April 21, 2007
If my away messages say I am out in the field, I am really out in the field. Seriously. Yesterday was Wheat Field Day in Winnsboro. Field days cover timely topics oriented towards teaching product knowledge that can be adopted at farms and ranches. No worries with the wheat crop. I had to chuckle when I rode with a fellow employee named Bubba. He had a Silverado with the farm package. Farmers are good people. They are stereotyped as snaggletoothed, overall-wearing, straw-chewing people who ride tractors all day and say things like, "Right tharr," said a story in The Daily Reveille about dairy science students. But they are hard-working, early risers who feed the world. You are able to practice your profession because you don't have to worry about what you are going to eat and how you are going to obtain it. You have to worry about me now that I now acreage of crops and the average age of a Louisiana farmer. It's 55. It's 58 U.S.-wide.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ag 101 or My First Day on the Job
April 4, 2007
I started off learning about the tomatoes at the Red River Research Station where I am housed and then crossed over to Caddo Parish to see the Pecan Station. Next stop was the Calhoun Research Station (est. 1888) where they are studying the recycling of utility poles, which will save the forests. Winnsboro was the final destination to see the Sweet Potato Farm. A yam is just a slang term for sweet potato. I had to ask the difference. I can't wait to see them be picked (scoop--a new high quality variety with good yields, color and flavor, Evangeline, is on its way). They use a cool piece of machinery with a blade that digs them up and walks them up a conveyer while shaking off dirt to a place where six people put them in bins.
I also learned what forage is yesterday. And have you ever seen a boll weevil trap?
My work files now say things like strawberries, corn, sorghum, etc. I learned about wide row/narrow row research and planting sequence to maximize returns. Some of these studies have gone on for 20 years.
I have met plant pathologists who study disease, professors, wood scientists, foresters and saw automated weather stations (www.lsuagcenter.com/weather). If you have a dispute with your insurance company, like someone did, this is a historical and current record of wind and rain and such.
I will be reading Mid-America Farmer Grower, Louisiana Farm and Research, Delta Farm Press and our very own Louisiana Agriculture. I will help the faculty edit their columns and scientific journal articles.
Hot off the press—Cotton is no longer king; acreage is down for the first time since 1975. Corn acres are up 12 million acres and soybeans are down 8 million acres. The USDA has placed corn acres in the state at 700,000 which is on the high end of what Kurt Guidry, ag economist, was expecting. It will be fun following the biofuels industry since I have stock in some of those companies.
Rice and cotton acres were both down in the U.S. with cotton falling by 3 million acres and rice falling by 194,000 acres. Cotton acres in Louisiana had the biggest drop of any commodity, down 40 percent. Rice acres are expected to be up less than 3percent in Louisiana.
In total value, forestry is the largest plant commodity. Poultry is the largest animal commodity.
I will be going to a wheat field day soon (you can watch the rice field day virtual site on the web). There will be commodity meetings, cotton forums in Delhi and Rayville, the state horse show in West Monroe, pecan grower meetings, tomato seminars, Wetlands Week, Master Gardeners shows, rebirth of our presence at the State Fair here and the other events that include Ag Alley, Ag Adventures, Ag Expo and Ag Magic. Not to mention the 4-H events.
This place does everything but sewing! It is the cleanest place I ever worked. No dust anywhere. Smells good, too. They are serious workers with their doors shut. And the housekeeper makes the coffee continually.
Come get some tomatoes between 7:30 and 4:30. $10 for five pounds. There are grown in a greenhouse without weed or disease chemicals. They are fed very well, I am told.
I started off learning about the tomatoes at the Red River Research Station where I am housed and then crossed over to Caddo Parish to see the Pecan Station. Next stop was the Calhoun Research Station (est. 1888) where they are studying the recycling of utility poles, which will save the forests. Winnsboro was the final destination to see the Sweet Potato Farm. A yam is just a slang term for sweet potato. I had to ask the difference. I can't wait to see them be picked (scoop--a new high quality variety with good yields, color and flavor, Evangeline, is on its way). They use a cool piece of machinery with a blade that digs them up and walks them up a conveyer while shaking off dirt to a place where six people put them in bins.
