Back to the Future.

As spring approaches, more and more of us are heading out to the deck to throw a couple steaks on the grill, enjoying that timeless summertime tradition. This year, as your steak cooks, take a minute and think about the family that raised that beef, and how much their family farm, much like mine, has changed over the years.

In the mid 90's, when I was in high school, we looked like what I think most people envision a farm to look like. We had the classic red barns, a few fruit trees up on the hill, some beef cows in the pasture, and a few hogs in the barn. However, as idealistic as this appeared to be, it wasn't viable. We didn't have enough acres, or cows, or pigs, or apples to make a living off of. It was a hobby. As we shaped our vision for the future, and decided what we wanted the farm to look like for our children and grandchildren, it became evident what had to happen. Soon, the cows left, followed shortly by the pigs. Instead of the old red barn that held a 40 acre hay crop, we built a grain storage that holds 500 acres of corn production. The few apple trees on the hill were replaced when my brother and I broke off and bought a fruit farm of our own. The picture has changed, but the people painting it hasn't.

Whether we farm 10 acres or 10,000 acres, we are the same family. We abide by the same values, ethics, and morals now as we did then. We believe in hard work, fair pay, and being good stewards of the land. And it's not just us that feel this way; my neighbors, some who farm thousands of acres and may milk thousands of cows feel the same way. It is still their family farm; the picture has just changed.

Along with this growth, comes a new opportunity. As farms grow, and families grow, the need for help arises. I grew up working down the road on the neighbor's diary farm, milking cows, feeding calves, and spreading manure. Those jobs haven't changed-but now we are hiring people in the community to work full time, and providing them with not only the basics- good wages and benefits- but also a chance to be a part of our family. My grandfather jokingly refers to our main employee Dave as "the third son", because Dave often joins him in the house for coffee, or a beer after the day is done. He is a valued member of not only the farm, but in some ways, the family.

This is not the exception with farm families, it's the rule. The picture of agriculture has, and will, continue to change and evolve; however, rest assured, the people painting it never will.

Jeff VanderWerff is a 4th generation farmer from Sparta, Michigan. Learn more about his family farm at www.youtube.com/agsalesman

View full sizeJeff VanderWerff, Farm Fresh FoodHere's a snapshot of our farm in 1955.

Jeff VanderWerff, Farm Fresh FoodAnd here it is when my grandpa owned it in 1985.

View full sizeJeff VanderWerff, Farm Fresh FoodHere's our farm today, in the fall of 2010.

The Simple Life

Surfing Facebook tonight for a few minutes, I came a crossed a post by a friend, Will Gilmer, talking about he and his son listening to the ball game on an old radio that was his when he was a kid. You know, it’s little quips like this that make me so grateful to have grown up in the country.

Where I grew up, we weren't that rural by a lot of standards. Grand Rapids, population 200,000 was only 25 minutes away. We lived just a mile west of Sparta, a town of 4,000 people that had everything you needed, including a McDonald’s!! But, even so, we grew up similar to so many other rural kids, and I think summertime baseball is the ultimate metaphor for that point in your life.

As a kid, it was the Detroit Tigers, and the legendary Ernie Harwell. Many nights, after dinner, we’d go help in the garden for a little bit, or help dad pick up a few stray bales out in the field. Like most other farm kids, we did our 4-H chores, checked cows, and, if we were lucky, got to ride though the pasture with dad to check cows for the night. Then it was back to the house, and like so many other farm kids a crossed America, we’d tune the radio in to the ballgame. I can still see, feel, and smell it. Ernie Harwell on the radio, dad reading the paper and maybe having a beer, and the cool breeze finally coming in the windows of the old farmhouse. It was heaven on earth, and really, we didn’t think it got any better.

People often wonder what it is about farmers, how they can have this almost surreal bond between them, even if they’ve just met. And the answer is simple: we all grew up the same. We all felt that simple life of living in the country, and learning to enjoy the very simple things in life. It’s how young farmers from all over the state, and even the country, and become friends in minutes, and stay friends for years, because no matter where we grew up, we all lived The Simple Life.

Jeff VanderWerff is a 4th generation farmer from Sparta, Michigan. Learn more about him and his family farm at www.youtube.com/agsalesman

Our Duty.

This morning, I was reviewing my twitter feed, looking to see what pithy comments were out there today, when I came upon this gem:

follownathan: Nobody is gonna like this... but I am just waiting for #bigag to use the Japan tragedy as another PR spin to "feed the world"

Wow.

So let me get this straight; I happen to believe that as a good christian, and quite honestly, as an American, I should help those in need. The United States is the Saudi Arabia of food; we have considerable surplus quantities of grains produced every year. So why SHOULDN’T we help Japan?

