for business! To note, 24 percent of North Dakota workers are farmers and ranchers or are employed in farm-related jobs. We are proud to have our North Dakota AdFarmers included in these stats.

During a break from meetings — we drove to the Wishek John Deere dealership to check out the new arrivals of machinery. In North Dakota, production agriculture is the largest sector of the state’s gross sales – contributing 25 percent of its economic base.

We then ventured to the Case IH dealership on the other side of town (which took less than one minute) to check out their new 4-wheel drive tractors. There are 32,000 farms and ranches in North Dakota. The average size operation is 1,238 acres.

No trip to Wishek is complete until you stop in at Farmers Elevator Inc. for a quick hello and cup of coffee.  Farmers Elevator is one of hundreds of local facilities of this kind across the state. Wheat is the number one commodity in statewide cash sales. North Dakota growers produce enough wheat each year for 15.5 billion loaves of bread.

Right in the heart of downtown is the Pinke Lumber Company. This is the one (and only) place where area businesses, residents, growers and ranchers can buy anything and everything to fix, repair, remodel and/or build.  It is the only lumber company within 100 miles. Pinke Lumber is a critical component in keeping area farmers, ranchers and agri-business up and running 24-7.

Like most rural U.S. communities, the Wishek water tower proudly hosts the town name. Notable natives of Wishek include Ted Mann who owned Mann Theatre chain and Graumann’s Chinese Theatre, and Mark Pfeifle, a top national security advisor for President George W. Bush.

At the end of the day, I headed east toward the AdFarm Fargo office. Recent rains had water running across local roads.  North Dakota has experienced serious flooding the past two years. Last year the Red River which borders Fargo and Grand Forks set a record flood level. While sand bag efforts saved the major cities along the flood routes, production acres were left underwater in many rural areas  which delayed fieldwork and therefore negatively impacting crop forecasts for the North central region of the U.S.

I witnessed the last of the snow across the prairie lands. Warm weather was greening up pastures with cattle expected to return for grazing in the weeks to follow. North Dakota ranches host more than two million head of cattle, which is the second largest source of new wealth in the state. The beef cattle industry contributes $600 million annually to the state’s annual agricultural income.

In summary, my visit to Wishek provided a geographic view of production agriculture at is very best. It was a terrific trip. Somewhat off the regular path from Bismarck to Fargo, but well worth the drive.

What do you learn about agriculture in your travels?

I like reading about farmers, the internal machinations, what makes them tick, that kind of thing. Two articles in Seattle Pacific University’s magazine Response caught my attention on this very subject. The longer of the two is a feature on Del Wisdom, a successful Eastern Washington farmer, who is named the 2010 Alumnus of the Year. The other is a short piece profiling Hillary Jensen, a 2002 graduate of SPU who returns to the family farm.

Rather than rewrite what already exists, here are two quotes to whet your appetite:

““I’ve made my share of mistakes but I love it. It makes a living I enjoy… The love of what you do moves you forward.” Del Wisdom

“In 2006, I quit my office job and knew I needed to do something life-giving…I’m ridiculously happy with what I’m doing. I get to play in the dirt.” Hillary Jensen

Also common to these two stories is the meaning and deep faith that both Del and Hillary find and bring to their work. More than a job, this is a vocation, a calling to a place that is greater and deeper than it might appear on the surface.

Writer Frederick Buechner said it so well, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

And isn’t that farming?  The act of creating and re-creating is truly a place of deep calling.

What’s your calling?

P.S. Hungry for more life-affirming Buechner quotes?

Ron Wall is constantly on the hunt for insights to fuel his relentless creativity. He can be contacted directly at Ron.Wall@adfarmonline.com

At AdFarm, I oversee media strategy, planning and buying for our clients. From radio to web banners, print to sponsorships, television to social media, my team works to find the effective and efficient way to reach farmers with clients’ messages.