I also learned what forage is yesterday. And have you ever seen a boll weevil trap?
My work files now say things like strawberries, corn, sorghum, etc. I learned about wide row/narrow row research and planting sequence to maximize returns. Some of these studies have gone on for 20 years.
I have met plant pathologists who study disease, professors, wood scientists, foresters and saw automated weather stations (www.lsuagcenter.com/weather). If you have a dispute with your insurance company, like someone did, this is a historical and current record of wind and rain and such.
I will be reading Mid-America Farmer Grower, Louisiana Farm and Research, Delta Farm Press and our very own Louisiana Agriculture. I will help the faculty edit their columns and scientific journal articles.
Hot off the press—Cotton is no longer king; acreage is down for the first time since 1975. Corn acres are up 12 million acres and soybeans are down 8 million acres. The USDA has placed corn acres in the state at 700,000 which is on the high end of what Kurt Guidry, ag economist, was expecting. It will be fun following the biofuels industry since I have stock in some of those companies.
Rice and cotton acres were both down in the U.S. with cotton falling by 3 million acres and rice falling by 194,000 acres. Cotton acres in Louisiana had the biggest drop of any commodity, down 40 percent. Rice acres are expected to be up less than 3percent in Louisiana.
In total value, forestry is the largest plant commodity. Poultry is the largest animal commodity.
I will be going to a wheat field day soon (you can watch the rice field day virtual site on the web). There will be commodity meetings, cotton forums in Delhi and Rayville, the state horse show in West Monroe, pecan grower meetings, tomato seminars, Wetlands Week, Master Gardeners shows, rebirth of our presence at the State Fair here and the other events that include Ag Alley, Ag Adventures, Ag Expo and Ag Magic. Not to mention the 4-H events.
This place does everything but sewing! It is the cleanest place I ever worked. No dust anywhere. Smells good, too. They are serious workers with their doors shut. And the housekeeper makes the coffee continually.
Come get some tomatoes between 7:30 and 4:30. $10 for five pounds. There are grown in a greenhouse without weed or disease chemicals. They are fed very well, I am told.
What I Would Name My Web Page
March 21, 2007
Thanks to a comment from my friend Amanda, I have decided to name my personal web page, if I ever get one, www.shreveportgirlsdontworkinhaughton.com. I HAVE A NEW JOB. My last day at Evergreen, which is moving to Haughton, is Friday. I will be assistant communications specialist for North Louisiana for the LSU Ag Center beginning April 2!
And my friend JK says tell everyone at Evergreen to "get someone else to clean the kitchen!" www.cleanyourownkitchen.com.
What's the greatest about all this is that Kelly gets to keep my hated presence there going by wearing the clothes that I gave her.
Thanks to a comment from my friend Amanda, I have decided to name my personal web page, if I ever get one, www.shreveportgirlsdontworkinhaughton.com. I HAVE A NEW JOB. My last day at Evergreen, which is moving to Haughton, is Friday. I will be assistant communications specialist for North Louisiana for the LSU Ag Center beginning April 2!
And my friend JK says tell everyone at Evergreen to "get someone else to clean the kitchen!" www.cleanyourownkitchen.com.
What's the greatest about all this is that Kelly gets to keep my hated presence there going by wearing the clothes that I gave her.
I'm in D.C. and it's Monumental!
Jan. 6, 2007
I am in Washington, D.C., for a conference at the Renaissance, but have managed the following:
Tuesday: Tour of the International Spy Museum, assuming a "cover" and suspicious of everything since. You learn about dead drops and see weapons, disguises and surveillance. The pigeons used during the war were interesting.
