The Agrarian's Alcove

Good morning Agrarians!! Happy Earth Day ! Hopefully you are out celebrating with fun Earth Day crafts and free activities! I always loved Earth Day activities as a kid. So when I started hearing about the activities this year, I wondered how this all got started. It’s a huge event that happens each year, and is celebrated in more than 190 countries! More than one billion people celebrate Earth Day. If we go back to the very first Earth Day, in April 1970 we see lots of protesters with their signs held high. The 70’s were a time of great protests. If you look at pictures of the first earth day, you will see children wearing shirts that say “Let me grow up!”, large handmade signs with snappy slogans, and people doing generally weird things...like walking around in gas masks. So obviously this was a classic grassroots protest. If you think our world is dirty now, you should have seen it before Earth Day. Rivers were LITERALLY catching fire when someone tossed a cigarette into them...

I went on a field trip recently to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) with the sixth graders that I tutor. I honestly thought it was going to be the most boring field trip ever, but it was actually really cool! We got to watch videos of crash testing, the kids got to use a distracted driving simulator, and we learned how the stoplight systems work. You may be wondering why we’re talking about roads and transportation on a blog devoted to agriculture. We talk a lot on this blog about environmental friendliness and the transportation institute actually has a department devoted to solving environmental problems with the construction of roadways and bridges. I’m going to give you the highlights of what this field trip taught me about erosion, hopefully give yall some insight on a career path you may never have associated with agriculture, and some cool facts about our Texas roadways. TTI have several focus areas regarding environmental research and improvement. The swe...

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 ...

It’s that time of year: Christmas trees, candy canes, bright lights. Christmas tree farmers work hard all year long to produce the most beautiful trees. It’s an unusual kind of agriculture compared to what we see on a daily basis. For instance, you can’t find Christmas tree farms all over the world. It is a very western tradition. Let’s look at some fun facts involving this special type of ag! You can find Christmas tree farms in North America, the UK, and Australia Christmas trees are often exported to China, Japan, the Phillipines, and Mexico Live Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since the 1850’s! There is a National Christmas Tree Association that, along with the USDA keeps records of Christmas tree sales, production, and recycling President Theodore Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons Speaking of environment...are Christmas trees really bad for the environment? For those of you who are concerned (an...