I did a blogging challenge called A to Z where bloggers are challenged to take each letter of the alphabet and write a post about it each day taking off Sundays to rest. My agriculture A to Z was ambitious and exhausting but I’m really proud of it! This is a look at the posts I wrote during the month with links out so you can learn more on the topics you are most interested in.
A is for Agriculture — an Agriculture A to Z Series
A month or so ago, I saw something about the A to Z Challenge and decide to learn more. It is a challenge where you sign up to write 26 posts in the month of April. You get Sunday’s off but otherwise everyday is a letter of the alphabet starting today Monday, April 1 with […] Continue Reading
B is for Borlaug — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
Wow. I’m already having a really tough time picking out which word to go with even though I limited myself to agricultural words. The leading candidates for today were: Bales! I have to love that Eileen Crosby went for the sentimental favorite highlighting my love of cotton & the way it is packaged for transportation […] Continue Reading
C is for Cotton — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
I have to do it. Sure, there were lots of suggestions for C words that are important parts of agriculture and in fact, Kim Parsell gave me a whole list! KentFarms _LA lobbied for cattle (Angus cattle to be clear) and several people echoed that cows would be a perfect choice and others suggested corn. […] Continue Reading
D is for Debt (Farm Debt) — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
When it comes down to the letters I’m using, I have to admit that I’m going with my gut on a day-to-day basis. The letter for today was one that I thought I had settled. I had in mind ditches. I know, it’s not a glamorous word but having lived in areas that are rain-fed […] Continue Reading
E is for Elevator — an A to Z Series about Agriculture
It wasn’t too long ago that I was talking with someone and they started describing something they saw and didn’t know the right words to use. They wanted me to understand, but it was sort of like they were speaking a different language. They were talking about a town I hadn’t been too but they […] Continue Reading
F is for Farmer! — An A to Z Challenge in Agriculture
The number of words that come to mind for the letter F was astonishing. Food, feed, fiber, farms, FFA, and I had suggestions like floriculture from Thomas Marten (and I do love flowers) and Kim Parsell gave me lots of ideas – farm, fig, fence, fertilizer, feed, flax and fungicide. All of those are great words […] Continue Reading
G is for GMOs — What are GMOs & Why Do Farmers Plant GMO Crops?
I wasn’t sure I would want to tackle GMOs with a post, but another blogger who’s doing the A to Z Challenge (Sydney Katt of authorSydneyKatt.com) said she didn’t know much about agriculture and would appreciate knowing more. The comment reads: So I’ll provide my thoughts on GMOs (and a reminder that I write content […] Continue Reading
H is for Hay — An A to Z about Agriculture
A few people suggested I write about hay today, including my dear friend Mona who left the most encouraging comment on the post for G is for GMO. The reason it means so much is for Mona and I, it took a little time for us to find common ground. We could have easily decided […] Continue Reading
I is for Irrigation — Water Use & Conservation on the Farm
Irrigation is one of those crop practices that was really near and dear to people’s hearts last year since so much of the U.S. had a drought last year. I know here in St. Louis we all longed for rain and in the meantime, I was glad I had a timer on my soaker hose […] Continue Reading
J is for Juggling — Juggling Roles is Really Common in Rural Areas & Small Towns
Today’s blog post is an easy one for me because Oregon nut and grass farmer Brenda Kirsh was nice enough to get me underway. Wednesday morning, Brenda posted this comment to my post on irrigation: J…for juggling? Farmers many times beyond having their job of growing food and fiber, also volunteer as firefighters/EMTs, school board […] Continue Reading
K is for Kale — Kale is a Winter Crop & a Power Food
Early on I thought of two words that I may want to write about in my K post. They were VERY DIFFERENT words. One was of course kale (bet you could guess that since I’m writing about that) and the other was just K — that’s the abbreviation for potassium and potash is really important […] Continue Reading
L is for Loam, Love Great Loam Soils
I can remember a time when I thought of dirt as something that only seemed to change about it was the color. I had noticed it when my family took vacations and even in looking at the soils in my grandparent’s yard since grandmom was an avid composter. But when I moved from Memphis to […] Continue Reading
M is for Moo! Why do cows moo? My A to Z Challenge on Agriculture
I’ve had lots of cow-related suggestions for the A to Z series — so many that I think some friends may do a whole cattle series next year! Just think, there is alfalfa, beef, cheese, dairy, etc. but I decided to go for a simple word on cows and its probably the first thing I […] Continue Reading