Wednesday: Tour of the Capitol and Library of Congress (LOC for future reference). The White House Visitor Center is a waste of time. We were supposed to have a real tour from Congressman Charles Melancon's office, but the Ford funeral gave an extra federal holiday, so it was canceled. We missed all of the Ford fanfare unfortunately, but I got to sign his condolence book. Did you know the Statue of Liberty can fit under the Capitol Rotunda? That is how tall it is in there. There is a lucky star in the basement that indicates the center of the building and the center of Washington at one time. Of course, I stepped on it. The Hawaiian statue is somewhat interesting, in a remote spot because he doesn't have on a lot of clothes.
The LOC is awe inspiring. Forget the books, there is great architecture in the LOC. They thought of everything. Mosaics honoring painting, poetry, engineering, philosophy, science, music, religion, commerce, history, art and law. Cherubs with the tools of their trade--musician, electrician, etc.; the four seasons; the five senses; wisdom, understanding, knowledge and philosophy; fortitude, temperance, prudence, patriotism, courage, valor and achievement; adventure, discovery and conquest which lead to civilization; the evolution of the book from spoken word to the Gutenburg Bible, one of three vellum copies in existence; a statue with a mirror to show History Looking Back; doves, etc.There is an exhibit that said Thomas Jefferson separated his books into Memory, Reason and Imagination. You can use your cell to listen to that exhibit info. I thought that was way cool.
In the evening we went to the ESPN Zone to cheer on the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, and I mean I showed them how the Tigers party. They have the hugest TV and 12 other feeds. I sat on a recliner on the front row.
Thursday: National Museum of the American Indian--lame; Oz exhibit temporarily located at the Air and Space Museum--also lame because it's only the Ruby Slippers, Scarecrow costume, the camera used and a piece of the script. A guy whose mother lives in Shreveport was the security check. Small world. Then it was back to the LOC to the gift shop because there was no time yesterday, but it was closed due to a reception for Nancy Pelosi--called "Celebration for a New Direction." It's a huge day on the Hill with the swearings in today. I wormed my way into her deal, kind of like I did at private parties at ESPN last night. Could be my Southern charm. I didn't spot her. Then I took a cab to the National Cathedral. Very huge and beautiful, but not as much so as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, also here. The National Cathedral is nearing 100 years old, but some pieces were just added in 2002, is the second largest cathedral in the U.S. behind St. John the Divine in New York and sixth in the world. It is a cathedral because of the cathedra, a chair. Didn't know that. Woodrow Wilson is buried in here as are Helen Keller's ashes. There is an actual moon rock in one of the stained glass windows because Michael Collins went to St. Alban's school next door. I saw a book in the huge store called Cathedral Cats (they live in cathedrals in England). The bell tower is the highest point in D.C. and there is an observation deck, but I didn't have time for it.
Saturday: I had the best time, touring the U.S. Postal Museum, Union Station, the Holocaust Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Then, my friend Lee Ivory, who is editor of Sports Weekly, took me for a motorcyle ride and dinner at an Irish pub. He is going to take me to the National Press Club next time I come.
The weather has been great! Security is everywhere! Airports are really catering to passengers with massaging chairs and rapid cell chargers.
I am in Washington, D.C., for a conference at the Renaissance, but have managed the following:
Tuesday: Tour of the International Spy Museum, assuming a "cover" and suspicious of everything since. You learn about dead drops and see weapons, disguises and surveillance. The pigeons used during the war were interesting.
Wednesday: Tour of the Capitol and Library of Congress (LOC for future reference). The White House Visitor Center is a waste of time. We were supposed to have a real tour from Congressman Charles Melancon's office, but the Ford funeral gave an extra federal holiday, so it was canceled. We missed all of the Ford fanfare unfortunately, but I got to sign his condolence book. Did you know the Statue of Liberty can fit under the Capitol Rotunda? That is how tall it is in there. There is a lucky star in the basement that indicates the center of the building and the center of Washington at one time. Of course, I stepped on it. The Hawaiian statue is somewhat interesting, in a remote spot because he doesn't have on a lot of clothes.
