April | 2017 | daughter of a trucker

We celebrated Earth Day yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. Oh, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. You get the picture, right? Every day is earth day on the farm. Literally every decision made has the next year, and the next decade, in mind. Every pesticide sprayed, every crop planted, all matter not just for next crop’s (hopeful) high yield and profit per acre, but what’s next to plant.

As I took some pictures yesterday, my focus was grabbing a cute shot of Uncle Amos and baby Jude. But as I look at it today on Earth Day, it’s amazing to see all that is happening in this one picture.

Water! Drip line irrigation saves water resources by pinpointing exactly where and when the trees need it.

Planting alfalfa in between the rows:

Prevents topsoil erosion
Increases organic matter in the soil
Prevents soil compaction
Provides a return on investment for us while we wait for the trees to produce hazelnuts as we sell the alfalfa to a local dairy.

And the trees! As trees grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the air, store carbon in the trees and soil, and release oxygen into the atmosphere.

Farmers, ranchers and foresters are the original environmentalists and live off of the land literally – believe me when I say our top priority is taking care of our most precious resources.

Happy Earth Day from farmers, ranchers and foresters all over working to provide food and fiber for us all!

Check out the below for more Earth Day fun!

Over the past few months there has been many Facebook posts and articles about Goat Yoga. Yes, Goat Yoga. Those from Oregon have probably heard of it as it’s a “thing” now here. And those outside Oregon probably already think we’re crazy… and seriously I’m right there with you with some of the things this state comes up with. But then this weekend Goat Yoga is front page on our local Albany Democrat Herald! At first I laughed. Then I started thinking “this is a bit ridiculous.” And THEN someone told me there was over a 1500 person wait list and was charging $30 per class – $50 with wine! So I posted this:

Lots of comments to this post – most people were just laughing along with me. Why are we laughing? Probably the same reason someone doesn’t understand why I don’t go camping during harvest, or why in the world do I have more pairs of cowboy boots than I do heels, or that I learned to drive tractor way before driving a car. In the most simplest explanation – those of us that grew up with or around farm animals, the idea that one would merge animals and yoga is simply funny.

Then my friend and fellow grass seed farmer in the Willamette Valley, Lisa Goracke, calls me and says this and it struck me: “Shelly, I think we are missing the point. We have an urban/rural divide and this is an opportunity for us to showcase what we already know and love. People are willing to pay to experience what we experience every day.”

And she’s totally right.

We have a few incredible programs in Oregon that are trying to bridge that rural/urban gap – all of them our farm is personally involved in:
Oregon AgLink
Oregon Women for Agriculture
Oregon Ag in the Classroom Foundation
Each one of these works hard to educate others about farming and agriculture and how much it means to our state in terms of economic vitality and jobs. We bring middle schoolers, high schoolers, legislators, basically anyone who wants to, out to our farm and show them around. We love it! We literally love being part of educating others about Ag.

Back to Goat Yoga… Here’s the deal, and I missed it at first – I love my goats, my chickens, the bunnies, and our beef steer. Soon joining our funny farm is a dairy heifer and my 14 year old is beyond excited. Why wouldn’t an urbanite, or someone who hasn’t experienced farm life, jump at the chance to hang out with cute goats?

As much as I’d like to jump on this money-making opportunity, I simply don’t have the time. And truly I probably would have a lot of fun with it! You won’t see me offering Goat Yoga classes in our barn, but you WILL see me smile when someone brings up Goat Yoga and quote my yogi friend Melinda: “Hey whatever floats your downward dog.”

Gotta love friends that speak truth.

Try talking me into Goat Yoga in the comments – maybe you will! And don’t think I won’t take up an opportunity for a fundraiser – anything to bridge that urban/rural gap and get more people involved in farming, agriculture and Oregon’s incredible rural community.

Here’s a bunch of goat pictures for your viewing pleasure! And come on out, you can help scoop poop and clean pens, we’ll call it “cardio”. But really, it’s great to see anyone interested in ag, and no one ever said Yoga is bad for you. Win-win. Cheers to that!