N is for Nutrients — Nutrients Are So Critical in Agriculture
N is for Nutrients. That one has been in my mind for the whole time and nothing has shaken it. I guess some people may be thinking I could have made this a post about N is for nitrogen and had something similar, but I whole-heartedly disagree. And while no-till is a compelling term — […] Continue Reading
O is for Olive — Insight on California Olive Production VIDEO
Last fall I had the chance to learn a lot about olive production in northern California thanks to farmer Irv Leen of Gold Rush Farms. Although I had seen quite a few olive trees while traveling in Turkey and Israel, visiting Irv’s was the first time for me to be able to visit with an […] Continue Reading
P is for Prairie & Growing Pinto Beans on the North Dakota Prairie
Since I was traveling again this week, I got behind again…. so I am going to catch up somewhat quickly. P is for prairie today, because I was traveling through a bit of prairie over the last few days. A lot of us have heard of prairies and may even get a photo in mind. We […]Continue Reading
Fiber Quality Testing on Every Bale of US Cotton VIDEO
When I was thinking about doing this, it was letters like Q, X and Z that made me wonder if I could really do it. The video I shot as I showed a friend around Memphis came to mind quickly. Although Steve had worked in cotton for years off and on, seeing how cotton was […] Continue Reading
R is for Reading — Must Reads for the Farm, Agricultural Magazines & Books
I know this is not expected and I had several other words that I was going to use, but then I went to Amazon and realized that every one the suggestions for me was an agriculture-related book or movie. Growing up city, I had no clue about how much studying there was to do and how […] Continue Reading
S is for Seed — It All Starts with a Seed
My part of agriculture is crops even if I’ve been learning more about livestock in the past few years. And crops tend to start with the seed (I say tend because there are a few like olives that work off cuttings). Seed is probably the most critical decision a farmer or gardener makes in a […] Continue Reading
T is for Tillage — Understanding “When tillage begins, other arts will follow.”
Tillage is something that while it may not be well-understood by everyone, it has a romantic quality. We’ve seen some of the earliest photos taken in the United States were of people behind a mule and plow, parting the ground, turning it over in an effort to make the ground conducive to growing plants. That image […] Continue Reading
U is for Urban Agriculture — Growing More Food in the City
Urban agriculture. I can’t imagine many people used that phrase 20 years ago but it is certainly a phrase that is growing in prominence. And I think its awesome! The more ways we connect ourselves to the production of food — both in the city and the countryside — the more we will appreciate the […] Continue Reading
V is for Viticulture — Cultivating Grapes for Wine Making
Viticulture is another one of the words that I think may not be familiar to everyone but if you drink wine, you should be really happy that viticulture exists because in a nutshell viticulture is “the cultivation or culture of grapes especially for wine making.” I have to say when I think of viticulture, my […] Continue Reading
W is for Wheat — Semolina Can Get Chefs Talking Wheat
As my friend Julie and I ate at Pastaria on Thursday night, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chef Gerard Craft. I had to say hello to him as I had hoped to meet him last fall when a group of friends went to his other restaurant Niche one night. It is […]
X is for Xylem — Plants have vascular systems? And with xylem in them?
When I started this, the fascination was about how I could find an X-word for my A to Z on agriculture. I took time and searched around a bit and the appendix of my trusty Cotton Physiology Handbook showed me this wouldn’t be too hard. But I have to admit, I don’t use xylem in […] Continue Reading
Y is for Yams or Are They Sweet Potatoes? What’s the Difference Anyway?
I met Will Kornegay through social media and love that he offered to help me with my “S” post. See, Will grows sweet potatoes and was willing to help me out. But I have worked in the seed business for 15 years and really felt that I had to say S is for Seed. BUT […] Continue Reading
Z is for Zoonoses — Zoonoses Isn’t Something Farmers Can Laugh About
The word zoonoses…. seeing that on my screen makes me wonder how many of us giggle at the idea of zoo noses. You know, like an elephant’s trunk or the orangutan’s smooshed up nose? But zoonoses doesn’t have a space and it is a really serious topic for livestock farmers and ranchers. The World Health […] Continue Reading
Lessons Learned Through My Blogging Challenge, an A to Z on Agriculture
I have done a few different blogging and social media challenges in the past couple of years, but have to say the A to Z Challenge may have been the toughest! And even though someone has suggested that I should start again with AA and BB, I’m taking a break from the series — at […] Continue Reading