One thing that helps me understand farmers’ needs is to be involved in farming decisions as a landowner.  Raised on a grain farm in central Illinois, I now own a portion of that farm with my sisters, and also cash rent other farmland with my mother.

This is the first in a series of updates about the progress and challengers on my farmland throughout the crop season.  First, let me introduce you to my grower – my cousin – Austin Apgar.

Meet farmer Austin Apgar

Austin, 28, farms in Douglas County, Illinois, just south of Champaign.  With a masters’ degree in Agribusiness/Farm Management from the University of Illinois, Austin has been farming for 5 years.  After college, Austin spent a few years combining farming with part-time positions at John Deere and the University of Illinois.  As his farming operation has grown, today, he concentrates full-time on farming.

Austin was involved in the farm since he was 8 years old, helping his grandfather walk beans as well as riding in the tractor and combine.  “I have always wanted to farm and never had any desire to go into any other area of agriculture,” says Austin. “If I didn’t have this opportunity, I would have gone into farm management through some bank or farm management firm.”

Managing multiple landlords

Austin owns about 20 percent of the land he farms. He farmed for 16 different landlords when he started, buying out seven of them over time. Today he works with nine landlords, including six family members and three farm managers. Austin continually looks to buy out more of his landlords — his preferred way to acquire more land — rather than renting more ground for cash rent.

Prepaid inputs in 2009

In 2010, Austin plans to a 50/50 split on corn and beans.  He has secured seed, fertilizer, anhydrous, and paid for his herbicide program before the end of last year.

Getting ready for planting

Currently, Austin is cleaning equipment and servicing the tractors in preparation for planting.  As soon as the ground dries out, he will start tillage work, fix broken tile, apply fertilizer, and spreading lime that could not be applied last fall.

Stay tuned for an update next month on where Austin is on our 2010 crop.

If you are involved with family farm, how are your cropping decisions made?

Angela Skochdopole brings a deep understanding of the farmer to all the work she does for AdFarm clients.  She works from Richmond, Virginia, and you can reach Angie directly at angie.skochdopole@adfarmonline.com

Corn it is. The AdFarm North Dakota farm will grow Pioneer 39D97 corn on its acres this year. Cooperating Farmer Fred Lukens told us, “This is a 78-day Roundup Ready/Corn Borer double stacked hybrid. I’d had it in my plot for two years and it’s performed well with above average yield and above average dry down.

Looking forward to a great start.

“Seventy-eight day corn is early maturing corn for our part of the world, where 82-85 day corn is more prevalent. It also has good yield potential: 39D97 did yield 190 bu/acre in a plot at Amenia, N.D., last year.” (The national average corn yield is around 156 bu/acre. Last year’s North Dakota average was around 115 bu/acre.)

Since 39D97 is a Bt corn, it will only go on 80% of the AdFarm acres.  The other 20% will be seeded with Pioneer 39V05 corn, a Roundup Ready only variety that will go on as corn borer refuge acres.

Refuge?

Planting refuge acres alongside Bt corn crops is required by law. A refuge is anything that is not Bt corn. So for every 80 acres you plant of the Bt you have to plant 20 acres of the refuge. The thought behind refuge is that some insects are never exposed to Bt, so they have no resistance to it. The only way insects develop resistance is by exposure. Refuge acres generate insects that are never exposed to Bt so that they will mate with insects that are exposed to Bt. The result? Dilute the chances of the offspring being resistant and protecting the corn crop.

Field prep

Last year’s AdFarm North Dakota crop, pinto beans, was harvested in November. Fred will apply fertilizer with his WilRich drill in the spring, ahead of seeding our corn.

What are your thoughts on our crop plan for 2010 ?

Keywords: AdFarm, AdFarm North Dakota farm crop, AdFarm ND crop, AdFarm ND farm, North Dakota corn, ND corn, Pioneer 39D97 corn, Roundup Ready corn, Pioneer 39V05 corn, corn borer refuge

Fred Lukens, AdFarm’s North Dakota farm partner, takes a look at what keeps both farmers and the entire agriculture industry moving forward in his latest blog post – Progressive Thinking. Great insight into the highly technological business of farming; How did we get here? What’s next? Check out his post at Griggs Dakota Blog.

