May 23, 2019
This morning we ventured to Ames to meet with Liz Kolbe and Steve Carlson at Practical Farmers of Iowa. Liz discussed pesticide drift with us and then Steve discussed Beginning Farmers. Later in the day we went to Bayer CropScience. We saw that hot topics among the groups has shifted from GMOs to pesticides in the recent years. Most people in Iowa seem to be excepting of GMOs.
The biggest topic of discussion in the subject of pesticides was dicamba. Dicamba is an herbicide that a killer of anything in its path except seeds that are genetically modified to withstand its components. This becomes a problem when applicators are careless or uninformed, when wind causes it to drift, or when rain volatilizes it. There have been disputes between farmers about effecting each other’s crops with these chemicals. Typically, when the law gets involved the applicator is the one that gets in trouble, with a thousand dollar fine. There is a lot of talk about how this is an inadequate amount of money for ruining someone’s entire crop which could potentially end their farming operation. There seems to be a pattern in the treatment of individual farmers.
Steve talked about Beginning Farmers, which is a program in Practical Farmers of Iowa that is meant to assist farmers trying to get a start in the industry. This is because it is difficult to start a conventional farm given all of the equipment and competition there is. Farmers that are getting their start often have to use a little creativity to make it. We saw a good example of this with Brian trying to start a local grass-fed chicken and beef operation. I think that he could really utilize the Beginning Farmers program to network and get some insight. There are creative small-scale farmers all over Iowa to connect with. This is really important and supportive.
The gang split up for lunch (males and females AGAIN). The girls went to Noodles & Co and got… you guessed it, noodles. They were delicious, and I highly recommend it to any readers out there who ever plan to travel to Ames, Iowa.
In the evening we saw David Tierney and others at Bayer CropScience, formally Monsanto. We discussed the science that they use to determine which seeds are the best for future use. The use a machine called a “chipper” that is able to take a small portion of the seed off to examine and the rest of the seed is still able to be planted. They track each seed using a barcode and retrieve the seeds they are interested in. After the science demonstration, we discussed dicamba with Bayer because they produce a product for crops using it. Their response was to look at their actions and place judgement from there. They believe that they are working with what others left them and they are doing the best they can. I think they were relatively transparent.
To end the day, my farm brother Michael played the role of Chef Michael. He brought a recipe from home that we all worked together to make for dinner. It was delicious and fun. Tomorrow, my farm family is coming to Morris’s to feed us so stay tuned for that. Ben (farm dad) is bringing a science project surprise and we are all really excited for that.