The LOC is awe inspiring. Forget the books, there is great architecture in the LOC. They thought of everything. Mosaics honoring painting, poetry, engineering, philosophy, science, music, religion, commerce, history, art and law. Cherubs with the tools of their trade--musician, electrician, etc.; the four seasons; the five senses; wisdom, understanding, knowledge and philosophy; fortitude, temperance, prudence, patriotism, courage, valor and achievement; adventure, discovery and conquest which lead to civilization; the evolution of the book from spoken word to the Gutenburg Bible, one of three vellum copies in existence; a statue with a mirror to show History Looking Back; doves, etc.There is an exhibit that said Thomas Jefferson separated his books into Memory, Reason and Imagination. You can use your cell to listen to that exhibit info. I thought that was way cool.
In the evening we went to the ESPN Zone to cheer on the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, and I mean I showed them how the Tigers party. They have the hugest TV and 12 other feeds. I sat on a recliner on the front row.
Thursday: National Museum of the American Indian--lame; Oz exhibit temporarily located at the Air and Space Museum--also lame because it's only the Ruby Slippers, Scarecrow costume, the camera used and a piece of the script. A guy whose mother lives in Shreveport was the security check. Small world. Then it was back to the LOC to the gift shop because there was no time yesterday, but it was closed due to a reception for Nancy Pelosi--called "Celebration for a New Direction." It's a huge day on the Hill with the swearings in today. I wormed my way into her deal, kind of like I did at private parties at ESPN last night. Could be my Southern charm. I didn't spot her. Then I took a cab to the National Cathedral. Very huge and beautiful, but not as much so as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, also here. The National Cathedral is nearing 100 years old, but some pieces were just added in 2002, is the second largest cathedral in the U.S. behind St. John the Divine in New York and sixth in the world. It is a cathedral because of the cathedra, a chair. Didn't know that. Woodrow Wilson is buried in here as are Helen Keller's ashes. There is an actual moon rock in one of the stained glass windows because Michael Collins went to St. Alban's school next door. I saw a book in the huge store called Cathedral Cats (they live in cathedrals in England). The bell tower is the highest point in D.C. and there is an observation deck, but I didn't have time for it.
Saturday: I had the best time, touring the U.S. Postal Museum, Union Station, the Holocaust Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Then, my friend Lee Ivory, who is editor of Sports Weekly, took me for a motorcyle ride and dinner at an Irish pub. He is going to take me to the National Press Club next time I come.
The weather has been great! Security is everywhere! Airports are really catering to passengers with massaging chairs and rapid cell chargers.
New Goldfish
Sept. 26, 2006
I have two new goldfish, Fin and McDreamy. Fin has some black marks. Whichever one dies first is a prediction on who Meredith is not going to pick. These fish were obtained at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center event I covered for The Forum. The Little River Band performed. They are awesome!!
I have two new goldfish, Fin and McDreamy. Fin has some black marks. Whichever one dies first is a prediction on who Meredith is not going to pick. These fish were obtained at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center event I covered for The Forum. The Little River Band performed. They are awesome!!
Holy Dirt
April 1, 2006
We had a fiesta out West for vacation earlier this year. My husband and I flew to Albuquerque, the balloon city, and had a burger with red chili mayonnaise for dinner and the next morning drove by Old Town to see the miraculous staircase said to be built without nails at San Felipe de Neri Church, but it wasn't open yet. So it was 323 miles on to Flagstaff to a hotel on Route 66, down to the red rock monoliths in Sedona and back to Flagstaff, then to the Grand Canyon the next day. We wanted to see the amazing vistas at the Petrified Forest on the way west of Albuquerque, but it was closed due to a heavy snowfall. I was going to buy something from the gift shop, but several items I picked up were not native, saying "made in Pakistan."