Do you know a progressive farmer?
What changes are you making on your farm?

If you’re here because you Googled “Avatar, epic, movie” or “James Cameron, King of the World,” turn back. The title of this post isn’t some über-geeky invitation to discover cobalt-blue waves of grain on far off Pandora. The agriculture I’m talking about is the Earth-bound variety.

I’m also dead serious: Avatar, both the movie and the story of making the movie, has great teaching potential for agriculture.

Lesson 1: in the field of opportunity, it’s always ploughing time.

That money follows good ideas is not news. But it doesn’t happen quickly, in farming or film. In the crop protection industry, for example, the distance from lab bench to farmers’ fields takes a tortuous journey of testing and approval and the outlay of millions of dollars over a period of up to five years.   

But sometimes, waiting a half decade is small potatoes.

James Cameron began his epic journey in 1994. He wouldn’t even start filming until technology caught up with his artistic vision. That means by the time the Na’vi leapt into theatres, investors had been hanging around over a decade and were out $237 million US. Of course, it was pretty much paid back after ten days.

Important ag takeaway? “It could be worse. You could be in the movies.”

So hang in there, crop protection. Don’t fret bio-tech. New seed traits, new equipment — even new government policy – your time will come. Increasingly, new ideas in agriculture will find development money because the world’s growing population needs safe, healthy, plentiful food.

 Lesson 2: farmers are not a dying breed.

I think that Mr. Cameron saves his best for last. Admit it; watching the would-be conquerors of nature being marched off the planet was extremely satisfying. If you were lucky enough to share the moment with a farmer, I’ll bet they were cheering.

Important ag takeaway?  “Respect the people who respect the land. They’re here to stay.”

Here on Earth, it’s time for all of us who get our agriculture from a supermarket to give farmers an extra measure of respect. They’re educated, resilient and determined. There’s nothing slap-dash or careless about the businesses they run.  In fact, it’s common for today’s farmer to take over an operation that has grown and improved over several generations. That improvement is possible because farmers know what their land is capable of. They know how to manage what they’ve got, to make the most of its limitations and to make it better whenever possible. They have a strong sense of the big picture.

So don’t talk down to farmers, don’t sell them junk and for heaven’s sake don’t try to drive them from the land. We need them.

If I’ve missed any obvious agriculture/Avatar connections, please write. If you’d like to make your point in 140 characters or less, knock yourself out @adfarmtweets.

Warren Fick has no Facebook photo, just a silhouette. His big picture thinking gives our clients a unique face in agribusiness. And he writes. Contact him directly at warren.fick@adfarmonline.com

In honor of an annual milestone which highlights the affordability of America’s food, the Kansas City office of AdFarm hosted a canned food drive and thanked farmers personally for their contribution to our nation’s great food supply.

The week of February 22 marks how long into the calendar year the average American needs to work to earn enough disposable income to pay for an average family’s food for the year. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, American consumers spend the lowest percentage of their annual income on food – around 10 percent, thanks to the productivity of our farmers and ranchers.

The honored producers received a gift to help them enjoy food when they are away from their kitchens and out in the fields, working to supply the food on our tables. And on their behalf, AdFarm contributed $200 to each of the following producers’ local food bank:

• Perry Hansen – Garden City, Kansas
• Fred & Jane Lukens – Aneta, North Dakota
• Greg Messer – Richardton, North Dakota
• Tanner Tanke – Grafton, North Dakota
• Jim Wegis – Maricopa, California

In addition to the donations made to the farmers’ local food pantries, AdFarm collected 282 pounds of non-perishable food items and donated $200 to the Kansas City Harvesters, so even more people could celebrate the safe, healthy and abundant food grown and raised by American farmers.