Because Nate and his “pro-food”, “whole food”, “real food” cronies don’t want us to.

They want to drag our 8th wonder on the world, modern American agriculture, back to the days of 40 acres and a mule. They don’t want us to have the export capacity to help a country in dire straits, because they believe food is far too cheap and plentiful in this country.

Right now, the Japanese people are suffering. They are hungry, and they truly need our help; and right now, I don’t think they would care if the food is BST, GMO, or Ei-Ei-O. They don’t care about the angry acronyms; they care about where they are going to find their next meal.

At the end of the day, if having the ability to help the Japanese with food due to our agricultural prowess-and the desire to do so-makes me “Big Ag”, then I’ve never been prouder to have been insulted.

Jeff VanderWerff is a 4th generation fruit and grain farmer from Sparta, Michigan. Learn more about him at www.youtube.com/agsalesman

3 Local Meals a day...

Lately, I’ve been asking people what makes their food local, and most people seem to believe that you need to grow it in your community garden, visit the farmer’s market, or stop at a farmer’s road side stand. While all of these are great ideas, and they defiantly support farmers and local agriculture, I think you’ll be amazed to learn how local most of our food really is.

Let’s start with one of the last places you’d expect to find local food: a fast food or quick service restaurant. However, you’d be surprised to learn how local that food is. At McDonald’s, for example, most of the apple dippers your kids enjoy instead of fries are fresh, locally grown Michigan apples, all of which come from a farm just like mine. Same goes for the apples in that new oatmeal they are selling. Rather have an Egg McMuffin? Rest assured, those eggs are raised on family-owned, family-run farms all over Michigan.

Planning to stop by Panera Bread for lunch? No problem. Order a delicious turkey sandwich and enjoy Michigan Turkey Producers signature product. All that healthy, safe, turkey is produced on West Michigan farms, owned by West Michigan families. While you’re enjoying that sandwich, make sure you throw on a big handful of Lay’s potato chips; proudly produced with Michigan potatoes.

Busy evening planned? No worries here, a fresh pizza is just the ticket. Allendale, Michigan is home to one of the largest mozzarella cheese plants in the US, all made with local Michigan milk. Don’t forget to add some sauce made with Michigan tomatoes, such as those grown by lots of farmers in southern Michigan for Red Gold Tomatoes!

A huge majority of the products we enjoy everyday here in Michigan are grown and processed right here; they are produced on family farms, processed by grower-owned co-ops, and sold to families just like yours and mind. So the next time you’re out and thinking about buying local, just remember to buy Michigan; it’s more local than you think!!

Jeff VanderWerff is a 4th generation fruit and grain farmer from Sparta, Michigan. Learn more about him and his family at www.youtube.com/agsalesman

It all starts with a little trimming...

One of the jobs we have on the farm this time of year is tree-trimming, a laborious task involving a three-wheeled machine called a Brownie with what is basically a 25 pound hydraulic powered chain saw attached to it. You see, you ride up in the air in a little bucket, kinda like the power guys, and swing this saw around like a powered machete, removing errant limbs (hopefully only on the tree). It is a boring, cold, tiresome job; I can honestly say I can think of well over 100 things I’d rather do then trim trees; however, it’s one of the most important jobs on the farm. A well-trimmed tree produces better fruit, with better size, and less pressure from insects and fungus. It’s truly an investment you make for future years; the better job you do trimming, the better quality fruit you’ll likely produce.

Right now, we’re watching a lot of “fiscal tree-trimming” happen all over the United States, and Michigan is no exception. Governor Rick Snyder has climbed aboard his metaphorical “brownie”, and as we say when we need to do some hard trimming in a neglected orchard, he’s doing some major lumber-jacking. No tree is safe from Snyder’s saw, nor should any be; you see, for far too long our state legislature has worked off borrowed time; they’ve been growing some pretty lousy fruit, and the markets have changed. Consumers (and voters) are demanding fresh, high quality fruit, and they’ve hired a new farm manager to make that happen. Eventually, just like at home, the governor will replant the orchard with new trees that won’t need trimming for quite some time. But, for the meantime, stand back, cause the limbs are flying!!

Everything in the world has a day of reckoning; and just like my back and shoulders after a long day trimming in the orchard, the governor is sure to go home with a few wounds and some soar muscles. But as an old farmer once told me, when you trim trees the hardest, that’s when you get the most new growth.

Jeff Vander Werff is a 4th generation farmer and blogger from Sparta, Michigan. Learn more about his family's farm at www.youtube.com/agsalesman

How do we measure success?

This past weekend and week, the American Farm Bureau Federation held it’s annual meeting in Atlanta, and aside from Mike Rowe giving a keynote address, one of the major highlights are the Young Farmer and Rancher competitions.

