Where did the time go? I don’t know if you realize this, but it’s May 14th. And to us in Oregon and in the grass seed industry, that means harvest is right around the corner. So how did I get to middle of May and not realize it? Hmmmmm… let’s see…..

The WC Port Crisis began in November, and many think it is over and have moved on. For those of us truckers and exporters, we are very aware it is not over. (See my previous blogs on the subject if interested). The contract will be ratified on May 22nd we believe, but the congestion at Ports of Tacoma and Seattle as well as the remote container yard at Northwest Container Services is very real. Daily we still struggle with repercussions from the long-term slowdown. The cost to trucking companies, farmers, and exporters have been huge. Our “new normal” is right around the corner, and I wonder what that will look like for us Oregon farmers, trucking companies, and exporters.

Trucks waiting in extreme congestion at Port of Seattle

The Oregon legislative session has been a nightmare. The anti-business, anti-rural, anti-agriculture consistent themes have been one that demands the average farmer, businessperson and Oregonian to speak out like never before. Read a friend’s perspective on this here at www.oregongreenblog.com. I personally have been to the state capitol 3 times to testify against the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, diesel emission regulations, and minimum wage public hearings. Here is another friend’s perspective on the Minimum Wage bills here at www.nuttygrass.com. Many, many more bills that are important to us farmers and small businesses: legislated pesticide usage, mandatory PTO, mandatory flexible scheduling, BOLI “cease and desist” bills, and more. Countless letters, phone calls, and emails have been sent speaking out about these and making sure my local representation knows my thoughts on these matters. If you are reading this outside Oregon and are shocked that we’re dealing with all of this at one time, I agree – it’s almost unbelievable. Lastly, a local measure, Measure 2-89 in Benton County wants to ban all usage of GMO in the county. If this passes, a terrible precedent will be set for remaining counties.

I coached a local club volleyball team through BOSS Volleyball. Yes, I coach volleyball. And love it! The courts are actually laid in one of our straw barns. As soon as we get the straw out of this particular barn, the club comes in and lays “sport court”. 6 different teams practiced 2x/week every week. Throw in 1-2 tournaments on the weekends every month, and well suffice to say I was quite busy. My daughter Kyndall was on my team, and it was a great opportunity to spend extra time with her and watch her and her friends grow as athletes. If you want my opinion on athletics and coaching – it’s a dying breed of coaches that feel we are teaching kids how to become better adults through sports. So many people have lost site of this – parents and coaches alike, and competition sometimes gets in the way. I saw this at every tournament. If you can ever find the time to volunteer as a local coach, I urge you to do so. It is one way to help our kids become contributing members of society, instilling teamwork, attitude and hard work into their core. Pretty soon, it becomes natural to use this hard work and positive attitude into every avenue of their life. A win for all!

At the BOSS Barn

Community Outreach – near and dear to my family’s heart. We’re part of Adopt A Farmer program through the AgriBusiness Council. We bring 180 6th-graders from Memorial Middle School in Albany, Oregon, to our farm. We had 5 stations to show them different aspects of our farm and businesses: 1) My brother, Farmer Amos, showed the kids about straw storage and even let them run the hay squeeze! 2) A local farmer, Farmer Ryan Glaser of Mid-Valley Farms, showed the kids our hazelnut orchards and taught them all about Oregon’s Hazelnuts. 3) My dad, Farmer Stan, showed the kids all of our equipment – from windrowers and combines to tractors, spray buggies and balers. But, I think Coach the Dog stole the show on this station! 4) Our Operations Manager, Farmer Eric, took the kids through the mechanic shop – starting with the truck scales where they weighed themselves as a group all at once, and finished talking about tires – some of them twice the height of the kids! – with the help of Terry, our local Les Schwab guy! 5) The final station was mine – and I showed the kids how we press the bales, containerize them and ship them overseas to customers. I explained the opportunities and challenges of working in an international marketplace, but they were more concerned about the money from around the world laid out on the table! In case you didn’t know, kids LOVE money. 🙂

Farmer Amos talking about straw bales

Farmer Eric weighing kids on the truck scale

Farmer Ryan talking about Oregon Hazelnuts

In addition to Adopt A Farmer, we are involved with the local Albany Chamber of Commerce, bringing out their Youth Leadership and Trades Academy programs for tours on our farm. Lastly, we are involved with the Oregon Women for Agriculture and work on many projects including this great advertisement rolling down our highways and biways! Our Boshart Trucking trucks proudly haul this trailer all over Oregon – the response to it has been awesome! We love promoting “almost everything starts on a farm or ranch!”

Then there was this little thing called Farm Mom. I laugh at that, because truly it was a huge deal! I found out on April 16th that I was the NW division winner of America’s Farmers Farm Mom of the Year! I flew to St. Louis April 22-24, at that time a national online vote was started. I found out last Thursday, May 7th, that I had the most votes and became the National Farm Mom of the Year. I know it’s a funny title, but I honestly couldn’t have picked a better one – Farm Mom, my favorite two titles for my life. I wrote a little about this in my last blog: The Most Important Crop I Grow… My Children. Along the way, I met 4 incredibly impressive women: Amy Kelsay, a dairy farmer from Indiana; Megan Seibel, a wine-grape grower and cattle farmer from Virginia; Shelley Heinrich, a cotton farmer from Texas; and Sara Ross, a corn farmer and member of Common Ground. Sara also blogs – you should check out here: Sara’s House – farm to table to you. Meeting these women in person, along with past Farm Mom’s through phone and email, I’m very grateful to be part of one incredible group.

So, that’s where my last 6 months went! And now we’re gearing up for 2015 harvest – my favorite time of year! Gearing up for it takes a coordinated effort, and we’re in the thick of it now! Ready or not, here we go! Bring it on!