The Agrarian's Alcove

The recent turn of events in our world has frightened many people. The economy is plummeting. The rate of unemployment increases daily, and along with these employment concerns, many have been concerned at some point about the supply in our American grocery stores. Our world has been tested time and time again with pandemics causing major pandemonium. Agriculture has withstood the trials of these viruses, and will continue to do so this time around. Farmers will continue to work and provide for the world. So just how does agriculture function during the time of pandemic? We will take a look at this in a series called Ag in the Time of Pandemic. This is the first post of the series- Cutting our Losses. One of the most frustrating things that we have heard about in the agriculture industry throughout this time is the amount of waste that has occurred. Of course, we’ve always been conscious that America produces some of the largest amounts of food waste in the world. You can read about th...

I have had some people ask me about GMO’s, and to clarify some things. I have written a post about being #ProGMO and about the Non-GMO Project , but they’re from when I was first getting the blog started, and I feel like I can do better. So in researching more, I have found about a million articles on how GMO’s are bad… but guess what? All of the articles are from 2010-2015. It’s 2018 yall!!! They clearly have no new cases to make. If you go through the articles they often mention studies that are vague or seemingly biased; that say more research needs to be done, and other things that are ambiguous. I will say, I was actually impressed with this WebMD article . It was on point, unbiased, and told you to make your own decisions. So let’s take a look at what others have to say. The Natural Society website had some awful, awful things to say about GMO’s. They claim that GMO’s are linked to more than 22 diseases. The study they use is from the Journal of Organic Systems. While ...

Visit a Farmer’s Market We all talk about the need to support local farmers, but how many times did you go the farmer’s market last year? I planned to go several times… but HEB sells “locally” grown food, and they sell a lot of items that are certified Go Texan. It was more convenient to go there, however “local” to a grocery store can mean anywhere in the state, rather than what you might think of as local. Farmer’s markets usually only sell food that are in season. Grocery stores generally sell foods all year around because larger farms can afford to grow fruits and vegetables indoors in a greenhouse. Dedicate your time once a season to visiting a farmer’s market and seeing what foods are in season. The sellers at a market love to talk about their products, how they grow them, or their favorite recipes to use them in. If you visit a farmer’s market, ask that farmer about their product! It can be a great learning experience, and it’s just a lot of fun. Plus you’re helping out your ...

Monday, August 14, 2017 6:58 PM Lately, I have been really kicking myself for the amount of food I have let go bad. I know there ways to avoid it; I know the impact it has on our environment. I also know that we are really blessed in America to have access to and availability of all this food, and yet I am taking it for granted.  I'm sure you have all heard that you can freeze almost anything, so that it doesn't go to waste. This usually is the first thing I see when I read about "how to make food last longer", or "how to save money on groceries." Today I'm going to discuss 5 ways to prevent food waste, that aren't just about using your freezer.     "Repurpose" bread, and other food We all think about upcycling and reusing material items, but how often do you think about using your food that is about to go bad in a different way than normal? When I was a kid, we would wait until we had a couple of heels of bread, or any...

Did you know that elevator buckets touch everybody’s life? Okay, I know at least half of you are like what even is an elevator bucket? And even if you do know what it is, you are probably wondering how it reaches you. Tuesday in class, I got the incredible chance to meet Paul Phillips, president of Maxi-Lift, Inc. Maxi-Lift is an awesome company that started from scratch. They are family owned and privately held. They have had significant growth in the past 15 years and have incurred no debt! They are what business pro’s would call a PRMG company. They are a company where you would never have to worry about your job (if you’re doing the right thing of course). Maxi-Lift produces elevator buckets. Elevator buckets are these heavy duty, plastic buckets that attach to grain elevators. Grain elevators are used in agricultural and industrial settings and they are used to move product. Product is poured into a bin, which pours into a vertical conveyer belt that has buckets attached. ...

Welcome to The Agrarian's Alcove! Let me start off by sharing some of my goals. This blog is for anyone and everyone who loves agriculture, has concerns or questions about agriculture, or anyone who wants to know where their food comes from. My goal is to educate you and consumers everywhere. To let you know the truth about modern agriculture. Media today can give some pretty convincing arguments on GMOs (genetically modified organisms), animal welfare, and the "crooked" motives of our farmers today, but don't worry! I'll give it to you straight, with research to back it up. Today I'd like to start with the topic, myAGstory. It's a concept that was introduced by Donnie Smith at the 2014 National FFA convention. Donnie is the CEO of Tyson, yes the Tyson you know for making frozen chicken nuggets. His commencement speech ( found here ) is one of the best ag preaches I've ever heard. It's an 18 minute speech, which may discourage some of you, but I ...