As a company 100 percent dedicated to agriculture, we have the privilege to work with and for the great men and women who grow and raise our nation’s food. Thanking just some of the farmers who have worked with us in the past year is an honor.

If you had a chance to thank a farmer, what would you say?

In Anaheim, California this week, agriculture policy and trade expert Jim Wiesemeyer spoke at the Ag Issues Forum sponsored by Bayer CropScience.  Wiesemeyer, senior vice president for policy and trade issues with Informa Economics,  has covered Washington for 32 years. He shares his insights through his company’s daily Morning Comments, the ProFarmer newsletter and his Inside Washington Today column on Agweb.com

I asked Wiesemeyer about his advice to farmers regarding the outlook for their industry for 2010 and beyond. In this video, Wiesemeyer shares his thoughts on the growth opportunities and the challenges for US farm producers.

For more details, see Farm Journal Editor Charlene Finck’s coverage of Wiesemeyer’s presentation during the Ag Issues Forum.

Janis B. Jones digs deep for insights into all aspects of agriculture to develop razor sharp strategy for her clients.  Follow her on Twitter @janisbjones or contact her directly at Janis.Jones@adfarmonline.com

According to a research study conducted by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) in 2009, 42 percent of Americans say they believe farmers care more about profits than quality. Although this percentage represents less than half of Americans, this number is still astonishingly high and almost half. 42 percent!

Recently, the ag industry has reminded consumers that farmers are businessmen who farm because they love it, but also farm to support their families. Farms are businesses that need to make a profit if they are to continue to stay in operation. And because Americans need food, America needs farmers to stay in business.

Although this profitability message is important, it’s missing an important secondary message, as is proof by the NCGA study: To be profitable, farmers and ranchers need to produce quality.

This principle has been in practice for several decades. Grain growers receive dockages for elevated mycotoxin levels and foreign material. In fact, if the grain quality (of corn, soybeans, wheat, anything used in food or feed production) is too poor, whole loads of product can become unmarketable.

Same goes for produce. Poor-quality produce is never picked for purchase, whether at a farm market or supermarket. And also for meat. Higher quality meat becomes steaks and roasts, which pays premiums over meat used for hamburger.

So to all my fellow agvocates, remember to spread this message. Farmers DO care about quality because it means profit.

Where do you see consumers mis-judging food quality?

With deep roots on her family farm and a passion for creating a positive community of agriculture, Heather is making connections and executing sound PR strategy for AdFarm clients every day. She can be reached directly at Heather.Koehler@adfarmonline.com or @hlkoehler

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At the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual meeting in January, I had the pleasure of meeting Alabama dairy farmer Will Gilmer, recently appointed chairman of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) committee.  I was excited to talk with Gilmer because in my opinion, he has helped define how farmers can utilize social media to advocate on behalf of agriculture, or as the industry has begun to term “agvocate.”

Here’s my interview with Wil Gilmer.

While Gilmer’s speaking with civic groups and inviting school groups to farm tours, he’s engaging in social media to reach beyond his local community. Using tools like a Facebook page, blog, twitter account (@gilmerdairy) and YouTube channel, Gilmer is maintaining a dialogue and showing how a modern dairy farm produces a safe milk supply while caring for its animals.

And he does so in fun and engaging ways like his MooTube Minutes and other videos featuring Will Gilmer-original songs. For a great sample, check out “Water n Poo.”

Gilmer has 1,000+ followers on Twitter, more than 26,000 hits on his YouTube videos, and 550 Facebook fans. Gilmer’s work is a testament to how, farmers coupled with the tools social media has to offer, have the ability to spread their messages. Hopefully under Gilmer’s and the rest of the AFBF YF&R committee’s leadership, more young farmers will join their ranks as agvocates.

Here are some other great farmer follows on Twitter. A lot of them keep blogs and Facebook pages, too. If your favorite farmer follows are missing, please add them to the list!

@RayLinDairy

@hogs_r_us

@FarmerHaley

@TroyHadrick

@dairydino

@chrischrinn

@JeffFowle