After seeing the majestic canyon, we circled through Sleeping Ute Mountain that appears as a giant sleeping Ute Indian in Cortez, Durango but not Silverton, Aztec and Farmington to see Shiprock Pinnacle, igneous rock flanked by long upright walls of solidified lava. Driving by Sleeping Ute, we noted the feather, arms crossed at the chest, the hips and legs.
Stopping in Aztec at the Aztec Ruins National Monument, we saw an ancestral puebloan community with its great kiva, a circular ceremonial room. Ironically, the picture we took in there did not come out. You could almost smell the aroma of corn and venison stew simmering in clay pots over a fire of cedar and pinon wood and feel the presence of the people and the beating of the drums.
My husband is fascinated by Indians and we noted signage of such school mascots as Red Mesa Redskins, Tuba City Warriors and Shiprock Chieftains. We also noticed that numerous trains travel out West.
We then continued our drive through beautiful Chama, to get to Chimayo in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and ultimately, Santa Fe, which I've since read has the cleanest air in the United States, according to the American Lung Association, and some of the lowest overweight and obesity rates in the nation.
The only "must" destination in Chimayo was El Sanctuario de Chimayo, "the Lourdes of America," that my boss had told me about. Along the quaint route are crucifixes galore, in yards, on trees, on street signs, on backyard sheds, on the hillside.
According to www.roadsideamerica.com, somewhere around 1810, a Chimayo friar was performing customary penances on Good Friday when he saw a light bursting from a hillside. Digging, he found a crucifix, quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz, but three times it mysteriously disappeared and was later found back in its original location. By the third time, everyone understood that El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built on the site. Then the miraculous healings began. These grew so numerous that the chapel had to be replaced by the larger, current Chimayo Shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816.(Even the Wendy's Restaurants in this part of the country are adobe looking).
The crucifix still resides on the chapel altar, but for some reason its curative powers have been overshadowed by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang, behind the main altar. Over 300,000 people visit every year, many taking the pilgrimage on Good Friday. Mass is still held daily.
The Prayer Room, which is located in the sacristy of the church (next to the pit), is filled with discarded crutches, braces and shrines.
There are two excellent gift shops where you can buy nice plastic containers for your free dirt, but beware of the man outside selling spices.
Unlike the old legend that taking lava rocks from Hawaii results in misfortune and calamity for tourists because one of the volcano goddesses punishes people who dare take something of value that belongs to her, I have four miraculous dirt stories to report since my return. I brought back six containers of blessed dirt and holy water. An acquaintance thought her colon cancer had spread, but a new PET scan the day after she got the dirt proved otherwise. Another friend no longer has a stomach cyst after an ultrasound received the week she got her dirt. An out-of-town friend who is having a difficult pregnancy and received her dirt in the mail found out her son will not be developmentally disabled after extensive tests and a close friend who had a biopsy last week got a benign report after retrieving her dirt from a mailbox delivery. This just in: my aunt was cured of shingles after her shipment. I am waiting on results of two other younger friends. It has also helped someone with a legal matter.
I wear my dirt around my neck in a cross that stays filled at all times and am making plans to return to Chimayo if the airline situation improves.
We came to the end of our trip at LaFonda, the inn at the end of the Santa Fe Trail and within walking distance of the plaza. Shopping ensued, but I didn't come back with any turquoise, only an appreciation for the beauty of the West, God's creation of the Grand Canyon and the healing power of dirt.
We had a fiesta out West for vacation earlier this year. My husband and I flew to Albuquerque, the balloon city, and had a burger with red chili mayonnaise for dinner and the next morning drove by Old Town to see the miraculous staircase said to be built without nails at San Felipe de Neri Church, but it wasn't open yet. So it was 323 miles on to Flagstaff to a hotel on Route 66, down to the red rock monoliths in Sedona and back to Flagstaff, then to the Grand Canyon the next day. We wanted to see the amazing vistas at the Petrified Forest on the way west of Albuquerque, but it was closed due to a heavy snowfall. I was going to buy something from the gift shop, but several items I picked up were not native, saying "made in Pakistan."