Now, these events are intense, competitive, and generally nerve racking. You are competing against the very, very best young farmers and ranchers from all over the United States for some nice prizes- such as a new Dodge pickup truck or a new tractor.

This is the Superbowl of young farmer events.

And it’s a hell of a yardstick to judge your program and state by.

Or should it be?

Now my state, Michigan, has enjoyed success in the past in national young farmer events, and we are thankful and proud of that. It is always great to be recognized for having a top-notch program, as well as winning some great prizes.

But what are we really trying to do here?

When I ask that question, I’m talking about looking at the young farmer programs in a larger sense. I think it’s worth asking the question: What are you trying to do, and how does your state measure success?

Now, for many years, I believed we needed to win to prove our worth. Having 3 contestants come home with pickup trucks would certainly prove that we had a young farmer program that is one of the top in the nation.

But then I thought about it a little harder....

What does winning a big award accomplish, really? How does this improve the lives of our member families, build leadership skills, and give agriculture it’s next generation of leaders? And really, the answer is glaringly simple.

It doesn’t.

What does, is Michigan Farm Bureau and it’s Young Farmer Program.

We have young farmers on virtually every one of our county boards, with many, many of them serving as presidents, vice presidents, and committee chairs.

We have young farmers who attend our state annual meeting, speak on issues, and develop some of the finest policy in the nation.

And that’s just what we do in Farm Bureau.

Our young farmers serve as township trustees, clerks, and board members. They are on zoning boards, planning commissions, and preservation boards. They serve on county boards, committees, and task forces.

And that’s just what we do at the local level.

Our young farmers, products of our leadership training programs, now serve in the halls of Michigan’s legislature. Several more stepped up and ran in primary races.

And that’s just what we do at the state level.

Graduates and alumni of Michigan Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer program now serve, and have served, on national committees, including the American Farm Bureau board.

That, is what we do.

And it’s all worth a lot more than a new pickup truck.

Fair Trade...MILK!??!??!

Sunday afternoon, Alyssa and I made our weekly trip to Meijers, and like normal, I hung around the dairy and produce isles, seeing what type of marketing ploys a fringe group is aiming at production agriculture this week.

Wow.

Have you ever heard of the concept of fair trade milk? How about “humanely certified”? Or Pasture Raised?? Who makes this stuff up?? Well, after some Google time, I have the answer.

It seems a slick talking, well-dressed gentleman by the name of Chad Pawlak is president of a group of farms called Grass Point Farms. Now, the fact that he is “President” seems a little contrary to the whole corporate-farms-are-killing-our-children routine he’s preaching, but we’ll get to that later. When you look at their website, which by the way, is written line-by-line out of what my friend Ben refers to as “Web Marketing For Dummies”, it’s obvious these people have done some homework. And when you read their info, background, and standards, I think we’d all agree with the concepts; safe, clean, healthy milk, produced by cows that are owned by families, cared for according to the highest standards, and are generally happy.

But here’s where ol’ Chad looses me...

He speaks at several points about how cows raised on pasture are happier, cleaner, and how they produce better milk.

Sure.

He then brings up several points to consider before you buy, such as:

Who is profiting from this sale?

How far did the product travel?

Is the company socially responsible?

There were many more, but I’ll focus on these to start.

My family and I farm about 2 miles from a large dairy farm, where they milk around 1500 cows. The farm is run by a young man, along with his wife, mom, and about a dozen trusted employees. I know everyone on the farm by their first name; in fact, Jason, the owner, and I went to high school and MSU together. But back to Chad’s questions...

Who’s profiting? Well, I’d say Jason, if I had to take a guess. You see Chad, most of the milk at Meijers is produced by guys just like him, from all over the area. They load their milk into trucks driven by local guys, who take it to a processing plant in Grand Rapids, which is within about 50 miles of virtually every place it will end up. By the way Chad, how far is it from Sparta, Michigan over to Wisconsin, because unless you think you can float it over, it’s gonna be a long pull through Chicago to get your milk here.

As far as social responsibility, these farmers are just like the rest of us. We sponsor little league teams, coach soccer, donate to food banks, and pull floats in the Homecoming Parade. We live here too, and don’t you forget it. And while we're on it, remember, his profits get spent on things like my custom farm services, fuel from the local supplier, and feed from the co-op. You know, corporate America at its finest.

If a farmer or company wants to cater to a market segment, that’s fine. But please, don’t bash the rest of us on your way to the top. Offering consumers a choice is never a bad thing, but remember, there were about 20 gallons of Chad's milk on the shelf, compared to about 5,000 gallons of the other guys. I don't think it would have lasted very long if it was the only choice.

As the old saying goes, don’t piss on my leg and then tell me it’s raining.