After seeing the majestic canyon, we circled through Sleeping Ute Mountain that appears as a giant sleeping Ute Indian in Cortez, Durango but not Silverton, Aztec and Farmington to see Shiprock Pinnacle, igneous rock flanked by long upright walls of solidified lava. Driving by Sleeping Ute, we noted the feather, arms crossed at the chest, the hips and legs.
Stopping in Aztec at the Aztec Ruins National Monument, we saw an ancestral puebloan community with its great kiva, a circular ceremonial room. Ironically, the picture we took in there did not come out. You could almost smell the aroma of corn and venison stew simmering in clay pots over a fire of cedar and pinon wood and feel the presence of the people and the beating of the drums.
My husband is fascinated by Indians and we noted signage of such school mascots as Red Mesa Redskins, Tuba City Warriors and Shiprock Chieftains. We also noticed that numerous trains travel out West.
We then continued our drive through beautiful Chama, to get to Chimayo in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and ultimately, Santa Fe, which I've since read has the cleanest air in the United States, according to the American Lung Association, and some of the lowest overweight and obesity rates in the nation.
The only "must" destination in Chimayo was El Sanctuario de Chimayo, "the Lourdes of America," that my boss had told me about. Along the quaint route are crucifixes galore, in yards, on trees, on street signs, on backyard sheds, on the hillside.
According to www.roadsideamerica.com, somewhere around 1810, a Chimayo friar was performing customary penances on Good Friday when he saw a light bursting from a hillside. Digging, he found a crucifix, quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas. A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz, but three times it mysteriously disappeared and was later found back in its original location. By the third time, everyone understood that El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayo, and so a small chapel was built on the site. Then the miraculous healings began. These grew so numerous that the chapel had to be replaced by the larger, current Chimayo Shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816.(Even the Wendy's Restaurants in this part of the country are adobe looking).
The crucifix still resides on the chapel altar, but for some reason its curative powers have been overshadowed by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang, behind the main altar. Over 300,000 people visit every year, many taking the pilgrimage on Good Friday. Mass is still held daily.
The Prayer Room, which is located in the sacristy of the church (next to the pit), is filled with discarded crutches, braces and shrines.
There are two excellent gift shops where you can buy nice plastic containers for your free dirt, but beware of the man outside selling spices.
Unlike the old legend that taking lava rocks from Hawaii results in misfortune and calamity for tourists because one of the volcano goddesses punishes people who dare take something of value that belongs to her, I have four miraculous dirt stories to report since my return. I brought back six containers of blessed dirt and holy water. An acquaintance thought her colon cancer had spread, but a new PET scan the day after she got the dirt proved otherwise. Another friend no longer has a stomach cyst after an ultrasound received the week she got her dirt. An out-of-town friend who is having a difficult pregnancy and received her dirt in the mail found out her son will not be developmentally disabled after extensive tests and a close friend who had a biopsy last week got a benign report after retrieving her dirt from a mailbox delivery. This just in: my aunt was cured of shingles after her shipment. I am waiting on results of two other younger friends. It has also helped someone with a legal matter.
I wear my dirt around my neck in a cross that stays filled at all times and am making plans to return to Chimayo if the airline situation improves.
We came to the end of our trip at LaFonda, the inn at the end of the Santa Fe Trail and within walking distance of the plaza. Shopping ensued, but I didn't come back with any turquoise, only an appreciation for the beauty of the West, God's creation of the Grand Canyon and the healing power of dirt.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ag to Z
I have decided to start a blog. Let's see how it goes. It will be an Information Station that can go more into depth than Twitter and Facebook allow. My husband said it should be called Nag to Z.
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